Should Ottawa remove the Vacant Unit Tax? Mayoral candidate Alex Lawson says, if elected this Fall, he will scrap it. It was implemented back in 2022 – an annual 1 percent tax on residential properties that are left vacant. City Council brought it in as a way to address Ottawa’s housing shortage, but the reception has been mixed at times. And in December of 2025, the municipality said just over 16,000 previously vacant units had been returned to the market between 2022 and 2023. Lawson joins Kristy Cameron in Hour 1. Meantime, The Royal has opened its new urgent care facility – the Minto Greenberg Urgent Care Clinic. It is the only centre of its kind in Eastern Ontario, offering rapid assessment to anyone who is experiencing a mental health crisis. And just a few hours into Opening Day, the clinic was already full. We check in with Stephanie Carter, the Executive Director of Clinical Services at The Royal. But first, we bring you up to speed on today’s top headlines.