Festivals, disability support group call for budget boost in 2017

Despite questions over arts funding, affordable housing and paramedic staffing, the community and protective services committee on Thursday passed their $1.1 billion share of the city budget on to full council with no changes.

Some new cash injections for culture and social services were included in Ottawa's draft city budget for 2017, and many groups commended the city for creating a new low-income transit pass, to be called the EquiPass, and for reinstating a $500,000 fund for strapped social service agencies.

But a wayward four-year-old plan for funding arts and culture is a big concern for Ottawa Festivals, the umbrella group representing event organizers.

And questions also popped up about spending on social assistance cases, child care, Syrian refugees and paramedic services.

Ottawa festivals plead for boost ahead of 2017 party year

Sean Wilson, president of the board of Ottawa Festivals, said event organizers' budgets are "on the edge", just as they prepare to showcase the capital during Canada's 150th birthday year.

"This is an amazing opportunity — 2017 — and rather than entering it with joy and optimism, many of our members are terrified," said Wilson, who is artistic director of the Ottawa International Writers' Festival.

He called on the city to live up to its promise to improve per capita spending on arts and culture, which he said is currently $1.65 per Ottawa resident but should be $3 to be in line with other Canadian cities.

Staff told councillors that demand would add $1.5 million to the budget, and Wilson acknowledged it sounded like a lot of money.

"The reality is this is where we all agreed we were going years ago," Wilson said.

The city is behind on its 2012 culture plan, at least when it comes to the operating funds it promised, admitted Dan Chénier, the manager responsible for culture. He promised to lay it all out in a memo to councillors, because the issue pops up every year.

But the city is doing better than expected in funding capital projects, Chénier added.

In fact, staff indicated the money it had been putting toward the newly renovated La Nouvelle Scène francophone theatre could now be redistributed to other projects. Ottawa Little Theatre, for instance, made its first ever public delegation Thursday, seeking money for the acoustics, seats and accessibility of its revamped theatre.

And, Chénier noted that he expects "good news" soon about whether the federal Liberal government might support the Arts Court redevelopment — the previous Conservative government did not.

Citizen Advocacy organization asks for $57,000

Some social service agencies applauded a restored $500,000 sustainability fund, but also asked for a long-term strategy to meet the needs of vulnerable residents.

Meanwhile, the group Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa asked councillors for a greater increase than the two per cent cost of living it will receive in 2017, which is already being bumped up from 1.5 per cent.

The group matches volunteers with people with disabilities who might otherwise feel isolated, so they can form friendships and support each other. Executive director Brian Tardif told councillors that Citizen Advocacy has 300 people on a waiting list, and an extra $57,000 on top of the $97,000 it receives annually from the city would help it find those people

Coun. Diane Deans was moved by the stories people told Thursday about their long relationships with Citizen Advocacy volunteers.

"It was hard not to feel your heart strings pulled today when you see the people who could benefit from a very small contribution," said Deans, who hoped to find extra money for Citizen Advocacy before the final budget vote on Dec. 14.

Housing, refugee and paramedic spending also questioned

On the housing front, the Alliance to End Homelessness wanted to see council recommit to its 10-year housing plan, and still spend its own money to build new units — the city moved $4 million from capital projects to operating subsidies a few years ago to deal with a financial pressure at the time and the money has remained there.

Coun. Riley Brockington was glad to see an accounting of how the City of Ottawa has supported the arrival of Syrian refugees in the past year. The manager responsible, Janice Burelle, described how city staff have put 5,800 hours toward their settlement, and the city has also given $62,000 of in-kind support.

Other councillors questioned Anthony Di Monte, general manager of emergency and protective services, about whether the 24 new paramedic hires for 2017 would be enough to deal with ongoing concerns by neighbouring municipalities who say Ottawa is leaning on their ambulance services.

Di Monte expected the addition of 12 paramedics in 2016 has already made a difference, but he had been advised by the legal department not to comment in public about the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's investigation into the city's ambulance dispatching.

In the end, councillors approved their committee's draft budget without making changes, which they find difficult to do at committee because any bump in spending must be accompanied by a decrease.

Still, tweaks may happen when city council meets to vote on the whole, final budget for 2017 on Dec. 14.