Postal service disruption will impact City paper billing, invoicing and notifications

With the ongoing nationwide postal strike, the delivery of City paper billing, invoices and other notifications will be impacted – including water utility bills, property tax bills, invoices, construction notices and traffic-related infractions. Contingency options are available for residents and businesses.  

Property Tax and Water Utility Bills

In the event of a postal service disruption, water utility bills will continue to be issued and the payment due date will remain unchanged. For those who receive their bills by mail, it is recommended to sign up for paperless billing.

The convenience of paperless billing extends beyond any postal disruption. The benefits include:

• Instant access: receive notifications as soon as bills are issued, directly in your inbox.
• Convenience: easily manage and track your billing history online.
• Environmentally friendly: help reduce paper waste and support a more sustainable future.

To enroll in paperless billing, create or log in to your My ServiceOttawa account, navigate to view your Water Utility Bill or Property Tax account and select paperless as your preferred billing method. If this is your first time using this service, you will need a copy of your last bill to complete the registration process. Once registered, you will get an email notification when a bill is ready for viewing, along with the amount, due date and a link to My ServiceOttawa.

Note: Even if you choose not to sign up for paperless billing, registering for My ServiceOttawa allows you to view your property tax and water utility bills online at any time.

Alternatively, contact Revenue Services and one of our agents will be happy to assist with this process:

• Call 613-580-2444 (TTY: 613-580-2401) and select option 1
• Business hours: Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm

Other bill payment options include:

• Financial institution (online, telebanking or in-person)
• Online by credit card
• Pre-authorized debit (PAD)
• In-person at a City of Ottawa Client Service Centre

Accounts Payable

 To mitigate disruptions and receive payments as normal, vendors are encouraged to take advantage of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments. 

Where a vendor is not set up for EFT, AP has the following mitigation options available: 

• In-person pick up at the Ben Franklin Place Client Service Centre (101 Centerpointe Drive) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 3 pm (valid ID required and Proof of employment if picking up on behalf of an organization) 
• Courier service is available for delivery outside of the city limits, AP will review on a case-by-case basis. 
• All cheques not picked up or couriered will be mailed once the labour disruption has ended. 

Please reach out to apayable-cfournisseurs@ottawa.ca if you have any questions or require urgent or legislatively required payments. Thank you for your cooperation during this time. 

General Accounts Receivable Invoices

Accounts receivable invoices will be emailed where possible. If you are expecting an invoice for City services, please contact Accounts Receivable. Payment due dates remain unchanged.

Social Assistance Overpayments

Social Assistance Overpayments can be paid online, through your financial institution, by visiting select Canada Post locations, or at 100 Constellation Drive. Payment due dates remain unchanged.

Parking tickets and provincial offence fines

For speeding tickets, by-law infractions or other offences, these can be paid online or in person or by drop box at a Provincial Offences Court office.

Parking tickets can also be paid in-person at any Client Service Centre and drop boxes, or online through ottawa.ca/poa and ottawa.ca/tickets.  

 Collections

Defaulted Provincial Offences Collection Notices will be emailed where possible.

All newly defaulted fines will receive a phone call where possible and regular collection activities will continue.

Residents can pay:

• Online on ottawa.ca
• In-person at a Provincial Offences Court office
• Over the phone at 613-580-2638, (TTY: 613-580-2401)
• Through pre-authorized debit (PAD)

OC Transpo

Mail delivery of Presto cards will be unavailable during the postal service disruption. Presto cards can be purchased at ticket machines, the Rideau Centre Customer Service Centre and participating Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws, No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore locations.

The Rideau Customer Service Centre and St-Laurent Lost and Found will provide the following services during their business hours:

• Customer pickup for new Park & Ride Passes. Existing customers who do not receive their permit for October can continue to display a September permit.
• Drop-off of EquiPass applications. Approval letters will be sent by email and new EquiPass customers can continue to pick up their Presto cards at the Rideau Customer Service Centre.=
• Drop-off of Para Transpo applications, which can also be delivered in person or by fax to Lifemark.
• Taxi coupons, which must be purchased in advance by phone.

If you require more information, contact OC Transpo Customer Service at 613-560-5000 (Relay Service: 711) or visit octranspo.com.

Employment and Social Services

Ontario Works clients who would normally receive their cheques by mail must pick up their cheques at their regular Employment and Social Service Centre. The most up to date information can be found at ottawa.ca – mail delivery for Ontario Works clients.

Rent Supplement and Housing Allowance programs

During the Canada Post strike Rent Supplement and Housing Allowance payments will not be mailed out—all cheques must be picked up in person. The most up to date information can be found at ottawa.ca – mail delivery for Rent Supplement and Housing Allowance programs.

City construction projects

Stay informed about construction and infrastructure projects by checking out the City’s upcoming traffic impacts page, the  interactive traffic map and incident report tool or call 3-1-1 for updates about when and where construction is happening. You can also stay informed by signing up for project newsletters to receive  selected project updates right to your inbox. To find the project manager for your local infrastructure project, use our handy Planned Construction Projects, interactive map.

Development applications

Public notices announcing new development applications will be published every Saturday in The Ottawa Citizen and Le Droit beginning as early as Saturday, October 4. This will continue for the duration of the work stoppage. You can always review development applications on ottawa.ca.

Development applications will also be announced weekly through a dedicated PSA.

Check ottawa.ca for any further contingencies for the postal service disruptions.

 NEW: Want a lighter way to stay informed? Sign up for the City News weekly round-up newsletter for brief summaries and links to all the updates you may have missed.

For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.