Deachman: Lowertown's crisis of violence is the entire city's problem

It’s not just up to Ottawa police. City officials and all councillors need to get serious about the problems facing Lowertown and the ByWard Market.

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Published Jun 04, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 4 minute read

The Ottawa Neighbourhood Study points to alarmingly high levels of crime in Lowertown, including the ByWard Market. Photo by Jean Levac /POSTMEDIA NEWS

Listening to Lowertown residents at last week’s Police Services Board meeting describe their recent life experiences was nothing short of heartbreaking.

One woman spoke emotionally about fearing for her life as she finds herself surrounded by levels of violence she’s never before witnessed. Another described Lowertown as Ottawa’s “neglected jewel,” adding that residents needn’t turn on their televisions, because there’s drama on every street corner. “It’s all around us,” she said, “especially the constant show of the sirens of our emergency workers.”

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Sandra Milton, vice-president of the Lowertown Community Association and chair of its safety committee, described a nine-year-old girl finding used and discarded needles, and a shopkeeper closing a business after threats to staff.

Many Lowertown residents are afraid to leave their homes as crime, homelessness and issues related to drug use plague the area.

According to the latest figures from the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study, Lowertown East and Lowertown West, the latter of which includes the ByWard Market, have the highest crime rates in the city, with overall rates of 242.2 and 352.7 crimes per 1,000 residents, respectively, against a citywide rate of 42.2. The combined crime rate of 267.5 crimes per 1,000 Lowertown residents means there was one crime for every four residents. In Lowertown West, the rate of “crimes against the person” — as opposed to property and other crimes — is a staggering 96.6 per 1,000 residents, more than 12 times the city rate of 7.5, or almost one such crime for every 10 residents.

Let that sink in.

So you can appreciate how residents must have felt when they heard that the June 3 opening of the Ottawa Police Service’s Neighbourhood Operations Centre planned for the Rideau Centre has been delayed due to “supply issues.”

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And then — oh, the irony — these same residents learned that the Department of National Defence, the government department that supports the Canadian Armed Forces, will relocate about 1,000 workers from the Cumberland Place office building at 400 Cumberland St. in the market, out of concerns for worker safety. Not because of rats, asbestos, poor ventilation or some other harm common to old office buildings, but because of what’s outside: people.

In a February email obtained by the Citizen, DND urged staff to “remain vigilant” when travelling in the area, and encouraged them to move in pairs and avoid using phones or headphones “in the immediate vicinity.”

These announcements must make residents feel like the cavalry is abandoning them just as the gates are being breached. If DND can’t make a stand there, what chance have they? One woman told the Police Services Board she felt powerless to prevent a young mother who was a tenant of hers from breaking her lease and moving away. Given the circumstances, how could she in good conscience make the woman stay?

I understand residents’ fears. Last summer, curious about the ByWard Market’s nighttime activity following some well-publicized violent incidents, I wandered its streets one Friday evening from about 9 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. The dark storm clouds that threatened the night made things quieter than usual, one Clarence Street resident told me, but things were certainly hopping enough for me.

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I saw Ottawa Inner City Health, police and ambulance workers deal with overdoses — in one case while young male patrons of a nearby pub looked on and mocked. I was surprised to see that the few dozen Shepherds of Good Hope clients and other street-inclined people whom I was accustomed to noticing during the day on Murray and King Edward had ballooned to a much larger crowd, their bustle of need and conflict most certainly alarming neighbours in search of sleep.

The lack of a physical space in the Rideau Centre for an OPS office shouldn’t prevent police from having a greater presence in the ByWard Market, especially one sensitive to and supportive of the challenges the street population faces. According to Lowertown Community Association president Sylvie Bigras, those sorts of officers are currently patrolling the area.

We need more like that.

But the issues in Lowertown and the ByWard Market can’t be solved solely by policing. City officials, not just the elected 24 councillors and the mayor, need to take full ownership of the problem and develop solutions beyond cramped, unsafe shelters and other services that aren’t adequately addressing the crisis. The problems of Lowertown and the ByWard Market aren’t simply the task of the area councillor, Stéphanie Plante, to solve. They’re the entire city’s responsibility.

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There are lots of smart solutions out there. Bigras, for example, would like to see every councillor commit to finding homes in their wards for 50 people in need. Others involved with various Ottawa community associations, social services organizations, church groups and the like have ideas worth discussing. Perhaps these could be focused through a high-level city summit on Lowertown security, with not only recommendations but a real timeline and real commitment of money.

If we took a fraction of the capital we’ve devoted to getting trains to work and spent it on fixing this people problem, we might not be in this predicament. Why not emphasize in the mandate of the new “night mayor” the task of not just jazzing up Ottawa after nightfall, but making it safer to enjoy? Whatever the city does, it needs doing before frustrated and helpless residents follow DND’s cue and abandon this neglected jewel of a neighbourhood for good.

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