City walks back on seniors transit fare increase

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Good morning! 

We have a busy news day to get to. 

When city council presented its draft budget, taxpayers became furious over the big increases for transit. The biggest sticking point was a 120 per cent increase to the monthly seniors pass. Now Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says they’ve heard the concerns and are looking for money elsewhere. We share the limited details we know at this point. 

The Canada Post strike is having a devastating impact on local businesses just as they gear up for the busiest time of the year. The Lookout spoke with one business owner who’s had almost her interest revenue stream dry up. 

Lets get to the important news of the day! 

— Charlie Senack, managing editor 

[email protected] 

X: @Charlie_Senack

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WEATHER

Wednesday: 9 🌡️ 5 | 🌤️

Thursday: 6 🌡️ 3 | 🌧️

Friday: 8 🌡️ 2 | 🌧️

CITY HALL

Seniors won’t be faced with a 120 per cent transit fare increase after all

Reversing course: It’s only been a week since Ottawa’s draft budget was released, and already, the city is scaling back on some of its proposals. Taxpayers were left fuming after it was announced that monthly seniors transit passes would be going up 120 per cent — climbing from $49 to $108. 

Many city councillors the Ottawa Lookout spoke to said they were unlikely to pass the transit portion of the budget in its current form. But, there are also questions over how such a controversial decision could be made in the first place.

One councillor said the criteria for the seniors EquiPass would be expanded, allowing upwards of 75 per cent of current seniors pass holders to apply — but this was never confirmed. Councillors said they believe it came down to a poor presentation of information from city staff.

• This may be a new theme emerging out of city hall and something to keep an eye on.  

What happens next: A memo started circulating on Monday afternoon where Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he spoke with the transit commission and was working to find a solution, reported CTV. He confirmed that report on X the following morning. 

• “One of the great things about the city budget process is that it allows for public input and feedback on the draft budget before final decisions are made. Over the past few days, I've heard from many Ottawa residents about the proposed increases in transit fares for seniors included in the draft budget,” wrote Sutcliffe. 

The Mayor said he spoke with councillors Glen Gower, Tim Tierney, and Jeff Leiper — all members of a working group working on the long-range financial plan for transit — and they all agreed that a different solution was needed. 

• “We are working on a solution, including identifying a funding source, to respond to the community's feedback. Our intention is to bring a motion to the transit commission meeting next Monday. We'll have more details soon,” said Sutcliffe. 

Here is what some councillors think 

A huge disappointment: Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine told the Lookout he believes the city is digging itself a bigger hole by creating a budget that doesn’t meet the current needs of the city — especially when it comes to transit.

But the issue goes beyond that: It also includes social issues like funding for affordable housing, food poverty, or environmental concerns, said Devine. You can read more about the draft budget in our Friday newsletter.

On transit, Devine said he was concerned to see the elimination of the youth transit pass — something he feels the city is not being fully honest and transparent about — and the increase for seniors. 

• “People need to know we’ve eliminated an entire category of a pass. The youth pass has completely disappeared. For the seniors, yes, $108 is still lower than for an adult pass, but it’s a significant jump for someone on a fixed income,” Devine told the Lookout. ”For a senior buying that pass every month, their annual increase in cost is going to be $708.”

That will have an impact on their bottom lines, said Devine. He also noted the amount of new money generated would perhaps only be a few million dollars — money that could instead come from a greater increase to the transit levy. That would be paid for by all taxpayers. 

• It’s unclear what seniors will pay for transit but Sutcliffe hinted it won’t be on everyone to pick up the bill. 

No ideal solution: Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, who is part of the working group, told the Lookout they were unable to find a fix that would make all residents happy. 

“A $120 million hole is not easy to fill,” said Leiper, who also fears increased transit costs could result in OC Transpo losing more riders.   

• “The question is if council is willing to offset fare increases with higher property tax increases. What we have in front of council is a balance of measures to try to fill that hole. I will be interested to see if councillors put forward motions to offset some of the fare increases with higher property tax increases and if those pass. My own discussions with colleagues and the Mayor is if those motions come forward to re-balance this towards higher property taxes over higher fares, I will support that, but I’m not convinced these motions will pass with a majority of votes,” said Leiper. 

No to higher taxes: Barrhaven East Coun. Wilson Lo told the Lookout he would not support higher property taxes due to the cost of living crisis everyone finds themselves in. He did, though, say changes were needed so seniors wouldn’t feel such a significant punch. 

Lo said his biggest concern is that the city is leaving a $36 million placeholder in the budget in case the provincial and federal governments come through with additional transit cash. The city has accused the upper levels of government of not paying its fare share to run OC Transpo, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. 

• “What I am worried about is every year the Mayor seems to say next year is going to be a tough budget. He said that last year during the 2024 budget and said that when we did the 2023 budget. You wonder what’s coming and why aren’t we just doing it now? What don't we know? If the province and the feds didn’t come through the first two times, I don’t know why they would the third time. I don’t feel it’s responsible and is problematic. It doesn’t feel like we actually have a plan to make transit sustainable,” said Lo. 

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OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

⬆️ 2%: The inflation rate in October, up from 1.6 per cent in September, with gasoline being a big part of the price increase. Even though inflation is near the target, the bank is still expected to cut interest rates in the coming months. [Canadian Press]

🏡 14%: The rate of new home construction has been down in Ottawa so far this year. In October, there were 636 housing starts, down from 1,106 housing starts the year before. [CTV]

🏢 $76,000: The amount of money federal departments and agencies spend on office art rentals each month. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚽 $1 million: The amount of money the city is spending for two self-cleaning washrooms in Centretown next year. [CTV]

HOUSE OF THE WEEK

Looking for a waterfront retreat? Then this three-bedroom home in Kemptville might be perfect for you. The small yet renovated property has breathtaking views of the Rideau River, a propane fireplace, and a large deck. And did I mention it’s located close to Equinelle Golf Course and year-round snowmobile & ATV trails?

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House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labeled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team.

NEWS

How the Canada post strike is impacting local businesses

No mail delivery: Canada Post postal workers walked off the job for almost a week, but yesterday on the fifth day of the walkout, “a lot of ground” remained between the union and postal workers reaching an agreement, reported Global News. 

What they are asking for: The union is calling for a cumulative wage hike of 24 per cent over four years, but Canada Post has only offered an 11.5 per cent increase. Workers are also asking for better job security, benefits and contract work for parcel delivery on weekends.

The wage hikes are meant to make up for inflation, said the union, which is also demanding bumps to short-term disability payouts and 10 paid sick days per year. Rural and suburban mail carriers specifically are looking for corporate vehicles to be included for mail-carriers and paid meals and breaks.

Pinching pennies: Canada Post said those demands simply aren’t realistic. The mail delivery service lost half a billion dollars in the first quarter of this year. It’s also reported losses of $3 billion since 2018. 

Impact to businesses: With Christmas and other holidays approaching, December is the business season for Canada Post. But it’s not just Christmas cards and letters to Santa they are delivering. Many small, locally-owned businesses rely on the Crown corporation to deliver their products. Now many have been forced to shut down temporarily until service is running again. 

Fiona Smith is the owner of Send it With a Stamp, an Ottawa business which purchases Canadian-made products and packages them in gift boxes for presents. They ship exclusively through Canada Post’s oversized letter mail and are unable to make alternative arrangements at this point. 

• “I’m holding onto stock. I was hoping to be able to make a lot of orders coming up with Christmas. People are looking to send small gifts for a variety of reasons or there are also other things besides the holidays. I’ve got a family member who’s just announced a pregnancy and I would have loved to have sent something for her,” said Smith. 

The business is not Smith’s primary source of income but she was planning to take two months of unpaid leave off from her day job to further grow her endeavor. 

Smith, who sells stickers, scrunchies, bookmarks made of recycled leather, pins, and recyclable seed packets, said she supports the strike and hopes to see a resolution soon.  

• “For myself it’s going to come down to whether I can continue my business with its current business model or else I will have to look to something where I’d pivot to ship elsewhere or do something locally instead. I think Canada Post owes their workers a fair deal and us a reliable post service,” she said. 

THE AGENDA

🏥 Two Ottawa hospitals are breaking records for all the wrong reasons, with the longest wait times to be seen in the province. In September, the wait time for a first assessment by a doctor was 4.1 hours at CHEO and four hours at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital. Windsor Regional Hospital's Metropolitan Campus was the only one with a longer wait time of 4.4 hours. Statistics from Health Quality Ontario show the provincial average for a first assessment by a doctor in the emergency room was 2.1 hours that month. [CTV]

⚖️ On the first day of an inquest into the death of Abdirahman Abdi, Ottawa Police began by providing a rare glimpse into the Black man’s life before coming to the city and the mental health struggles he faced. The Somali-Canadian died outside his Hilda Street apartment after an altercation with police in 2016. [CBC]

🚊 Three people have been charged after hate-motivated incidents, including one which occurred on an LRT train. The first altercation occurred near Tremblay Station when a person was assaulted with a weapon. Hate-filled comments were also made. Then, later on Sunday night, two incidents occurred in Centretown and Chinatown. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏒 NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the entire Ottawa community must rally behind a new downtown arena for the Ottawa Senators or it won’t work. He noted it must be a community, public-private based endeavour to be successful, and said it could help revitalize the struggling downtown core. [Ottawa Business Journal]

🚊 There was hope the Trillium Line light rail expansion would be open by now, but there is still no public launch date. Last month OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar said the earliest it could open was mid November. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏡 Federal land next to the Keg Ottawa Manor Restaurant and Maplelawn Gardens in Westboro is now available for future housing use. The 1.56-acre property at 529 Richmond Road is currently being used as a staging area for Phase 2 light rail construction. It joins a growing list of federally-owned parcels of land which can be used to help Canada’s affordable housing targets. [CTV]

🚔 Four people are facing charges after blocking downtown intersections during a protest on Monday. The demonstrators were part of a Palestinian Youth Movement group that organized a rally called "Ottawa tour of arms corporations." Police told the demonstrators multiple times they’d need to stick to the sidewalk but they did not comply. One person is facing a charge of assaulting police; three others are charged with mischief and obstruction of a peace officer. [CTV]

🏫 Earl of March Secondary School went into secure school mode Tuesday due to a security threat. Teachers were alerted to the possibility of a weapon being in the school but an investigation found nothing. [CTV]

🪧 Only a handful of demonstrators picketed outside Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod’s office Monday after the outspoken politician shared her disgust over an Arabic song being played during Sir Robert Borden High School’s Remembrance Day ceremony. A heavy police presence was in the area. [Ottawa Citizen]

GIG LISTINGS

The Extensions | Haven, 43 Seneca St | Nov. 22 | Blending funk, pop, and retro-soul into their chilled but danceable sound.  Tickets $20

Mecca of Stank | Overflow Brewing, 2477 Kaladar Av | Nov. 22 | Soul, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk and Latin influences combined into irresistible grooves. Tickets $25.

Claude Munson | Irene’s, 885 Bank St | Nov. 22 | Uninhibited impressionist-folk, tackling modern life and love with radical intimacy. Tickets $20.

Equator | Avant Garde Bar, 135 Besserer St | Nov. 23 | Anthemic soul-punk with boogie, rage, and raw energy. Tickets $10. 

Janette King | NAC, 1 Elgin St | Nov. 23 | Caribbean-Canadian alternative R&B artist known for soulful vocals and fusing R&B with electronica and pop. Tickets $15.

Listings for music shows are provided by OttawaGigs.ca, the best place to discover live music in Ottawa. Check out Ottawagigs.ca for full listings across the city.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Did you know there is a hidden commode under Sparks Street? [Ottawa Citizen]

• This Ottawa cafe has ranked among Open Table's top 100 restaurants in Canada. [CTV]

• Here is where you can go for lunch in Ottawa if you are in a rush. [Ottawa Business Journal]

• This Ottawa mother has been given a community builder award for her work to create global change. [Apt 613]

• Ottawa’s Cooper Brothers are getting ready to perform a 50th-anniversary show on Nov. 27. [Apt y13]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

OTTAWA GUESSER

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