Transit is one way Scheer could help Ottawa
Local federal election candidates haven’t created great reason to hope that the next government might take solid action on key Ottawa issues such as interprovincial transit connections, the extension of the LRT to western and southern suburbs, or the development of LeBreton Flats.
There is, however, one additional local factor Ottawa voters might want to consider. Although he represents a Regina riding, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer grew up in Ottawa and has spent most of his working life here. If there is a federal leader likely to understand the complex relationship between the federal government and our city, it’s Scheer.
The Liberal government has treated Ottawa “very poorly,” Scheer said in an interview. He cited the “bizarre” decision to relocate the Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital to Tunney’s Pasture, and the flip-flop that reversed it, as well as the Phoenix pay system fiasco, although his party deserves some of the blame for that.
When it comes to local issues, transit is likely to be Scheer’s strong suit. While one of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s TV ads shows him riding a bus like a regular fella, Scheer actually relied on OC Transpo to get around when he was growing up in a car-free household near Mooney’s Bay. He even served as a member of an OC Transpo public advisory committee.
“I’m very familiar with buses and I’m a big believer in public transit,” and its expansion in Ottawa, Scheer says. He doesn’t have a specific plan for connecting the new rail projects in Ottawa and Gatineau, saying that is something that should be worked out locally.
He has been clearer on using government infrastructure money to shorten commute times. He has announced support for projects in Toronto, Quebec City and B.C. Pity he has not yet added Ottawa’s Stage 3 LRT project to his list. It certainly meets the commute-shortening test.
The city wants the federal government to pay 50 per cent of the project’s cost. It’s a perfect political promise in the sense that it shows a commitment to the voters in heavily contested suburban ridings without costing the government a cent over the next four years. Despite that, no party has jumped on the opportunity yet.
When it comes to redeveloping LeBreton Flats, our local Liberal MPs have not played visible, active roles and most are not promising to do any better in the next term. It’s like the National Capital Commission is something that has nothing to do with the federal government.
Under a Scheer government, things would be done differently, he says. “Although the NCC does have a national mandate, people in Ottawa have to live with their decisions on a day-today basis,” Scheer notes. That means the city and the NCC need to work together much more closely, he says.
Scheer wants the redeveloped LeBreton to be a “jewel” and be “the type of place where everybody in Ottawa could say that (it) really adds to the vibrancy and it gives a reason to visit downtown or stay downtown afterwards.”
That sounds a lot like the kind of development that slipped through the NCC’s fingers. That wasn’t entirely the NCC’s fault, but its plan for piecemeal development and the vagueness on the public component suggest the agency could use a little guidance.
For any political party, a key element of success in Ottawa ridings is earning the trust of public servants.
Scheer says, “We will be sending signals about the respect we have for public servants and the valuable work that they do.” Details will come when the party releases its platform, likely later this week.
While Scheer is not offering specific action on the federal issues that affect Ottawa, it’s fair to say that he gets the city and that he’s one of us. After four years in which local MPs were barely visible in the community and the NCC was run by Montreal MPs, that would be a welcome change.