Ottawa's mayor says 'no formal, written offer' from feds for Wellington Street

Negotiations on the future of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill appear to have stalled, more than a year after the federal government and the City of Ottawa began talks on the future of the street.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) tells CTV News Ottawa it has not received a "formal rejection or counter-offer from the city" as part of a draft framework developed in April 2023. However, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says no formal offer has been received by Ottawa City Hall.

"There's been no formal, written offer received from the federal government for Wellington Street," Sutcliffe told Council Wednesday morning.

"Discussions with the federal government on Wellington Street go back to April of 2023. As I disclosed at that time, the federal government approached us and talked about their interest in Wellington Street. They wrote us a letter talking about starting a process, we responded to that letter and then there was a cabinet shuffle and then very little happened after that."

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

The future of Wellington Street has been a hot topic since the start of the so-called "Freedom Convoy" demonstration in January 2022, when the city closed the road to traffic. The city re-opened the road in front of Parliament Hill and outside the Prime Minister's Office to vehicles in April 2023, despite an offer from the government to buy a section of the road with the goal of keeping it permanently closed.

PSPC says Mayor Sutcliffe and the federal government launched formal discussions in April 2023, and the framework "outlines a proposal for a transfer, and includes an offer aligned with PSPC's commitment to ensure that the city is fairly compensated for the transfer."

"The offer is based on an independently appraised value for the street and the costs of mitigating potential impacts of restricting vehicle traffic on Wellington," PSPC said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

"As discussions are ongoing and PSPC has not received a formal rejection or counteroffer from the City, it would not be appropriate to discuss the details of the proposal."

The federal government has cited security concerns as one of the reasons Wellington Street should remain closed to vehicles, and a House of Commons committee has recommended the street should remain permanently closed to vehicles.

"Parliamentary, federal and municipal stakeholders are working together to explore the best ways of ensuring the Parliamentary Precinct campus is more secure and also remains open and accessible for those who work, live in and visit the area," PSPC said. "The future vision of Wellington Street is a key element in these plans, and the City of Ottawa is a key partner in this work."

A spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada Minister Jean-Yves Duclos responded to the mayor's statement about no formal offer for Wellington Street.

“At a time when the City of Ottawa is looking for revenue, it would be up to them to answer why they refuse to continue discussions on the sale of Wellington Street to the federal government," Bertrand Guillaume, the minister's spokesperson, said Wednesday afternoon.

"We hope the municipal administration will continue to work with us to provide the people of Ottawa and Canadians with a parliamentary precinct they can be proud of. Considering the offer has evolved multiples times to meet the changing demands of the city, I found that surprising the city is saying no formal offer has been made.”

A report from City of Ottawa staff in February said the city would need to spend between $4.6 million and $26 million to modify nine downtown intersections to accommodate increased traffic downtown if a section of Wellington Street permanently closed to vehicles.