What should Ottawa residents hope to see following Thursday’s provincial election? How about transit help, doctors and a boost to housing?
Well, that’s done. The election that was either completely unnecessary or existentially crucial, depending on the tint of your eyeglasses, is in the rearview mirror. Let’s generously give everyone the weekend off to rest, reset and take stock, then hit the political pavement running on Monday.
There is, after all, so much still to do and — especially if we’re to have elections every 2½ years rather than four — so very little time.
Here in Ontario’s eastern hinterland, where it seems we’re routinely the Cinderella of provincial politics — except we sometimes never get to the party — local MPPs, the mayor and council, businesses, social agencies and concerned residents now need to pressure this fresh government on a number of files on Ottawa’s behalf so we don’t continue to only dream of glass slippers (while relying on mouse-driven transit).
So, first: Whether or not you use it, public transit, and particularly our not-on-budget-or-on-time light rail, continues to be a top concern, with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s Fairness for Ottawa campaign underscoring its significance and costs. It seems to have taken a provincial election for the mayor’s pitch to finally gain traction in Toronto. Now provincial politicians need to translate into big bucks the transit promises they made during their whistle stops here.
Next, I’ll call upon the voice of The Price Is Right announcer George Gray to segue into another issue near and dear to Ottawans: “Now that you finally have a reliable way to get around the city, wouldn’t it be great to have a family doctor you could visit?”
Evening Update
In November 2023, it was estimated that 165,000 Ottawans didn’t have a primary health-care provider, with the Ontario College of Family Physicians warning that that figure could balloon to 318,000 by 2026 — next year — if urgent action wasn’t taken. Meanwhile, there’s a nursing shortage, and while The Ottawa Hospital is expanding, others are desperately in need of resources. People are growing old and weary in emergency department waiting rooms. CHEO’s bed count has actually decreased as the city’s population has exploded. So, newly minted MPPs, put your money where your party’s mouth was during the campaign and fix this.
Then there are the intertwined issues of housing and homelessness. In Ottawa, as elsewhere, wannabe home-owners continue to see the opportunity once afforded their parents grow further from their reach. Renters also feel the pinch, while the supply of deeply affordable and supportive housing, prerequisites to reducing homelessness, is nowhere near meeting the need. According to the city’s latest count, almost 3,000 Ottawans were homeless at some point last year. With the responsibility for housing increasingly downloaded to cities and municipalities, it’s time for the province to lighten that burden.
Meanwhile, owing to the unholy trinity of a tuition decrease and freeze (still ongoing) that began in 2019; federal caps on international student permits; and a general malaise of underfunding on the part of the province; Ottawa’s post-secondary schools are awash in red ink. Facing a deficit of more than $150 million over the next two years, Algonquin College announced it will close its Perth campus, cut staff and suspend 41 programs. In its last budget, uOttawa predicted funding shortfalls of $132.3 million in 2023-24, and $142.5 million in the current school year. Carleton said in November that it expected a “significantly higher” operating deficit this year than the $26-million loss it had earlier projected. As a result, the school expects cuts to the number of contract instructors in its arts and social sciences programs.
These post-secondary slashes didn’t get much oxygen during the brief election campaign, but the trickle-down effects, if left unaddressed, will have significant long-term impacts. Reduced funding will see less research, leading to less innovation and, ultimately, a “brain drain” of students and faculty, to the detriment of both Ottawa and Ontario. With tariffs about to challenge our economy, we need a smart, well-educated workforce.
Combined, that’s a lot of “getting-stuff-done-for-Ottawa.” In order to accomplish it, the city needs a seat at the provincial cabinet table, which it hasn’t had since 2022. We are, after all, the second-largest city in the province. We should no longer be left to sweep up the cinders while everyone else goes to the ball.
