Transit funding, revitalizing downtown areas the federal election priorities for mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe speaks to reporters with Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette at Ottawa City Hall on Monday. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)

The mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau are outlining the shared federal election priorities for the two cities in the national capital region, calling on the next federal government to support expanding transit, revitalizing the downtown areas and provide “fair and predictable” funding for municipalities.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Gatineau Mayor Maude Marquis-Bissonnette held a media conference Monday to release a letter that will be sent to all party leaders, highlighting some priorities where a coordinated action between the two levels of government is essential.

“Our two cities, at the heart of the National Capital Region, face common issues that require concrete solutions, particularly in the areas of regional governance, economic development and support for public infrastructure,” says the letter, called “Ottawa and Gatineau: shared priorities for a strong and united region.”

The letter outlines eight priorities, including:

• Transit support: The mayors call for “long-term federal funding” for maintaining existing networks and support for Gatineau’s Tramway and Stage 3 of Ottawa’s LRT system
• Fair and predictable federal funding for municipalities: The letter calls for “additional financial support to balance fiscal responsibilities,” noting, “predictable and sustainable funding” is needed that is “tailored to our growing needs.”
• Revitalizing downtown areas: The mayors call on the next government to set up partnerships to redevelop vacant federal spaces and work with municipalities to “revitalize our downtown cores.”
• National Capital Commission: The mayors want the federal government to appoint the mayors as full voting members on the National Capital Commission’s board of directors and for the NCC to be the responsibility of a local minister.
• Payments in lieu of taxes
• Transition support for federal public service workers: The mayors call for reorientation and skill-training programs to help any workers laid off from the federal government acquire new skills and “successfully reintegrate the workforce.” The letter also recommends the government support local businesses to welcome new skilled workers by creating tax incentives or grants to encourage hiring.
• Affordable housing and homelessness: “We need sustainable and predictable federal funding for the construction of affordable and supportive housing,” the mayors say.
• Major investments in infrastructure and resilience. The letter says, “municipalities need long-term funding not only to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters, but also to invest in climate adaptation and natural infrastructure.”

With the federal government changing its work plan, the mayors say it’s important the government takes an active role in boosting the downtown areas.

“We certainly hope that we have a transition plan to make sure that our downtown areas remain very attractive, very dynamic and, for sure, we need to work with them to ensure we have a collaboration,” Marquis-Bissonnette said.

Sutcliffe told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll that the national capital region has its “unique challenges” that need to be discussed during the election campaign.

“Everybody knows this election is largely going to be about the situation with the United States, but that doesn’t mean we should overlook the very significant local issues that are happening in Ottawa and Gatineau,” Sutcliffe said Monday morning.

“The fact that the federal government has a hybrid work arrangement with its employees now that’s affecting how many people come down in both our cities, it affects public transit. The fact that the federal government’s talking about getting out of 50 per cent of its buildings in the two downtown cores, that’s going to have an enormous impact on our downtowns.”

“We need to make sure local issues are still a priority in this election campaign even if the overarching narrative is about to be about the relationship with the United States and the Trump administration.”

Sutcliffe also raises the issue of the payments in lieu of taxes the federal government provides municipalities, saying the government has been “shortchanging our municipal governments.”

Sutcliffe says all the mayors and municipal councils want is a plan for the future of downtown Ottawa and Gatineau and the future of public transit.

“I’m ready to work with whoever the next prime minister is to make sure that Ottawa is getting its fair share, that our local interests are protected, and we have a plan,” Sutcliffe said.

“That’s all we are asking for is we have a plan for the future of downtown Ottawa, for the future of public transit, the future of whatever buildings are being decommissioned by the federal government. We just want to work together on a plan that makes sense for both of us and eases the transition for our local economy.”

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre and Liberal Party leader Mark Carney are running for election in Ottawa ridings.