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LAURA MUELLER laura.mueller@metroland.com
Laura Mueller photo
The Queensway is set to be widened from Nicholas Street to the 174 split.
Provincial budget calls for Queensway widening LAURA MUELLER laura.mueller@metroland.com
The long-awaited widening of the Queensway and funding to bring more students to colleges and universities are some of the ways Ottawa will feel the effects of the province’s 2011 budget. On March 29, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan presented a budget that will stay the course in the lead-up to the fall provincial election. With no big cuts to service or major increases in taxes, the provincial budget is designed to ruffle few feathers as Ontario prepares to head into the election. For Ottawa, the big news is a commitment to move forward with the widening of Highway 417 between downtown (Nicholas Street) and the 174 split. The project is meant to support Ottawa’s transit plan by providing an extra lane in each direction that will be dedicated to buses during the conversion of the bus Transitway to light rail. After the completion of the LRT line, the bus lanes would be turned into high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Provincial infrastructure minister Bob Chiarelli (MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean) said he will be announcing more details about the project in the coming weeks, but Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson confirmed that construction would start in 2012. Preliminary design work and environment studies should get underway this year, Watson said. “The important thing from our perspective is it allows us to start planning for the process … of the LRT construction from 2013 to 2018,” he said. Chiarelli said the project will be done in phases for safety reasons. “It’s a high-priority project,” Chiarelli said. MONEY FOR COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES Also in the budget, Ontario will provide $64 million in 2011-12 growing to $309 million in 2013-14 to create an additional 60,000 post-secondary spaces for students, and with four colleges and universities, Ottawa could see a good portion of that funding. “I fully expect that the four post-secondary institutions – five, if you include St. Paul (University) – will be accessing those funds to a greater or lesser degree depending on their needs,” Chiarelli said. “In a knowledge-based economy such as ours, we need to open the doors to as many people as possible,” the mayor said. Duncan Watt, Carleton University’s vice
president of finance and administration, said the multi-year announcement provides predictability and stability to allow the university to make long-term plans. “It also sends a strong signal in terms of the important role that post secondary education plays in the future prosperity of the Ontario economy,” he said. While Algonquin College president Bob Gillett said he looks forward to the province’s upcoming five-year plan for post-secondary funding, the budget announcement means “…at least we can now make a start in allowing some of those students to get here,” Gillett said. The province’s plan to “upload” the costs of certain programs continues, and Ontario municipalities will see $3.07 billion this year, up from $2.66 billion in 2010. Ottawa’s share of that was about $25 million this year, which city council dedicated to adding additional programs such as $14 million for affordable housing in Ottawa and offsetting higher tax increases. The province is “uploading” the costs of running certain social service programs, such as the Ontario Disability Support Program, to ease the financial burden on municipalities. The Ontario budget highlighted reforming the public service as a way it would save money in the coming years. The province’s bureaucracy will be trimmed by 1,500 positions between April of 2012 and March of 2014. Ontario already committed to cutting 3,400 public-service jobs in the 2009 budget. That didn’t sit well with the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “As the government admits, Ontario already has the third-lowest program spending per capita among the provinces and the second-lowest cost for government administration,” Thomas said in a statement sent out after the budget’s release. “The idea that we need to cut public services – at a time when we are giving away billions in corporate income tax cuts – is ludicrous.” On the financial side, the provincial deficit is expected to be $3 billion lower than expected a year ago. That is mainly due to spending cutbacks to the tune of $2.6 billion compared to what the province forecasted it would spend in 2010-11. The budget also includes a risk-management program for cattle, hog, sheep and veal farmers; an addition 90,000 breast-cancer exams targeted at reaching high-risk women aged 30 to 46 (and adding tests for women aged 50 to 59); and continuing the roll-out of the full-day kindergarten program.
“Any time Parliament Hill sneezes, Ottawa catches a cold.” With that, Mayor Jim Watson described the impact to the City of Ottawa of changes at the federal level. With the country now mired in a federal election, the mayor said he will sit back and not take sides in local campaigns. Watson, who has served as a Liberal MPP and cabinet minister at the provincial level, said the snap federal election won’t have much of an impact on the city’s business, but a government town like Ottawa will be abuzz with election talk until Canadians head to the polls on May 2. Despite his previous involvement in party politics, Watson said that as mayor, it is not his place to take sides in a federal election. While he won’t be coming out in support of any specific candidates, Watson said he will make his views on the different party platforms known in terms of how they could impact the city. “I think the public expects some insight from our municipal leaders to ensure that our interests are taken care of,” Watson said. The Conservative government fell on Friday, March 25 after Members of Parliament voted 156 to 145 in favour of a nonconfidence motion. It was the first time
in Canadian – and Commonwealth – history that a government fell because it was found to be in contempt of Parliament. Opposition parties accused the Conservative government of flouting the rules of Parliament by refusing to fully disclose the cost of its tough-on-crime agenda, corporate tax cuts and plans to purchase stealth fighter jets. The contempt issue also stemmed from International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda misleading Parliament on the issue of cutting funding to KAIROS, a religious organization that promotes social change. The election wasn’t officially called until the next day, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked Governor General David Johnston to dissolve Parliament, making the May 2 election official. It will be Canada’s fourth election in seven years thanks to a series of minority governments. Let us – and your political leaders – know what issues matter in your community during this election. Send letters to suzanne.landis@metroland.com and tell us what you want to hear from political candidates as you prepare to head to the polls. In the riding of Carleton-Mississippi Mills, the following candidates are registered: Gordon O’Connor (Conservative); Karen McCrimmon (Liberal); Erin Peters (NDP); and John Hogg (Green Party). With files from TorStar News Service. 441235
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Kanata Kourier-Standard - APRIL 07, 2011
Ottawa catches election fever