It’s Time To Panic: PATTON
This is a must-view video from Bulldog commentator Mike Patton.
The federal government has made moves that will threaten to economic future of this community. Patton has a take on that:
Ed. note: Worth adding to this solid opinion piece, and this does not originate from your agent, is that work-at-home is the thin edge of the municipality’s problems with the future of Ottawa. If current public servants can work from Kanata or Orleans or Barrhaven, why can’t they work from Banff or Vancouver or Mont-Tremblant?
The Bulldog has been published from a number of locations when the proprietor was travelling. You need a laptop, a fast internet connection and a phone. This website’s server is located in Houston. Get the picture?
Why can’t whole departments move to new locations because location, for many parts of the federal government, doesn’t matter anymore.
And don’t think that MPs from Nova Scotia or Saskatchewan haven’t thought of this already and would be happy to welcome a government department to their riding.
The world is changing but it’s doubtful that such a faulty organization as the City of Ottawa can keep up.
This community is in trouble.
Ken Gray
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While the City no doubt has a problem, the impacts may not be as bad as stated. A lessened public service will mean less OC Transpo riders which isn’t good but it may cause us to reflect as to whether LRT Phase 3 will be necessary. A reduction in the public service by anything other than attrition may have a mild dampening effect on house prices, but I suspect a more significant downsizing the public service will likely experience after the next election if the current polls hold will have a much greater impact on the local economy and house prices.. People in Ottawa forget the negative impact on housing prices that the needed downsizing of the federal service by Martin/Chretien had in Ottawa. The impact on City Hall’s revenues may not be as bad as stated where Mike Patten predicts a loss of $100 mln. in cash-in-lieu. Firstly, in 2023 the total amount of cash-in-lieu was only $168 mln. This covers buildings that the Federal government actually own (Parliament, museums, historic offices (Langevin Block, Revenue building, etc) that will still be subject to cash-in-lieu as well as office complexes such as Tunney’s Pasture. Secondly, any offices that are actually owned by the private sector (which include many in downtown core) in which the government leases space do not pay cash-in-lieu. They pay taxes. They will not pay less tax as long as they stay as offices. That being said, the mill rate for commercial buildings is about 90% more than the residential mill rate so unless that reconverted office is worth 90% more as a condo or rental building, the taxes it generates will be a lot less. A bigger problem is a City too dependent on the federal government as being its main economic driver and a federal government determined to find more and better ways of redistributing wealth rather than bringing in the conditions to create it. The recent budget will do nothing to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in Ottawa’s high tech sector or take risks in any sector because if successful, their owners will only be punished.