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OTTAWA’S PUBLIC SAFETY PROBLEM HAS A GENDERED DIMENSION

Tomorrow is election day in Ottawa; the culmination of five months of ruthless campaigns and tough conversations across the city. 

Safety has been a central theme this election year, but safety for whom? 

The City of Ottawa experienced exponential increases in the frequency of instances of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide. The City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) states that the largest rise in that period occurred from 2024 to 2025, in which the city experienced a nine per cent increase in reported gendered violence statistics.

This jump is especially notable given that GBV is notoriously underreported since perpetrators usually occupy a position of power in the victim’s life. In some cases, the material well-being of a victim is contingent on them remaining silent. 

Under former Mayor Jim Watson, council unanimously passed the 2021-2031 Community Well-Being and Safety Plan, which lists GBV as one of its seven priorities, indicating the issue was known to City Hall prior to the election of Mark Sutcliffe in 2022.

Five years later, it’s unclear how much severity the Sutcliffe administration affords the issue. CAWI claims Sutcliffe does not consider the intersectionality of transit, affordable housing, and GBV.

On Sept. 25th, the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW) hosted the Safer Together Forum alongside CAWI to bring together mayoral candidates to discuss their plans to address gender-based violence in the city. Six candidates attended the forum, including incumbent Mark Sutcliffe, alongside challengers Jeff Leiper, Neil Saravanamuttoo, Alex Lawson, Ali Shayvard, and Zed Chebib.

Sutcliffe’s housing plans raise GVS survivor safety concerns

“In a lot of ways the city is under stress from a lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, and the difficulty of finding stable employment that can actually pay the bills,” said Meg Herod, co-executive director of CAWI. “When cities and communities are under stress, we tend to see a rise in GBV.”

“To me, the administration can and needs to do more to ensure the safety of its residents, even more so as we navigate these times of economic uncertainty,” Herod added.

During the forum, Sutcliffe recognized how crucial accessible and affordable housing is for victims of gender-based assaults, proposing a plan to build 650 supportive units during his term. This number would represent “more than double the pace that [the City of Ottawa was] originally planning to build housing units because we need to support vulnerable people.” 

However, early in October, the Sutcliffe campaign released an advertisement that states they would “move immediately to clear encampments,” a promise which could hold disastrous implications for those attempting to flee abusive environments.

While some shelters and community centers are available, these spaces are often at capacity and present unique dangers in their own right. Furthermore, these centers are often inadequate options for those with pets, physical impairments, or other extenuating circumstances. This leaves camping as one of the few options available to victims of GBV. Sutcliffe’s promise to immediately clear encampments could force GBV victims back into abusive environments.

Sutcliffe also mentioned his desire to discontinue the practice of placing displaced families in hotels and motels, which he says are a “completely inappropriate space for them.” He then announced that he plans to leverage increased commitments towards social housing to supplement these spaces. Such statements raise concerns among GBV survivors, as eliminating encampments or hotels without concrete alternatives could ultimately leave more victims exposed amid the housing crisis.

This lack of concentration towards the interconnected nature of housing and GBV is exactly what Herod fears: “If Sutcliffe serves another term, I sincerely hope he makes the connection that [GBV] prevention is not an isolated issue, but rather it relies on an interconnected system of supports and resources.”

GBV survivors face limited alternatives amid concerns over OPS misconduct

The organizers maintained an explicit interest in what non-policing alternatives the candidates proposed, as research continues to indicate that traditional reactive methods of addressing crime are inadequate in addressing the structural causes of GBV. 

Mistrust in public policing and their ability to address GBV was amplified in April after it was revealed that Ottawa Police Services (OPS) Const. Andrew Reesor improperly used law enforcement resources to conduct 44 unauthorized database searches on women he found attractive. Reesor was then suspended with pay.

Within the organization, complaints from female constables regarding the conduct of their male counterparts continued to accumulate. OPS police chief Eric Stubbs released an internal video to his staff on May 8 that stated that staff were abusing their power in a manner “that can’t be tolerated,” before offering them the ultimatum of changing their ways, or quitting. This puts the onus entirely on bad actors to reveal themselves, rather than on the force itself to pursue disciplinary action. 

This warning appears to have fallen on deaf ears, however, as the conduct of two more officers had to be publicized for the force to take action. Const. Tyler Hawkins resigned July 1 after being suspended with pay on May 28, following allegations that he had created a fake social media account to pursue vulnerable women he encountered during service, and had made sexual advances towards female constables in his unit. 

Another constable was indicted by the Ontario court on charges of intimate partner violence and retired on July 10. 

Figures like Matthew Cox, who were credibly accused of sexual assault in August, remain prominent, with Cox serving as the president of the Ottawa Police Association (OPA). Seeing as Sutcliffe did not publicly comment on any of these instances, attendees of the forum were curious to hear his proposals to address GBV amidst the continuous failures of the OPS.

While Sutcliffe expressed a desire for “everybody in Ottawa to not only be safe, but to feel safe,” his answers failed to address the Alternate Neighbourhood Crisis Response service (ANCHOR). ANCHOR is a city-led community initiative which provides alternative mental health and addiction services, and whose role grows increasingly imperative amid repeated police misconduct. 

This lack of attention towards non-police alternatives was also noted by the organizers of the forum. “There appears to be limited familiarity with non-policing approaches to safety,” said Astara van der Jagt, executive director of OCTEVAW. “Despite decades of community-based work demonstrating why prevention, social supports, and community-led solutions matter.”

Sutcliffe’s commitments to GBV services remain unclear

The forum asked candidates whether they would increase funding to organizations such as OCTEVAW, CAWI, and countless others. These organizations conduct extensive on-the-ground work and are often the only resource available to victims of GBV. However, 72.5 per cent of them cited inadequate city funding as their primary obstacle to providing their services.

“I think we need to look at the funding for the organizations that are doing great work in the community,” said Sutcliffe. The incumbent mayor then cited his volunteer work with United Way East Ontario prior to being elected, and how that organization ensured “there was support for [the] organizations that are deploying programs and services to help the most vulnerable in our community.”

Sutcliffe’s response did not address any gender-based organizations, and did not provide a figure as to how much he proposed to increase funding for these organizations.

The Fulcrum contacted the Sutcliffe campaign for specific figures on the funding he plans to allocate to these organizations, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

For victims and survivors of GBV, the stakes of a municipal election extend beyond that of the price of a bus fare, or the commitments made to developers, to whether the city will consider their safety and well-being. 

Sutcliffe claims to offer bolstered commitments in supportive and affordable housing. However, his ambiguity and lack of urgency is something that victims can ill afford.