Quantcast
Channel: Ottawa Citizen
Viewing all 133 articles
Browse latest View live

City won't prosecute Taylor over 2014 election expenses

0
0

Mark Taylor is breathing a sigh of relief after a special prosecutor hired by the City of Ottawa has decided not to commence legal proceedings against the Bay ward councillor because it’s “not in the public interest.”

An independent committee appointed by Ottawa city council to deal with complaints about campaign finances stemming from the 2014 municipal election voted in December to commence prosecution against Taylor, prompting the city to later hire an outside firm, Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little & Bonham LLP.

In a memo released late Friday, city clerk and solicitor Rick O’Connor said the independent prosecutor looked into the case and, ultimately, declined to prosecute. The matter is closed, O’Connor’s memo says.

The law firm concluded that Taylor appears to have contravened the Municipal Elections Act, but determined that a “very high profile prosecution over what are, in our opinion, insignificant apparent contraventions to obtain potentially a low value fine is not in the public interest.”

Questions about Taylor’s campaign finances surfaced in July when the city’s election compliance audit committee ordered an audit to determine whether he broke the rules during the 2014 campaign.

Granting the audit, committee chair Jean-Pierre Kingsley stressed at the time that it 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.

“With respect to the failure to include the correct deficit amount, we are of the view that the impact of the breach is not significant and there is no evidence that indicates an intent to mislead the public,” wrote Cunningham Swan’s Tony E. Fleming in a seven-page letter to O’Connor, dated April 13.

The letter goes on to say that Taylor or his accountant “may be accused of sloppiness, but there does not appear to be any evidence of any intent to deceive and it would be open to a Justice of the Peace to find that the error was inadvertent (which eliminates the penalty of the candidate losing his seat).”

It might be possible for Taylor to be convicted of this offence, but likely that the court would find the breach to be inadvertent and impose only a nominal fine, the prosecutor determined. 

The law firm also determined that any errors made by Taylor or his accountant “do not compromise the integrity of the electoral process.”

Taylor didn’t exceed spending limits, fail to hand over a surplus or otherwise engage in “financial impropriety.” And there is no evidence the errors were deliberate or done as part of a scheme to prevent the city from discovering some financial impropriety, according to the prosecutor.

The councillor said Friday he’s “very happy that the matter’s been closed.

“The shoulders will be a little lighter,” he said.

mpearson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/mpearson78


Council returned $606K of office budgets to coffers in 2015

0
0

Don’t accuse municipal politicians of only taking money from the pockets of taxpayers. Sometimes, they give a little of it back.

According to recently finalized tallies for 2015, council members collectively returned $606,109 to city hall coffers from their office budgets.

Taxpayers made available $6.5 million to the offices of the mayor and 23 councillors. For the most part, the money can be used as politicians see fit. If the charge relates to work and it doesn’t violate a council expense policy, taxpayers can foot the bill.

That means council members can take up lunch meetings, send out flyers, buy coffee for the office, go on business trips, hold community parties and pay for consultants to study hot issues at city hall. Some of the money can even be donated to causes they deem worthy.

The unused funds in 2015 account for about nine per cent of all available office budget money.

Last year’s penny-pincher was Cumberland Coun. Stephen Blais, who spent 73 per cent of his $247,717 budget. The average for all 24 politicians was 90 per cent.

Stephen Blais.

Stephen Blais.

Each councillor had the same annual budget, but Mayor Jim Watson had $812,000 to work with.

Watson spent 98 per cent of his budget. Staffing gobbled up 82 per cent and communications nearly 11 per cent.

Mayor Jim Watson

Mayor Jim Watson

The largest expense for most council members is salaries. They collectively spent 78 per cent of all their office budgets on salaries for assistants. The next largest expense was for constituent communications and web services, which drew 10 per cent of all office spending.

Only one councillor spent less than half of his budget on salaries.

Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley directed only 36 per cent of the $241,028 he spent last year on staffing. The top category for Hubley’s spending was external services, which includes consultants and office assistance.

Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley.

Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley.

There always has to be one politician at the top of the spending list.

Claiming the honour for 2015 was rookie Osgoode Coun. George Darouze, who spent 99 per cent of his budget and gave a mere $202 back to the city. Darouze’s staffing costs were on the lower end of the council spectrum. Much of his spending was tied up in communications.

Coun. George Darouze

Coun. George Darouze

Council billed taxpayers just over $142,000 on special events, receptions and hospitality. They included pizza lunches, breakfast meetings and even the odd coffee at the city hall restaurant. Some councillors are more liberal with their hospitality spending than others, but the meals are allowed as long as they stay within their individual office budgets.

Just over $595,000 went to communication-related expenses and $252,000 went to external services.

2015 Council office spending

Travel expenses covered by council office budgets totalled about $19,000, but Watson’s travel accounted for more than half of the costs because of his business trips to Toronto, Edmonton and China. There was additional money spent on trips paid out of city departmental budgets to cover conferences where council members were official representatives.

This council is careful about how much money it donates. Until mid-2013 council members could give away as much as they wanted to various causes. Council voted to limit the spending to 3.5 per cent of office budgets. Donations totalled more than $200,000 in 2012, but there were only $66,623 in handouts in 2015.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling

 

Spending leaders by category

Councillors, special events (percentage of all office spending)

Kanata Coun. Allan Hubley, $14,503 (6.0%)

Bay Coun. Mark Taylor, $12,373 (5.0%)

Stittsville Coun. Shad Qadri, $12,181 (5.25%)

 

Councillors, donations (percentage of all office spending)

Rideau-Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt, $7,334 (3.5%)

Osgoode George Darouze, $6,478 (2.6%)

Knoxville-Merivale Coun. Keith Egli, $5,570 (2.9%)

 

Councillors, communications (percentage of all office spending)

Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Michael Qaqish, $55,493 (26.1%)

Orléans Coun. Bob Monette, $39,275 (17.8%)

Bay Coun. Mark Taylor, $39,248 (16.1%)

 

Councillors, external consulting (percentage of all office spending)

Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley, $97,732 (40.5%)

College Coun. Rick Chiarelli, $22,251 (10.6%)

Osgoode Coun. George Darouze, $19,373 (7.8%)

 

Councillors, materials (percentage of all office spending)

Osgoode Coun. George Darouze, $11,588 (4.6%)

Bay Coun. Mark Taylor, $11,069 (4.5%)

Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Keith Egli, $10,865 (5.6%)

Kemsley: Why I like to drive for Uber

0
0

Ottawa city council’s Uber debate leans in the direction of taxi-like regulation. Users and Uber drivers have been ignored and forgotten. The costs concomitant with regulation will downgrade the quality of life of Ottawa’s most vulnerable — new Canadians, students and people hovering around the poverty line.

I am an Uber driver. I know.

City hall should know who Uber users are and why they choose that service. They also need to understand the driver demographics and why these people drive for Uber.

Uber is accessible to everyone, not simply the well-heeled. All strata use Uber — and like it. I’ve driven students to university or to their jobs in the hospitality industry, a bastion of low pay.

I’ve driven a grandmother of eight who lives in a friend’s basement because she can’t afford the rent anywhere else.

A passenger from Pakistan is enrolled in a full-time program at Algonquin, and works as a cashier 20 hours per week. Until she graduates, her pre-school child lives with an aunt in Dubai. She has to leave her $600 a month room at the end of this month because “It is too expensive.”

Uber drivers are often immigrants or new Canadians. Could it be that these drivers do not yet have the language skills to work at any other job? Could Uber be their first job ever in this country?

Uber passengers often do not have car. One student passenger chooses not to own a car, and some passengers say they cannot afford a car. One man told me his impoverished family denied him the opportunity to learn to drive. Others say their environmental concerns are the reason they bike most of the time and use Uber in bad weather. Picking people up at grocery stores is my favourite; otherwise, these people have to lug their heavy bags on buses.

Who benefits from regulating Uber? Not recent arrivals in this country striving to make a new life. Not the young or those with meagre bank accounts.

Disturbing the status quo of Uber as it stands serves the influential. Owners of taxi licences keep their significant portion of the pie, and city council coffers fatten slightly.

I applied the fees data from council’s KPMG consultation to myself. If I choose to continue driving for Uber, city hall will charge me $4,733.39 at a minimum, plus my car insurance will rise from $1,750 annually to between $5,000 and $10,000 per year. Start-up will cost new Uber drivers between $10,733.39 and $14,733.39.

My last grocery store drive yielded $4.73. My longest fare so far paid me $11.32. Averaging these two, I would have to make $8 a total of 1,341 times to simply cover initial costs. This equates to one ride 365 days a year for 3.7 years.

I will have to say Bye, Bye to Uber. It’s been a short but sweet acquaintance.

Hilary Kemsley is an Ottawa Uber driver.

Coun. Mitic, otherwise known as Jody 3.0, to take part in bodybuilding show

0
0

What was your excuse again?

Coun. Jody Mitic isn’t using any from his long list of options to avoid the gym these days.

That’s because the Innes ward councillor has embarked on a journey toward what he’s calling Jody 3.0.

Mitic was a master sniper with the Canadian army, a stage of his life that today he calls Jody 1.0.

His life changed dramatically nearly 10 years ago when he lost both feet as a result of a landmine explosion in Afghanistan.

“I stepped on a bomb and blew up. I had to learn how to walk again without feet, using prosthetics, and basically live life. So I was Jody 2.0.”

It’s now creeping up on a decade since Mitic’s life-changing day in Afghanistan.

With that anniversary in mind, he has set himself a goal of stepping onto the Ontario Physique Association stage this November to take part in a bodybuilding show.

He is registered to compete in the men’s physique category. Judges will be looking for a lean, fit body with proper shape and symmetry. They will be also be watching for the competitor who has the best stage presence and the most poise on top of their physicality.

Nick Theriault of Stronger Than You Think Coaching is guiding Mitic to help shape his body.

“Dieting very intensely, working out very strictly and really making it an entire lifestyle decision,” Theriault said of what the journey will entail. “When you commit to a contest, you are basically committing to a lifestyle change. There are psychological and physical obstacles.”

So far, Mitic, a husband and father of two, has been changing his schedule to fit everything in.

He’s hitting the gym early in the morning before he starts his workday.

“My No. 1 job is being a councillor,” Mitic said. “I will do my best to make sure that the job comes first and this comes a very close second.”

What makes him most nervous about the bodybuilding bid?

“Honestly, failure,” he said after a recent workout. “We have picked a day, we have a goal and with my schedule and everything else that I do, it is a high probability of failure. And if I’m not on that stage, looking as good as I possibly could, what did we do all this for?”

Jody Mitic works out.

Innes ward councillor Jody Mitic has embarked on a journey toward what he’s calling Jody 3.0, stepping onto the Ontario Physique Association stage this November to take part in a bodybuilding show.

 

Jody Mitic works out under the watchful eye of trainer/coach Nick Theriault at the Carleton University fitness centre.

Jody Mitic works out under the watchful eye of trainer/coach Nick Theriault at the Carleton University fitness centre.

Jody Mitic works out.

Mitic was a master sniper with the Canadian army, a stage of his life that today he calls Jody 1.0. His life changed dramatically nearly 10 years ago when he lost both feet as a result of a landmine explosion in Afghanistan. “I stepped on a bomb and blew up. I had to learn how to walk again without feet, using prosthetics, and basically live life. So I was Jody 2.0.”

Jody Mitic works out.

Mitic is registered to compete in the men’s physique category in a bodybuilding show at the Ontario Physique Association this November. Judges will be looking for a lean, fit body with proper shape and symmetry. They will be also be watching for the competitor who has the best stage presence and the most poise on top of their physicality.

Jody Mitic works out.

What makes Mitic most nervous about the bodybuilding bid? “Honestly, failure,” he said. “We have picked a day, we have a goal and with my schedule and everything else that I do, it is a high probability of failure. And if I’m not on that stage, looking as good as I possibly could, what did we do all this for?”

Nick Theriault spots Mitic on his form with a dumbbell incline chest press Tuesday.

Nick Theriault spots Mitic on his form with a dumbbell incline chest press Tuesday.

Mitic takes a rest between sets of incline dumbbell chest press in the gym Tuesday.

Mitic takes a rest between sets of incline dumbbell chest press in the gym Tuesday.

Jody Mitic with his trainer/coach Nick Theriault at the Carleton University fitness centre.

Jody Mitic with his trainer/coach Nick Theriault at the Carleton University fitness centre.

Dawson: Patio anarchy and why it's good for Ottawa

0
0

The great Ottawa outdoor experiment continues, with a plan in place for micro patios that’ll add some pizzazz to various streets around the city for the summertime season.

It will happen at the expense of parking stalls – but don’t worry, not that many.

It must be said that, for all its shortcomings, Ottawa has a spectacular patio season. Thanks to an abundance of sun and the absence of tall buildings, the city is an ideal setting for some solid afternoon boozing or if needed, mimosas in the morning.

Thankfully, people are taking advantage of this. And thankfully, the city seems intent, to some extent, on actually facilitating the annual patio pop-up that adds so much to Ottawa wherever it exists. 

There’s a certain admirable entrepreneurial spirit to Ottawa’s patios, too, with popups coming every summer, then being bundled away when the snows come. And there’s a certain hardiness, with drinkers braving, with proper stiff upper lip, the early spring and late fall temperatures in order to sit outside. And, in fairness, it’s not just the drinkers either. The dogs can conveniently cavort nearby, safely tied to railings. Kids can get that much-needed vitamin D after a long winter in front of the xBox while feasting on chicken fingers and fries.

The plan is to gobble up about a dozen parking stalls in 11 locations and erect small patios and green spaces. Four of the locations will be for “parklets” with green spaces and games – it seems a waste of space when there’s food and drink to be had, but never mind that, surely some will enjoy them – and the others devoted to patios for restaurants and cafés.

The city will be studying and gathering feedback on the whole operation. But it’s a veritable orgy of indulgence, considering how deliberately un-fun the city is often determined to be, with precise measurements, for example, on the Elgin Street patios. Yeah, it’s necessary, but it’s the sort of bureaucratic stuff that writes its own satire. But 11 locations and a dozen parking stalls? For Ottawa, that’s practically anarchy, and it’s fantastic. 

“Expecting the public to walk around the public and avoid hitting obstructions in the outer boulevard is tempting liability upon the city,” wrote Gilles Roy of the city’s “Right-of-way information and approvals unit,” according to the Citizen’s David Reevely in 2013.

That rather illustrates the point, doesn’t it?

And indeed, it does seem sort of sophisticated, big city and vaguely, somehow, European, compared to, say, the great asphalt and chain-restaurant sea that is Lansdowne Park. Just last year, council approved the continuation of the patios that jut onto Elgin Street that had been tried out as part of a pilot project. And there certainly was some grumbling about that. 

It’s all part of the creeping patio-ification of Elgin, turning the otherwise rather grim-looking bar strip – and yes, that’s meant partially as a compliment – into a spirited neighbourhood. The spilling of life onto the street can only be a good thing for the city. It won’t, and doesn’t need to, lead to the more extreme expressions of private space taking over public – people schlepping out with miniature stools to plop down on the sidewalk, as happens in many major cities around the world – in order to make the town a little more lively. 

No doubt, there will be complainers about parking and about sidewalk space, who’re unhappy that other people are happy and they have to pay a bit more attention to where they’re going.

Grouse away, folks, but while you’re at it, you may as well sit down for a bite and a drink.

tdawson@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/tylerrdawson

Tyler Dawson is deputy editorial pages editor of the Ottawa Citizen.

Photo radar about safety, not cash, says Brockington

0
0

The city councillor behind the latest push for photo radar on Ottawa’s streets says public safety — not a new source of revenue — is his guiding motivation.

Riley Brockington says speeding is a problem in wards across the city and efforts to curb it have, so far, fallen short. His view is that photo radar is just another tool the city could use, if the province was so inclined.

But as they have elsewhere, opponents here — including Mayor Jim Watson — say it’s just a cash grab.

“That is completely not my intention,” Brockington said. “This is about taking back residential communities and making them safer.”

His motion, even if it is passed by the transportation committee next week and ultimately endorsed by council, would not put photo radar on Ottawa’s streets anytime soon. He simply wants the city to formally request that the province change its rules to give municipalities the option of using photo radar on local streets.

There’s a chance that even that motion could be watered down by the committee, which may try to amend it to specify that photo radar would only be used in school zones.

But the problem goes beyond school zones, Brockington said. In fact, he thinks many drivers are more aware of their speeds when driving near schools than on other residential streets.

“Let’s not limit our possibilities yet,” he said.

The public works department has prepared a report that makes no recommendations, but provides a brief look at how photo radar has been used in four other Canadian cities — Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Gatineau.

Different cities use it in different ways. Winnipeg, for example, uses photo radar for enforcement around school and playground zones, while Gatineau uses mobile photo radar vans at 21 different locations, including school zones, with a history of collisions involving speeding drivers.

All four cities “have reported significant improvements following the implementation of photo radar,” such as reductions in total and fatal collisions, as well as fewer injuries related to collisions and an increased compliance to posted speed limits, the report says.

Based on the experience of these cities, the staff report identifies four key considerations for implementing photo radar:

  • Evaluation — monitoring both the automated enforcement devices and the site location and selection criteria; some cities have used external agencies to ensure transparency
  • Location — choosing spots based on criteria, such as high collision locations, history of speeding, school and construction zones, and unsafe locations for traditional enforcement
  • Revenue — investing cash collected from fines in road safety initiatives such as temporary or permanent traffic calming, new or improved infrastructure, and additional traditional enforcement
  • Public engagement — surveying the public before and after implementation to get input, having a clear communications plan and providing advance notice for installing automated devices

Ottawa city council has twice previously petitioned the province about the use of photo radar in Ottawa and was denied both times.

Still, a trial period could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of photo radar in school zones, for example. “Undertaking a pilot project is an effective approach to investigating technologies and initiatives,” the report says.

Brockington’s efforts have mobilized friends and foes alike.

An online petition created by Safe Streets Ottawa in support of Brockington’s motion has been signed by more than 750 people, while a group called No Photo Radar has put up signs around the city that say “Help save Ottawa from photo radar cash grab.”

Both sides are encouraging people to call or write their city councillor, including the 11 who sit on the transportation committee.

mpearson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

Not all councillors happy with school zone photo radar motion

0
0

A plan to ask the provincial government for permission to use photo radar in school zones on a trial basis doesn’t go far enough for some city councillors.

“Something is better than nothing,” is how River ward Coun. Riley Brockington summed up the transportation committee’s four-hour debate on Wednesday.

Speeding is an issue across the city and efforts to curb it have, so far, fallen short, he says. His view is that photo radar is just another tool the city could use to enforce speed on its streets, if the province was so inclined.

But Brockington’s motion was sidelined even before the committee meeting began after Mayor Jim Watson issued a statement saying he’d been working behind-the-scenes with transportation committee chairman Keith Egli on a different motion.

Watson says he only supports a request for photo radar powers if it comes with the two caveats: it must be a pilot project in a school zone and the money from fines must fund road safety programs.

“If they aren’t, then I won’t support it because I don’t want this to, what should be a safety measure, turn into a cash grab for the city,” he said.

Watson said school zones make the most sense for a pilot project.

“Schools are where the most vulnerable people in our society are. They’re rushing to get to the school bus, they may be rushing to get to the playground to see their child, and a speeding car can have horrible consequences,” the mayor said. 

The committee unanimously approved the motion, though not without trepidation among some.

“This motion could be stronger,” Brockington said. “School zones is a good start … but we need to come to terms with the speeding problem in this city.”

Capital Coun. David Chernushenko suggested the definition of “school zone” is too narrow and wouldn’t cover the streets children use to get to school.

In the Glebe, which he represents, hundreds cross Bank Street every day, while drivers frequently abuse the street’s speed limit, he said. But Bank wouldn’t qualify.

“You can’t declare an entire neighbourhood a school zone and yet you’ve missed the biggest, most frequently-mentioned problem street in the entire ward by just going with a pilot in school zones,” he said.

Construction zones, intersections with high rates of collisions, stretches of roadway with a history of speeding and locations deemed unsafe for traditional enforcement also wouldn’t qualify as part of the pilot, Brockington said.

“There are streets in my ward that photo radar should be an option to enforce speed limits and that will not be covered off as part of this motion, so that’s a concern,” he said.

Egli called the motion a compromise that “opened the door” to a new way of dealing with speed. “The one thing we can all agree on is speed is a major concern in every ward,” he said.

Asked if he has softened his position on photo radar, Watson said he’s been consistent on making sure the city wouldn’t use the measure solely to tap revenue from motorists.

Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi was also non-committal when asked whether he supported the call for photo radar in Ottawa.

But following the committee’s vote, his office issued a statement commending the city for “taking the bold step to help improve road safety in our community.”

He pledged to push for the necessary legislative changes to allow the city to proceed with the pilot project.

If council upholds the committee’s decision and the province ultimately grants the request, it could take up to a year to get a pilot project up and running, the city says.

With files from Jon Willing

mpearson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

Council votes to launch LRT-era fare table in 2017

0
0

OC Transpo will introduce a new fare table built for Ottawa’s LRT era at the beginning of 2017, council decided Wednesday.

It means customers who buy regular adult monthly passes will see a base $6.50 increase, while those who usually buy monthly express passes will see a decrease.

Transpo is ending routes labelled “express.”

The new fare table will be subject to annual increases approved by council. Starting in 2017, the increases will happen at the beginning of each year.

Paper tickets and monthly passes will stop as Transpo convinces more people to buy a Presto card.

Council voted against a pitch by Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Tobi Nussbaum to delay part of the fare table until 2018, the year the Confederation Line LRT opens.

Transpo advised against any delays.

“We need the runway to make sure we get this right,” Mayor Jim Watson said.

City to review Truth and Reconciliation “calls to action”

Council has directed staff to consider any necessary actions by the city following the release last December of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report.

The commission, which examined the impact of Indian residential schools, made five recommendations specifically for municipalities.

Sen. Murray Sinclair, who chaired the commission, recently called on the city to move forward with one of the “calls to action” and implement the United National Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The city has an Aboriginal working committee and an Aboriginal steering committee.

Council told staff to come back in early 2017 with possible actions the city should take.

 

Council likes idea of bigger Hydro Ottawa dividend

Council has no problem collecting more money from the city’s hydro interests.

A proposed change to Hydro Ottawa’s dividend policy, which would give the city a larger cut of the utility’s profits, received council’s blessing.

Hydro Ottawa’s commitment of delivering at least $14 million annually in dividends to the city will increase to $20 million or 60 per cent of the utility’s annual net income, whichever is greater.

The utility predicts it will pay the city nearly $300 million in dividends, at a minimum, under a new five-year strategic plan.

The city raked in $19.4 million in dividends from Hydro Ottawa based on the utility’s performance in 2015.

An updated dividend policy will also help improve Hydro Ottawa’s credit rating, the utility says.

The City of Ottawa is Hydro Ottawa’s sole shareholder. The dividends come from money made off of the utility’s assets, not the rates paid by customers.

 

Integrity czar plans playground report

Integrity commissioner and lobbyist registrar Robert Marleau plans to report to council on the controversial playground project at Mooney’s Bay park.

Marleau gave his notice to council that he’ll present his findings during a meeting July 13.

The $2-million playground in the shape of Canada is being jointly funded by the city and TV production company Sinking Ship Entertainment. The planning and construction of the playground will be taped for a show on TVO.

Residents who oppose the project say the city didn’t properly consult the public before signing a contract with the production company.

Opponents have also questioned whether there was unreported lobbying on the project.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling


Five city councillors vote against Ottawa's 2016 budget

0
0

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

City committee proceeds with prosecution of Mark Taylor

0
0

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

Adam Feibel: Public toilets are a public good and should be publicly funded

0
0

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.

Council briefs: Four-year OC Transpo pact gets green light

0
0

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.

Photo radar petition supports councillor's motion

0
0

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. 

Public should have say on photo radar in Ottawa: Liberal MPPs

0
0

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 any time 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

5 things: Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin receives key to city

0
0

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.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, left, receives the key to the city of Ottawa, from Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, durng a ceremony at City Hall Tuesday, March 22, 2016. (Darren Brown) Assignment: 123199

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, left, receives the key to the city of Ottawa, from Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, durng a ceremony at City Hall Tuesday, March 22, 2016.

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


Council refers photo-radar debate to transportation committee

0
0

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

Council OKs controversial mountain bike park on Carlington Hill

0
0

The city greased the chain for a controversial new mountain bike park proposed for Carlington Hill on Wednesday, despite the concerns of a councillor who complained about the process and poor public consultation.

The Ottawa Mountain Bike Association has aspirations for a multi-phase bike park, but the city is prepared to only go ahead with a “pump track” and skills area on a grassy plateau. The city says it will spend a small amount of money to install signs in the area.

Opponents raised concerns about conflicts between mountain bikers and others who enjoy walking through Carlington Park, as well as a perceived lack of consultation.

The city relied on the mountain bike association and the Carlington Community Association to collect feedback, but a petition by one resident opposed to the initiative was signed by almost 250 people. There were actually more people on the petition than those who voted in support of the bike park during a community meeting — which left Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Keith Egli concerned.

He said council was asked to “sign off on something” without seeing a formal agreement or detailed design plans.

Egli said he was also disappointed that nothing substantive appeared to have been done to address concerns raised at a community and protective services committee several weeks ago.

Council ratifies deal with city’s largest union

Council ratified a new four-year collective agreement that will see the city’s inside/outside workers get annual pay increases of roughly two per cent.

The deal with CUPE Local 503, which is retroactive to the start of this year, will see annual increases of 1.92 per cent in the first two years, followed by 1.95 per cent in the third year and two per cent in the final year.

As of January 2017, the new collective agreement will see the introduction of a probationary rate of pay of 95 per cent of the job rate for all new employees and provide four weeks of paid vacation to employees after five years of service, instead of the current threshold of six years of service.

mpearson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/mpearson78

Councillors support O'Connor two-way bike route despite opening day collision

0
0

It wasn’t the way the city wanted to celebrate a new bikeway on O’Connor Street.

“With great smiles and ringing bells, we went out (Tuesday) and officially opened it. Believe me, when I listened to the evening news and heard there had already been an accident, nothing could have hurt more than that,” Capital Coun. David Chernushenko said Wednesday.

According to police, a driver making a left turn at Waverley and O’Connor streets struck a cyclist on the bikeway. Paramedics said the cyclist, a 44-year-old man, was transported to hospital with shoulder and rib pain. The 71-year-old woman driving the vehicle was charged with failing to yield to traffic under the Highway Traffic Act.

Earlier in the day, the city cut a ribbon opening the bi-directional bikeway on the one-way O’Connor Street.

Chernushenko said he understands that drivers approaching O’Connor Street wouldn’t be aware about cyclists travelling in the opposite direction of vehicles.

“A driver approaching on a one-way street to another one-way street has for days or maybe decades not expected a user to be coming from the other direction,” Chernushenko said. “The fact a cyclist is now coming from another direction is something we have to make clearer to the driver for all of those people who don’t anticipate that.”

Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney was scheduled to meet with city staff Wednesday afternoon to discuss the collision.

“We have to look at what occurred and what we do to prevent that again,” McKenney said.

Related

Mayor Jim Watson said one crash doesn’t call for a complete re-think of the new infrastructure.

“I think you have to put it in perspective. There are a lot of car accidents that take place and we don’t all of a sudden panic and say let’s stop this intersection from going ahead,” Watson said. “We have cycling experts and our traffic engineers tell us these segregated lanes do help make the route for cyclists more safe, but at the end of the day there’s no guarantee that a cyclist and a car won’t come into contact with one another.”

The new infrastructure will draw more cyclists and there’s a chance there will be more collisions, the mayor said.

“It’s new to both cyclists and to drivers. There’s no question we have to continue with education,” Watson said.

The city and volunteer groups have been stationed along the O’Connor Street bikeway educating people, and as Watson pointed out, a task force is looking at safety on the Laurier Avenue bike lanes.

“We continue to do our best to educate drivers so they understand that cyclists and drivers have rights and responsibilities and they have to be respectful of one another,” Watson said.

 

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling

OMB: Ottawa council at odds over how 'reasonableness' could be defined

0
0

Ottawa city council wants to keep “reasonableness” out of the Ontario Municipal Board.

The province wants to revamp the OMB and has been asking for the public’s advice. It includes input from municipalities, whose decisions are regularly challenged at the appeal tribunal.

The OMB is the first level of appeal for municipal planning decisions.

The City of Ottawa drafted a response and needed council’s stamp of approval Wednesday before sending the document to Queen’s Park.

Council largely agrees that the OMB needs to give more weight to the decisions of elected officials. However, politicians can’t agree on how to make it happen.

A handful of councillors led by Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper and Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Tobi Nussbaum wants the OMB to consider the reasonableness of a council decision to settle appeals. It would be similar to how appeal courts review decisions of lower courts.

The province opens the door to the “reasonableness” standard in a public consultation document.

Barrhaven Coun, Jan Harder, who chairs council’s planning committee, rallied against the “reasonableness” idea and ultimately won in a 17-6 vote to suggest the province clarify, with a binding interpretation, how the OMB takes into account council’s decisions.

City staff are nervous that “reasonableness” is so wishy-washy, the term itself could be challenged through the courts, prolonging an OMB appeal and racking up legal fees for the city.

A couple of councillors drew from their legal backgrounds to back staff.

Lawyers “start to salivate” when they see a word like “reasonableness” being used, Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Keith Egli said.

The test of reasonableness in court would result in a “theatre of law,” College Coun. Rick Chiarelli said.

Leiper believed his idea would give council’s decisions more strength, but Chiarelli summed up the feelings of most councillors.

“I agree with the direction. I’m not sure that’s the road to take you there,” Chiarelli said.

The debate was also a chance for councillors to blow off steam about the OMB.

Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans lamented the OMB’s apparent disregard of council’s decisions.

“They are faceless people to me,” Deans said.

Kanata-North Coun. Marianne Wilkinson got a kick in by playing off the “reasonableness” debate.

“I have not found the OMB terribly reasonable in how they look at things,” Wilkinson said.

Council also voted in favour of suggesting that the province expand the OMB’s community liaison office to help residents afford planning experts and lawyers. It could help residents take on deep-pocketed developers, or even the city, in land-use appeals.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling

Committee approves $1.1B in spending, while festivals fear 2017

0
0

City councillors peppered staff with questions during a lengthy meeting Thursday but unanimously approved the community and protective services draft budget for 2017.

The budget, the largest overseen by a council standing committee, touches on several diverse areas of city operations, including paramedics, firefighters, cultural programs and parks. The 2017 estimates include $1.1 billion in spending across all departments. 

A large portion of the community and social services funding comes from the province. The city also shares the cost of paramedics with the province.

The budget also includes fee increases for recreational programs and business licences.

About 20 public delegates who spoke to the community and protective services committee meeting displayed mixed emotions over the budget. 

The city wants to spread $610,000 more across 94 social agencies and $150,000 more to arts groups, but the money, it seems, is never enough to help the city’s poor or grow Ottawa’s arts scene.

Sean Wilson, president and chair of Ottawa Festivals, said events are pinched for money heading into Canada’s 150th birthday year. The festival organizers should be excited for 2017, but many are “terrified,” Wilson said.

At the same time, social agencies urged councillors to not take their eyes off housing and homelessness programs, even as the upper-tier governments spend more money on housing initiatives.

The committee heard that the city is on track to bring back its poet laureate program in 2017. Dan Chenier, the general manager of parks, recreation and culture, said the city is working with VERSe Ottawa to find English and French poets laureate and the cost will be absorbed by the existing budget.

Council will vote on the entire 2017 budget Wednesday.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling

Viewing all 133 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images