Late last week, GM of City Planning, Marcia Wallace, provided Councillor Curry a memo which Minto had shared 7 days previously reporting that work would commence with small equipment, 3 pieces, moving surface earth for ‘test pits’. She reported staff inspectors were visiting the KGC site. Not quite so. They couldn’t quite see the activity from the property they were standing on. Councillor Curry, on the other hand, was forwarding her pictures of multiple excavators and hi-hoes sent in by neighbours. More of the same this week. The gravel delivered to the clubhouse parking lot last Friday (for the ‘test pits’ we were told) was really to build the road (required to build the ‘test pits’). That last and most important part didn’t get to the community. How does this happen?
Take a deep breath and a step back. Late last week, GM of City Planning, Marcia Wallace, provided Councillor Curry a memo which Minto had shared 7 days previously reporting that work would commence with small equipment, 3 pieces, moving surface earth for ‘test pits’. She reported staff inspectors were visiting the KGC site. Not quite so. They couldn’t quite see the activity from the property they were standing on. Councillor Curry, on the other hand, was forwarding her pictures of multiple excavators and hi-hoes sent in by neighbours. More of the same this week. The gravel delivered to the clubhouse parking lot last Friday (for the ‘test pits’ we were told) was really to build the road (required to build the ‘test pits’). That last and most important part didn’t get to the community. How does this happen?
The role of a city and particularly the staff is that of an administrator ( think apolitical, even-handed). And so, they advise parties that deal with them of 
the regulations, by-laws and resulting limitations and how to work fairly within them. ClubLink as a landowner and taxpayer has the ability and entitlement to pursue property change including development. Right now, they are telling the city that this latest work is part of their efforts to meet the 192 development conditions established by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) decision, foremost among them, the design and development of a functional stormwater management plan. The city, as an administrator, must allow them to do that and accept their reasonable submissions in that regard until such a time as they are shown to be beyond scope, regulation or damaging to its residents or other properties or some nefarious act is occurring. This is difficult for the city given its stated opposition to the development plan. Quite simply, that is where we find ourselves over the past 10 days – watching the city trying to balance its position on the fence. The city accepts that the work slated to be done is reasonable until such a time as it fails to be so. That’s why we believe third party oversight and monitoring is essential to managing this situation to a good end.
Do not jump to the conclusion that the city is not doing anything
We believe city staff are engaged and working. They need to act fairly in their administrative role while working to avoid the trap of legal lawsuits that the developers are setting should it overstep in opposition and act prematurely. Were the city to rush in to stop the development, although we certainly are concerned about the risks being taken specifically on the mercury contamination issue, these developers will call their lawyers first and ‘foul’ second. This is not a win for the community. In a court of law, our community will not get the alternative solutions to this complex problem that we want. We need the city to continue its valid opposition to this development and to find alternative and lasting solutions. Having said that, we will continue to remind you to send your terrible pictures to cathy.curry@ottawa.ca You can title the email…“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!”
Newsletter from Councillor Curry – February 23, 2026
This is the absolute latest from the Councillor. We cannot say it any better 
and so we have included it here. Read and reread it. It is vintage Curry. Straight to the point and caring. She gets it, but has not missed a punch in this fight either. We can say that because we see just about every email and hear about every call. We are incredibly fortunate to have her in our corner. Once again, you need to sign up at her website if you are not getting these updates. You must remember, city information goes to her and then the KGPC. She and her team are diligent in sharing it… but they do know first!
What is the KGPC doing?
Full disclosure, last week we tried to vacation in Mexico. Cartels were no issue. Minto was filling the inbox and What’s App. We did accomplish some opposition from the beach. A letter sent by our environmental engineer Steve Quigley to the city reminded staff that there has been no mitigation of the mercury risks and the current exercise is troubling and risking community health.
Over the weekend the KGPC responded to the GM Wallace letter to Councillor Curry of February 20 and copied our letter broadly at City Hall including 
Mayor Sutcliffe. We highlighted the current, unresolved issues including the abandonment of the precautionary principle (an obligation of municipal governments), lack of baseline safeguards in place for community protection (no municipal notice to afford proper documentation against vibration damage) and the city’s ambiguity with its own authority. We also asked for the creation of a management and communication plan to oversee the ongoing construction (we might as well call it what it is) on the property. We further pushed for the setup of a Community Liaison Oversight Committee that should participate in overseeing the investigative workplan and ensure transparent sharing of the results with the community. We believe this is the minimum that the community deserves to ensure it is well informed and able to manage the risk it is being subjected to. We will let you know what we hear.
On the matter of property protection, we have a retired geologist in our community (Peter Fransham, PhD) who has offered up a step-by-step process to assess and record the state of a private residence. This short version is one that homeowners can easily use to create photographic evidence of the state of their property that could assist in identifying future damage. He does have a longer version available, which is more on the scale that a home inspector would use. Reach out if you would like to receive it. Thank you Peter!
These are dark times and we understand how upsetting it is for everyone. Know that we continue to work in the background connecting with, building and securing support from other groups along the way. There is strength in numbers. We now have the Kanata North Business Association (KBNA) engaged on this file along with key property owners in the Kanata North Tech Park. They join the National Capital Commission (NCC) in opposing the stormwater risks associated with the development of the KGC lands.
As we wrap up today’s e-news, we do want to offer you an apology. We wish we had the manpower to acknowledge your many dozens of letters and calls with personal updates daily when a situation escalates to this point. As an organization of volunteers, we simply cannot. Our Councillor is better off – she can rely on her team to manage and sort the correspondence and begin responses while she fights the fire. Over here, our small shop is filling the buckets AND running AND pouring them. We hope our efforts help you today and, in hindsight, will prove to be enough to ensure we win this fight. In the meantime, when we need expertise, we have a track record of finding it and hiring it. Help us with a donation to ensure we get exactly what you need when you need it.
Hang in there. You’re with us and we’re with you.
Today, more than ever, we are better together!
Barbara
Chair, Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition
E – chair@ourkanatagreenspace.ca
C – 613.725.4345