Rideau-Rockcliffe may be one ward on the Ottawa map. It is not one homogenous community on the ground.
At one end sits Rockcliffe Park — one of the wealthiest postal codes in the country, home to embassies, Rideau Hall, and some of the lowest population density and highest median incomes in Ottawa.
At the other end sits Overbrook — a neighbourhood the City's own socio-economic classification places in the lowest of five tiers in the city, where roughly a third of residents spend more than 30% of their income on shelter, where home ownership is the exception rather than the rule, and where the housing stock needs repair at a higher rate than the city average.
One councillor represents both. That's not a criticism of any individual — it's a structural fact about how this ward was drawn, and it's worth naming plainly before we talk about anything else.
The numbers, side by side:
Ward-wide, the average after-tax income sits below the Ottawa average — not because every neighbourhood in the ward is struggling, but because the ward blends one of the city's richest communities with one of its poorest and reports the average as if that tells you something useful about either one.
Overbrook: 64% of residents rent rather than own. Roughly a third spend more than 30% of income on housing. Eight percent of dwellings need major repairs — higher than the city average.
Rockcliffe Park: among the lowest population density and highest incomes anywhere in Ottawa.
When a ward contains both a neighbourhood fighting for its next affordable-housing unit and a neighbourhood where that fight is simply not part of daily life, "ward-wide priorities" stop meaning very much.
A single set of talking points cannot serve both realities honestly.
What this actually calls for:
This isn't an argument for more studies or another layer of committee oversight — Ottawa has plenty of both. It's an argument for a councillor who treats these as two distinct communities with two distinct sets of needs, and says so plainly, rather than defaulting to mealy language that sounds good everywhere and changes nothing anywhere.
The need behind these numbers isn't hypothetical.
North-South Development Roots and Culture Canada, which delivers youth safety and community programming in the ward, recently confirmed to me directly that it secured three years of funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. A multi-year commitment like that doesn't happen for a problem that's marginal or temporary — it happens because the underlying need is real, ongoing, and persistent.
That's exactly the kind of sustained investment the south end of this ward requires, and it should be a standing City priority, not something that depends on which outside funder happens to say yes in a given year.
Overbrook residents don't need to be talked about in the abstract language of "equity" — they need transit that actually runs on time, housing stock that gets repaired, and a councillor who shows up to the Overbrook Community Centre with the same regularity as the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association speaker series.
I live in this ward. I know both ends of it, not as talking points but as neighbourhoods I actually walk through. The job isn't to smooth over the differences between Rockcliffe Park and Overbrook with unifying language — it's to be honest that they're different, and to make sure the end of the ward with fewer resources doesn't keep getting the smaller share of attention because it has the smaller share of political capital.
— Peter Karwacki
I will not quit, like King did.
This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently, vote wisely. Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe.
Long before Ward 13, before City Hall, before Rawlson King's voting record, I spent years fighting a different institution over a different river.
In the mid-2000s, a stretch of the Kipawa River — one of the best whitewater runs in the country — was under threat from a hydro project that would have gutted its flow. I wasn't a lawyer, a lobbyist, or an elected official. I was one of a small group of paddlers who decided that "someone else will handle it" wasn't good enough. We went to court. We lost more than we won. We kept going anyway.
I bring this up now, in the middle of a council campaign, for a specific reason: if you want to know whether a challenger's promises about accountability are real, don't read the platform. Look at what they were doing when nobody was watching and there was nothing to gain.
Here's what that fight looked like:
The evidence, not the emotion. Every argument I made about Kipawa was built on flow data, court filings, and documented commitments — not appeals to sympathy. That's the same approach behind the posts on this blog about the $95M landfill purchase, the Police Services Board's oversight record, or OC Transpo's reliability numbers. I still don't ask you to trust my read on a situation. I show you the vote tally and the dollar figure and let you check it yourself.
A willingness to keep pushing after losing. The Kipawa case didn't end with a win. It ended with a process I still think was handled badly, and I said so publicly at the time, knowing it wouldn't make me popular with anyone inside that process. Twenty years later, the instinct hasn't changed. Being outvoted, or told this "isn't the right time," has never been a signal to me that the question was wrong.
Institutions protecting themselves before they protect the public. The pattern I saw in that fight — process captured by the people who are supposed to be guarding it — is the exact pattern I've written about here regarding the oversight office that was quietly wound down, or the audit findings that took years to surface. I didn't learn this lesson from a campaign strategist. I learned it on a riverbank, watching how slowly and reluctantly a powerful institution moves when the public interest and its own interest point in different directions.
I'm not telling you this story to relive an old fight. I'm telling you because Ward 13 residents deserve more than a candidate's word that he'll hold City Hall accountable. You deserve a track record. Mine happens to start on a river most people have never heard of, and it's been consistent every year since — public housing, transit reliability, police oversight, and now the ward I live in.
The fight is never really about the river, or the landfill, or the intersection. It's about whether the people asking the hard questions get to keep asking them, or get worn down until they stop. I haven't stopped yet.
— Peter Karwacki
I will not quit, like King did.
This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently, vote wisely. Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe.
I met Rawlson King who would not shake my hand. "You are a racist" he said.
So there is that. It is ironic this was at the Japanese fair. For example, Japan is 97% ethnic Japanese, not allowing immigrants. The Japanese have their own word, Gaijin for foreigners.
It is also ironic that the government of Canada incarcerated 50,000 Japanese Canadians, also confiscating their property. Mercifully there was post war redress. Now this was real racism and it was perpetrated by our own government!
We were both there enjoying the fair.
So I was not surprised that Ottawa's first black councillor would raise that as an objection in 2026. If anti-racism is your big tool, every problem you see is racism.
In a rush of blood to the head I was able to confidently say, " you obviously do not know me at all"
My criticism of Councillor King has always been about his votes and his decisions — the police board resignation, the landfill purchase, OC Transpo's budget record. Notably pandering and his illogical position on the proposed East End Crossing. It goes on.
I asked him directly what specifically concerned him, and he referred to my use of ai caricatures but I have now taken the initiative to remove anything remotely questionable.
If I offended him, I apologize.
But, I also will not quit, like King did.
This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently, vote wisely. Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe.
July 4 – October 26, 2026 (Ottawa Municipal Election Day)
A running list of community events, recurring programs, and key election dates for Ward 13 — Rideau-Rockcliffe. This list will be updated as more dates are confirmed. If you know of a community association event that should be here, get in touch.
Ongoing Through Summer
Rideau-Rockcliffe News, Events and Engagement Opportunities
Join the TD Summer Reading Club at the Ottawa Public Library - June 29 to August 22
TD Summer Reading Club is back this year with the exciting theme Dive In!
From June 29 to August 22, children aged 4 to 12 can explore fun, water-themed learning activities—both online and in branches. Registration is now open. Explore the program and register your children for activities that will engage, inspire and spark their curiosity!
Teen Staycation: A Summer of Skills, Fun, and Growth: Teens aged 13 and up can look forward to a fun and enriching summer at OPL. Teen Staycation offers a variety of creative and educational opportunities, both online and in-branch, that helps teens develop valuable skills, discover new interests, and thrive. Explore our summer programming for teens!
A Company of Fools presents A Midsummer Night's Dream - June 29 to August 15
Dates
Event
Location
June 23 – Aug 17
Pack your picnic blankets and prepare to sail away as a Company of Fools brings you to the shores of the Greek islands! This year the Fools are setting Shakespeare’s most famous comedy against a backdrop inspired by seaside revelry, moonlit dances, and the toe tapping energy of your favourite 70’s disco (you may feel an inexplicable urge to clap along, and we encourage you to follow that feeling!). A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a tale of love, magic, and mischief.
Opening night takes place in Strathcona Park on June 29 from 7 to 8:30 pm.
Shows continue at parks across Ottawa including in and near Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward:
Strathcona on July 6 at 7 pm
Beechwood Cemetery on July 13 at 7 pm
Strathcona Park on July 20 at 7 pm
Nault Park on July 23 at 7 pm
Strathcona Park on July 27 at 7 pm
Strathcona Park on August 3 at 7 pm
Strathcona Park on August 10 at 7 pm
Stanley Park/New Edinburgh Park on August 14 at 7 pm
For the full schedule and more details, please visit www.fools.ca/a-midsummer-nights-dream-2026
525 Côté Street
Pools and Splash Pads Water is spurting out of a City of Ottawa splash pad. The sun is hitting the water and creating rainbows. Looking for ways to beat the heat? Ottawa's supervised beaches are open daily from noon to 7 pm, and outdoor pools, wading pools, and splash pads are opening across the city for the summer season. Before you head out, check opening dates, hours, and locations for beaches, pools, wading pools, and splash pads on the City of Ottawa's website. Wading pools in and near Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward. Alvin Heights Park wading pool - June 29 to August 23 Optimiste Park wading pool - June 30 to August 23 St. Laurent Complex Wading Pool - June 22 to August 15 St. Paul's Park Wading Pool - June 29 to August 23 Overbrook Park Wading Pool - June 29 to August 22 Dogs in Wading Pools: At certain locations, while the wading pools are being drained, dogs are welcome to splash and play in the remaining water. This usually amounts to about 15 to 30 cm (six to 12 inches) of water. Details: ottawa.ca In Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward: Overbrook Park wading pool: Tuesdays from 7 to 7:30 pm St. Paul's Park wading pool: Mondays, from 6 to 6:30 pm
Alvin Heights Park wading pool - June 29 to August 23
Optimiste Park wading pool - June 30 to August 23
St. Laurent Complex Wading Pool - June 22 to August 15
St. Paul's Park Wading Pool - June 29 to August 23
Overbrook Park Wading Pool - June 29 to August 22
Splash pads in and near Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward: Eugene Martineau Park - undergoing repairs Veterans' Park - undergoing repairs Wing Officer Willa Walker Park, 305 Lysander Place Thornecliffe Park, 45 Provender Avenue Dr. John Hopps Park, 300 Den Haag Drive Trojan Park, 901 Trojan Avenue Cummings Park, 1060 Cummings Avenue Whiterock Park, 1245 Matheson Road New Edinburgh Park, 203 Stanley Avenue Manor Park, 100 Thornwood Road Lawson Park, 481 Lawson Avenue
June 29– Aug 17
525 Côté Street
June 1 to July 31, 2026
FREE Back to School Supplies!
Kindergarten to Grade 12 For families living in Ward 13 with a postal code of K1K, K1M and some cases K1G. Registration online only! See poster for computer access details.
June 1 to July 31, 2026 Kindergarten to Grade 12 For families living in Ward 13 with a postal code of K1K, K1M and some cases K1G. Registration online only! See poster for computer access details
Rideau-Rockcliffe News, Events and Engagement Opportunities
Rideau-Rockcliffe doesn't need a councillor who's good at events. It needs a councillor who's good at oversight.
Those are not the same skill. One gets you a warm reception at a community barbecue. The other gets you asking the right question before council signs off on a $95 million landfill purchase that was appraised at $23 million. Ottawa is a $5 billion-a-year operation. That is not a figure of speech — it is the size of the organization our ward's one vote at the council table is supposed to help steer. You don't steer that by showing up.
Attendance is not accountability.
I've been to the same events. I know the buffet circuit — the ribbon cuttings, the community association AGMs, the seasonal socials. They matter. They're where you meet your neighbours and hear what's actually breaking in their lives. But they are not where a $5 billion budget gets examined, and they are not where oversight failures get caught. A councillor who treats the circuit as the job has confused being liked with doing the work.
municipal legislators must always exercise significant and vigilant due diligence, particularly on big projects that the public cannot be expected to follow in detail.
Although the LRT project was approved in 2013, before I arrived on council, in hindsight, I wish I had asked more detailed questions and requested clearer answers earlier than I did. I acknowledge this shortcoming in part because I believe we need to build a greater culture of accountability at city hall.
An independent police workplace investigations office — created in 2022 specifically to fix a documented pattern of harassment and misconduct failures — was quietly shut down in 2023. The Police Services Board wasn't consulted. Members found out the day of their regular meeting.
In May 2026, the city's own auditor general found OPS reporting to the board contained flat-out inaccuracies, including outdated figures on the body-camera program. The auditor's word for it was "vague." An oversight board can only oversee what it's accurately told.
Council approved a $95 million purchase of a landfill site assembled for roughly $8 million, negotiated behind closed doors under an NDA, on a 20–5 vote.
OC Transpo has racked up years of missed performance targets against a backdrop of newsletters listing votes, motions, and commitments — activity without a matching improvement in service.
None of that gets fixed by attending more things. It gets fixed by a councillor who reads the reports, asks who verified the numbers, and is willing to be the one dissenting vote when the room wants to move on.
Popularity and governance pull in different directions.
A popularity contest rewards the councillor who never makes anyone uncomfortable. Serious governance sometimes requires exactly that — asking the question nobody at the head table wants asked, holding up a vote that everyone else is ready to wave through, telling a community association its process advantages incumbents even when that's an unwelcome thing to say to the room that just fed you dinner.
I'm not running to be liked by everyone in Rideau-Rockcliffe. I'm running because this ward, and this city, has real problems that don't get solved by charm: flooding basements with no coordinated protocol, a transit system that's been "improving" on paper for years while riders wait longer, a police oversight structure that keeps discovering after the fact what it should have known in advance, and a ward boundary that keeps producing outcomes nobody voted for.
What I'm asking of Rideau-Rockcliffe
Vote for the person who will read the budget line by line, not the person who remembers your name at the potluck. Those aren't mutually exclusive in theory — but when a ward has to choose, and it does, choose the one who takes the $5 billion seriously. That's the job. Everything else is garnish.
I know this is a harder case to make than it should be. It has been easier for Councillor King to keep this ward comfortable than it has been for me to convince residents they've been made comfortable on purpose. Trust, once given, doesn't ask to be re-examined — it just sits there, quietly renewed every October. Asking you to look again at a vote you've already cast three times is a bigger ask than "trust me" ever is. I'm making it anyway, because the budget and the oversight failures don't get smaller while we wait for that to feel easy.
I know that few people even watched the debate between the King and I. Bottom Line...
I will not quit, but King did.
This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently, vote wisely. Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe.
A Rockcliffe former councillor, Nussbaum at the NCC, said
the image of “the capital that fun forgot” no longer rings [notentirely anyway] true
He said this while citing the commission’s work to animate the region’s shorelines, paths and parkways, alongside the work of other organizations in the city.
If Toby was still our councillor I probably would not be running against him.
The changes and innovation at the NCC have been very good in my opinion.
Cities lack the kind of independent officers who act as checks on the executive branch in other levels of government. So, while federal legislators can turn to a Parliamentary Budget Office or the extensive assets of the Library of Parliament for independent policy analysis and research, municipal legislators have no such resources.
This has two implications.
The first is that the municipal public service must scrupulously carry out its statutory obligation to “undertake research and provide advice to council on the policies and programs of the municipality” without fear or favour. This is admittedly easier said than done. One can imagine that providing advice to council that contradicts the public statements or positions of the mayor (such as “on time, on budget”) would make for awkward moments.
Yet this is the obligation that the Ontario Municipal Act has imposed on city managers and their senior officials.
The second implication is that municipal legislators must always exercise significant and vigilant due diligence, particularly on big projects that the public cannot be expected to follow in detail.
Although the LRT project was approved in 2013, before I arrived on council, in hindsight, I wish I had asked more detailed questions and requested clearer answers earlier than I did. I acknowledge this shortcoming in part because I believe we need to build a greater culture of accountability at city hall.
We are extremely fortunate in the City of Ottawa to have a workforce of dedicated and conscientious staff who serve the residents of our city with professionalism. The public expects neither municipal employees nor their elected officials to be perfect. The public does expect, however, that when mistakes of consequence or misleading statements are made, those in positions of responsibility account for them.
Protecting and promoting the public interest is what binds the executive and legislative branches of government together. For that shared objective to be achieved, we need to constantly be guided by shared principles of transparency and accountability along with a strong dose of courage and humility.
Nothing short of public trust in the democratic process is at stake.
By inflating a man made weir/ u, communities can transform shallow, rocky rivers like the Rideau into deep ponds suitable for swimming, rowing, and fishing during dry summer months.
Inflatable weirs (also known as rubber dams) are flexible, air- or water-filled membranes anchored to riverbeds to raise water levels for recreation. They are widely used in urban and natural environments to create deep flat-water reservoirs for swimming and boating, or to power adjustable rapids for whitewater kayaking and surfing.
Unlike fixed concrete weirs, inflatable dams can be completely deflated during heavy rain to allow floodwaters and debris to pass safely. They also allow easier sediment management and can be lowered to safely pass migratory fish.
The Pumphouse: Just around the corner from the Canadian War Museum in downtown Ottawa, is highly utilized by the Ottawa River Runners for slalom and whitewater kayaking. They worked countless volunteer hours to make this a reality against a backdrop of institutional inertia.
• Flat-Water Pools:By inflating the dam, communities can transform shallow, rocky rivers into deep ponds suitable for swimming, rowing, and fishing during dry summer months. • Adjustable Whitewater:Specially engineered inflatable spillway gates allow engineers to adjust the height of the weir in minutes, altering river flows to create standing waves for surfers and play-features for whitewater kayakers. • Environmental & Flood Safety:Unlike fixed concrete weirs, inflatable dams can be completely deflated during heavy rain to allow floodwaters and debris to pass safely. They also allow easier sediment management and can be lowered to safely pass migratory fish. For those located in the Ottawa region, while large-scale inflatable weirs are primarily municipal, you can experience natural and dam-regulated whitewater and floating recreation nearby: • The Pumphouse • Madawaska River & Ottawa River:Located just west of Ottawa/Gatineau, resorts like Wilderness Tours(located in Foresters Falls) and the Madawaska Kanu Centreoffer extensive commercial inflatable water parks, guided white-water rafting, and kayak training. Implementing an inflatable weir or recreation project on the Rideau River along the Overbrook shorelinepresents a unique mix of high community potential and strict seasonal, environmental, and structural constraints.
Because this specific stretch of the Rideau river runs past Riverain Park, the Rideau Sports Centre, and dense residential pockets, any transformation must balance park use with intense spring environmental factors.
The Overbrook Rideau River Footprint The primary zone for potential recreation spans from the Hurdman/417 bridge areadown past the Adàwe Crossingto Beechwood Avenue.
Installing a municipal inflatable weir in this specific section is theoretically possible but complicated due to the following factors: • The Summer Shallows (The Opportunity):Local paddlers note that the river near the 417 bridge and the Rideau Sports Centregets incredibly shallow and rocky during July and August. A temporary summer inflation could raise the water level by 1 to 1.5 metres, creating a reliable, deep urban flat-water loop perfect for stand-up paddleboarding, canoeing, and recreational kayaking between Hurdman and New Edinburgh.
• The Spring Ice Blasting Conflict (The Massive Challenge):Every late February, the City of Ottawa conducts aggressive annual ice-breaking and dynamite blastingoperations starting from the Rideau Falls Dam Complexup through Overbrook to Billings Bridge. This prevents catastrophic spring flooding in Overbrook and New Edinburgh. • Any rubber weir bladder anchored to the riverbed would risk severe structural damage from the shifting ice sheets, amphibious excavators, and explosive charges unless it was thoroughly deflated and armored flat against the riverbed before winter freeze-up.
Without installing heavy permanent or semi-permanent infrastructure like dams, several high-impact recreational activations are highly possible and frequently discussed for Overbrook's waterfront: • Expanded Public Launch Infrastructure:While the Rideau Sports Centreoffers private access and rentals, constructing a dedicated, accessible public dock or beach-style launch at Riverain Parkwould dramatically open up the river for local paddlers. • Seasonal Inflatable Water Parks:Instead of a structural weir inthe riverbed, the city or a private partner could anchor a seasonal, floating inflatable playground (similar to the commercial park at Wilderness Tours) right off the shores of Riverain Parkduring low-flow summer months. • Eco-Tourism & Heritage Trails:The shorelines of Overbrook feature rich natural environments and historical paths (celebrated locally by initiatives like the Poets' Pathway). Enhancing the shoreline paths with viewing decks, urban fishing platforms (targeting the river's native sportfish), and educational signage regarding the Rideau Waterway UNESCO World Heritage Sitestatus is easily achievable.
When I first ran for office in 2019, it was Nussbaum, not King, that set the standard to which I aspire.
I am asking Rideau Rockcliffe to imagine what is possible as well as what is necessary and what is needed.
I will not quit.
This time around, inform yourselves, vote differently, vote wisely. Vote for Peter Karwacki for Rideau Rockcliffe
