Putin Is Alive And Well And Living At City Hall
This makes me ill.
The Bulldog’s Dan Stankovic gets notice from city staff of a finance committee meeting for Tuesday. Stankovic got the notice on Friday. There was no previous meeting set for that date. In other words, it was a snap meeting.
But not only was this a snap meeting, it was a notice on the eve of Canada Day weekend for a meeting immediately after the Canada weekend. That’s when the last thing on the minds of Ottawa citizens is more free money for developers.
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It’s the oldest and dirtiest trick in municipal politics. Introduce a controversial plan in the dead of summer on both ends of the Canada Day weekend. Former mayor Jim Watson did something like this when he wanted to reduce snow-plowing standards. Yes, front of mind this snow-plowing in July. Now Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is doing the same thing, not on snow-plowing but snowing the public in July. Has anyone done a DNA test to see if Sutcliffe is actually Watson in disguise?
So no public debate. Why?
Well that’s easy.
It’s the infamous Community Initiatives Program. That’s $1,257,737 property tax grant over 10 years for the commercial redevelopment of 1280 Trim Road. Free money … again.
Infamous, you say, this CIP? Yes, that’s the plan that gave us tax breaks to a Porche dealership and a hotel at Ottawa airport. Very controversial. And you’ll remember the last airport hotel attempt at free money was rejected by city council. Nevertheless, the hotel went ahead. What does that tell you about city planning and the CIP? Hello, auditor general, are you there?
So what’s being built at 1280 Trim Road … a hotel or a Porsche dealership or maybe something else of equal distinction?
Just in case you missed it, this is rotten politics, rotten to the core.
This is not democracy where people get an opportunity to participate in a public-policy issue. This is slam-bam-thank-you-man.
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This is democracy in the style of Russia’s Putin. The façade of democracy but not democracy. Kind of like covering up a rotten fence with a couple of coats of paint.
If the folks at city hall had any shame, they should be ashamed.
Kudos to Dan Stankovic for picking this up. Our man does a great service to this community.
If finance committee passes this afront to democracy, it tells you everything you need to know about Sutcliffe, city staff and their view of democracy.
Come on, councillors. Defend democracy and reject this thing and give Sutcliffe, city staff and the others behind this a stern lecture they won’t soon forget.
Stern enough that they won’t try this stunt again.
Here’s a new slogan for the City of Ottawa.
City Hall: Where Democracy Is An Inconvenience.
Ken Gray
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Consultation obfuscation is in.
We just had one Committee of Adjustment agenda item (Schlegel Riverside Hospital) with something like 5 days notice. The rush appears to be that Provincial funding lapses if a building permit isn’t issued by the end of July. Setbacks, reduced loading area and parking constraints need to be approved. All with a few days notice over Canada Day weekend.
Now The Finance and Corporate Services Committee agenda for – Tuesday, July 4 includes:
Ottawa Hospital’s request for release of a reversionary covenant at 1967 Riverside Drive
Application by Trim Works Developments Limited for 1280 Trim Road
Maybe someone here can explain the meaning of “release of reversionary covenant,” but it doesn’t appear to me that the City wants many of us to understand what is going on financially with the Schlegel development at the Riverside Hospital.
“City Hall: Where Democracy Is An Inconvenience”. Love it! Reminds me of the slogan I hear from many customer support organizations: “We’re here ’til you need us”.
It comes down to the culture of preventing council from meeting its statutory obligation of oversight. That culture is not just endemic within senior city staff. It is also embedded within council. Some words of advice to councillors, you make it far easier to be walked all over when you just lie down and accept it. And that too is part of the culture problem down at city hall.
It is time for one, but preferably twenty four councillors to stand up and insist that city staff, the mayor and the mayor’s political advisors (paid by the city) show some respect for the role council is required to perform.