Time to consider electing councillors-at-large

If any city needs a fundamental change in governance, it is Ottawa

Mayor Jim Watson may have changed his mind about shrinking council, but that should not stop the city from a serious debate this election cycle on what Ottawa really needs: councillors-at-large.

The trouble is, 18 years after amalgamation, we have city councillors only in name. Many, if not most of our city politicians are really ward councillors whose main focus is their small enclaves. The interests of the larger city are often secondary.

Most of the 23 councillors represent rural and suburban communities that still have amalgamation hangover and lingering animosity toward the city. We need to break the rural/suburban-urban divide that is holding us back. If Ottawa is to grow to its full potential, city government can’t be a motley collection of councillors with different and often competing interests. We need councillors to run across the city and demonstrate knowledge and commitment to its larger interests. If that means fewer councillors, all the better.

It doesn’t do Ottawa any good that of the 24 city politicians, only the mayor runs a global campaign that lays out a vision for the entire metropolis. The rest are largely concerned with issues within their wards because that’s what gets them elected. It is no surprise therefore that when it comes to big city-wide issues, many councillors have precious little to offer. These politicians tend to follow the mayor’s lead because they have done little or no critical thinking of their own.

Former mayor Bob Chiarelli raised this issue after his 2006 defeat. He said one of his major concerns as mayor was the fact that he was the only person addressing citywide issues and offering a broad vision. “The city is too big to put that on the shoulders only of one mayor and have all the others predominantly responsible for simply for their ward,” Chiarelli lamented, as he called for the election of councillorsat-large. The thing is, even when councillors take up a city-wide issue, they look at it through the lens of their wards. That should change.

Premier Doug Ford has apparently assured his local MPPs that he would not impose his Toronto measures on Ottawa. That’s a good thing because we don’t need his ill-considered plan to restructure city government in the middle of an election campaign. But if any city needs a fundamental change in governance, it is Ottawa.

With council planning a boundary review next year, this is the time, in the middle of an election campaign, to debate the issue thoughtfully and propose change that could be implemented in an orderly fashion in 2022.

Too often in this city, important decisions are made behind doors by so-called experts and then implemented with little or no debate. It should not happen this time. The boundary review should be comprehensive and, among other things, look at the way we elect councillors, and propose change. The election campaign affords citizens the opportunity for an open discussion and forces candidates to take a stand.

Change always looks threatening to some and there would be many residents and politicians who would find a thousand reasons why electing councillors-at-large is bad for the city.

The fundamental objection would be that such a change would decimate rural rights and representation. But that’s an old trope from the days of the amalgamation. Electing councillors-at-large will in no way diminish rural representation or democracy. All the doom and gloom about amalgamation being literally the end of life as we know it in rural areas never materialized. These communities have thrived under amalgamation and will continue to prosper. Life in the old Gloucesters and Nepeans of this world has blossomed and will continue to do so.

We can continue Ottawa’s progress by moving on to the next stage of our evolution with the election of citywide councillors. As cities as diverse as Vancouver and Thunder Bay have shown, there are several ways of skinning this cat. There are several options to choose from and we can debate which is best for us. There’s no better time to start than now.