In a federal election with international stakes, Ottawa’s local issues might seem like small potatoes to the candidates running to be Canada’s next prime minister.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe can’t say the same.
With the federal election set for next Monday, Sutcliffe spoke with OBJ last week to break down the issues he hopes to prioritize with the next prime minister – who will likely also be an Ottawa MP – and the challenge of getting those issues noticed amid crises of a different scale.
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“I learned very early on, when I became mayor, just how important the relationship with other levels of government is,” he told OBJ. “When you’re mayor, you spend a lot of time asking for help from other levels of government … A big part of my job is to have a great relationship with whoever the government is, and I’m happy that so far, I’ve been able to do that with the Liberal government here in Ottawa and the Progressive Conservative government at Queen’s Park.”
He added, “When there’s an election, I stay completely neutral.”
Since the snap election was called by Prime Minister Mark Carney last month, the mayor has doubled down on the issues he’d like to see prioritized in the capital by whoever takes office next. This includes his ongoing “Fairness for Ottawa” campaign – to force the federal government to up their property tax payments on Ottawa assets they’ve “undervalued” – and his push for support on downtown revitalization efforts.
While Sutcliffe already has relationships with the front-runners – Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who are running in the Nepean and Carleton ridings, respectively – he said their ties to Ottawa could have pros and cons when it comes to managing municipal issues.
He said it’s a problem that’s always existed: “We are the place where all the members of Parliament gather on a regular basis. It was interesting with the previous prime minister, Justin Trudeau. When he would go to Vancouver for a visit, typically he could see the local mayor. But he worked and lived in Ottawa, so he was never visiting. It is an interesting dynamic, that we’re close, but (Ottawa is) never part of the same structured outreach by the federal government.”
And, Sutcliffe said, “Because we’re so closely associated with the seat of government, I think sometimes federal parties are concerned about looking like they’re putting too much money into Ottawa. There’s a risk associated with that.”
While those challenges would remain, he said having a prime minister with close ties to the city could have its benefits.
“Whoever that is will be part of the local caucus of MPs who will be tackling local issues, and I think that’s an opportunity,” he said. “If we can take advantage of that and make sure we have a strong working relationship, (we can make sure) that local issues are top of mind.
“That’s somebody who’s going to have to get re-elected in a few years in the riding they’re serving. They’ll have to demonstrate that they weren’t just doing a good job for all Canadians but for their local constituents as well.”
Sutcliffe broke down some of his top priorities for working alongside the next federal government. Here’s what he highlighted.
Helping laid-off public servants reskill
More than 40 per cent of the federal government’s public service employees are based in the National Capital Region, representing a significant portion of workers in Ottawa.
Layoffs are already anticipated over the next few years, but Sutcliffe said rhetoric from both Carney and Poilievre has raised concerns that more could be coming.
“Both front-runners have talked about reducing costs, and naturally, that leads people to speculate,” he said. “One candidate (Poilievre) has been specific about reducing the size of the federal public service. That’s definitely going to be on the table in future budgets.”
Due to the size of the workforce, layoffs could have impacts on the local economy. The city’s downtown, and its businesses, are still contending with the effects of reduced foot traffic through the core as a result of work-from-home orders during the pandemic. Though workers are back in the office three days a week, Sutcliffe said job cuts could be a blow without support from the feds.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty and that leads to a declining consumer confidence,” he said. “If you’re a federal public servant, and you’re wondering if they’re going to lay people off in the next few years, maybe you hesitate before buying a new home or buying a new car or making other major purchases. Some clarity around what the plan is would be very, very helpful.”
If layoffs do come, he said the federal government should be prepared to help workers retrain to take on roles in other industries.
He cited the 1990s’ Regional Economic Diversification Opportunities (REDO) program – a federal initiative to address the economic fallout of downsizing and job losses – as an example worth emulating.
“If you’re a federal employee, and you’ve been working for the federal government for 20 years, (there should be) some resources available for reskilling and retraining to position you to find a job in another industry,” Sutcliffe said. “We’ve seen examples of the federal government teaming up to provide support to a community when their major industry is going through a transition. So it makes sense to me that it would happen in Ottawa as well.”
Removing mystery around federal disposal list
It’s almost two years since the federal government released its “disposal list,” detailing the real estate assets in Ottawa it plans to sell going forward, including L’Esplanade Laurier downtown, the Sir Charles Tupper Building on Riverside Drive, and the 1500 Bronson Building and Annex.
For a city keen on revitalizing its ailing downtown core, Sutcliffe said the lack of information from the federal government about their plans is a major barrier for its efforts.
As a result, he said he wants the government to be more transparent and actively involve the city in its plan for each asset, to determine how best to utilize the buildings and land.
“If the federal government is going to reduce its footprint in the downtown core, if they’re going to get rid of some buildings, if there will be fewer people going downtown to work, we need a plan,” he said. “As the major landowner and major employer in Ottawa (the federal government) owns more land than anybody else. We should be their partners in that place, where we work together.”
Giving Ottawa and Gatineau a bigger voice in local governance
In the last year, Sutcliffe has solidified a partnership with Gatineau mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette to push for federal involvement on issues in the National Capital Region, from downtown revitalization planning and public transit funding to affordable housing and investment in climate-resilient projects.
But another thing the mayors agree on is that the region needs more representation on the National Capital Commission.
“I’ve got a very constructive working relationship with the team at the NCC,” Sutcliffe said. “The mayor of Gatineau and I attend board meetings as observers. It’s sometimes said that we are on the board but we’re non-voting participants.”
While the lands and public spaces cared for by the NCC are federally owned, Sutcliffe said their location within Ottawa city limits gives the city a stake in how they are managed. As a result, he said he’d like to see more local representation in the decision-making process.
“Typically, the minister responsible for the National Capital Region was an Ottawa MP,” he said. “More recently, they’ve been members of Parliament from other communities. Nothing against the people who held those responsibilities more recently, but I think if you’re going to have oversight of the NCC, you should be a local MP. You should be someone who knows the city of Ottawa.”
Pushing the ‘Fairness for Ottawa’ initiative
Sutcliffe has been pushing for the federal government to “pay its fair share” of property taxes to the city since last summer, and despite a lack of response, he has continued to ring the bell throughout this election campaign.
According to Sutcliffe, the federal government currently pays $164 million in property taxes, a decrease from the $194 million it paid nine years ago. He said the difference is the result of the government “undervaluing their own assets to get away with paying less.”
As a result, he said one of his top priorities with the new government will be to push for fair Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILTs) at market value.
He hasn’t had much success so far, with the federal court dealing a blow to the campaign earlier this year, with a decision the city said it would appeal.
But Sutcliffe said he won’t be deterred.
“We look at issues of essential fairness,” he said. “If there was a landowner that wasn’t paying its full tax bill every year, after a few tries of contacting them saying, we just gave up, I don’t think the residents of Ottawa would be happy with us.
“I’m never going to stop fighting for Ottawa’s fair share. As I look out my window at City Hall, I see one building owned by a private owner who pays a certain amount of property taxes, and one owned by the federal government that pays much less. I don’t think that’s fair, and it means all the other property owners in Ottawa, including residents, have to pay more.”
