Analysis included in the government’s budget, released on Tuesday, featured departmental plans to annually save a combined $13 billion by 2028-29. The changes include an overhaul of the federal public service, featuring a 40,000-person reduction in full-time positions over the same time period — nearly half of which would be necessitated by the government’s internal savings measures.

“We are modernizing government operations to deliver better results for Canadians and reduce costs,” reads the budget. “To meet the moment, we must reinvent government to be fit for the 21st century.”

“This means recalibrating activities and fiscal room towards our core mandates — spending less on the day-to-day running of government.”

The federal workforce has steadily risen since the Liberals came to power in 2015, peaking at nearly 369,000 full-time workers in 2023-24, according to the Treasury Board. The government has since pursued staff reductions with the explicit goal of bringing the public service down to 330,000 by the end of the decade, which would be accomplished through a combination of attrition (retirements, unfilled departures, etc.), but also lay-offs.

“Since 2019, the federal public service population has grown at a rate far greater than the Canadian population,” said Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne after tabling the budget in the House of Commons.

“We must get the size of our public service back to a sustainable level that is in keeping with best-practices [and] we will do so with fairness and compassion.”

Among the 16,000 federal employees set to be laid off, 650 positions will be at the senior level (directors or above), which is equivalent to seven per cent of all government executives.

However, the government is also introducing the Build Canada Exchange program (formally known as Interchange Canada), tasked with integrating 50 private sector leaders into the federal public service.

In anticipation of projected reductions, Ottawa is introducing an early retirement incentive program that will allow employees at least 50-years-old who have more than 10 years of employment to pursue early retirement without penalty. Customarily, public servants who retire before they become eligible have their pensions docked by five per cent for each remaining year they had left.

The program will last for 12 months and is expected to save $1.5 billion over the next five years. It will formally take effect on Jan. 15, 2026 (or whenever the corresponding legislation receives Royal Assent).

Moving forwards, public service pensions will also be indexed to inflation, a measure expected to create $5.8 billion in savings by 2029-30. Currently, a federal employee’s pension is indexed to either inflation or year-over-year wage increases for a select group of government workers, depending on which is greater in a particular year.

Following Tuesday morning’s cabinet meeting, Champagne told reports that he felt “people will be reassured in a way that [the government] has made the right choices.”

“We’re going to do this in a smart and compassionate way, preserving the key services that are dear to Canadians and, at the same time, making sure that we become more efficient,” he said. “Overall, if you ask me, Canadians will feel good tonight.”

Additionally, the government has promised to reduce the public service’s reliance on management and external consultants in this year’s budget. More specifically, consulting expenses are projected to decline by 20 per cent over the next three years, which coincides with the government’s plan to improve productivity within the public service by “fostering AI (artificial intelligence) implementation” and “consolidating the administration of programs.”

Leading this initiative will be a new office for digital transformation, which will be responsible for implementing technologically-based solutions throughout the public service.

Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) found government spending on federal workers could increase by $7 billion by 2030, if Ottawa did not proceed with its plan to cut costs across the government.

While the PBO uses different metrics to calculate the number of federal workers, the office determined the number of full-time employees would continue to grow without government action.

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Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos, who heads the Ottawa Film Office, said she’s anticipating a “record year” for the number of holiday movies filmed in the nation’s capital this year.

“I can’t give you specific numbers because those are delivered to the City of Ottawa in our annual report [in December], but we are going to beat last year,” she said in an interview with the Ottawa Compass.

In 2024, there were seven movies filmed in Ottawa, most of which aired on the Hallmark or W channels. However, the Netflix product Hot Frosty, which rocketed to the top of Canadian streaming charts last year, was also filmed in the nation’s capital and surrounding communities, like Brockville and Pakenham.

Over many years, Ottawa has become a frequent backdrop for the genre of Christmas movies often associated with Hallmark, as well as other holiday flicks.

“Ottawa is one of a kind,” said Pechels de Saint Sardos. “To have a chateau downtown, it’s very unique. So, I think that’s what attracts filmmakers because the locations are splendid and very versatile.”

“They can work very well as a history piece or Christmas movie, but it can also double for New York, Boston and Philadelphia.”

The film commissioner also identified the Rideau Canal and Byward Market, along with the promenade on Sparks Street as marquee settings for Christmas movies produced in Ottawa, which she said helps attract filmmakers from across the country and south of the border.

“We also have nice tax incentives against labour expenses [in Ottawa],” she continued. “About 45 per cent [of costs] are refundable against labour and other expenses, so it’s a great deal.”

“Because, ultimately, the mission and goal of the Ottawa Film Office is to attract filmmakers from Los Angeles, filmmakers from the U.S., but also filmmakers from Toronto or any other non-Ottawa producers to come and spend money.”

Pechels de Saint Sardos has served as the city’s film commissioner since 2022. The Ottawa Film Office is a non-profit organization funded by the municipality tasked with representing the nation’s capital and all Ontario communities located within the Greater Ottawa area.

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In a split vote, councillors — some of whom appeared virtually — voted 15 to 10 in favour of a motion brought forward by Coun. Cathy Curry (Kanata North) to accept the back-to-office order issued by city manager Wendy Stephanson.

“I don’t think it’s fair to characterize this as ordering our employees back to office five-days a week,” said Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who supported the motion. “What’s happening here is a simple shift.”

“Like before, individual employees will be able to work with their managers… [and] flexibility will not be unreasonably denied.”

Curry’s motion replaced a pre-existing proposal from Coun. Jeff Leiper (Kitchissippi) that called for the order to be rescinded, which would have retained the current two-days a week standard. Her motion was subsequently amended by Coun. Jessica Bradley (Gloucester-Southgate) to incorporate language ensuring Stephanson would ask senior leadership to maintain hybrid work structures “wherever possible.”

Prior to the vote, council engaged in an over two-hour long debate that saw several councillors balancing a desire to support city employees that utilize a hybrid work model with concerns around restricting the city manager’s authority.

“No one here… has said we think five days in office is the way to go,” said Curry. “Because no one believes that.”

“What is actually happening here in this motion is we are clarifying that, yes, it is possible for some employees to come back and work five days in office, but not all.”

In response to concerns from councillors, Stephanson repeatedly emphasized that the city will preserve “flexibilities” currently offered to municipal staff and, ultimately, each employee’s work situation will be determined through conversations between said employee and their respective managers.

“The overriding goal… is about improving culture, improving collaboration and building these relationships across the organization,” Stephanson said on Wednesday. “[But] it will be based on an individualized, personal discussion that employees can have with their supervisor.”

The concept of introducing a broader return-to-office mandate, but continuing to offer accommodations for remote work led some, like Coun. Shawn Menard (Capital), to ask what exactly the order sought to accomplish.

“If there’s flexibility offered…, then what is the change you are making?” said Menard to Stephanson. “This decision makes no sense.”

“It smacks of a political decision made one week after [Ontario Premier] Doug Ford encouraged municipalities to make this choice.”

The timing of the order was raised by multiple councillors, many of whom contended that the premier’s recent advocacy for back-to-office mandates had influenced the city manager’s decision — which Stephanson categorically denied.

Other councillors insisted that the overarching question concerned whether or not councillors were prepared to make a potentially precedent-setting decision to override Stephanson’s directive.

The council’s clerk told officials that she was unaware of a past vote that had explicitly restricted the city manager’s delegated authority.

“[During the COVID-19 pandemic,] we didn’t vote to send them home, so we shouldn’t be voting on bringing them back to the office,” said Coun. David Brown (Rideau-Jock). “It is not appropriate.”

“I agree employees should be the focus… but it should not be up to us [to decide] who works from home, who works from the office, and how that is rolled out.”

According to Stephanson, approximately 93 per cent of city employees are already on site five days per week, meaning the order is only expected to affect around 1,200 staff members.

She added that each municipal department will bring forward a transition plan that will guide the policy’s implementation.

The change will officially take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

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A group of environmentalists canoed, kayaked and paddled their way to the island on Saturday for a routine shore cleanup, but volunteers were also invited to explore the typically restricted land as part of the NCC’s ‘BioBlitz’ initiative.

A ‘BioBlitz’ refers to a grassroots effort to catalogue the various plant and animal species in a given area. Participants can use smartphone applications that use artificial intelligence to distinguish alder buckthorn from Joe-pye weed, while noting the exact location of each species.

As the third-largest island in the Ottawa River, Kettle Island spans approximately 3.7-kilometres directly across from the eastern end of Ottawa’s downtown core, and has no permanent dwellings or buildings. The NCC acquired 98 per cent of the island in 2007 through a donation, and it also holds status as a nature reserve under the Quebec government.

During Saturday’s event, volunteers identified 92 different species that call the island home, including white-tailed deer, blue jays and bald eagles.

Ottawa Riverkeeper staff told the Ottawa Compass that learning more about the various plants and animals that live on Kettle Island could help mount legal opposition to a major infrastructure project revived by the federal government earlier this year.

The idea for a bridge that would traverse the island was first considered in the 1970s, and there have been several studies dedicated to exploring the proposal with the goal of improving traffic in the nation’s capital.

Most recently, the theoretical bridge was resurrected by the Liberal government under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau. In an announcement earlier this year, Liberal cabinet minister Steve MacKinnon referenced the Montée Paiement–Aviation Parkway corridor, a proposed pathway that directly traverses the western part of Kettle Island.

The government has suggested that utilizing the island would minimize the footprint of building a new link and accelerate the schedule for constructing an oft-considered eastern bridge, making the Montée Paiement–Aviation Parkway corridor the “most advantageous” route.

“The Government of Canada is taking concrete action to improve interprovincial mobility from east to west in the National Capital Region,” MacKinnon said in a statement.

“The announcement demonstrates our commitment to regional mobility, following our massive investments in the electrification of public transit in Ottawa and Gatineau, the replacement of the Alexandra Bridge, the introduction of the Rapibus and the O-Train, and the planning of the tramway project in the west end of the city of Gatineau.”

Next, the government intends to conduct an impact study and initial design of the proposed bridge. Public consultations on the idea will also be scheduled in the coming months.

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Last week, Sutcliffe released the city’s budget directions, which offer guidelines for next year’s fiscal plan. While the directions include specific increases and cuts to various city programs, the final budget must still be approved by council later this year.

“I made a commitment to residents to work as hard as possible to make our city safer, more reliable and more affordable,” Sutcliffe told reporters. “We’ve managed our city into a strong financial position.”

“[But] we need to bring a careful, balanced approach to the next budget.”

Sutcliffe emphasized that raising property taxes by 3.75 per cent or less would ensure the hike is less than last year’s increase. He also maintained that his administration’s success in standardizing and automating municipal processes has saved the city approximately $207 million, which otherwise would have resulted in a 10 per cent spike to property taxes. 

Notably, the report also suggests a city-wide tax levy increase of up to 2.9 per cent, which would give a funding boost to municipally-administered services, like public libraries and Ottawa Public Health, while the Ottawa Police Services could see an increase between 2.9 and 6.5 per cent.

If passed, it would be the largest increase to the city’s policing in more than 15 years. 

During his remarks, Sutcliffe described community safety as one of his major priority areas, adding that it’s an issue he routinely hears about from Ottawa residents.

“They want to see more and better policing,” he said. “This is a time when we invest in public safety, invest in policing…, that’s what our residents expect.”

However, the proposal was criticized by, among others, Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine, who said increased funding for police is “not as high on the wish-list as the mayor suggests” for residents in his west-end ward. 

“Generally, the crime rate in Ottawa is relatively low, and seemingly on the decline,” Devine said in a post on social media. “…[B]ased on my inbox, ‘feeling safe in their community’ is not the highest concern.”

“I don’t know if it’s outrageous for Ottawa Police Services to be asking for a decent increase to their budget… [but] it only seems outrageous because every other budget is starved year after year.”

Meanwhile, Tom Ledgley, coordinator of the advocacy group Horizon Ottawa, said municipal leadership should focus on what he described as more pressing issues facing the city, like housing, transit and general affordability.”

“None of which are solved by pouring more money into policing,” he said.

As reported by other news outlets, Ottawa’s crime rates saw a marginal increase last year, largely due to an uptick in non-violent crimes, while more serious offences fell slightly from 2023 to 2024. 

Ottawa Police Services is currently preparing a transition to a ‘district deployment model,’ which will split the capital into four distinct regions to allow for a more tailored approach to public safety. The transition, set to be launched in January 2027, involves hiring an additional 63 officers and carries a reported cost of $11.4 million. 

The budget directions also include a boost to public transit funding between three and 15 per cent, a 10 per cent garbage fee increase, as well as potential fare hike (between 2.5 and 7.5 per cent).

The city budget is traditionally approved towards the end of the calendar year. 

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After sitting outside the postseason picture for most of the summer, the Titans have won eight of their last nine games, including shutting out Trois-Rivières by a score of 3-0 on Wednesday night, vaulting them into a projected playoff spot.

The hot stretch has left Ottawa third in the north division, behind the Quebec Capitales and Tri-City ValleyCats. While only the divisional winner automatically qualifies for the playoffs, the next two best records in the conference will receive wild card spots in the postseason.

If the season ended now, Ottawa would secure a wild card berth by the slimmest of margins. After 86 games, the Titans have posted a 46-40 record, barely edging out the 45-39 record held by the New York Boulders.

This past weekend, the Titans won two pivotal games on the road during a three-game series against the Boulders. The two squads will play each other three additional times later this month, again in New York, in what is likely to be the most crucial series of the season.

Ottawa has qualified for the postseason three times in the franchise’s four-year history, though they have never made it past the divisional round. 

Next up, the Titans will look to complete the four-game sweep of Trois-Rivières on Thursday night before hosting a three-game homestand against the Massachusetts-based Brockton Rox this upcoming weekend.

Notably, Saturday evening’s matchup will be a ‘Bark in the Park’ game at Ottawa Stadium, meaning fans will be allowed to bring their pooches to the ballpark (for an extra $5).

Tickets (for humans and canines) are still available at www.ottawatitans.com.

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During a forum where local leaders could ask questions to members of Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet, Troster, joined by Ottawa Centre MPP Catherine McKenney, accused the health minister of helping plunge Ottawa’s Chinatown into “absolute chaos.”

Last year, Jones announced the province would force 10 safe injection sites across the province to close, including the facility at the Somerset West Community Health Centre. Instead, the sites would be replaced with new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs that focused on providing various social services and housing supports.

Jones had justified the policy decision by noting how crime rates had increased in the area surrounding the Somerset injection site to 250 per cent higher than the city average in 2023, with violent crime rising by 146 per cent.

However, police data recently uncovered by CTV Ottawa suggests the crime rate was actually only 14 per cent higher than the rest of Ottawa, with violent crime actually falling by 23 per cent while the safe injection site was operational.

“I’m here to tell you that the closure of the site has rendered absolute chaos in Ottawa’s Chinatown,” said Troster, who has represented the Somerset ward since 2022. 

“What are you going to do to help Ottawa’s Chinatown?”

In response, Jones said she “never, ever wants to have a mother who is killed because she happens to be in the wrong place or the wrong time in front of a safe consumption site,” referencing Karolina Huebner-Makurat, who was killed by a stray bullet outside a Toronto drug consumption site in 2023.

Jones pointed to the province’s HART hub model, which she said offers “hope instead of despair,” while Troster stood at the microphone shaking their head. 

“We need to offer pathways out of addiction,” said the health minister. “We want to be part of the solution.”

Jones continued to say that the provincial government will never “encourage drug consumption” in Ontario, eliciting applause from the AMO delegates.

Following the exchange, Troster took to social media to decry Jones’ failure to support the province’s claims with substantive crime data.

“Unless she can provide the data that supports her argument, we can only assume she’s lying,” Troster said on Bluesky. “Public health policy shouldn’t be determined by fake statistics or by ideology.”

“People who use drugs deserve better. So does our whole community.”

The Ottawa Compass reached out to the provincial health ministry for comment on the discrepancy in crime data, but did not receive a response by deadline.

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The opening ceremony for the Masters Indigenous Games will take place Thursday evening at TD Place, kicking off a three-day event featuring popular team games, like basketball and volleyball, as well traditional Arctic sports, like the one foot high kick and Inuit stick pull.

This year’s event is hosted by the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation. The Masters Indigenous Games were first held in Toronto in 2018, and were originally intended to take place every two years, but postponements caused by the COVID-19 pandemic mean this year’s event is only the third iteration of the games. 

Ottawa also previously hosted the 2023 games, which were founded by Indigenous Sport and Wellness Ontario. 

Following Thursday’s opening ceremony, competitions will be held Friday through Sunday across the city. Track and field events will be held at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, while the Arctic sports will take place at Algonquin College.

Basketball will take place at Carleton University, volleyball games will be held at TD Place, while the golf tournament will be hosted at Loch March Golf and Country Club.

The event will also include a 3D archery competition, which involves shooting at foam animal targets, as opposed to a circular bullseye. 

The games will conclude with a closing ceremony at Lansdowne, which will include speakers, additional awards and a Pow Wow. During the games, Lansdowne will also host a cultural village featuring Indigenous vendors, artists, and storytellers that is free for spectators to check out.

More information is available at www.mastersindigenousgames.com.

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With two regular season games remaining, the Ottawa BlackJacks are tied for second-place in the CEBL’s eastern conference. The top four teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.

After dropping six of the season’s first eight games left them outside the initial playoff picture, the BlackJacks have been one of the league’s hottest teams over the last two weeks, having won three of their last four games.

On Wednesday, the BlackJacks won on the road against the Montreal Alliance by a score of 87-83, clinching a top-three seed in the conference. 

Led by forward Justin Jackson (Toronto, Ont.) and his team-high 21 points, the BlackJacks jumped out to a six-point lead in the first quarter, which they were able to maintain in spite of a late Montreal rally.

“Every time we play Montreal it’s a tough game like this,” said BlackJacks head coach Dave DeAveiro in a statement posted to the team’s website. “And to come here and beat them in this environment … it’s a really good win for us.”

Ottawa is set to host a rematch against the Alliance on Friday night at TD Place, and the BlackJacks will conclude the regular season by welcoming the western conference-leading Vancouver Bandits to Lansdowne on Sunday afternoon. 

Tickets for both games are still available at www.theblackjacks.ca. 

While Ottawa has already clinched a postseason berth, there is still a lot to play for over the final two games, as the CEBL’s playoff format features a play-in round between the conference’s third- and fourth-place teams.

Essentially, this means the top two seeds get an automatic spot in the conference semifinals. The winner of the conference semifinal series earns the right to participate in the CEBL championship weekend in Winnipeg later this month, which is where the conference finals and league finals will be held.

It’s mathematically impossible for Ottawa to catch the top-seeded Niagara River Lions, but they remain tied with the Scarborough Shooting Stars for that highly-coveted second spot.

Depending on where Ottawa finishes, the team’s first playoff game could take place either at home or on the road. However, the team recently announced that any potential home playoff games will take place at the Slush Puppie Centre in Gatineau because of scheduling conflicts caused by the Masters Indigenous Games, which will be held at TD Place next week.

“We recognize that, and hosting a game at a state-of-the-art venue like Centre Slush Puppie offers a unique opportunity to share our exciting brand of basketball with our fans in Gatineau and the Outaouais region,” read a statement from BlackJacks president Mark Wacyk. 

“We will look for this opportunity that has been presented to us as a gateway of development beyond the borders of Ottawa.”

Initially founded in 2019, the BlackJacks have never won a CEBL championship. 

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Sydney’s Declan O’Donovan holds a two-shot lead after a third-round 64 at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club vaulted him up the leaderboard on Wednesday. 

Sitting at eight-under, O’Donovan leads a host of chasers, including Andre Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Isaiah Ibit (Orleans, Ont.), both of whom are within three shots of the lead. 

American Calen Sanderson, France’s Noa Auch-Roy, as well as Jager Pain (Woodbridge, Ont.), are also within striking distance entering Thursday, which is the final day of play.

The tournament’s first two days were split between the Royal Ottawa and Rivermead Golf Club, both of which are across the Ottawa River, with the final two rounds taking place at the Royal.

Golfers from all 10 Canadian provinces and the Northwest Territories participated in this week’s event, with the top 70 players from the 264-player field surviving the 36-hole cut. 

In addition, 13 different countries are represented in the event, with top players from Ireland, Japan, and South Africa all making the trip to Ottawa.

Several local talents are in the field, including Ottawa golfers Chase Jerome, who is currently tied for 29th place, Jonathan Kaminski and James Newton, both of whom are tied for 69th place, as well as Michael Vivone, who sits in a tie for 71st.

Romi Dilawri (Rockliffe, Ont,) enters the final round tied for 76th place, while Ottawa’s Jayson Ross, David Lafreniere, and Lewis Miller, along with Kanata’s Hunter McGee, all missed the two-day cut.

It’s the tenth time the Royal Ottawa has hosted Canada’s most prestigious amateur championship, with the course last holding the event in 2016. 

Previous winners of the event include past and current PGA Tour players, like Nick Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes and Richard Zokol, all of whom went on to win PGA Tour events.

The tournament’s winner is also customarily granted a spot in the following year’s Canadian Open, where they will have the opportunity to compete against top-tier PGA Tour players, like Rory McIlroy.

Next year’s Canadian Open is set to be played at TPC Toronto in Caledon, Ont.

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