City Hall Tried to Silence Us. We’re Taking Our Voice Back.
The Mayor pulled out all the stops to prevent us from speaking on whether the City should hold a referendum on Lansdowne. Here's how we're heard.
Your voice should matter at City Hall
Mark Sutcliffe is doing everything he can to prevent the public from having their say on whether Ottawa should hold a referendum before deciding to proceed with Lansdowne 2.0.
(Full disclosure: I have been promoting the idea of holding a referendum on Lansdowne.)
Sutcliffe must be worried that, if asked a clear question, the public is unlikely to want to spend $493 million to redo the Lansdowne sports facility. A facility that the City and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group were supposed to have fixed a decade ago with Lansdowne 1.0.
Same old Council disfunction
And so Mark pulled out all the procedural tricks to prevent the public from delegating at a City Committee on whether we should have a referendum on Lansdowne.
Mark says he wants a more cooperative City Council, after the disfunction of his predecessor. Yet at the last Finance and Corporate Services Committee meeting, he took a page straight out of Jim Watson’s playbook to procedurally derail Councillor Shawn Menard and thwart the democratic process.
Menard had given a notice of motion that he was putting a discussion of a Lansdowne referendum onto the next Committee meeting. This is standard practice.
But Councillor Cathy Curry then introduced a counter motion, undoubtedly on the instructions of the Mayor’s office, to instead have the matter considered immediately. As Menard pointed out, considering the item right then was little more than a transparent effort to prevent the public from being heard on this issue.
A CBC story goes into more detail.
People’s Committee, June 23 TBC
Mark thinks that he can silence us. But many of us want to have our say.
I have a thought.
Since we are not able to speak at the Mayor’s Finance Committee meeting, we could hold our own People’s Committee meeting where anyone can make a delegation.
We’ll invite the Mayor, Councillors and the media to join us. We’ll record it, and send the final version to the Mayor if he can’t make it.
I would be happy to organize the meeting, suggested for Monday, June 23 in both the afternoon and evening as a hybrid in-person/online event, but ONLY if ...
Are you in?
… enough of you INDICATE BELOW that you’d speak at the People’s Committee.
You would get your 5 minutes like any other public delegation, and it would be your opportunity to explain whether you support or oppose the City holding a referendum to decide on Lansdowne.
Click “Yes” to be heard
I imagine the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group gets to speak with City Hall whenever they want. The public should be afforded the same treatment.
If you want to be heard, and would delegate at our People’s Committee, let me know in the form above (or by return email if that’s not working for you).
If enough people choose “yes” in the poll, we’ll hold a People’s Committee in late June to have a public discussion on a Lansdowne referendum.
So disgusted with Sutcliffe pushing Landsdowne2.0 and Taggarts Tewin scam. These 2 projects amount to $1.2B when the city is bankrupt. Wjjy are we funding the richest families in town? $11B shortfall to fund much needed infrastructure repairs. But let’s give the Rich another $1.2B. Playing Watson’s games is disappointing.
There are so many reasons we need a referendum:
FACT: from 2015 to 2019 the city did NOT do ANY "routine" inspection of condition of Lansdowne. In 2019 OSEG claimed in the media it was "crumbling". (OSEG was responsible to maintain the facility), Therefore it had to be replaced! (I have the Access to Information request as proof).
As Neil prepared financial documents that are irrefutable, I prepared a short list, sample of some non financial concerns. Many more are not listed:
1. Lack of ANY documentation (ie. an application for Official Plan and zoning changes) required for council to vote (supported by access to information documents),
2.Rushing the vote on this massive project causing legal and financial errors: 4 months start to until a vote was taken,
3. Massive changes made after public consultations. A "bait and switch" where a 30% change occurred after public consultation , 3 towers to 2, among other changes. This should have had further public consultations as do many other applications (see 1. above),
4. consultations were hidden by using online, limited/controlled public input, with no time to modify the project plan because of public feedback,
5. The sale/lease of Lansdowne land not carried out as required: a closed process on MERCS instead of "public" posting of the sale laid out in policy documents (another documented error),
6. No consideration or data on the option of repairing the asset to get the estimated 40 years life left in the structure,
7. The Mayor and staff incorrectly stated the condition of the Buildings, and urgency in meetings to vote,
8. staff intentionally withhold material evidence on the state of the condition of the buildings in a council meeting. There is no City data is on file, and this was not disclosed by staff when specifically asked (link to meeting video available),
9. Staff withholding a reply to a time sensitive question on the Sale/Lease process until after the process was "closed" (documentation available ),
10. Loss of green-space in an under-served urban zone - against The OP and Master park plan, without public consultations,
11. Intensification without a stated plan for increased city services (larger Community center, recreational facilities open to the public vs the smaller "private" Lansdowne),
12. Underground infrastructure (Water, sewer, hydro, gas) costs to add intensity not disclosed,
13. LEED status not considered Mandatory in a "Climate Emergency". The minimal LEED "silver" proposed in pre-voting council documents, was silently downgraded to the lowest "certified" level on the scale. (Memories of the promised "underground" parkade at the new hospital being quietly shifted to 4 stories above ground),
14. The National Park potential of the canal should restrict vehicle access on the QED, the official plan states this goal as well. Yet the Mayor is actively fighting against the new Official Plan, to increase vehicle use for commuting, and;
15. the city changes development requirements and its website information without any documented justification and archiving. For example: if Lansdowne does not meet a requirement and a complaint is made, they quietly change the requirements and documentation, making it retroactive, no records kept such as website dates on pages, form version numbers and archiving of webpages. (documentation available to prove this)
There are many more.