A numbers game

The east end is set to see about $30 million for shovel-ready projects, not including more recently-announced funding for recreation projects. The funding is part of a multi-government stimulus package. The city was originally slated to receive $250 million from the nearly $3.4-billion federal-provincial investment, but that number has crept up with additional announcements. As a result of the original funding, the east end will see the first phase of the Hunt Club extension move forward, along with a library retrofit, Ottawa River pathway improvements, widening of Mer Bleue and St. Joseph Boulevard streetscaping.

With so many projects on the go and so much money injected into the local economy, residents might expect politicians to be parading around and patting one another on the back for a job well done, as usually happens when government gives people back their tax dollars.

When it comes to political friction and strong undercurrents, though, a few surprises always pop up. In this case, Ottawa-Orléans MPP Phil McNeely blasted the city for doling out the money in an unfair manner, suggesting the east end didn’t get its share in comparison to other parts of Ottawa. Not only did he make statements to the press, including this paper, about Orléans being short-changed, he took out a paid advertisement in a local paper criticizing municipal officials for not funnelling enough funding to the east.

In that paid ad, McNeely suggested the east was only getting three per cent of the funding while the south and Nepean get 54 per cent and the west pulls in 34 per cent.

It didn’t take long for city councillors to lash back. Three east-end councillors joined forces with MP Royal Galipeau to issue a joint statement denouncing McNeely’s paid ad. “We believe that Mr. McNeely’s remarks in this advertisement and leading up to this publication are incorrect, unproductive and unwelcome as we strive to work together to on behalf of the east-Ottawa communities,” noted the statement, issued by Cumberland Coun. Rob Jellett, Innes Coun. Rainer Bloess, Orléans Coun. Bob Monette and Galipeau.

The recently-allied four offered numbers of their own, some of which included city-wide projects.

Instead of clarity, it helped muddy the waters and begged the question of what really constitutes fairness in this amalgamated city.

McNeely’s apparent angst – and antagonism – over how the stimulus package has been divvied up is noteworthy. He’s been a strong proponent of the Hunt Club extension and, as such, very critical that work wasn’t progressing. Now it’s moving forward, so he should be happy, joining the self-celebratory media circus politicians favour when funds are doled out for their pet projects.

Instead, he’s on the sidelines trying to stick it to the man. He’s joining the ranks of politicians who appear to try and curry favour with voters by fighting for constituents’ needs. The only problem is, the funding is also coming from his government.

Meanwhile, some are pointing to the Bloess-Galipeau alliance as proof positive that McNeely’s in the wrong. Bloess, after all, has taken aim at the Liberal nomination in hopes of ousting Conservative Galipeau in the next federal election. That they’ve come together on this issue speaks volumes.

Ah, but politics makes strange bedfellows and, as always, these alliances of convenience may not be as shocking as they first appear. It’s no secret there’s some animosity between McNeely and Bloess – neither seemed to appreciate the other when it came to health care earlier in the term. And one of McNeely’s staffers has left to head up Judith Cane’s bid for the Liberal nod.

And around and around the murky waters swirl. There are few clear answers in this game.

The question that really needs to be answered is what Orléans isn’t getting in comparison to other areas? In an earlier interview, McNeely indicated projects like expanding Trim Road, extending the Transitway further east and the Blackburn Bypass Extension were left off the list. “Projects were chosen because they met several criteria aimed at ensuring that the stimulus funding would be effective and deliver positive results to communities across Canada,” Galipeau et al. stated in their press release.

It’s unlikely the antagonism and bickering will ever really answer the question of what’s fair in a city that often appears too fractured for its own good. And in the end, the only people who probably care about this political cat fight are those directly involved.

The average citizen, meanwhile, likely just wants to see some progress for once. And, if possible, some straight answers instead of pre-digested numbers.