Clouds of Issues in Ottawa’s Election forecast
When Jim Watson announced last December that he would not seek a fourth term as Mayor of Ottawa this fall, it appeared as though the LRT would be the dominant issue in this year’s Mayoral campaign.
Now, five months later, a nasty system of several issues darkens the skies above City Hall. And with today being the first day for candidates to legally put their name on the October 24th ballot, it’s time to preview the forecast of raining issues that await the next Mayor and City Council.
Since your scribe is not an expert in telling the difference between stratocumulus and nimbostratus or cirrocumulus clouds, we will give the clouds stuck over City Hall simpler names like: Process, Probity, Public Transit, Policing, Planning, Public Health, and Prosperity.
Process: The strength of our municipal system of government is that it is mostly non-partisan and, in theory, strengthened by informed and vigorous debate. Councillors are elected from wards, but their title is City Councillor and necessitates, again in theory, balanced consideration between ward and city perspectives.
The default “process” of the next council must eschew the ward-centric and Cabinet-style, block voting that has existed for the last decade. And our next Mayor, must have the maturity and humility to accept that losing the odd vote is not a rebuke of his/her leadership, but a reinforcement of a healthy, local democracy.
A different debate and governing tone must be set. Ottawa Council must move beyond its culture of being part of the “governing” club or sitting outside the club house and being treated as an irritant. This is the overarching cloud of Election 2022 … will this cloud dissipate or continue to cloud out better rays of local democratic sunshine.
Probity: One definition of probity is “complete and confirmed integrity.” Synonyms for probity include rectitude or trustworthiness. Have major city decisions met this test?
Consider Ottawa’s 2022 operational budget that forecasts OC Transpo farebox revenue collections at 80% of pre-COVID levels. Look at the losses city taxpayers are racking up on the Lansdowne Park project that were pre-destined before COVID-19 impacts … and now the proponents at the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) want to usher in Lansdowne 2.0 at a “tax neutral” cost of $330 million? Or consider the cost overrun — $65 million and counting — on the city portion of the new main Library slated to occupy at LeBreton Flats.
Do these examples constitute a systemic lack of probity across the bureaucratic and elected level of the City of Ottawa on other projects? Residential and business taxpayers alike cannot run their respective households or businesses with such abandon, nor should our city with its $4 billion annual combined Operating and Capital budgets.
Public Transit: Even if you have never taken LRT since its inception or only experience OC Transpo buses as you yield to them in traffic, you still know that our public transit system is plagued with issues. The LRT could easily be tucked into the cloud of probity, but the enormity of its issues is a big dark cloud unto itself.
A software glitch (just 72 hours after launch), door jams, over-crowded platforms, line welding breaks, dust build-ups on cars, falling wires, side-lined trains, heat issues on the tracks, derailments, and maintenance yard collisions … in total, twenty-six reportable incidents to the Transportation Safety Board since 2019.
A court filing by the Rideau Transit Group claiming the City of Ottawa prematurely launched the LRT in September 2019 — for alleged political purposes as some have insinuated — is just one band of potential rain showers as the provincial LRT inquiry begins later this month. And we are still processing the latest cold front of LRT Phase-2 delays into 2024 and 2025.
Citizens: Please be advised that this cloud comes with repeated severe weather warnings, stay tuned for local weather updates over the next three years or more.
Policing: To be clear, Ottawa Police (OPS) officers leave their homes each day with a singular purpose to serve the public and keep our city safe. However, over 70 OPS officers have been criminally charged in the last seven years and there are a few dozen formal allegations of OPS misconduct.
In addition, several officers have commented to me on a schism between the upper echelon of leadership and the rank-and-file that faces and serves our community each day.
Apprehension and distrust of the OPS exists in some racialized communities, questions persist about law enforcement (and the City’s) handling of the February occupation, we have a depleted Police Services Board that couldn’t even achieve quorum earlier this year to hold a meeting, ongoing debates surrounding “progressive” policing — what is it, how do we transition, what resources will it take — and the search for a new “permanent” Chief make policing a key cloud of city-wide interest on the October ballot.
While this localized system is situated over 474 Elgin, it can impact other geographic, or demographic, communities with little or no notice.
Planning: Ottawa’s Official Plan (OP), passed in October 2021, was heralded as a 25-year blueprint to position Ottawa as North-America’s most liveable, mid-sized city. But the devil is in the details and the Council elected this fall will be tasked with the Zoning By-Law review. This is where the aspirations of the Official Plan meet regulatory rigor and application.
Issues of over-intensification in some communities, lack of an important (aesthetic and environmental) tree canopy in others, and the lofty goal to create 15-minute, walkable areas of living, commerce, and culture — where feasible — will require considered research and debate.
The high winds of housing affordability are now a common feature of planning clouds across Canada and Ottawa is no exception. Aspirants who want to occupy one of the twenty-four seats around the table down at Andew Haydon Hall are advised to spend time reviewing the OP and closely follow land-use debates leading to the June 2nd provincial election that will also impact the future of local community planning and design.
Public Health: Whether one has agreed or disagreed with the edicts and advice from national, provincial, or local public health officials over the past two years, it is impossible to imagine a future where our local Public Health unit is not more integrated and involved in civic decisions.
Dr. Etches and her team need to be resourced appropriately for the next public health emergency. Council should also be provided with periodic briefings on their work — in addition to Board of Health oversight — in immunization, the overdose crisis and harm reduction, restaurant inspections, parenting/prenatal services, and dental screening, just to list few areas of their Public Health impact.
Council, and our local media, also need to understand that public health lives at the intersection of science and ideology (in a positive sense), thus debates in this realm can often be political.
Public Health is not a cloud per se, but how the next Council funds it, respects it, and better incorporates its research and counsel into daily, and long-term city planning is a cloud of uncertainty for sure.
Prosperity: Admittedly, this final cloud is an eternal collection of condensed water vapour issues that will drive business- and community-advocacy efforts in the 2022 Election cycle.
What will become of our main streets and downtown ecosystem as we continue to emerge from COVID-19? What does hybrid work in the federal public service mean for local businesses, use of city services, and the vibe and buzz (or lack thereof) of local streetscapes?
Who is thinking about future re-assessments of downtown commercial complexes or future payments in lieu of taxes on government buildings and potential impacts on the commercial property tax base?
What is the plan to truly diversify Ottawa’s economy to be less reliant on government employment and better leverage our AI, life sciences, and information technology companies?
And where is the leadership to mitigate impacts the recent federal Budget Strategic Policy Review or an inevitable federal workforce restructuring exercise in a future federal budget (or budgets) regardless of the party (Liberal or Conservative) in power?
Ottawa’s resilient business community provides jobs for so many and supports local sports, cultural, and charitable organizations that have been hit hard during the pandemic. Ensuring that the next Mayor and Council are positioned to track, understand, and address the clouds (aka: issues) outlined above is critical.
Citizens, community groups, entrepreneurs, and business leaders have a duty to get involved and shape this year’s elections process which is the most important since the amalgamation of the new Ottawa two decades ago. The vibrancy and future of our city hangs in the balance!
Are we destined for downpours and more grey days, or can a new Mayor and Council help change the forecast and let a bit more sunshine in?
= = = = =
Authors note: Apologies to amateur and professional meteorologists everywhere … 😉
