But the reforms were the right ones, they were done in the right order, they took real political courage to do so, and they were done before anybody was forced to do them, which is the whole point and the reason the capital’s example is worth examining. You can’t fix our housing problems overnight, and there is no single magic button to push that solves what is a complicated and varied regulatory challenge. Ottawa will only find out whether any of it worked around 2028, when the projects conceived under the new by-law finish. Sutcliffe has to face the voters this autumn, long before the evidence arrives, which is the usual reward for governing on a longer horizon than the electoral one. But the mayor, and the city, deserve some real credit on this front and everyone should hope that these reforms succeed. If they do, Ottawa will become a quiet and sensible model for fixing the housing problems that plague us all over the country.