Ottawa·NewOttawa city councillors are expected Wednesday to weigh in on whether the city’s bid on an east end landfill site should move ahead. City council to weigh in Wednesday on city’s preliminary bid on east-end propertyGuy Quenneville · CBC News · Posted: Nov 25, 2025 6:03 PM EST | Last Updated: 24 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.CBC Ottawa captured this aerial shot of the area that includes the east-end property that the City of Ottawa would like to purchase in a bidding process so that it can use the site as a future dump. (Félix Desroches/CBC)Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill says he’s leaning toward supporting Ottawa’s bid on a rural plot of land in the city’s east end for use as a future dump.The city’s existing Trail Road landfill is approaching the end of its life, so having another site would give some “breathing room” to handle the growing city’s waste, he says.Hill would also rather the public own the already-zoned-and-permitted Carlsbad Springs site, instead of another city such as Toronto buying it and “shipping its waste into our backyard.” His vote will come down to the cost and benefits of acquiring the land, but he’d like to hear the debate that will unfold at city hall first. On Wednesday, city councillors will address whether the city should move ahead with its bid. The property is owned by Taggart Miller Environmental Services Inc. and is being put up for sale in a confidential bidding process. Two weeks ago, the city disclosed through a report to its finance and corporate services committee that it made a “non-binding” bid to Taggart Miller. Now the city is seeking councillors’ blessing to get deeper into the bidding process. The bid’s opponents, including some residents who live near the site, as well as a number of city councillors, have raised environmental and traffic concerns. They’ve also expressed reservations about the compressed timeline leading to Wednesday’s council vote.”We spent five years talking about [Lansdowne 2.0] and we get two weeks to engage on this issue,” Osgoode ward Coun. Isabelle Skalski, who represents those who would live closest to the proposed dump site, told the finance commitee last week. Osgoode Coun. Isabelle Skalski is among the councillors who have expressed concerns about the city’s preliminary bid on the land. (Francis Ferland/CBC)CBC News reached out to all city councillors via email this week to ask whether they support a city bid on the landfill site, and their reasons why. Hill and seven other councillors replied.Given that council’s consideration of the “acquisition opportunity” is expected to unfold partly in camera Wednesday, the responses CBC received give at least some idea of the factors councillors are considering. Catherine Kitts (Orléans South-Navan) As Mayor Mark Sutcliffe pointed out last week, the finance committee technically didn’t even vote on whether the city should move ahead with a bid. The committee merely voted on whether city council should consider an acquisition. Eight of the committee’s 12 members voted in favour of that step: Sutcliffe, Laura Dudas, Cathy Curry, Glen Gower, Rawlson King, Jeff Leiper, Riley Brockington and Shawn Menard.Three councillors — Matt Luloff, David Brown, and Kitts — voted “nay.” The remaining committee member, Tim Tierney, wasn’t present for the vote.That same recommendation is now headed to city council on Wednesday. As the city has described the process, if councillors give their nod — and assuming the city proves the winning bidder — staff would report back on the outcome of acquisition “as soon as permissible.”If Ottawa proves the winning bidder, staff would report back on the outcome of acquisition ‘as soon as permissible,’ according to city staff. (Antoine Allain/CBC)Kitts, who used to represent the Carlsbad Springs area before ward boundaries were changed in 2022, said she knows how deeply residents have fought against the site being used as a landfill, as Taggart-Miller previously obtained permits for. She does not support moving ahead with a bid given the short time frame, nor “the lack of transparency [and] the limited information available to councillors and the public.” Kitts also wants the city to “determine the direction” of its solid waste master plan, including the role of waste-to-energy technology, “before deciding what assets we need to implement it, not the other way around.” Rawlson King (Rideau-Rockcliffe)King said he would vote yes to “exploring the acquisition.” He also cited Trail Road’s remaining lifespan, which currently stands at about 16 years, according to the city. While the public consultaton window leading to Wednesday was “compressed,” exploring the bid “allows us to evaluate whether city ownership can provide better value, environmental control and accountability than relying entirely on private operators,” King said. The site is “fully permitted,” making it a “rare” acquisition opportunity, he added. Laura Dudas (Orléans West-Innes)Securing and approving a new landfill could take decades, “if it’s even possible,” Dudas said.A publicly owned dump protects residents from the “astronomical costs” of trucking garbage to private sites, and it positions Ottawa for future solutions like waste-to-energy or incineration, she said. “This isn’t a glamorous investment, but acquiring this property is critical.”Steve Desroches (Riverside South-Findlay Creek) Desroches said he supports “next steps in the process” but that the city should also pursue other waste management alternatives such as waste-to-energy. “With a growing population, there will continue to be a need for landfill capacity despite best efforts on waste diversion,” he said. He also worries about the cost and “long approvals” of pursuing a new site. Theresa Kavanagh (Bay)Kavanagh said she supports the purchase of the landfill site and believes having it under public ownership means more accountability to the community. “An additional site does not mean we have more opportunity to throw stuff out,” she added. “The City of Ottawa must continue to encourage diverting, recycling and composting to reduce the amount of waste being taken to our land[fill] site.”Laine Johnson (College)Johnson’s office said she will vote to proceed with the bidding process. Marty Carr (Alta Vista) “Likely yes,” Carr said. With files from Kate Porter
As dump vote looms, here’s where some Ottawa city councillors stand
