People With Backbone Admit Their Mistakes

Here is our mayor Mark Sutcliffe still tub-thumping for more money from the senior levels of government while standing in front of $600 million of provincial spending.

And it’s hard to keep track of Sutcliffe’s argument from X. First, he has a budget shortfall of $140 million, then he has a transit shortfall of $140 million. He’s throwing around financial figures with abandon to create an effect rather than a fact.

Sutcliffe says Ottawa gets, I think, lots of funds to build out transit but not enough to maintain them through operating capital. Well, it takes a lot of operating capital to maintain roads and pipes in far-off Tewin as well. And how much is the city subsidizing Lansdowne? Close to $1 billion of capital spending? How much is Ottawa spending in LRT overruns and legal settlements? Hard to know. And just one more thing, how does the mayor expect to cover these spend-thrift expenditures with two- and three-per-cent property-tax increases.

For years during the Watson-Sutcliffe administrations, property taxes were held artificially low when inflation and costs skyrocketed. If taxes are raised by two or three per cent, how can Sutcliffe and company expect to keep pace with city costs. Impossible. So Watson and Sutcliffe raided city reserves to make up the difference.

Now that rainy-day fund is approaching its minimum limits.

What Sutcliffe is trying to do is 1. blame Ottawa’s over-spending on the federal and provincial governments and 2. prepare Ottawans for a massive Toronto-style tax increase. “I had no choice,” Sutcliffe will say. “I tried to get fairness but the senior governments won’t budge so I have no choice but to make you pay. I’m so sorry for the unfairness of it all.”

Isn’t it interesting that when things go wrong at Ottawa City Hall, it’s either not the city’s fault and no one is to blame.

You know, people with backbone admit their mistakes. They don’t blame others or circumstances beyond their control.

Suck it up and tell the truth. Stop the spin:

Ottawa residents are paying for Toronto projects through their provincial taxes. Les résidents d’Ottawa paient pour les projets de Toronto à travers leurs impôts provinciaux. Ce n’est tout simplement pas juste. That’s just not fair. This is another great example of how Ottawa… pic.twitter.com/Qm3XZpcEO7

— Mark Sutcliffe (@_MarkSutcliffe) August 26, 2024

And don’t forget to read the comments on X for this post. Former city employee Jay Tysick has a particularly good one.

Ken Gray

For You:

Sutcliffe Drains City Reserves By A Third: Report

City Practises Dishonest Government: DOUCET

Doug Ford, End The Fiasco Of This City Government