NDAs: The Faint Seduction Of Politics: CHANGE THING

Here are notes on the city mayoral campaign from Bulldog editor Ken Gray as it progresses to the Oct. 26 voting day:

June 27, 2026: Pretty slick. The city signs a non-disclosure agreement with Alto faster than a speeding bullet. That way Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s potential re-election is not disturbed by the nastiest of controversies – expropriation for a rail right-of-way. Perhaps Sutcliffe will use his feeble defence of NDAs during the campaign. Everything gets worked out in private, then the public is told what will happen. Don’t worry your pretty little heads. That pesky democracy business of open discussion and debate doesn’t get in the way of what the city wants done. Democracy in Ottawa rarely occurs outside of every four years on election day. The rest of the time it is a somewhat benign dictatorship. There you go, little people. Here’s open government. We will will tell you what we have decided to do and you will accept it because you have no choice. Sounds like democracy straight out of Moscow (“this is what you will do, comrades”). Did Sutcliffe believe in open government when he was a CFRA journalist because he sure doesn’t seem to now? It’s amazing how quickly journalists-turned-politicians suddenly lose their journalism mantra. Hard to say if this is the result of limp enforcement of journalism ethics or the faint and rare seduction of politics.

June 26, 2026: Now this is certainly a quotable line from economist and mayoral candidate Neil Saravanamuttoo: “The big spending decisions are lining up with the priorities of powerful developers, not ordinary residents. These (Tewin and Lansdowne) are both investments that I see very few people in the community asking for, whereas I see a lot of demand for better transit, for community recreational services, for frankly just getting the roads fixed and keeping up with basic services.”