City rejected minister's request to keep Wellington Street closed

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutclifferejected a federal minister's request earlier this monthto keep Wellington Street closed to traffic until the city and the federal government can come to an agreement about the future of the prominent roadway.

In a letter datedApril 4,Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczekwrote to Sutcliffeabout establishing a "care and control agreement" for Wellington, which became clogged with trucks during last winter's convoy protest.

"The objective of this agreement would be to address the immediate security imperative by maintaining the current road closures" while providing the city and the federal government "time to establish a fair deal" and consult with various parties including Indigenous communities, residents and businesses about long-term uses, Jaczek wrote.

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Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair, who testified last fall during the Emergencies Act inquiry, was copied on the letter.

"As we have discussed, the 2022 illegal protests in Ottawa exposed vulnerabilities associated with Wellington Street serving as a main roadway running through the Parliamentary Precinct. It also highlighted several long-standing security and policing gaps," Jaczek wrote, pointing out these issues were raised both in a 2022 study by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, and in the Public Order Emergency Commission's final report released in February.

"Addressing the long-standing security challenges in the Parliamentary Precinct by transferring Wellington Street and Sparks Street into federal jurisdiction creates a unique opportunity for us to work together to also reimagine this space as Canada's pre-eminent civic forum for celebration, mourning and peaceful protest," the minister wrote, noting capitals including Berlin, Oslo, The Hague, Budapest, London and Washington have taken similar steps.

Council voted to reopen road

In his reply, dated April 6, Sutcliffepointed out that Ottawa city council voted on Feb. 8 to reopen Wellington between Bank and Elgin streets "as soon as it is operationally feasible" and to replace traffic lights and other infrastructure that wasremoved during the closure.

City crews were seen installing traffic lights in front of Parliament Hill on Thursday. The city has said the road could be reopened by the end of April.

"We are going to open the road againas we've said all along," Sutcliffe told Radio-Canada on Friday. "We're open to an ongoing conversation with the federal government about the future of Wellington."

Council also voted to continue discussions with federal officials regarding "the potential of a redefined Parliamentary Precinct." To that end, city staff continue to work with Jaczek's department and the National Capital Commission (NCC) to finalize a traffic study and are expected to report back in the first quarter of 2024.

"Until that time when the final traffic report can inform on the future transportation impacts of closing Wellington Street permanently on our downtown core and until the City has completed its internal review on what the implications of transferring this iconic city street to the Federal Government might be, it would be premature to enter into an interim care and control agreement that has the explicit objective of maintaining the current road closures," Sutcliffe wrote.

"We need to understand, if Wellington is not going to be the property of the City of Ottawa going forward, and if the federal government wants to buy it from us and they want to close it, we'll have to understand the traffic impact and the impact on residents and businesses in that area as well, so it's a very long-term decision," he told Radio-Canada on Friday.

"I know the federal government's concerns about security and wanting to establish a larger Parliamentary Precinct, but it's got to be the right deal for the people of Ottawa."

In the meantime, bi-weekly discussions between Jaczek's assistant deputy minister and the city's general manager of planning should continue "as they identify the multitude of issues that must be fully addressed before recommendations can be made about the future of Wellington Street," Sutcliffe wrote.

The reopening plan approved by city council includesone laneof vehicular traffic in each direction, as well astemporary protected bike lanes.