By: Hayley Chazan

Sandy Hill resident Brendan Steven was slapped with a $400 fine from the City of Ottawa in August 2013 after neighbours complained to Ottawa Bylaw Services about fireworks shot into their backyard.

According to an analysis of 311 Service Request data from the City of Ottawa, the Rideau-Vanier ward received 91 firework complaints in the months of May through August in 2013 and 2014 – nearly double the number of complaints received in the second highest ward.

Source: City of Ottawa 311 Service Request data May-August 2013 and 2014 

The data showed that the City of Ottawa receives the largest number of firework complaints in the summer months, when the weather is warmer and more people are spending time outside.  Rideau-Vanier is no exception.

Rideau-Vanier councillor, Mathieu Fleury, said that what he hears about most are complaints about young people going to parks and shooting consumer fireworks.  Consumer fireworks are recreational fireworks sold to the public for everyday use.

He said that this can be particularly problematic in his ward, because residents of Sandy Hill and the Market live so close to green space that as soon as a firework goes off, it resonates off nearby buildings and houses.

“It’s normal that residents are less welcoming here than they are in rural areas.”

Christine Hartig, strategic support coordinator with Bylaw and Regulatory Services at the City of Ottawa said that in Rideau-Vanier, the most common complaint about consumer fireworks is that they’re noisy.  Public safety concerns are rarely of concern to residents, she said.

Fleury said that he assumes that the large number of complaints is specific to one or two events.   He said that he often hears of instances where one person creates a lot of havoc and this results in multiple calls to Bylaw Services in the span of a single night.

Because his ward is so dense, Fleury said that it’s possible that a series of neighbours could have been affected by one event.

According to the city’s bylaws, it is illegal for residents to use consumer fireworks, with a few exceptions near Victoria Day in May and Canada Day in July.  Retailers in Ottawa are only permitted to sell consumer fireworks a week before each holiday.

But the data shows that not everyone abides by these rules.  Rideau-Vanier received 53 firework complaints in June 2013 and 2014 and five complaints in August 2013 and 2014, months when fireworks were not permitted at all.  The data also indicates that some complaints made in May and July 2013 and 2014 occurred outside of the permissible timeframes.

According to Ken Whyte, a firework retailer and wholesaler in Ottawa, the city’s bylaws only regulate the use of fireworks in the city limits, not the purchase or sale of fireworks in other jurisdictions.  He said that because residents have access to consumer fireworks from other regions in Canada all year round through the web, they are more likely to use them even on dates when this activity isn’t permissible.

Hartig said that in Rideau-Vanier, consumer fireworks are most often used when young people are drinking and partying.

This is precisely what happened in Steven’s case when he threw a party at the house he was renting to celebrate the end of his summer job.

“Let me duly note that I – the law abiding host – did not bring or shoot the fireworks, but one of my irresponsible young whipsnapper guests did, and fired said fireworks without my knowledge,” Steven said.

By the time Bylaw Services arrived, the guests who had set off the fireworks were nowhere to be found, and Steven was stuck with the $400 bill.

By: Laurene Jardin

If you’re worried about being mistakenly issued a parking ticket, avoid Ottawa’s downtown in January or March.

Data collected through the city’s open database show that Somerset Ward had the most complaints for wrongly charged parking tickets in both 2013 and 2014.

Small business owner Woody Baidoun said that the he was not surprised that downtown had the most complaints. He said that the fear of parking downtown is hurting his business.

“The city must lower the price of parking,” he said.

People parked in Somerset were 15 times more likely to complain about being wrongly issued a parking ticket in 2014. Those parked in Rideau-Vanier were four times more likely to file a complaint, making Ottawa’s downtown an uninviting place for drivers who need to find a parking spot.

Catherine McKenney, councillor of Somerset ward, declined to comment on the issue.

Mathieu Fleury, councillor of Rideau-Vanier, said that the number of complaints in his ward could be largely attributed to being both residents and the 43 000 students from University of Ottawa.

“It’s also the economic hub of Ottawa,” Fleury said.

There were 1006 complaints in the city last year. This number could be even greater, since many who have been wrongly ticketed often don’t file a formal complaint. Chris Waterston, a resident of Rideau-Vanier ward is one of them.

“I’ve never bothered contest a ticket its never worth the time,” said Waterston.

Waterston’s girlfriend lives in Somerset and he is no stranger to parking tickets.

A parking ticket in Ottawa can cost anything from $35 to $450. If paid within two weeks the fine is typically lower.

“It blows my mind. It’s like they’re trying to give you an incentive to not contest the ticket,” said Waterston.

“A fine is a fine. If you pay if late you get fees added on. That’s it.”

Defence attorney, Dylan Jones said unless it is a serious violation–such as parking in an accessibility parking spot or double parking—contesting a parking ticket is typically not worth it.

“Really, who do parking tickets benefit? No one. It’s a relatively harmless infraction and it hurts merchants,” Jones said.

Baidoun, who manages Alla Moda Hair & Esthetics on Bank Street, agreed.

Baidoun laughed half-heartedly as he remembered the time one of his clients got a ticket, despite still having money in the parking meter. At her next appointment Baidoun’s client expressed her frustration and told him she had contested her ticket and won.

“I’m just lucky she’s a loyal customer,” Baidoun said.  “Maybe it’s happened to others who don’t come back.”

Baidoun fears that his business is losing money because people won’t bother paying for parking and risk getting a ticket. Instead he said they’ll go to a mall where the parking is free.

“It’s downtown. It should be busy. It’s what we expect,” Baidoun said. “But it’s not, because parking is difficult.”

Sticker parking is offered year round for residents of both wards. On heavy snow days the city bans overnight parking.

Waterston said that people are left stranded when there is an overnight parking ban because the city offers no other parking zone for those who need street parking. This makes those who don’t have a driveway more vulnerable to getting tickets.

“You’re pretty much left off at Schitt’s Creek,” said Waterston.

March and January were the months with the most complaints in 2014 and 2013.

The city could not say why the trend occurred in these months.

Rideau-Vanier ward had the highest number of complaints in Ottawa about roads and sidewalks for the month of February. The city received 18 complaints from residents of the ward.

Home to the busy ByWard Market as well as residential areas Lowertown and Sandy Hill, Rideau-Vanier has a large population of residents and visitors going through it every day.

Kitchissippi ward was in second place with 15 complaints, and Alta Vista had 12.

Source: the City of Ottawa

According to the city’s website, this category can cover general road and sidewalk maintenance, such as potholes on the road; excessive snow on the road; things being in the way of people trying to pass, and some illegal parking issues.

Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury says road complaints are different depending on the areas of his ward.
“We’re fortunate because the ByWard Market is one of the highest-priority areas in the city for road maintenance,” says Fleury. “Where it gets difficult is in the residential areas outside of that.”

Delaney Dunlop is a wheelchair user who lives in the ward. She says her perceptions match up with Fleury’s when it comes to snow removal, but that there are ups and downs to living where she does.

“Living basically in the market was a godsend because they try to keep the sidewalks as clean as possible,” says Dunlop.

However, Dunlop says she finds sidewalk maintenance is not what it could be and prompt snow removal isn’t the only problem that costs her.

“This is a new wheelchair,” says Dunlop. “I’ve only had it a few months and I’ve already had the front fork replaced. I know this is from hitting holes and high sidewalks.

Coun. Fleury agrees this type of maintenance can be hit-and-miss depending on where you are in the ward and what the city sees as a priority.

For example, Fleury says Transitway stations are another problem. “The stations themselves tend to be well-maintained, but getting to the station can be a problem,” says Fleury, adding that the worst offender in this regard, according to what he has heard, is Laurier station.

Map of wards sorted by complaints

Fleury adds that while some of the complaints may come about because of people parking where they should not in front of businesses, that’s not really his concern.

“Some people certainly do seem to think they should have their own personal parking spot in front of a house or business,” says Fleury.

But as a councillor, his work will focus on reducing unnecessary congestion.

To that end, he says one of his priorities for the year is to review winter cycling and try to make space for more cyclists in the ward.

“As of right now all we have are the Laurier bike lanes,” Fleury says.

He says he believes this will make more space for pedestrians as well.

“My concern is to make winter walking and cycling safe for everyone.”

The residents of Rideau-Vanier are not happy with the garbage collection service in their neighbourhoods and want the city to act.

According to City of Ottawa Open Data Catalog, in August 2014 highest number of garbage related service request calls came from the ward and the residents say the problem still continues.

Scattered garbage bins in front of a house in Nelson Street, Photo: Sharif Hasan

Marie-Gauthier, who has been living in the ward’s Sandy Hill neighbourhood since 1992 said, “The garbage problem isn’t sparing us. In fact, it’s getting worse every year.”

“There’s a high amount of garbage turn out and there are some people who don’t follow the system. So, it stays out for quite a while,” she added.

She complained that the city is not proactive enough to consider the growing number of people in the ward, which is contributing to the deterioration of the situation.

In August 2014, the total number of garbage collection related calls made from this ward was 70, which was 42 in the same month of the previous year.

A total of 817 calls were made from the 23 wards of Ottawa city in August 2014. The second highest number of calls came from Baarhaven while the lowest number of calls was made from Stittsville-Kanata West.

In August 2013, a total of 845 calls were made and College ward ranked number one whereas the lowest number of calls came from Kanata North.

Ward councillor Mathieu Fleury said that this is not unusual to have as many as 70 calls as the Rideau-Vanier is one of the most densely populated wards of the city. He also said that he appreciates the fact that people are making calls to keep their neighbourhood clean.

“It’s good that the residents are reporting the problems and I would like to work with them in order to improve the quality of life in the area.”

“I understand people want weekly garbage pick-up but we don’t have the workforce needed for that,” he added.

Fleury also said that the residents should maintain diversion bins and bag their garbage properly to get some relief from the problem.

Jakir Talukder, a PhD candidate at Ottawa University said that garbage collection has been a constant problem for the area and there is no action in sight.

“Many people blame it on the students who mostly live in the rental properties in the neighbourhood but it’s the responsibility of the city to find some kind of solution,” he said.

Talukder has recently moved to an apartment in Prince of Wales neighbourhood and feels happy that he does not have to worry about his trash any more.

Walter Robinson, the former chief of staff to Mayor O’Brien said in an e-mail that there are many reasons why people make the 311 calls. It could be a missed or late collection or a missing or damaged bin that people wanted to report.

He also said that 70 calls out of 817 constitute only 9 per cent of the total calls received by the service department. Therefore it should not be inferred that the service is really bad.

However, Gauthier said that garbage collection is a big issue and the city needs to address the problem seriously.

“They should do something about this before the summer. I fear what’s going to happen when it gets warm. Cats, raccoons, they all create such a mess and it smells horrible,” she said.

The strangest thing that Sharon MacKeil has seen turn up on her doorstep was a couple holding a milk pail full of puppies. They had discovered the eight two-week old animals abandoned in a forested area in Ottawa. “We called them ‘the bucket puppies’,” MacKeil said, “It was just sheer luck that they were out walking and found them”.

MacKeil is the president of the Bytown Association for Rescued Kanines (or B.A.R.K, for short), a registered charity and rescue foundation in Ottawa that helps find foster homes for abandoned or stray animals. She said that the ‘bucket puppies’ are one of the rarer rescues that has been brought to the shelter, but certainly not one of the first.

Stray or abandoned animals are one of the many reasons Ottawa bylaw officers get calls to go out into the field. According to 311 Service Request data from the City of Ottawa, the number of animal complaints in the city averaged almost 3000 in the June to August period of 2013 and 2014.

Source: City of Ottawa 311 Service Request data June-August 2013

Source: City of Ottawa 311 Service Request data June-August 2014

“We also often get complaints for dogs at large, people not picking up feces and dog bites,” said Eric Boivin, a bylaw enforcement supervisor at the City of Ottawa. He said that the busiest period is between April and October, when the weather is warm and more people are outside with their pets.

Rideau-Vanier was the ward with the highest number of complaints, with 226 complaints in the summer of 2013 and 214 for the same time period in 2014.

Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury had one idea why his ward might have higher animal complaints. Last summer, Riverain and Richelieu Parks adopted an off-leash policy. “Some residents aren’t used to the new policy yet, and they call 311 to complain about dogs roaming,” said Fleury.

The warm nights of summer can result in another problem.

Frisky, unsterilized pets increase the chance of animal complaints as they are more likely to roam and have multiple litters. This increases the number of stray animals and abandoned litters in the city.

“We have a bit of a problem with education and people not spaying or neutering their pets,” Mackeil said, often due to the price tag. In its 2013 report, The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies stated that the number of unsterilized animals taken into shelters can indicate the trend in society. Only three to five per cent of strays had been spayed or neutered, according to the report.

B.A.R.K helps foster over 100 dogs per year. The website for the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) says it takes in over 10,000 animals per year.

OHS is the main partner with the City of Ottawa in dealing with complaints of a stray, abandoned or mistreated animal. If the animal appears abandoned or lost, the society’s “Lost and Found” team attempts to contact the owner. If the owner can’t be found or doesn’t want to pick up their pet, the society holds the animal for three days and then puts them up for adoption.

Ontario has the highest number of humane society and SPCA shelters in Canada, according to the CFHS report. Over 85 per cent of animals in shelters are strays or animals that have been given up by their owner.

Springtime in Ottawa means temperatures are rising, snow is melting and graffiti artists are spray painting – at least the latter is what residents could expect this season, according to the most recent city data. 

In 2014, between March 20 and June 20, the city received 506 graffiti-related complaints including reports of vandalism, offensive words and hate messages. This is up 106 per cent from the 246 complaints made during the same period in 2013.

Graffiti complaints were the highest in Rideau-Vanier, where 311 calls rose from 24 to 96. In Kitchissippi, calls increased from 24 to 79 calls, the second highest number of complaints.

But in both wards the biggest problem is tagging: graffiti artists who spray paint their nickname or symbol just about anywhere they can.

Rev. Doug Stringer of the Vanier Community Church knows firsthand what it’s like to be a target. Last year, one of the church’s yellow brick walls became a notepad for a local tagger.

“It was too inviting to be left alone,” Stringer said. “There didn’t seem to be a message of hate or criticism or ridicule. It seemed to be someone who wanted to express themselves and this was a good place for it.”

Stringer said the tagging in Vanier “just demonstrates a lack of pride in the community” and “a lack of respect for what others see as important.”

Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury said that he isn’t surprised his ward has the highest number of graffiti complaints since it’s the most dense in the city.

“We have the ByWard market, the University of Ottawa and several high schools,” said Fleury. “The sheer interaction that is happening with a lot of people travelling through make it an easy target.”

Last spring, residential properties along Rideau Street and Laurier Avenue were aggressively tagged.  The more visible the graffiti, the more likely Fleury said he’ll see a spike in complaints.

But Fleury doesn’t think that graffiti is necessarily a “bad thing.” He said the city wants to collaborate more with local artists, even those whose pick up a spray can instead of a brush.

“That’s why we launched the Paint It Up! Program where we established locations to have graffiti walls,” said Fleury. “If we know there is some visual appeal for a specific location, why not make it into a piece of art?”

Kitchissippi councillor Jeff Leiper said that there doesn’t seem to be a “huge demand” for graffiti designated spaces in his ward.

“Those who are putting their tags on buildings are not necessarily going to take advantage of a wall that is for graffiti,” said Leiper. “Their point it to go where they aren’t supposed to be going.”

Leiper said last spring, one tagger climbed scaffolding beside a six-storey building on Wellington Street and spray painted letters almost two metres tall. 

“We saw a very visible acceleration in the number of tags that were going up last year until August,” said Leiper. 

He said that development signs in his ward were a target for what he calls “protest graffiti” against intensification and he saw a peak in spray painted swastikas.

One way Leiper thinks his ward can deter tagging is by covering up “big, tempting graffiti targets” like Bell Canada utility boxes. Last fall, Hintonburg painter Daniel Martelock turned the grey boxes into a work of art.

“When you take the time to get them nice and painted up, the taggers will leave them alone,” Leiper said. 

Both Fleury and Leiper say that it has been a “quiet winter” for graffiti complaints in their wards. But if last year’s pattern repeats itself, both councillors might be dealing with frustrated residents and a big clean up in the coming months. 

Graffiti topped the list of complaints of vandalism to the city of Ottawa in December last year.

All 33 complaints of vandalism received in December 2013 were related to graffiti and all 45 received in 2014 were also graffiti related.

“Most of the reports on graffiti last year were gang tagging,” said Mathieu Fleury, Councillor for Rideau Vanier. “The problem of graffiti is not widespread in the residential areas.” He said most of these vandalisms take place at parking lots and other places where there are not many people and this makes it difficult for the culprits to be brought to book.

Fleury’s ward topped the list of complaints. He said the Rideau Vanier Ward topped the list because it is the most densely populated area in Ottawa and the surge in gang activities might have also been responsible for the increase.

He said it it was also difficult to control such acts of vandalism because most of the perpetrators commit such acts at a time nobody is watching them. “I have no control over it and we have to depend on complaints to get rid of such unauthorized graffiti especially offensive ones,” he said.

The City of Ottawa passed the graffiti management law in 2008. Under the law, all city property are to remain graffiti free and culprits face a fine of up to $ 610. “This is to prevent people from drawing on any free space in the city,” said Catherine William the new project coordinator for the Graffiti Management program. Under the program, any graffiti reported to the city will be removed by the city and the culprit pays for the removal in addition to the fine.

The city’s “Paint up” project which seeks to replace vandalism through graffiti with mural paintings is still running. “Under the paint up project, individuals or groups could come to the city and engage in mural paintings which will be supervised by the city,” William said. “Because there is a financial package involved, it is hoped more youth will get involved in this and avoid graffiti vandalism.” William said even though Ottawa’s problem with graffiti is not as bad as other major cities like Toronto and Montreal, programs such as the paint up will help reduce graffiti vandalism. She said the city will be hosting annual Anti Graffiti Symposium dubbed TAGS 2015 conference later this year where other cities in the country will learn from each other how to tackle the issue of graffiti vandalism.

Under the graffiti management law, any resident whose property has been vandalized has to pay for the removal of the graffiti. Even though William admits, this could make innocent citizens pay for the crime of others, “unfortunately, it is the law,” she said. “The city can discuss how best the issue can be handled with the owner,” she added. She said even though the city can do little about that, discussing the issue can bring out some solutions. “That is why we urge everybody to call 3-1-1 when they notice something,” she said.

Fleury also admits this aspect of the law could be harsh but said the law and other programs like paint up are ways graffiti vandalism can be resolved. “We are open as a city to all forms of discussions but we must also work within the confines of the law,” he said.

The Vanier Community Church has been vandalized with graffiti three times within the last two years. Officials of the church had not responded to requests for interview at the time of filing this report

The nation’s capital may be a hotspot for up and coming restaurants, but two Ottawa eateries are racking up food violations according to the municipal body that regulates inspections.

Feleena’s, a Mexican food restaurant in the Glebe, and Stella Osteria, an Italian restaurant in the Byward Market, have accumulated 30 violations each according to data made available by Ottawa Public Health.

Ottawa Public Health is the regulatory body that monitors restaurants in the city. They are mandated under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act.

The 30 violations mean that the restaurants were “not in compliance” with the Health Protection and Promotions Act.

When it comes to food violation reports, ‘not in compliance’ violations can be critical or not critical, explains Brenda, who did not give her full name, from Ottawa Public Health. “We always use the example of a broken floor tile, that’s a non-critical. Does it have a direct impact in possibly or probably having a negative outcome of food preparation? Less likely.”

Critical infractions include uncooked foods, foods not refrigerated, and contaminated foods.

“When there is a deficiency we will go back and have a reassess date to make sure a restaurant corrects it,” states Kathy Downey, a project manager at Ottawa Public Health, Food Safety and Safe Water.

The most recent report of Feleena’s states the restaurant was in compliance with the Act, but Stella Osteria’s report was not.

Stella Osteria’s most recent ‘not in compliance’ violation was on January 19, 2015. The report issued was a non-critical violation of “sanitation, design and maintenance”. The last critical report for the restaurant was July 2014, when raw foods were not separated from ready-to-eat foods.

Stella Osteria and Feleena’s are not the only Ottawa restaurants with public health violations. Below are the top offenders in Ottawa:

The critical hazardous food infraction poses a serious health threat to restaurant goers.

“As a chef you have the task of feeding people delicious and exciting meals, but most importantly, you have the responsibility of making sure your food is safe,” states Ariana Emond, a student at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Ottawa.

According to the Food Pages website, Stella Osteria is ranked the #10 restaurant in Ottawa.

Although critical infractions are corrected immediately by the health inspector on site, Downey states that there are implications for repeat offenders such as Feleena’s and Stella Osteria.

“We do have a strategy in place that we would issue a Provincial Offense Notice, which is a ticket,” states Downey.

Each ticket has a fine which is threatening to the restaurant.

Implementing fines are just one way that Ottawa Public Health has been cracking down on Ottawa restaurants.

Legal action has been taken against repeat offenders, states Downey. In the past, some high-risk food establishments have been forced to shut down.

“A consumer going into a restaurant should expect that the restaurant is safe to eat and should expect that it is operating in compliance with regulations,” states Downey.

“The important things by far are the quality of the food, the quality of the service and the hospitality that a restaurant offers me,” states Anne DesBrisay, Ottawa food critic and author of Capital Dining. “It’s cleanliness, it’s a distance between whether it looks like it needs a fresh coat of paint of whether the washrooms look like they haven’t been cleaned in a week.”

Ottawa Public Health encourages patrons to phone in when they notice a potential health or safety risk.

“By not following food safety regulations you risk not only losing customers or even your business, but also any respect you’ve gained and worked for in the industry,” states Emond.

Scroll below to see the Top 25 Ottawa restaurants with violations.

Winter cyclists and the city of Ottawa are hopeful that more bike-targeted snow removal next winter will increase the falling number of winter bike trips in the capital.

According to Ottawa Public Health, winter temperatures have been plummeting consistently in the city and the number of frostbite warnings and advisories have been rising.

In 2010, the city of Ottawa implemented sensors to track the amount of daily bike trips on various paths throughout the city, particularly in the city’s core. These sensors provide a window into the changes in winter bike traffic.

According to data obtained from the city of Ottawa’s open data catalog, winter bike trips in the capital appear to be dropping — at least on the paths with reliable winter sensors.

Michael Napiorkowski from the Ottawa Bicycle Lanes Project, says the cold may be stopping more bikers, but it’s often more of a psychological barrier than a physical one.

“I rode my bicycle everyday so far this winter… in a simple parka, toque, kakis with long johns and ordinary winter boots. I was never cold,” he says.

Alex deVries, from Citizens for Safe Cycling in Ottawa, says despite the cold temperatures — which are out of anyone’s control — one of the main barriers for winter cyclists in Ottawa is the lack of snow removal.

Though the data above is taken from winter-cleared paths, cyclists still face a lack of snow removal on connecting paths and side streets, he says.

“The city of Ottawa has no policy on clearing bike lanes, they’re usually treated as a place to store snow, so that makes it very difficult for me to find space to bike,” he says.

DeVries says there are certain paths that are extremely viable for commuting in the summer that aren’t available in the winter.

He says the numbers are always going to be lower in the winter than in the summer but that the decrease doesn’t have to be so drastic.

“We do it to ourselves. If we had proper snow removal techniques, it doesn’t matter what the temperature is, we would have much higher participation rates.”

Jeff Leiper, councilor for the Kitchissippi ward in Ottawa, says the city has committed to making it easier for cyclists to continue biking year-round.

“There are definitely gaps in the winter cycling network that are making it tougher for people to make that decision to bike in the winter,” he says.

Which is why — as part of their 2013 cycling plan — the city will begin clearing additional bike paths and lanes throughout the city next winter.

The plan proposes to eventually double the amount of winter-maintained cycling lanes from 21 kilometers to 40.

Next year’s improved winter maintenance will act as trial, and will be an opportunity for the city to see if snow clearing can increase the number of winter cyclists in Ottawa.

“Cycling year-round is a really important part of creating a sustainable city… and those that chose to drive or bus will face less congested roads, which is good for the city overall,” says Leiper.

He says city streets will continue to become more congested as light-rail construction continues, and that clearing more bike paths will allow those who want to brave the cold to do so.

“I hope that even if the winters keep getting colder, that making it easier for people to get from point A to point B by bike is going to encourage more people to do so,” he says.

“When the streets are cleared and you’re dressed properly, it’s actually a great way to get to work.”

By Evelyn Harford

Coyote-human conflict complaints are up 59 per cent in the City of Ottawa. Recently released city data shows that coyotes are spreading and concentrating throughout the city.

The reported conflicts have concentrated in areas bordering Ottawa’s Greenbelt—-a large, protected green space separating rural and urban Ottawa.

New complaints are popping up in Ottawa’s inner-city illustrating the coyotes’ increasing encroachment into urban areas.

“In recent years coyotes do seem to be more common across most urban areas of the province,” said Brent Patterson, an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry wildlife researcher and coyote expert.

The City of Ottawa recognizes the regional increase in coyote populations over the last four or five years.

CITY OF OTTAWA COYOTE COMPLAINTS BETWEEN NOVEMBER 2014-FEBRUARY 2015

CITY OF OTTAWA COYOTE COMPLAINTS BETWEEN NOVEMBER 2013-FEBRUARY 2014

“Coyotes have proven themselves to be quite adaptable. They will persist in suburban and urban areas when given even the smallest amount of green space,” said Amy MacPherson, a planner within the City of Ottawa Planning and Growth Management Department.

We see big spikes in coyote travel and mating patterns in the fall and winter months said Patterson. This is why between November and February it is more likely residents will come into contact with coyotes.

Coyotes use the Greenbelt to travel between the rural and urban areas of Ottawa said MacPherson. She explained that these travel patterns could be the reason for complaint concentrations along the Greenbelt.

John Brown’s suburban house backs on to Ottawa’s Greenbelt—he’s seen coyotes before through his kitchen window.

“It was very, very mangy and covered in mud and dirt,” said Brown. “It was a fairly large animal. We actually we’re sure whether it was a large dog or a coyote.”

With it being such a long winter, Brown suspected the coyotes are venturing close to humans to find food.

“Existing family groups that may part of their territory in urban areas, may spend more time in urban areas because deep snow causes mice and other prey to be covered. The deep snow also makes it harder to get around,” agreed Patterson.

The increase in human-coyote complaints does not raise alarm bells for the City. Ottawa recognizes the increase in urban coyote population as a normal part of city-dwelling.

While MacPherson acknowledges that she doesn’t encourage petting the coyotes, she does indicate that better human-wildlife connection is necessary especially when animals are occupying populated human areas.

“Not every wildlife encounter is a conflict and we’re trying people to move towards a willingness to co-exit with wildlife,” she said.

City’s Wildlife Strategy is trying to accomplish this.

“Wildlife are here, they live with the city, not just in the natural areas that everyone recognizes as habitats, they live in the neighborhoods, in our suburbs and urban areas,” she said. “They’re not going away. They need food water and shelter and they’re going to look for those things.”

Although human contact with coyotes is generally safe, Patterson said, “Coyotes are predators’ and they need to be respected as a carnivore and potentially dangerous animal.”

Allan Hubley, councillor of Kanata South said that he has not received complaints of coyotes from residents despite his ward having the third highest complaint rate in the city.

“People who live along the Greenbelt for a while learn to respect nature,” he said.

Even if residents’ took issue with an increase in the coyote population, the responsibility for coyote population management lies with the province’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, said Hubley.

While the responsibility is downloaded onto the province, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is not able to control coyote populations.

“There is not a lot we can do to directly manipulate coyote numbers,” said Patterson. “Beyond tracking numbers, we don’t really get involved.”

Ottawa city officials are focused on education and prevention to foster greater human-wildlife co-operation. But according to the City of Ottawa Wildlife Strategy the City does not currently have staff position to devoted to wildlife issues and management.