From the Ottawa Citizen:
What happened to Chinatown? We were abandoned | Opinion
Jane Harley: The image of a child stepping over a discarded syringe is not hyperbole - it is our reality.Author of the article:
By Jane Harley, Opinion column
Published Apr 11, 2026
Jane Harley walks around her Chinatown neighbourhood in Ottawa. Jane is concerned about the open drug use and dealing which have become a daily backdrop in her neighbourhood. Discarded paraphernalia litters the sidewalks, and erratic, aggressive behaviour has risen from an occasional occurrence to one that is commonplace. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA
For years, Ottawa’s Chinatown neighbourhood has been a place of culture, vibrant small businesses, and involved residents who take pride in their community. But that pride is eroding as frustration and compassion fatigue set in.
Open drug use and dealing have become a daily backdrop in our neighbourhood, discarded paraphernalia litters the sidewalks, and erratic, aggressive behaviour has risen from an occasional occurrence to one that is commonplace. The result is not just disorder; it is the sadness associated with the slow, grinding abandonment of a community that once felt safe.
And instead of solutions, we hear blame. The left accuses the right of wanting punitive crackdowns that ignore root causes; the right accuses the centre of being soft and indecisive; the centre seems to think the problem is someone else’s to solve. City and provincial officials bicker and point fingers as the federal government passes the buck.
Meanwhile, residents watch the debate play out like a theatre of excuses while our community deteriorates. Ideology has become a shield against responsibility, and the people who pay the price are those of us who live here.
The city’s promises about active transportation and safe, walkable neighbourhoods ring hollow when parents are told their children cannot safely walk a few hundred metres to school. This came front and centre earlier this year when the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority’s new “Community Hazard Zone” designation formally recognized what residents have been reluctant to admit to until recently: our neighbourhood has been abandoned. Children who should be walking to Devonshire Community Public School, Cambridge Street Community Public School, and St. Anthony Elementary School are now being offered bus service because the neighbourhood is deemed a risk to “student security and peace of mind,” a devastating admission. It means the failure of municipal and provincial systems – policing, bylaw enforcement, public maintenance and outreach, alongside health and housing – has been translated into a policy that changes how children move through their own community.
A man can barely stand up on Somerset Street in Ottawa. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA
Spring reveals what winter hides. As the snow receded, sidewalks and laneways revealed the remnants of a crisis: crack pipes, needles, and other paraphernalia. These are not abstract statistics; they are physical reminders that the problem is present and proximate to where all of us play and walk. The image of a child stepping over a discarded syringe is not hyperbole — it is our reality.
Residents are not asking for miracles. We are asking for consistent, accountable action: a visible, sustained on-foot police presence focused on community safety; rigorous bylaw enforcement on abandoned properties and chronic disorder; increased maintenance of parks and laneways; coordinated outreach and accelerated supportive housing for people living on the street; and last, but most importantly, municipal scrutiny of institutions whose operating models contribute to street-level harms. These are tools the City and province already have. They require will, coordination, and timelines – not finger-pointing.
Chinatown has been left to crumble while elected officials trade blame. The consequences are being pushed down to children, who now qualify for bus service to schools a few hundred metres from their homes. As the snow melts and the streets reveal what has been hidden, we must ask: are our streets really safe for kids?
If the answer is no, then the time for pointing fingers is over.