Ottawa City Council began work Wednesday without its usual morning prayer following a Supreme Court of Canada decision that found such prayers infringe on freedoms of conscience and religion.

Mayor Jim Watson issued a statement within minutes of the high court ruling saying that the city would withhold the prayer and review its practice.

“As the Supreme Court has determined that reciting a prayer may contravene a municipal government’s duty of neutrality on matters of religious belief,” Watson’s statement said, “and as it will take some time to fully assess this lengthy decision, City Council will not say a prayer this morning and will be reviewing this practice to ensure that the City of Ottawa conforms to the Supreme Court’s ruling.”

Council meetings usually begin with the mayor asking people to stand as he recites a short, bilingual prayer: “Almighty God, let us work together to serve all our people.” After a minute of silence, O Canada is sung and the meeting begins. Ottawa adopted the non-denominational prayer in 1999 after a Charter challenge in Penetanguishene struck down the use of the Lord’s Prayer at municipal councils.

In a unanimous decision Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the municipal council in Saguenay, Que. cannot open its meetings with a prayer, saying the practice infringes on freedom of conscience and religion.

Canadian society has evolved and given rise to a ”concept of neutrality according to which the state must not interfere in religion and beliefs,” the judgment said. “The state must instead remain neutral in this regard.”

The decision puts an end to an eight-year legal battle that pitted atheist Alain Simoneau and a secular-rights organization against Saguenay Mayor Jean Tremblay.

In 2011, Quebec’s human rights tribunal ordered an end to the prayers, demanded that a crucifix in the city council chamber be removed and awarded damages to Simoneau.

The Quebec Court of Appeal overturned the tribunal in 2013.

While the Supreme Court ruling only applies to the Quebec Charter of Human Rights, municipal governments in other provinces should be careful, said Carissima Mathen, an associate professor of law at the University of Ottawa.

“It would be a good idea for municipalities to review these kind of statements to see if they meet the duty of religious neutrality,” Mathen said. Even the relatively innocuous, non-denomination prayer in Ottawa could be challenged.

“Even if it’s non-denominational, it’s still a problem vis-à-vis the state’s duty to be religiously neutral,” she said. “Being neutral isn’t just not favouring one religion over another. If you’re sending a signal that it’s better to be religious, that it’s better to pray, then that’s a problem.”

Inviting non-religious people to leave the room during the prayer is not a solution, she said.

“It actually exacerbates the religious discrimination to say ‘Well, you can leave and come back after we’ve done our religious utterance.’ The duty of neutrality promotes a democratic imperative that everyone be able to participate. To suggest that you can just ‘absent’ yourself during the religious process is not appropriate.”

Wednesday’s decision was watched closely by Humanist Canada, a national organization that seeks to separate religion from public policy. It has two similar cases in Ontario — in Peterborough and Grey County — that were on hold pending the Saguenay decision.

“It’s a civil rights issue when law, which was written 100 or 150 years ago, no longer represents the civilian population,” said Humanist Canada president Eric Thomas. “Back then, everyone was protestant or Catholic so if you said a prayer, everyone would go along. Today, the secular nature of our society is that pushing 50 per cent are either atheist or agnostic. This law no longer represents Canada.

“We’re not being critical of religion. We respect you as a person — do what you want to do — but freedom of conscience and freedom of religion has to be applied.”

Thomas said his organization will now be going to council meetings from B.C. to Newfoundland to challenge those that are still saying prayers. It will also target religious symbols such as crucifixes and public buildings and the use of prayers at higher levels of government.

The principles set out in the Supreme Court decision give ammunition to anyone who wants to challenge prayers at a municipal council. But on its own, the decision won’t end prayers in provincial legislatures or the House of Commons because of the parliamentary privilege those bodies enjoy, Mathen said.

Legislators at Queen’s Park say one of several prayers before each day’s session, choosing from a list that includes the Christian Lord’s Prayer and  prayers from other faiths such as Buddhist, Jewish, Native and Baha’i, or even a minute of silent reflection.

In the House of Commons, the Speaker leads MPs in a prayer as set out in procedures and practices before the session is open to the public. The prayer, which was revised and shortened in 1994, begins “God Almighty, we give thanks for the great blessings which have been bestowed on Canada and its citizens …”

(The previous prayer had been unchanged since 1877 and began: “O Lord our heavenly Father, high and mighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Ruler of princes, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth …)

The Senate, too, begins each work day with a prayer.

“Would it be a slam dunk to challenge the prayer in the House of Commons? No,” Mathen said. “But the principles here would still apply and you could argue the principles could apply even more strongly than they would at a lesser level like a municipal council.”

— With files from The Canadian Press

bcrawford@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/getBAC

Related

• Chianello: Supreme Court ruling on prayer echoes through Ottawa's City Hall

Re: Why do people think cars would save Sparks?, April 28.

I appeal to Mayor Jim Watson to fight for the preservation of the Sparks Street Mall with no cars.

Years ago the mall was vibrant with life and despaired as the decline and barren feel crept in. I attribute most of this decline to the removal of the trees and the gathering places around them. As it is now, the only way people can sit and enjoy the sun is if they go to the patio restaurants. Where are the birds and real flowers? And why does CBC turn its back on us? Vancouver’s CBC has a court-stage area where vibrant musical and other events occur and attract passersby.

Related

• Would allowing vehicles onto Sparks bring Ottawa's famous street back from the dead?
• Sutcliffe: Ask the right questions about Sparks Street

The rules that barred the food trucks last year were a big mistake. Having big live shade trees and benches and some tables for public use would invite customers to linger. This could invite viable businesses and certainly would build community for the residents of the new condos. Ottawa city council must find a way to negotiate with the National Capital Commission to make Sparks Street Mall a destination easily accessed by public transit.

No cars please!

Carolyn Herbert, Ottawa

Share your views on this and other topics to the editor by writing to letters@ottawacitizen.com

It’s been a rough week for the Memorial for the Victims of Communism.

First, an EKOS Research poll indicated overwhelming opposition to the memorial, with more than three quarters of respondents from across the country giving it the thumbs down. (In the capital region, where more people are aware of the controversial project, resistance to it was even higher.)

Then on Wednesday, council took the unusual step of passing a motion formally requesting that the federal government move the memorial from its planned location next to the Supreme Court.

So far, neither event appears to be having much influence on the Conservative government’s plans. Cabinet members were unswayed by the poll results, with Heritage Minister Shelly Glover — apparently without irony — referring to the opposition to the memorial as “shallow, improvised rationalizations that sacrifice principle for insensitive political gamesmanship.”

And Glover got into a dust-up in the House of Commons again on Wednesday with Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar over the city’s motion.

“Will the minister do our democracy the honour of actually listening and respecting elected representatives?” asked Dewar in the House. “In other words, will Conservatives change the location of the memorial back to its original site?”

It does not seem so. Glover responded that her government would “be very proud to put that monument in a prominent location, to do just what we promised to do.”

Both events this week highlight the ever-more-voluble opposition to the memorial, but for different reasons. The EKOS survey respondents were reacting mostly to the design — they were shown four artist’s renderings of the massive memorial — and to a lesser extent the idea of the memorial itself. (The poll didn’t ask about the ideals behind the memorial, but it did offer five concepts and asked respondents to rank in terms of priorities. A national library “on a grand scale” and a memorial commemorating injustices against Aboriginal people ranked first, while a memorial to victims of communism came last.)

The city’s motion explicitly and painstakingly dealt only with the location of the site. Moved by Coun. Tobi Nussbaum and fully supported by Mayor Jim Watson — who’s already made opposition to the project known — the motion asks the federal government to find another site for the memorial.

And for good reason. The Conservatives unilaterally decided to move this memorial from a perfectly reasonable site at the Garden of the Provinces to the land beside the Supreme Court, despite decades-long plans to build a federal court on the property (a courthouse, coincidentally, to be named after Pierre Trudeau).

Six councillors voted against the motion, some wondering — and not without justification — whether it was wise to annoy our federal partners with this symbolic, yet powerless statement. After all, the city needs the feds at the table for wee items such as a $1-billion investment in the second phase of LRT.

As much as Watson opined that “good friends can have arguments,” we’ve seen how hard feelings between politicians can negatively affect how this city operates. So ticking off the feds is a risk, certainly.

Other councillors, such as Allan Hubley who is a known Conservative, said this issue “is not our sandbox.” How the federal government develops the heart of the capital has nothing to do with the city, according to the Kanata South councillor.

But Hubley is wrong.

The future federal court site — the location for the proposed memorial — is written into the official Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary and Judicial Precincts. That planning document was the product of years of consultation with national and local stakeholders, architects and urban planners, and was updated and approved by the federal government in 2006.

As Nussbaum pointed out, the city played a critical role in that plan and was one of the key stakeholders who “helped to essentially frame that document that had wide buy in.”

So while the land in question is under federal jurisdiction and the decision for what happens there ultimately rests with the feds, the city has every right to express an opinion on a matter of this magnitude.

As Watson pointed out at council, when the federal government decided to redevelop the Rockcliffe airbase and Tunney’s Pasture, it consulted the public. (He also mentioned that when the city needs to use federal land, it pays for it, while Tribute to Liberty — the private charitable group behind the monument — is getting one of the primest pieces of capital real estate for free. Actually better than free: the government is putting $3 million into the project.)

But for this memorial, the government summarily changed long-term plans with the stroke of a pen, a move that would change the spirit of the ceremonial route in the nation’s capital forever.

“Most Canadians, most Ottawans would agree that Confederation Boulevard is our most important street,” said Watson. “And to have this massive monument that is almost as big as the National War Memorial and put in a place that is completely out of character and out of size for that site is the wrong decision. And I think that we’re totally within out right to offer our perspective.”

Coun. Rick Chiarelli, who voted against the motion, suggested residents who oppose the memorial contact their MPs. It’s an excellent idea.

With files from Lee Berthiaume

jchianello@ottawacitizen.com

Don’t derail important memorial project

Re: Most Canadians oppose communism victims memorial: poll, May 25.

This Citizen article on Monday mentioned Coun. Tobi Nussbaum’s plans to introduce the motion in city council (which was passed on Wednesday) to move the Memorial to the Victims of Communism from its planned site next to the Supreme Court to another location. The reason is the site is on land that has been reserved for a new judicial building. It may interest readers to know that the West Memorial Building across Wellington Street from the planned site for this memorial has been empty for about 10 years. It was last occupied by Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces, but has remained vacant because of asbestos in the building.

The East Memorial Building was rebuilt a few decades ago and is now used by the Justice Department. The same can be done with the West Memorial Building, rather than building a new office tower on Wellington Street. I should mention that the East and West Memorial Buildings were built as a monument to our soldiers and veterans. Building a new building when there is already a vacant building across the street is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

During the years 1945-1956, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, refugees, political exiles found refuge in Canada to escape Soviet Communism. Some already had experience of Soviet rule in the gulags and prisons of Siberia. More recently, Vietnamese “boat people” fled Southeast Asia to find sanctuary in Canada from Communism. This is an important part of Canadian history much in the same tradition as the American loyalists who came to Canada after the American Revolution, African-Americans escaping slavery in the years before the United States Civil War, and Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. These victims helped to build the Canada we know today.

Raising questions about the site of the memorial is an attempt to derail this project.

Myron Momryk, Ottawa

Use a smaller, more meaningful design

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church is situated across from the Supreme Court of Canada on Wellington Street.

At the bottom of the steps leading to the front door sits the sculpture of a hunched figure with an outstretched hand. The small figure is draped in folds of cloth, hiding the face and the pain. This figure represents the lost, the needy, the forgotten of mankind and the hand reaches out for help and touch. Passersby stop in their tracks to take in the deep meaning of this solitary reminder of a suffering world.

The victims of communism would be remembered more by a single monument such as this than the controversial megalith causing so much dissension.

Suzanne Halpenny, Ottawa

I vote for a Peace Park as a better monument

I am opposed to such monuments and would rather have a Peace Park, with grass, flowers and beautiful trees — a rebirth to the human spirit. Most people are fed up with concrete monuments, steps here and there.

Throughout history, there have been terrible wars and regimes involving Christianity, Romans and others invading Britain, Interregnum (1649-1660) England, the Spanish Inquisition, pogroms against Jews in Europe, apartheid in Africa, Nazism, colonialism in the Americas, slavery and Pol Pot in Cambodia, etc.

We can go on and on, but the abiding faith in the goodness and bravery of people who fought these isms should be celebrated with a Peace Park. It would be quite fitting to be close to our Parliament, Court House, and National Archives.

Edna Knight, Ottawa

Memorial left an emotional impression

The proposed memorial is massive, it is expensive, and to me, really has no connection to the victims of communism. The memorial that has made the biggest emotional impression upon me is located on the bank of the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. It is a collection of assorted shoes along the river at a place where Holocaust victims were told to remove their shoes, then were shot and allowed to float away down the river.

Something smaller but with real meaning is certainly preferable for this memorial.

Nancy Moxon, Perth

Different location for monument

An alternative site for the Memorial to the Victims of Communism could be adjacent to the Diefenbunker.

Toni Larsen, Ottawa

Listen to people on victims memorial

Re: Memorial fight rages on, May 28.

It is time for the Conservative government to listen regarding the Memorial to the Victims of Communism. After countless appeals from across the country, and now the vote of Ottawa City Council, the voice of democracy is clear.

Borrowing on the words of Ronald Reagan to the old Soviet regime, it cries resoundingly “Mr. Harper, tear down this wall!”

John Morgan, Ottawa

Monument would spoil the view of Supreme Court

Re: Rest of Canada weighs in on proposed monument, March 26.

I am of Polish origin and a longtime resident of Ottawa (45 years), yet I do not want the Memorial to the Victims of Communism built on the proposed site. I love the view of the Supreme Court, and this would spoil it.

I do not think we need this kind of monument, either — I would much prefer a monument honouring aboriginal people or the importance of waterways to the Ottawa region. However, if it must be built, the Garden of the Provinces was a much better esthetic choice.

Danuta Szachanski, Ottawa

Share your views on this and other topics to the editor by writing to letters@ottawacitizen.com

Via Rail has blown the whistle on blowing the whistle in Barrhaven.

Passenger trains will no longer whistle at the Greenbank Road crossing as of this Saturday at 12:01 a.m., the rail company announced Wednesday.

The move comes nearly a month after Ottawa city council agreed to formally ask that Via Rail trains to stop blowing whistles at the crossing, where a temporary detour has been set up as part of a multi-year construction project.

Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder said last month that the whistle was blowing more than a dozen times a day and could be heard by thousands of people who live nearby, which is why she asked council to request an end to the practice until the construction project is completed at the end of 2017.

In a statement, Via has said it was altering the practice out of respect for council’s wishes.

“VIA Rail and the City of Ottawa have been working closely to ensure public safety and address noise concerns with residents in the area of the Greenbank Road crossing. VIA Rail and the City of Ottawa will monitor activities at and around the crossing to ensure that they support the cessation of train whistling at Greenbank Road,” the company said.

A safety assessment reviewed by the city and Via confirms that whistling is not legally required at the temporary road detour on Greenbank.

But that wasn’t enough to persuade Mayor Jim Watson, who, along with five councillors, did not support the council decision.

Similar whistling cessation bylaws are in effect at other railway crossings within the city limits.

mpearson@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

Post-secondary students will soon be flowing into Ottawa, some for their first time away from home, others after a summer break from their studies.

But the debate over where to put them? It never left.

The latest flashpoint in a battle that pits landlords against neighbours is an unremarkable 1¾-storey house in Courtland Park, a postwar Ottawa neighbourhood between Fisher Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive south of Baseline Road.

A single-family dwelling from the time it was built, 154 Sanford Ave. was sold this year to a developer who began converting the brick-and-frame house to two apartments. What caught the attention of nearby homeowners, however, were the landlord’s Internet rental ads not for two dwelling units, but seven separate bedrooms at $550 to $625 a month in a building “designed with students in mind.”

In sedate, largely single-family Courtland Park, that landed like a beer keg in the begonias. Soon, 180 residents had put their names to a petition that goes to Ottawa city council on Wednesday and asks the city not to approve a rooming house licence for 154 Sanford.

It won’t (not that there is any such application). The students will move in anyway. Here’s why more and more houses are being transformed into private dormitories, and the city has little power to stop them.

Pressing numbers

Growing enrolments are outpacing the construction of on-campus residences and pushing off-campus housing beyond such traditional student enclaves as Sandy Hill, which adjoins the University of Ottawa, and the neighbourhoods that butt up against Algonquin College.

“It started out just in the Ryan Farm, City View area,” says Coun. Rick Chiarelli, whose College ward is named for Algonquin. “Now it has spread to Centrepointe, Bel-Air and now (with the Sanford conversion) to River ward.”

Between them, the University of Ottawa and Carleton University have added more than 14,000 students in the past decade, bringing their combined enrolment to nearly 72,000. Algonquin has been growing at a similar rate, with 21,000 full-time students projected this year in Ottawa and at its smaller campuses in Perth and Pembroke.

The college’s limited supply of on-campus housing is further feeding the expansion of private student residences. “Within a couple of years, Algonquin’s enrolment will be triple what it was seven years ago,” warns Chiarelli, council’s leading opponent of what he says are illegal rooming house conversions.

Sublet subtext

Ottawa’s zoning rules were reworked in 2014 to limit rooming houses to seven rental rooms and restrict such houses to arterial and collector roads. The Sanford house, on its suburban street, could never qualify.

But the rules do not prevent a leaseholder from subletting a dwelling unit to three, or in some cases four, tenants. Nor do they address less-formal arrangements for shared accommodation. The two apartments at 154 Sanford yield seven bedrooms, the maximum allowed in a rooming house. Notes Riley Brockington, councillor for River ward: “The net result is the same.”

A first-term council member, Brockington is struggling not to disparage all young renters — “I don’t want to stereotype students,” he insists, “because students are good people overall” — while acknowledging the fears of neighbours about late-night noise and overflowing garbage cans.

“This is a case where we do have an established community and I do fully support their desire to retain the charm that exists, and I can understand the fears that they have if this gets out of hand because it’s very hard to turn that ship around.”

 Landlord’s view

When city bylaw officers told Adam Sarumi of Urent Ottawa not to advertise individual rooms at 154 Sanford, the developer says he soon found an alternative.

“It’s going to be a rental, rented to one group on one lease,” says Sarumi. “There’s no rooming house. They can call it whatever they want to call it.”

Sarumi and his sister Jennifer operates several properties in west-central Ottawa aimed at students. Their company’s website promises a “quick and easy rental process” and offers would-be renters forms for guarantor and sublet agreements.

The landlord believes private student housing has a bad reputation because of safety issues in poorly converted houses in older neighbourhoods. Urent Ottawa units, he says, are high-end conversions that meet all standards.

“We have a city permit that everything complies to — fire regulations, smoke detectors, everything’s up to code, up to date.”

Closing the loophole

Brockington says he’s still doing research but believes there has to be a way to hold rooming houses to arteries and collector streets and eliminate the subletting loophole.

Chiarelli, meantime, is pressing for a “modest licensing system” for house conversions in college and university neighbourhoods with mandatory inspections to ensure properties meet standards and don’t offer more rooms than bylaws allow. A study he proposed of such measures used in other Ontario cities was to have been complete this year but now has been pushed back to 2017.

“Before that comes we’re stuck in the current situation where bylaw officers have to go out and prove that somebody’s rented out too many rooms. It’s not as easy to do that as it sounds. You may suspect that four rooms are rented or five or six, but it’s hard to get proof of that without, sometimes, a stakeout, stuff like that.”

rbostelaar@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/robt_bostelaar

Budget deficit report received

City council has received the finance and economic development committee’s recommendations on a second-quarter status report that projects a $41-million deficit by the end of 2015.

The projected deficit — caused by costly winter maintenance jobs combined with millions of dollars needed for recent arbitration awards and increased Workplace Safety and Insurance Board charges — added up to $34.5-million. A further $6.8-million shortfall is projected because of lower-than-expected revenues for services such as sewers and water.

During last year’s election campaign, Mayor Jim Watson pledged to hold the line on any tax increase at two per cent throughout his second term if he was re-elected. By law, municipalities may not run a deficit.

Last week, Watson said he was confident the deficit is both short term and manageable. With assessment growing at 1.3 per cent and a two-per-cent tax hike, city revenues will grow by 3.3 per cent, he said.

The finance committee recommended that Watson write to Premier Kathleen Wynne to demand a rebate on all the funds the city has spent on implementing the province’s controversial SAMS social services system for managing welfare payments. The system, which cost $240 million provincewide, has been a disaster for the city, providing misinformation and stressing out social services workers.

Doug Thompson trail

City council has approved renaming the Osgoode multi-use pathway, which runs from Leitrim Road to the village of Osgoode, as the “Doug Thompson Pathway.”

Thompson had a political career that spanned 31 years. In 1984, he was elected as an Osgoode Township councillor and later became Osgoode mayor. After municipal amalgamation, he was elected to three consecutive terms as city councillor for Osgoode ward. Thompson retired in 2014.

Relief is in sight

It will soon be easier to find a public washroom — at least, for those a smartphone on hand.

City council has approved a proposal to create a mobile phone app to direct those in need of a restroom to the nearest public toilet.

City staff is to compile and publish data about public washrooms and third party developers will create the app to map out the user’s location and the nearest open washroom. The proposal from councillors Rick Chiarelli and Jeff Leiper was in response to the Gotta Go Campaign, which has been lobbying for more public washrooms.

Veterans and current members of the Canadian Forces may be allowed to park for free downtown on Remembrance Day if Ottawa Council backs a motion unanimously endorsed Wednesday by the transportation committee.

Vehicles with special licence plates issued to veterans by any provincial or territorial transportation ministry would be allowed to park for free at paid parking spaces on city streets in the vicinity of the National War Memorial and the City Hall parking garage on Nov. 11.

All other posted regulations and time limits for on-street parking will apply.

The city “wishes to send a strong message that the citizens of Ottawa are grateful for the individual sacrifices that veterans have made and remind them that ‘we will not forget,'” reads the motion, which was introduced by Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Michael Qaqish.

mpearson@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

Ontario’s ‘poppy’-themed plates are reserved for veterans and current members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

We sent a survey about the upcoming draft budget to city councillors. We asked them five questions. Here’s how they responded.

1.Mayor Jim Watson is committed to a two per cent tax increase. Are you?
2. Did you campaign on a two per cent increase?
3. What are your budget priorities for your ward and the city?
4. Do you foresee pressures or cuts in the budget? What are your biggest concerns?
5. Did you think the budget process is working? (If not, explain)

Related

• Draft city budget challenge: 2 per cent tax pledge vs. $36M deficit
• Reevely: Ottawa's transit troubles force rethink of LRT's financial plans

Bob Monette, Orléans

1. Yes I am committed to two per cent or less.
2 .Yes, I campaigned on keeping the taxes as low as two per cent or less
3. Infrastructure renewal and LRT to Trim Road.
4. We have committed to finding savings through efficiencies and at this time I have no concerns reaching our goal.
5.  Yes, it is working as it should.

Allan Hubley, Kanata South
1. Yes. I am committed to keeping taxes as low as we can without cutting core services.
2. I did not campaign on a number. I promised to keep taxes low as possible and work to trim costs.
3. I believe we need to do a serious review of our services, programs and standards to eliminate waste. ‎Transportation and transit improvements top of my list.
4. Yes. If we don’t do a serious robust review and make the necessary adjustments we will take on unnecessary debt for our future. The public needs to be involved and informed during the process.
5. Depends on the outcome. Certainly the right steps are included. Now we have to see what effort will be made to reflect what we are hearing. If we don’t do a serious review then the consult was for show and I will be disappointed in the process.

Scott Moffatt, Rideau-Goulbourn
1. Yes.
2. In the two per cent neighbourhood, yes.
3. Funding for road renewal and continuing our commitment to increase our contribution to capital. City-wide, I think we need to focus on needs rather than wants. Last term, we achieved some success on that in divesting ourselves of the Nepean Equestrian facility and Pine View Golf Course. While those opportunities become fewer and further between, we still need to make an effort to reduce spending on items that are non-essential.
4. In past budgets, we’ve found some success by reducing positions at the City through attrition. This needs to continue where possible. While it is unfortunate that Opera Lyra has announced they will cease operations, it does bring attention to the fact that the city provides them with $220,500 in annual operating funding. Similarly, the Great Canadian Theatre Company receives $384,061 in annual operating funds. La Nouvelle Scene has received over $500,000.
5. Yes.

David Chernushenko, Capital
1. It is a good target, but I am not committed to it.
2. No.
3. Beyond the obvious goal of providing the best service possible within existing budgets, and even looking for saving/duplication, my spending priorities are: to shift the balance toward more active transportation and public transit, and away from the current roads/private vehicle priority; increase tree protection and forestry staffing levels; maintain or increase parks lifecycle funding.
4. Yes, it is clear that a variety of wage/contract pressures, unforeseen expenses (weather, benefits awards, etc.) and ongoing inflation in some areas have created a large and growing budget pressure. This is particularly showing itself in some social services, sidewalk and park lifecycle maintenance, and a thousand little cuts/freezes.
5. Yes, and no.  Councillors and the public have plenty of opportunity to give early input and share our views. But we run up against the “two percent” promise and the general “don’t raise my taxes” public sentiment, meaning nothing short of a group initiative by a majority of Council will actually increase the amount of money available through a larger tax increase. This might sell in some wards, but not likely in very many. Hence the “steady as she goes” process.

Mark Taylor, Bay
1.  No. I am committed to a rate of increase that is both responsible for the services residents want balanced with the ability of residents to pay. I am not dedicated to a specific number as an end point. As a starting point I voted to accept the mayor’s motion that a draft be created at a two per cent increase with no service level reductions.
2. No. I campaigned on increases “around the rate of inflation” explaining this was in a one per cent  to three per cent area.
3. For the ward, adequate investment in renewing our older assets people rely on for services (pipes, roads, parks and  playgrounds) as well as local economic development. For the city: Progress on the Light Rail Plan (both Stage 1&2), investments in social infrastructure to help end chronic homelessness and build an age-friendly city and further focus on growing our city-wide economy. I have many other items of concern, but these top the list.
4.  I also foresee the potential for an increase in pressure on our staff, which I am mindful of and have directed (at the finance and economic development committee) management staff to review this to ensure we assist our people in delivering work more efficiently.  In other words, commit to finding creative ways to deliver services while supporting our already hard-working staff without compromising the one of the city’s greatest assets — its people.
5. I do. We should continue to look for ways to engage more residents in the consultation process each year, but the input we get I see makes its way into the draft documents. I think giving senior management a reference point to start a draft at works more efficiently than past efforts where all the ‘needs+wants’ were summarized in a document that would bear an intolerable tax increase burden.

Mathieu Fleury, Rideau-Vanier
1. I think that we need to ensure that tax increases are predictable and affordable, but also allow the city to continue to provide current service levels and explore new ways of delivering service. Our focus is to improve the service delivery for our community while understanding the financial impacts on residents (owners, renters, low income, families, seniors).
2. I campaigned on maintaining tax increases that are affordable and predictable to our community. My biggest focus has been on maintaining the service levels and through engaging the community in those decisions.
3. I would like to see the city provide a greater commitment to the ByWard Market, Montreal Road, active transportation, affordable housing (housing first: to reduce the chronically homeless population and offer a unit with the services that are needed to reduce homeless shelter stays) and removing interprovincial trucks downtown through the tunnel feasibility study.
4. I am concerned that the city will need to reduce services to compensate for the budget pressures. Efficiencies are often hidden and not openly expressed through the budgeting discussions. For example: We only learned of the impact to bylaw services workforce after the last budget was approved. Those types of pressures need to be clearly identified in the budget process so that councillors can make open and transparent decisions.
5. The city recently made important changes to the consultation process. We are now able to hear from residents before the budget draft is released and provide greater input earlier in the process. For our ward, we are in the second year of Budget Speak, a Citizens Academy moderated session that encourages discussion and allows for a participatory process. Also, we are in ongoing discussions with members and organizations from our community about their needs, which helps guide the broader discussion as well.

Michael Qaqish, Gloucester-South Nepean
1. I am committed to keeping taxes as low as possible.
2. I committed to keeping taxes as low as possible.
3. Infrastructure investments in roads to accommodate the continued growth in Gloucester-South Nepean, extension of the O-Train to Riverside South, a recreational complex in Riverside South.
4. I have highlighted my priorities with the city manager and mayor during our preliminary budget meetings. I don’t believe we have a revenue problem. I believe there are many departments where more efficiencies can be found especially on the FTE front. I have been assured that senior management is tackling those this term. I intend to continue working with staff to find efficiencies across the city.
5. I have an open channel of communication with my residents year round and not just when we host a budget consultation meeting. I believe the meetings that the mayor hosts with senior management and each councillor are a good time for us to present our vision and what we have heard from our constituents. I certainly take advantage of that opportunity.

Catherine McKenney, Somerset
1. I am committed to holding the tax rate increase to the level required to maintain our existing services.
2. No. I campaigned on ‘good fiscal management while maintaining the services that are important to residents of Somerset ward.’
3. Safe and comfortable pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, affordable housing, recreation space and programming, greenspace and trees, affordable transit, community services (i.e. day programs for those who are precariously housed), arts and culture, and childcare.
4. My biggest concern is how we as a council will achieve $47m in efficiencies over three years without significant service cuts.
5. The process was changed to reflect some concerns after the 2015 budget. We held our budget consultations prior to the tabling of the budget so that we could hear from residents before the budget was developed.

Keith Egli, Knoxdale-Merivale
1. I have to see the budget, but at this point I believe a 2 percent increase will work. This assumes that we keep a close eye on proposed savings and efficiencies. This is why I directed the city manager to put in place a process to monitor and report on these initiatives in a timely fashion.
2. I campaigned on taxes staying in the two percent range.
3. In the ward I would like to see some road renewal and also some emphasis on revitalizing parks. On a city wide basis I would welcome more police resources for traffic enforcement. Also I have proposed that staff consider some potential changes to how we do things to achieve savings. For example, to look at using green cover other than grass to minimize the need for mowing and weed removal. I hope for a pilot to proceed in 2016. In a similar vein I have asked staff to consider the use of hydro seeding as opposed to sod placement after major infrastructure projects.
4. There will likely be some reorganizing of priorities and also some review of projects. ‎I believe such reviews and discussions are healthy for an organization. Each department should be putting something on the table. I have tasked staff as chair of the transportation committee to consider how we might make snow removal more efficient for the 2015 – 2016 winter and provide a more extensive review of services going forward.
5. I do think the budget process is working. We recently changed it up somewhat to allow councillors to set up their own budget consultations. We have opportunities to‎ meet with both senior staff and the mayor as part of the budget building process. If at the end of the day a councillor is dissatisfied with the tabled budget, there is a clearly defined process to change priorities or projects through advocacy at the budget debates.

George Darouze, Osgoode
1. Yes, I agreed with the mayor and the two per cent tax increase.
2. No, this was not a campaign issue in my ward.
3. I have three major budget priorities:  resurfacing, traffic congestion and park improvements. As a rural ward with over 650 km of roads, my biggest budget priority is the resurfacing of roads in my ward. We have many roads that are in dire need and are crumbling away. We do not have public transit in our ward so roads are of vital importance.  My second priority is the improvement of traffic congestion through intersection modifications and the paving of gravel roads (to help with east-west traffic movement). Finally, I believe that park improvements are important for our aging parks. The city does a great job at designing parks in new subdivision. We must keep in mind all of the aging equipment and facilities we currently have throughout the city.
4. A concern of mine is that we could be taking better care of our aging roads and infrastructure. We cannot stop time, our roads and infrastructure will continue to deteriorate, we just need to be mindful and set aside money to maintain and repair.
5. I felt that this year there was much more opportunity for residents to be involved in the budget process though public consultation and online avenues.

Jan Harder, Barrhaven
1. As you know, council set the tax target through our budget guideline report, so yes. It isn’t up for debate.
2. Yes, protecting core services is important to our taxpayers. We need to do this with a balanced approach and consequently this necessitates an increase. This was the maximum.
3. The ward: South Nepean Collector – Sanitary sewer capacity, sure doesn’t sound sexy but it is most important project and long overdue (Citigate/Costco/Employment Centre);  four new growth parks (Havencrest, Leatherleaf, Mattino, Rivermist);  Safer cycling, pedestrian routes/connections along Greenbank and Strandherd; traffic safety investments;  Design Work starts for Greenbank (Jockvale to Cambrian including new bridge) and Jockvale Road (Cambrian to Prince of Wales).  The city: Infrastructure standards review/Building Better Smarter Suburbs, LRTstage 2 readiness, Employment Land Review – Economic Development investments/partnerships, Building Better Revitalized Neighbourhoods, Ottawa Central Library, 25 new Ottawa police pfficers, more work on Ottawa River Action Plan, continued investment in sanitary and water infrastructure.
4. Do you foresee pressures or cuts in the budget? What are your biggest concerns?
This year Council gave staff a three-year marching order. Staff will look internally for efficiencies. We need to do this before asking our taxpayers to pay more. As well, council needs to uphold our end by sticking to the plan, and this concerns me in that some colleagues may think now is the time to go rogue focusing on their particular ward by advancing projects. That’s no plan and not affordable and totally unfair to the city at large.
5. We changed the budget process this year and it’s not finished, so the question is clearly premature. If we find it hasn’t worked well, we will have a look next year.

Tim Tierney, Beacon Hill-Cyrville
1. Keeping taxes low is important and two per cent is a good target.
2. I campaigned on keeping taxes low, no set rate. That being said, we have a provincial Municipal Property Assessment (MPAC) coming up in 2016, which will have the greatest impact on urban wards (like Beacon Hill-Cyrville) so any increases in taxes have implications.
3. Ward/City related priorities are roads/pathways(multi-use pathways), parks and seniors.
4. The job is not easy. If it was, we would just raise taxes. I will await the final numbers, but if tough decisions are required we will have to make them. Decisions like hiring freezes, car diets and eliminating discretionary spending will help ensure we achieve the mayors target of two per cent or less.
5. Yes, but public consultation is always the best way to gauge what residents consider priority. Over the past years (2010-2014) having regional (Center, East, West, South) meetings have brought small numbers of people. This year we went to the people. In the east, we went to the shopping center allowing us to hear different views. Last council meeting, I inquired about the use of online tools to find out what is of greatest importance is to individuals. (please see www.edmontonbudget.com ). Tools like this allow people to increase or decrease levels of spending in departments based on their home value.

 
Diane Deans,Gloucester-Southgate
1. I am committed to keeping taxes as low as possible while continuing to deliver the quality services that our residents need and want.
2. I campaigned on the promise embedded in my answer to question one.
3. The ward: Resurfacing the Greenboro Pathway system and building a community kitchen in the Albion-Heatherington Community are my key priorities.
The city: Ensuring that council is not reducing services and supports to our vulnerable citizens and children and youth. That includes social services, housing, recreation, child care and transit fares
4. I do not foresee major cuts in the 2016 budget. As part of the budget direction the city will be using one time funding, efficiencies and revenues to cover our deficit and will leave much of the heavy lifting to be done in the 2017 and 2018 budgets. I am concerned about running deficits and/or balancing budgets with unsupported efficiency targets.
5. I believe that council needs to return to the time when citizens and councillors had more direct input the budget.

 
Jean Cloutier, Alta Vista
1. Yes, I support a modest increase based on inflation.
2. No, I did not. I campaigned on fiscal responsibility, which I don’t believe is tied to a particular number.
3. What I’m looking for in this year’s budget for Alta Vista and the city as a whole is funding for park infrastructure renewal, such as play structures and field houses, and I want to ensure continued tree planting within neighbourhoods and green spaces. I want to ensure the budget prioritizes road safety through the form of traffic calming initiatives for vehicular traffic, and infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians. This will be complemented by the Confederation Line, and moving forward with Phase 2 of LRT. Culture and celebration is also an important part of city life, and I support funding for the Ottawa 2017 initiative, so we can plan events worthy of Canada’s 150th.
4. Yes, there will certainly be pressures across all city departments, and I want to ensure they operate efficiently. We need realistic maintenance plans for our infrastructure, such as roads, sidewalks, sewers. I’m mindful of the long term heath of the city’s finances and debt levels; we have some strategies in place and I plan to monitor their effectiveness.
5. As a new councillor, last year’s budget process felt rushed due to the municipal election. This year, we’ve been able to start the public consultation process quite early. I’m finding the community feedback very valuable, and continue to share it with city management. I look forward to the next steps of the budget process.

Eli El-Chantiry, West Carleton-March
1.  Yes, so long as residents continue to receive the services they require
2. I campaigned on keeping taxes a low as possible while maintaining services for residents
3. Infrastructure/roads is always at the top of my list of priorities.
4. My biggest concern is the city’s infrastructure and conditions of our roads.
5.  Yes, I believe it’s working.

Tobi Nussbaum, Rideau-Rockliffe
1.  Raising property taxes should be a last resort. We need to go after efficiencies in government first. If the consequence of a target tax rate would result in cuts to services, we need to make sure citizens are aware of the impacts and have conversation with them about those tradeoffs. During the Budget Speak consultation I held, most of the participants told me they value city services and would not support cuts to them.
There is strong evidence that growth is not paying for growth, which ends up putting pressure on the tax base. We need to be looking at those structural elements as well.
2. While I didn’t campaign on a two per cent tax increase, I do feel an obligation to try and keep tax increases as low as possible while maintaining the services residents want and expect.
3.  Transit is critical. Sixty-one per cent of people at the Budget Speak session indicated they would prefer additional revenue be generated by the tax base rather than fare increases to mitigate transit budget pressures.
We also need to ensure we are investing in safe transportation choice. Whatever mode you take, walking, cycling or taking public transit is a public good that benefits all of us by reducing the number of cars on the road, thereby easing congestion, reducing costly wear and tear on our road infrastructure and mitigating pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Residents in my ward articulated a preference for the city to be a robust and efficient provider of services.
4. Given the financial state of transit services, there will be pressure on transit fares. Riders should not bear the burden of the increased fares at the same time they are experiencing service disruptions during construction of our much-needed light-rail system. Instead, we need to find savings and look to the tax base to cover the gap in revenue until the LRT comes online in 2018, when we will see a sharp drop in operating costs.
5. We’re making progress. I worked with my urban council colleagues to pilot an innovative and interactive format for budget consultations in 2015 and I’m happy the city took up that concept and applied it more broadly for this year’s budget.
Steps have been taken to improve the timing of the consultations. That outreach now happens before the tabling of the draft budget, which is something that came out of the review Coun. Brockington and I asked for after the 2015 budget.
What I continue to hear from residents is the need for budget information in more digestible, relatable format that allow them to contribute in a more meaningful way to the budget process. This is improving, but there is more work to be done to make the process engaging and inclusive.

Marianne Wilkinson, Kanata North
1. No. To get to a two per cent tax increase the budget has to be kept to a 1.5 per cent increase due to rules impacting how much can be charged to businesses. Together with any increase in total assessment from new buildings, it is insufficient to pay for increases in base costs, so means reductions in services.
2. No. I did not specify any specific increase. I prefer to look at needs, look at what can be done to increase efficiencies or change how services are provided and then provide the resources to meet the resulting requirements.
3.  There are safety issues that need to be addressed, e.g. the Huntmar bridge over the 417 is closed to pedestrians, so there is no way to cross to jobs at the Tanger Outlet Mall or to go to Canadian Tire Centre either by foot or to do so safely on bicycles. People still cross as they have no other choice. Major safety issues like that need to be addressed. We also need to look after lands we own – the hydro corridor through Morgan’s Grant is city-owned land, but staff say they don’t have a budget to even cut the weeds (including loads of poison parsnip) except for a three-foot strip along the pathway there. Maintenance of parks, roads, sidewalks and pathways needs to be improved. Issues along Campeau Drive where pedestrians and cyclists interconnect needs addressing as soon as possible (it is one of the council priorities).
4. To keep present services requires cuts. Attention to staffing levels is one way to reduce costs as there are too many levels now — we need to let staff make decisions without having multi levels of approvals.
5. It works as a means of keeping taxes low, but fails in showing the long term impacts of failure to do enough maintenance. It is hard to understand and lacks the descriptive detail to really know what each department does and why they need the staff level and other resources that are just shown on single budget lines.

Riley Brockington, River
1. I’m committed to a two per cent increase, if needed. ‎Tax increases should be a last resort after all spending needs are justified first.
2. No. I indicated that realistic tax rates and controlling spending was one of my main priorities but I was silent on specifying a rate.
3. Mooney’s Bay pavilion overhaul, renos; Alexander CC overhaul, renos; park upgrades, improvements; public works improvements, sidewalks, guardrail, lighting, stop signs, traffic lights, traffic speed enforcement; resinstate partial service for OC TRanspo Route 3; greater focus and presence by OPS needed. We need public works staff to implement traffic calming initiatives. Councillors have money, but not enough public works staff to get it done.
4. Reserves being depleted, debt too high, backlog in parks and rec/road projects.
Biggest concern? That Council isn’t fully aware of the full extent of the various risks
5. Improvements are needed on an on- going basis. After every budget cycle, council should be polled and asked for suggestions. I moved a motion following the last cycle that resulted in positive changes being approved.

Shad Qadri, Stittsville-Kanata West
1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Infrastructure and transit improvements keeping up with the growing needs of the community.
4. I do see pressures on the budget, but instead of cuts I look forward to finding efficiencies in order to balance the budget.
5. Yes. This budget process is working. It has proven so by being maintained over the last two terms.This budget process is working. It has proven so by being maintained over the last two terms.

Jeff Leiper, Kitchissippi
1. I am not committed to a two per cent increase. Keeping tax increases to the rate of consumer inflation is obviously highly desirable, but needs to be weighed against residents’ demands for maintained services. This will be a challenge.
2. I campaigned on a platform of keeping tax increases low, using the rate of inflation as a yardstick.
3. In the face of serious budget pressures, my priority is to maintain services and to ensure that the costs of providing those are distributed fairly.
4. As established during our budget directions discussion at council recently, inflationary pressures on the city are significantly higher than two per cent. I am concerned that maintenance of our services will not be possible if taxes aren’t raised to the necessary level at some point. Offloading budget pressures from the tax base to user fees — for example, recreation and transit — is a particular concern to me.
5. A key direction to staff this year is to explain fully and transparently what efficiencies are proposed, and the impact of any other funding changes, particularly in the operating budget that is particularly opaque to the public. I trust that this direction will be fully met, and that we will be in a position to have a rich discussion about the impact of any changes to funding and the public interest implications.

 
Stephen Blais, Cumberland
1. Yes.
2. I campaigned on maintaining Ottawa as an affordable city.
3. Nearly half of all urban expansion lands are within Cumberland Ward and as such, we’ll need to plan appropriately to ensure investments in infrastructure and services keep pace with this astronomical growth. Therefore, my priorities are continuous investment in reducing commute times and improving recreational opportunities.
Taxpayers require sustainable investments in roads and transit in order to travel to and from work. The expansion of existing recreational facilities and the planning for new ones to ensure our growing community as access.
Further, investments in multi-use pathways that can be used for both transportation and recreation must continue so that Orléans and Cumberland become better connected internally. Investment in renewal is required, especially in rural Cumberland, to ensure all of our systems continue to work: roads, water, streams, forest management.
4. Yes. As we strive to make the city more efficient, there will undoubtedly be changes to how services are delivered. We must continually evaluate if the services offered continue to be relevant and if new services are warranted. As society changes and evolves so too must government. When governments fail to adjust to new realities, taxpayer money is simply wasted and necessary investments are either underfunded or ignored.
5. Yes. As of today, I have not seen nor heard of a compelling reason how it’s not working.

 
Jody Mitic, Innes
1. Yes, I am committed to holding this year’s tax rate increase to 2% citywide. I believe it will allow the city to meet its basic needs, while at the same time respecting the budget of families across the city. It is important that our budget responds to the growing costs of running a city, but as councillor for Innes Ward my job is to make sure the quality of city services for my residents remains high.
2.  During the election campaign voters told me they wanted to see more investment in roads and community facilities. I campaigned on a modest increase that responds to increasing costs, but I have made it clear throughout the budget process that I am focused on getting real results for Innes Ward residents first and foremost.
3. Ward priorities: Redevelopment of the Blackburn Arena and expansion of the Community Hall;  construction of the Brian Coburn Extension to Renaud Road;  increased investment in traffic calming measures to make neighborhoods safer; more money for road improvements and maintenance.
Citywide Priorities: Completion of Phase 1 LRT and commencement of Phase 2 LRT to Orléans; improvements to city roads and recreational facilities; barrier-free access throughout the city for persons with disabilities.
4. There are always pressures to cut the budget. As councillors it is our responsibility to develop a budget that protects city services and is ultimately fair to the residents who pay the bills. I am concerned that if budget cuts were to go too far, progress could stall on planned improvements to the physical infrastructure of Innes Ward. It is also important that we properly budget for the maintenance of current city infrastructure.
5. The city recently changed the way it consults with residents on the budget. Councillors were encouraged to host local budget consultation sessions in their communities. I was happy to host a joint budget consultation with my fellow east end councillors this year at Place D’Orléans. I appreciated the feedback and advice residents provided to me and I look forward to bringing their ideas to the council table.

 
Rick Chiarelli, College
1. I support the number that will protect our core services while producing the lowest long-term cost to taxpayers. The tax number in one year is simply not a comprehensive way to characterize the budget. It is just one corner in the fiscal picture of the city. There are other elements like debt, outside revenue, value of sellable assets, unfunded incoming liabilities (including debt) and charges, unfunded costs of unavoidable repairs, depreciation of city assets etc. Anybody can produce a specific tax rate in any one specific year by accounting measures and false economies, but if unsound, there is always a more severe longer term cost. We need a tax rate that protects core service at the long-term lowest cost. I don’t want to save $20 this year if it means I will pay an extra $100 two years from now. So is that number two per cent? We won’t know until we see the books and the impact of possible options and what we would be buying with the two per cent. Having said that, our budget process virtually guarantees two per cent, regardless of the impact on the other elements of the budget or our future.
2. No. I had a longer term general target: “I want to hold the line on taxes, keeping them below inflation…” but there was a second part to that statement: “…at the same time maintaining value in basic core services.” (Ottawa Citizen). So, while I have always said we need to gravitate toward the rate of inflation and did that every year I was a councillor in the former city of Nepean, the equal FINANCIAL impact on residents is the funding of basic core services and maintenance of infrastructure, parks etc. Why? So that “During the long term, impact appreciates the need of staying below inflation ….” (Campaign circular 2014). We can only get to long term taxes below inflation by both a) properly funding core services and b) following an asset management program that does the maintenance and lifecycle that spares taxpayers from avoidable high costs in the future – something we have been underfunding by a significant percentage. I will not trade a tax reduction of half a percent this year for a two or three percent hike next year or another future year. But I will support a final deal on the budget that supports strategies that produce the lowest long-term cost to taxpayers and move us toward inflation level increase for the long term.
3. Investments in repair, maintenance and lifecycle on parks and infrastructure (eg reconstruction of the condemned Creatview pool and park, Doug Frobel Park and Briargreen lifecycle). We are currently only investing a fraction of what our dedicated public service and outside accountants advise is the optimum level of investment in repair, maintenance and lifecycle replacement to achieve the mid and long range lowest cost to taxpayers. Failure to invest enough in these elements of the budget are false savings. The same attitude that says “I can save $40 by skipping the oil change for my car” leads to under-spending on repair, maintenance and lifecycle. Every dollar we evade spending on these things can create a bill of 10-50 times that amount in avoidable future costs when, instead, we have to reconstruct the asset.
4. No matter how you spin it, we implemented a budget last year that cost five per cent but we only taxed two per cent for it. That produced one of the biggest deficits in the city’s history. Provincial law prevents the city from simply rolling that into our accumulated debt (which now stands at more than double what it was just five years ago). Instead, whatever the year’s deficit stands at as of the date of budget deliberations must become the first thing paid back with next year’s budget. Whether it be $52 million or $30+ million, that is two per cent- to four per cent worth of tax increases that we face as a pressure. And there are always other pressures. It has been mused that we enjoy a 1.3 per cent growth in assessment from 2015 and that this “found money” should help. However, growth in assessment has a net COST. It is not a net gain. That means that for every dollar of growth in assessment, the increased cost of providing service to that growth is MORE than that $1 of new revenue. Finally, rail. Even though we have only paid a part of the City’s share of Light Rail Stage 1, the City’s budget is like a tight collar turning the face purple. We still have to pay the bulk of Stage 1 and then we will have to pay our whole cost of Stage 2. So yes, there are pressures.The temptation might be to make “cuts” and produce “savings” that just make no long-term sense. Or, there could be temptation to cut core services. Both are penny wise and pound foolish. But I don’t know. I
My biggest biggest concerns?  False economies.
5. Things are a little better this year because the budget process allowed us to seek input from the community before the draft budget (and virtually final) budget was written.Assuming that input was respected, it is a good thing. However, clearly council was hit with too many “surprises” stemming from last year’s budget. Council needs to demand more comprehensive information in advance so we know the risks associated with various budget lines. Whether it be by demanding more respect to the Auditor General’s recommendations dating back as far as 2007 to ensure regular sensitive labour relations updates are provided to Council, or if it be by demanding better data about the cost of snow clearing in years with less than average snow falls, it is our responsibility to expect more as a function of our duty to conduct proper oversight.

Two information meetings will be held in coming weeks for Ottawans who are interested in sponsoring refugees from Syria. People who have gone through the complicated sponsorship process will be on hand to offer information and advice.

The “Sponsorship 101” meetings are for people who are considering sponsorship, but need more information before making that commitment, said Louisa Taylor, spokeswoman for Refugee 613, the Ottawa group that acts as a clearinghouse for information and activities relating to Syrian refugee resettlement in Ottawa. The meetings will also be useful for people who are looking for others to form or join a sponsorship group.

Private sponsors agree to take responsibility for the refugees for a year after they arrive in Canada, providing shelter, food, clothing and other necessities as well as help in adjusting to a new country.

The meetings are organized by Refugee 613, The Coalition in Ottawa for Refugees, and members of Ottawa city council.

Date: Tuesday, November 24
Hosts: Councillors Catherine McKenney and Jeff Leiper
Location: Ottawa Mosque, 251 Northwestern Avenue
Time: 7 to 9 p.m.

Date: Wednesday, December 2
Hosts: Councillors Keith Egli and Michael Qaqish
Location: Rideauview Community Centre, 4310 Shoreline Drive
Time: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

To register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/refugee-613-neighbourhood-workshops-sponsorship-101-tickets-19506447309 

In December, half-day workshops are planned for groups that are already sponsoring a refugee or a refugee family but need help with the process. For information, email training@refugee613.ca

Jim Watson’s firm grip on Ottawa city council appeared to slip Wednesday after five councillors voted against the 2016 budget.

The mayor has presided over unanimous budget votes ever since he was elected in 2010, but this time around he failed to convince all 23 members of council that a two-per-cent tax increase was enough to continue providing the level of service residents have come to expect.

Meanwhile, efforts by some councillors to freeze transit fares or secure additional money for struggling community agencies fell on largely deaf ears.

“This is your budget, Mr. Mayor, it’s not mine,” Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans pointedly told Watson.

Rick Chiarelli, Jeff Leiper, Catherine McKenney and Tobi Nussbaum all joined the veteran councillor in opposing the $3.2-billion spending plan.

“I had a good run, but I knew this budget was going to be the toughest one,” Watson told reporters after the meeting, reiterating his commitment to what he calls “reasonable” tax increases.

“It’s not some right-wing ideology on my part,” the mayor said. “I campaigned to raise taxes, but it’s not a blank-cheque approach. It’s keeping it reasonable at two per cent.”

But to achieve that and balance the books, the city will dip into reserves and bank on $37 million in savings next year, including $10 million in “efficiencies” — or cuts — to staff training, travel and advertising, among other things.

The winter road maintenance budget will be cut by $2.5 million, while the city’s workforce will be reduced by 50 full-time equivalent positions. Only some of the positions slated for elimination had been identified in time for council’s final budget vote.

For residents, the budget means the owner of a $375,300 urban home who paid $2,175 in municipal taxes this year now faces a $2,219 municipal tax bill– an increase of $44. The average homeowner will pay $49 more next year for water and sewers — a six per cent increase — as well as two per cent increases to police and transit levies. The garbage collection fee will remain steady at $82.

In keeping with Watson’s election promise, the 2015 budget was built on a two-per-cent tax increase and came with a pledge to maintain services.

But it resulted in a $52.5-million projected deficit for 2015, which had to be covered off by dipping into reserve funds and cutting costs through reducing hiring and freezing discretionary spending.

This year, according to McKenney, councillors were asked to agree to the same tax increase, but also believe city staff could find millions in savings without affecting front-line services. “I have no confidence we can do that without seeing another deficit and/or service cuts,” McKenney said, explaining why she voted against the budget.

Based on this year’s experience, Leiper also said he had difficulties believing the budget approved Wednesday could remain balanced.

“Once bitten, twice shy,” he said as he walked out of council chambers at the end of the five-hour meeting.

Earlier, Deans asked council to transfer $250,000 from a reserve account to create a pool of one-time funding to help community groups and social service agencies from across the city meet additional service demands.

Watson ruled the motion out of order because Deans didn’t provide a corresponding offset, in keeping with council’s pre-approved rules governing the budget process.

She later told the Citizen the move was “a little mean-spirited” because she had worked with Watson’s chief of staff Serge Arpin and the finance department, and says she was told the reserve fund was the best place to get the money.

“I was working with the mayor’s office up until 10 o’clock (Wednesday morning) and no one had the courtesy to tell me that he was going to rule it out of order. And frankly, it wasn’t out of order. But when the mayor rules, either you challenge the chair or you choose another source,” Deans said.

Her next choice for offsetting the $250,000 was to cut the equivalent of three jobs. After a lengthy debate, this, too, was voted down by her fellow councillors, many of whom noted it was unclear where these jobs would come from and how cutting them might affect services.

A separate motion that sought to freeze transit fares, introduced by Nussbaum, also failed.

The councillor argues that a mass disruption in the transit system is no time to ask OC Transpo riders to pay more and could result in a drop in ridership just as the long-awaited opening of LRT nears. “I hope I’m wrong,” Nussbaum said after the meeting. “I hope ridership levels go up next year despite the fare increase.”

In addition to approving the 2.5-per-cent average fare increase, set to take effect next July, council also signed off on OC Transpo’s plan to cut dozens of early-morning and late-night bus trips that have low ridership and begin collecting new revenue from the Canadian Tire Centre and Bluesfest for added bus service to special events.

With the 2016 budget now behind them, some councillors are already casting ahead to next year, when they hope to see some procedural changes to the way the budget is crafted — and ultimately approved.

Of particular concern for some is clarity around how much leverage councillors have to move money around on the council floor as part of the final budget debate at council, as Deans tried to do.

“Virtually every place where you thought you could make a change, you couldn’t,” Chiarelli said. “You can’t raise something at one committee, it has to be raised at a different committee. There were a lot of procedural issues that block this kind of debate before it gets to this day. And then it’s too late.”

mpearson@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

jlaucius@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/joannelaucius

An independent committee appointed by Ottawa city council to deal with complaints about campaign finances stemming from the 2014 municipal election has voted to commence prosecution against Bay ward Coun. Mark Taylor.

The decision came Monday during a lengthy meeting in which the committee also accepted the findings of a compliance audit for Eli El-Chantiry, but chose not to launch legal proceedings against the West Carleton-March councillor.

A dejected-looking Taylor said after the meeting that he’ll consider asking for a judicial review of the five-person committee’s unanimous decision. “Obviously, it didn’t go the way I was hopeful for, but it’s a process, so we’ll examine where we go from here,” he said.

Questions about Taylor’s and El-Chantiry’s campaign finances surfaced in July when the city’s election compliance audit committee ordered audits of both men to determine whether either broke the rules during the 2014 campaign.

Granting the audits, committee chair Jean-Pierre Kingsley stressed at the time, did not mean a candidate broke campaign finance rules. Kingsley is the former head of Elections Canada.

Taylor’s 2010 financial statement, which reported he had no deficit, didn’t match his 2014 statement, which said he was carrying over a deficit of more than $4,000 from the previous election.

Auditors from the firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, which were hired by the committee to conduct the compliance audits to determine whether the rules were followed, concluded that Taylor’s 2014 filing did not have an accurate amount for the eligible deficit carried forward by the candidate from the previous election “due to a clerical error.”

The presence of such an error on the official form qualifies as an apparent contravention of the law.

Taylor’s lawyer, Joel Dubois, told the committee updated forms for both 2010 and 2014 — with the corrected amounts — were filed in July and are now available on the city’s website. There is “no public interest” in pursuing the matter further, he told the committee.

But committee members ruled otherwise and will let a court decide on the matter. “It is not our job to find Mr. Taylor guilty of anything,” Kingsley said.

Although El-Chantiry’s compliance audit also uncovered clerical errors in his 2014 filing, committee members seemed to be more troubled by the way election signs purchased in previous campaigns and reused in the 2014 campaign were accounted for.

Should the calculation be based on the fair market value of an older sign, which many agree is an inexact science, or on the cost of replacement with a new sign? The committee ultimately ruled it’s up to the province, and not it, to address the discrepancy.

A relieved El-Chantiry agreed. “That has to be clarified,” he said, adding his “first order of business will be to get rid of all my signs.”

It’s the first time in more than a decade that the city has been in a position like this.

City clerk and solicitor Rick O’Connor will have to hire external legal counsel, likely from outside of Ottawa, to review the case and determine whether there’s enough evidence to move forward and commence prosecution.

Those costs will be in addition to the $67,368 the city has already spent on the committee to date (that amount includes the approximate cost of the audits, but not the cost of holding Monday’s meeting, according to O’Connor’s office). Members of the committee are paid $175 an hour, to a maximum per diem of $1,250.

In 2004, former Kitchissippi Coun. Shawn Little accepted $71,500 from the city to help cover legal costs he’d accumulated after being accused of overspending in the 2000 municipal election. After hiring an independent auditor, which reported it found irregularities, council prosecuted, but the case against Little was stayed after the prosecution failed to disclose some information to the defence.

The saga ultimately cost the city more than $250,000 in legal bills, including the payout to Little.

mpearson@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

Though it looks as though the City of Ottawa is moving toward making significant improvements to public toilet access in the city, the thought has slipped right down the tube.

The city’s finance committee viewed a staff report last month that presented options for building and maintaining public washrooms for light rail transit users in the Confederation line’s Bayview and Hurdman stations. Mayor Jim Watson wasn’t pleased that the report didn’t include an option for pay toilets, as he had directed.

The monthly maintenance costs will “burn money,” he said.

When it comes to citizens’ comfort and livelihood, washrooms ought to be considered a public good and a worthwhile expense. Public toilets are a solution to a problem, and the problem is that a transit rider may board the city’s $2.1-billion rail system and end up in one of the most discomforting and humiliating scenarios of adult life.

For a publicly-funded facility designed to meet the demands of routine bodily functions to ask for payment from people at their most desperate should not sit well.

It comes at a time of increased lobbying for more public toilets in cities across Canada. This summer, Crohn’s and Colitis Canada launched a campaign called GoHere, which asks business owners and municipalities to post a decal letting those people know they can use their toilet without asking for permission.

(There are 233,000 people in Canada with these diseases, also known under the category of inflammatory bowel disease.)

Lacking access must also be well known to the roughly 20 million Canadians with digestive disorders, the 6.7 million with irritable bowel syndrome, the 110,000 with Celiac disease, and people with other medical conditions that require easy access to a bathroom, such as bladder disease, colorectal cancer, prostatitis and congenital kidney disease.

Then there are the even more common needs of seniors, children, pregnant women and women who are menstruating. For all these people, and any others who just happen to be caught by an unexpected call from nature, a nearby washroom can save a great deal of discomfort, awkwardness and embarrassment.

City hall has shown some interest in the issue. Councillors Rick Chiarelli and Jeff Leiper have proposed that the city publish data regarding its public restrooms for use in a third-party washroom-finder app. The report specifically mentions seniors’ toilet access, one of the key strategies outlined in the city’s 2015-18 older adult action plan. Catherine McKenney and Tobi Nussbaum have also been supportive, citing public washrooms as the “top citizen concern” at the 2014 budget consultations.

But to this day, Ottawa’s budget discussions about public toilets have been “hammering the poor and people with fixed incomes,” as Joan Kuyek expressed to the Citizen last month. Kuyek chairs the GottaGo! Campaign, which has been lobbying the city for more public washrooms, especially at LRT stations. The practical usability of coin— or card—operated washrooms aside, why should someone be forced to pay to urinate or defecate in a facility already paid for by their taxes?

In 2016, as the city moves forward with its public transit plans, it should give serious consideration to how their decision-making affects residents and visitors. We should be publicly funding toilets that people who live, work and visit Ottawa can depend on.

Some may not agree that municipalities are obligated to provide such a facility. They’d rather nix the toilets and save the tax dollars, or make them coin—operated to offset the costs. Maybe they’ve gone their entire lives having never urgently needed a public toilet, so they don’t feel they’re important. May they always be so fortunate.

Adam Feibel is a Toronto-based journalist who lived in Ottawa for 24 years.

Ottawa councillors on Wednesday unanimously ratified a four-year agreement with OC Transpo’s largest union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279.

The deal extends job stability for transit employees until 2020, ensuring there will be labour peace in 2018 when the Confederation light-rail line opens.

The agreement includes salary increases of two per cent in each of the first three years and 2.25 per cent in the fourth year. 

ATU 279 represents more than 2,200 employees, including bus operators and maintenance staff. 

Mayor Jim Watson called it a “good deal” for OC Transpo employees, riders and city taxpayers.

Clint Crabtree, president of ATU Local 279, also said he is pleased with the deal. 

The current contract was set to expire at the end of March.

KANATA NORTH TO MOSQUITOES: BUZZ OFF

Marianne Wilkinson’s bid to launch a “nuisance mosquito control program” in her Kanata North ward was approved by council.

The project calls for the application of a natural bacteria called Bti to target mosquito larva growth in Kanata’s wetlands by GDG Environment, which also administers a West Nile mosquito program for Ottawa Public Health.  

Residents in Wilkinson’s ward approved the project, with 1,827 out of 2,525 mail-in ballots, or 72 per cent, favouring the plan. However, she noted that not all constituents participated.

The proposed plan could cost the average household an extra $20 a year for the first three years and about $16 in the fourth year.

University of Ottawa students will measure the environmental impact of the project over the next three years. 

The anti-mosquito program will begin this spring. 

TOUGHER TARGETS FOR EMISSIONS

Council has set its sights on more ambitious emissions cuts. 

The proposal for new targets aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent of 2012 levels by 2050. 

According to a 2012 climate report from the City of Ottawa, emissions in that year were 54,020 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide (a kilotonne is 1,000 tonnes). The 2012 report states that city emissions come mostly from “community uses.” 

Methods discussed by councillors to reduce emissions include working with the province to promote green-friendly building renovations and a focus on public transit. 

Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley, who voted against the plan, said he was “hoping that the city could set more realistic goals” to lower emission targets. 

A proposal to change the environment committee’s name to the “environment and climate protection committee” will be discussed at council’s midterm review later this year.

LEIPER CAN’T CONNECT WITH INTERNET MOTION

Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper failed to convince a majority of councillors to endorse a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission decision to require the sharing of fibre-optic networks between large and small competitors.

The CRTC ruled last year that Bell needs to give smaller competitors access to its super-fast Internet infrastructure. Bell later filed a petition to cabinet asking for a review of the CRTC decision.

Leiper wanted Ottawa city council to support the decision, which he says is about fair access to high-speed Internet, while the mayor sent a letter to the federal cabinet in support of Bell’s position.

Several councillors spoke against the motion, including Innes Coun. Jody Mitic, who was the first to question whether weighing in on a CRTC ruling was within the jurisdiction of city councillors.

The motion was defeated by a vote of 17-7.

CARLINGTON HEALTH CENTRE EXPANSION APPROVED

Council signed off on the proposed expansion of the Carlington Community Health Centre. 

The health centre at 900 Merivale Rd. will undergo renovations that include the addition of a four-storey tower with 42 one-bedroom units for seniors. 

The council vote comes after an enthusiastic response to the project from planning committee earlier this month. 

Stephane Giguere, the chief executive of Ottawa Community Housing — which will manage the new housing units — told the Citizen this month that construction will begin later this year.

A petition launched on March 10 has garnered 160 signatures in support of Coun. Riley Brockington’s motion for photo radar. 

The River ward councillor’s motion, which will be seconded by Coun. Eli El-Chantiry, who chairs the Ottawa Police Board, asks the provincial government’s permission for the city to use photo radar. Ontario started using photo radar on highways in 1994 but discontinued the program after Conservatives took power under Mike Harris less than a year later. 

Signing the petition (safestreetsottawa.ca/content/safe-streets-ottawa) sends an email to your ward’s councillor asking them to support Brockington’s proposal. The Kitchissippi and Alta Vista wards currently have the most signatures.  

Dalhousie Community Association president Michael Powell, who helped put the online petition together, said neighbourhood traffic speed is always an issue.  

“There’s a real problem on streets that have people walking on them,” he said. “Enforcement is always an issue, and we see an opportunity here to improve enforcement and make our neighbourhoods safer.” 

Ottawa city council will discuss Brockington’s motion on March 23. 

The city must consult with residents if it wants to make a compelling case for using photo radar on Ottawa roads, say several local Liberal MPPs, whose government could ultimately decide whether to give municipalities such a power.

As council gears up this week to debate Coun. Riley Brockington’s motion — which seeks only to have Mayor Jim Watson write Premier Kathleen Wynne to formally ask for the option of using photo radar on local streets — provincial politicians are taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach to the issue.

“It’s important to see what the community thinks about it,” said Yasir Naqvi, minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and MPP for Ottawa Centre.

Photo radar — which takes pictures of a speeding car’s licence plate and later mails the vehicle owner a ticket — has been controversial in the past, but, Naqvi says, public opinion may have evolved since its use in Ontario was halted more than two decades ago. “I’m not suggesting we shy away from discussing it,” Naqvi said, noting the effectiveness of red-light cameras.

“The key for any government, municipal or provincial, is safer communities,” he said.

Ottawa South MPP John Fraser said he’d be “open to listening” if city politicians, following public consultation, came forward with a coherent plan for tackling speeding and other road safety issues that includes the use of photo radar, among other tools.

Fraser also noted the push for photo radar today is coming from people concerned about safety on residential streets, while 20 years ago it was a government initiative focused on provincial highways and seen by many as a new way to collect revenue.

“As legislators and councillors, you have to listen when people are saying, ‘I’m concerned about my safety,'” Fraser said.

But Michael Harris, the provincial Progressive Conservative’s transport critic, seems unconvinced by any suggestion that photo radar could possibly increase public safety.

“Photo radar is more about the revenue stream than improving safety on our roads,” he said.

What’s more, photo radar only focuses on speeding, not other menaces on the road today, such as distracted, drunk or aggressive driving. “Photo radar does nothing to curb those,” Harris said.

The PCs under former premier Mike Harris scrapped photo radar after sweeping to power in 1995 and they’ve remained opposed to it ever since. But Patrick Brown, according to Harris, has said his party’s caucus will consider every idea “on its merit” and not dismiss anything without seeing the specifics.

Brockington says he raised the issue with Brown several weeks ago when the PC leader was in Ottawa for an annual general meeting.

“He was supportive of photo radar in school zones and hospital zones,” Brockington said.

A private member’s bill sponsored by an NDP MPP seeks to allow the use of “safety cameras” in construction and other “community safety” zones designated by a municipality.

That the so-called Safer Roads and Safer Communities Act, which is not up for debate anytime soon, seeks to strike out all references to “photo-radar system” and replace them with the words “safety cameras” speaks to just how jumpy some politicians get whenever the issue is broached.

Ontario’s NDP government under premier Bob Rae brought photo radar to provincial, 400-series highways in 1994, but it was killed less than a year later when the PCs won a landslide election.

Almost a decade later, with the Liberals in power, Premier Dalton McGuinty said he was considering photo radar as a means of cutting back the provincial deficit. “I’ve long been a supporter of photo radar…. (and) we’re going to talk about that,” McGuinty said at the time. “It’s a revenue generator, absolutely.”

The Liberals eventually backed away from the idea and later turned down a 2006 request from Ottawa city council, which was seeking permission to install photo radar on its streets (former councillor Peter Hume was behind that motion). 

Nearly another decade had passed when politicians in York Region made a similar request last year, which the Liberals also shot down.

But last month, the premier — perhaps caught off-guard momentarily during a joint scrum following a meeting with Toronto Mayor John Tory — hinted at an openness to the idea.

Though Wynne didn’t actually use the words “photo radar,” she said: “We’re open to looking at all of those options, but you know, it really needs to be a discussion that starts with the municipalities who are on the front line, who are working with their police services and then coming to us and saying, ’This is the kind of thing that we’d like to see.”’

Ottawa city council will discuss Brockington’s motion on Wednesday.

mpearson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

They’ve ironed the City of Ottawa flag, steamed the black drapes and pinned little white name tags onto reserved seats inside council chambers in preparation for a ceremony Tuesday evening that will see Mayor Jim Watson present Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin with a key to the city.

The longest-serving chief justice and first woman to hold the post, McLachlin is a “role model, leader and nation-builder who deserves to be recognized by our city,” says the mayor.

Though the ceremonial key McLachlin is to receive doesn’t actually open anything or give her free rein to drive the O-Train, it is the city’s highest and most prestigious honour.

Here are five things to know about the ceremony.

1. “A simple ceremony”

The official part of the evening, which begins at 7 p.m., happens inside council chambers. A large, neo-gothic style chair, used for special occasions, has been pulled from safe keeping at the city’s archives, as has a desk once used by former mayor Charlotte Whitton. The shiny key to be presented to the guest of honour is framed with a certificate, while on the desk sits a beautiful bouquet of pink roses. Organizers tried unsuccessfully get wild roses, the official flower of Alberta, where the chief justice hails from. The Ottawa Police Chorus will sing O Canada.

“We want to make it special for her,” said Cathy Bowles, the chief of protocol. “She really wanted a simple ceremony.”

Jean Pigott Hall, where guests will mingle afterward, has been transformed into a trendy lounge-meets-upscale-hotel-lobby. White leather couches, love seats, ottomans and modernist coffee tables have been brought in to lend the place an intimate, classy vibe. 

Pianist Jean Desmarais will play classical music on a baby grand tucked in a corner, while guests nibble on a variety of hors d’oeuvres, all gluten-free, as per McLachlin’s request.

2. Who’s coming?

Guests of honour expected to attend the invitation-only event include all members of the Supreme Court, Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna (who trained as a human rights lawyer), and most members of Ottawa city council.

3. The speeches

There will be four. The GG will speak first, followed by Watson, who will present the award. The chief justice will then give an acceptance speech, which is to be followed by a speech by Don Newman, a former CBC senior parliamentary correspondent.

4. Other famous “key” holders

McLachlin joins an illustrious and eclectic collection of recipients, including Olympic figure skaters Barbara Ann Scott and Elizabeth Manley, Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II), crooner Paul Anka, comedian Rich Little, diplomat Ken Taylor, astronaut Marc Garneau (now a member of the federal cabinet), singer Alanis Morissette, journalists Peter Jennings and Peter Mansbridge, author Margaret Atwood, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, Algonquin elder William Commanda, Hollywood actress Sandra Oh and former Ottawa Senators captain and mental health crusader Daniel Alfredsson. 

Oh, and curiously, Jim Watson, who received the honour himself on Aug. 2, 2000, several weeks before he left the mayor’s office as his 1997-2000 term ended to head up the Canadian Tourism Commission.

5. The cost

Roughly $20,000. The money from the protocol office’s annual budget covers everything from invitations and security to food and furniture, and is in keeping with previous key-to-the-city ceremonies, Bowles said.

mpearson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

Ottawa city council has punted a much-anticipated debate on photo radar to its transportation committee.

River Coun. Riley Brockington wanted councillors to formally request that the provincial government allow municipalities the option of using photo radar on local streets. It would follow similar requests from councils in Toronto, Hamilton and York Region.

But motions that go directly to council don’t allow for public delegations and that rubbed some councillors the wrong way.

Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Keith Egli, who chairs the transportation committee, said photo radar is a divisive issue that requires more consideration before the city makes a “fundamental change” to how it conducts traffic enforcement.

“That’s a discussion we need to have with the public,” he said.

Mayor Jim Watson supported the motion to send the photo radar discussion to committee.

“There are people passionately for it and against it,” he said. “It didn’t make any sense for us to leapfrog directly to council without going to the transportation committee so that the public and experts can offer their opinion whether we should even be asking for the power.”

Brockington says he has no issue with the transportation committee taking it up.

He’s in favour of public consultation but says he brought his motion to committee to strike while the iron was hot. “I thought if Toronto was putting pressure on the premier and the provincial government, that Ottawa should at least have its voice heard as well,” he said.

He doesn’t actually sit on transportation committee, so the issue is out of his hands now, he says.

“At the end of the day, what I have forced the city to do is look in the mirror and say: ‘Is speeding an issue? And if it is, are we employing every possible option available to us to address this matter?’,” Brockington said.

“I hear non-stop that this is an issue and so I want to use whatever tools are available to help improve public safety.”

According to Egli, staff will produce a report for discussion at the committee’s May 4 meeting.

mpearson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

The new regulations for Uber, proposed Thursday in a report to the city of Ottawa, are weighted heavily in favour of the consumer – which is good – but don’t address some other looming problems, particularly those cab drivers face – which is bad.

Still, if council adopts the proposals to loosen restrictions on cab drivers, and create more rules for ride-sharing services, it will be moving toward fairness in the system. And it will be recognizing the basic principle of individual choice.

The city is working off a comprehensive report by KPMG. But the big problem left unsettled is the “plate” system, a city-controlled contrivance that has restricted the number of cabs on Ottawa streets and is party to blame for upstart outsiders like Uber arriving on the scene in the first place. Because plates were limited, they were trading for up to $300,000 until Uber came along, a huge investment for taxi industry entrepreneurs. As of last fall, with the appearance of Uber, the value of those plates was falling quickly. Until the city figures out how to reasonably address the plate system – its own Frankenstein – reform will go unfinished.

That’s one reason executives from cab companies were furious on Thursday. “We will not tolerate it,” said Amrik Singh, the local union boss.

It’s hard to know what, legally, he can do about it, but regardless, cab drivers have won some concessions. They will get to keep their cars on the road longer, until the vehicles are 10 years old; driver training requirements have been eased; licensing fees will go down; and they’ll be able to adjust pricing in ways similar to Uber’s surge pricing.

“The city no longer believes that the same level of regulation that existed in the past will be necessary in the future,” said Coun. Diane Deans. This principle will be a boon to Ottawans who use any of Uber, traditional cabs, or limos.

Uber doesn’t get off scot-free. The new rules, if approved by council, would require all drivers to carry insurance, get vehicle inspections and go through background checks. A portion of the market is still clearly protected by regulation for people who prefer cabs. These passengers might like taxi cab video cameras, which enhance safety, or paying cash, or the ability to phone for a driver rather than using an app. There are still lots of rules here, for everyone.

Council, in an attempt to join the 21st century, is moving in the right direction. Yet, while deregulating in some areas, it must ensure it doesn’t over-regulate in others. This will be tricky; too bad there isn’t an app for it.

Related

• Taxi union furious over city's proposal to legalize Uber

Uber’s roughshod move into Ottawa’s taxi market has rewarded the international ride-ordering company with legal status in the capital.

After operating illegally on Ottawa streets since October 2014, city council on Wednesday voted to create a dual licensing system with different rules for the taxi industry and alternative ride companies like Uber.

One angry cabbie yelled at council after the vote as he was ushered out of chambers.

“I can’t believe the city is ruining our lives,” he bellowed.

The new bylaw comes into effect Sept. 30. Uber has said it will continue to operate in Ottawa until then. The city will continue ticketing drivers.

“For the first time, there will be competition,” Mayor Jim Watson said. “It will make the industry better and it will give the public what they have been asking for.”

Council tweaked some of the bylaw provisions.

Rideau-Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt won support to mandate the minimum insurance coverage at $2 million for both cabbies and Uber drivers. The city’s legal department recommended $5 million coverage, but the city’s consultant KPMG recommended $2 million.

“This is not just to help one side. This will help taxi drivers as well,” Moffatt said.

Moffatt also notched a win convincing council to make four new taxi plates released by city hall non-transferrable. Existing city-owned plates can be traded for large sums on the open market.

Other councillors had their suggestions shot down.

West Carleton-March Coun. Eli El-Chantiry tried to convince council to require cameras in Uber cars. Council voted against it but agreed with River Coun. Riley Brockington to reconsider cameras after a year of the bylaw being in force.

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney asked to make the maximum age of taxis and Uber cars eight years old, instead of 10 years old as recommended by staff. A tied vote means the 10-year maximum age stands.

The city is creating a “private transportation company” licence category, where companies in that category will have to pay a licence fee to the city. For a company the size of Uber, it will be $7,253. Companies will pay an 11-cent commission per ride to the city.

Traditional cabbies will see the cost for standard taxi licences go from $170 to $96.

The city is getting rid of the $1.50 fee for taxi customers paying with credit and debit cards.

Nearly 50 people spoke in the first half of a two-day community and protective committee last week. Most were cabbies pleading with councillors to protect the taxi industry from Uber.

Several uniformed and plainclothes security were in and around council chambers Wednesday as politicians debated the report recommendations. Uber supporters in the gallery wore pink “Uber creates jobs” T-shirts, marking the anti-bullying Day of Pink. Uber’s Brett Chang was in the hall, handing out shirts to passerby.

Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans said the public has sent a message to the taxi industry challenging cabbies to innovate and compete.

“Carpe diem,” Deans told the taxi industry.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling