By Earl Andrew - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=105346452

In 2001 Ontario Premier Mike Harris forced several municipalities in Ontario to amalgamate with their surrounding suburbs, including Ottawa. The only motive being to cut municipal costs by cutting redundant costs and therefore lowering the property tax burden. Ottawa's first mayor after amalgamation, Bob Chiarelli, and the lady who came in second place in the election, former Mayor of Gloucester Claudette Cain both promised a specific dollar amount of reduction in property taxes if they were to be elected.

Those savings have yet to materialize. My City of Nepean was robbed by this process. Nepean had the very unique and wonderous political policy of operating on a pay-as-you-go policy. They had NO debt. Our mayor and city council saved our money and when they had their beautiful new City Hall in Centerpointe built they proudly wrote a cheque for 75 million dollars to pay for it. No mortgage whatsoever.

The old city of Ottawa already had a large debt. About ten years after it was built, Nepean City Hall which included a central library and theatre along with the city chambers was taken over by the new larger amalgamated city. And all we ever got in return was increased taxation along with poorer services.

The rural wards such as Osgoode, which is mostly the old township of Osgoode along with a part of the old City of Gloucester, also got screwed in the process. Osgoode along with Orléans East-Cumberland, Orléans South-Navan, Rideau-Jock, and West Carleton-March have all been reduced to second tier status in the new city. The city has its hands full running the interior wards so they don't give much priority to caring about the rural ones.

Now Ottawa is carrying a THREE BILLION dollar debt. And they still insist on automatically raising all of our taxes every single year. We have such a bloated bureacracy that has never been trimmed as it should have been after amalgamation, and almost out-of-control spending. I wish it was possible to reverse amalgamation but that will never happen. But we should be making it a priority to trim as much bureaucratic fat as possible and get a much tighter control on spending. And start paying down that damn debt. And how about trying to stop just automatically raising our taxes every single year.

There are many areas in which cost savings could be found. And to set an example they should start at the top. We don't need 24 city councillors. It should be reduced to 18. And their huge office budgets should all be slashed and their salaries frozen until we see some real savings. Along with the mayor's office of course.

Vote for me in Osgoode to pledge your support for my ideas. And if I were to win the election somehow I promise to happily and immediately move out to your area. I am a country boy at heart. And I will become the biggest most outspoken advocate of your ward ever, and a caring expert in all concerns.