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The simple truth is our city needs:
√ Accountability
√ Tax reform
√ A Food Security Council
LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN!
OTTAWA DOES FEED THE HOMELESS
When oppression beat hope into submission
Our resplendent street youth soared free
Higher than hatred and faster than deceit
Hiding the hurt inflicted by exclusion
They bore the pain of a community lost
Still they sang hope amid the falsehearted
By nurturing these precious creatures we are
Restoring civilization from brutalization
And peace from despotic chaos
By Jane Scharf
CITIZENS OF OTTAWA BEAT CITY HALL ONCE LETS DO IT AGAIN
Instead of turning our back on the homeless as recommended by our local politicians the Citizens of Ottawa battled City Hall and won humane treatment for the Homeless in 2006. This change in approach is getting the homeless off the street in a nurturing manner. This supportive method is not only successful it is tremendously cheaper than the unsuccessful law enforcement approach that had been in place. There was no increase in the community resource budget and the supportive approach saves the city millions in policing and jailing costs. This gave me great confidence in the intelligence, integrity and strength of our community
Now it is time for Citizens of Ottawa to go further and tackle accountability at City Hall, tax reform and food security. These changes are also in the public interest and they will also save the city taxpayer millions. So lets do it up.
Besides initiating and participating in the direct action in support of the homeless in their plight I have also engaged in many other successful battles with government over unfair or unreasonable decision making including Children's Aid Societies, School Boards, Workers Safety and Insurance Board, Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Insurance Program, etc. In addition to my unwavering belief that one can fight "City Hall" the ways and means I use include, negotiations, legal action, and public protest. My ability to find ways and means to hold government accountable include, my eduction, (university degree) my experience (over twenty years paralegal work) my strength, sincerity and my integrity. (I have withstood tremendous intimidation including arbitrary incarceration to maintain my stance) I offer you these requisite abilities to reform City Hall as mayor of Ottawa.
• DEMOCRATIZING CITY HALL MEETINGS
• ESTABLISHING ACCOUNTABILITY
• PURSUING TAX REFORM
• ESTABLISHING A FOOD SECURITY COUNCIL
My style as mayor will be completely different from most of my predecessors. I am wanting our city to adopt humane, effective solutions to social, economic and environmental problems i.e. policy set in the public interest. This will require us all to run the City like a community. A community that is fiscally responsible but that does not leave anyone out. I am willing and capable of supporting this kind of community because I have not and will not allow myself to be bought off by corporate sponsors or special interest groups. And therefore I do not intend to dictate public policy by manipulating council votes with my authority as chair during council meetings. I am also not going to spend excessive amounts of my time as mayor shmuzing with the public for support at community events. In fact I will attend community events on my own time as a private citizen. I have an agenda for reform outlined below for my mandate as mayor.
My primary interest is humane fair social policy including food security, taxation, effective environmental protection policy and strong democratic decision making structures with effective accountability mechanisms. I have been a political activist for a number of years with many successful battles with city hall under my belt including the Homeless Action Strikes. I am tough minded and relentless when it comes to insisting on fair, reasonable public policy, practice and procedures.
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ACCOUNTABILITY
• OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
• APPEAL PROCESS
First thing I will do as mayor is improve the voting procedures at council meetings. This will help ensure that public policy can be set in the interest of the citiizens of Ottawa. For example this democratic voting procedural change would put a monkey wrench in the moves to privatize city services.
It has been my observation and experience that city committee's do not have an effective public consultation process happening. I think this matter would be effectively address by adding an item in the staff code of conduct prohibiting staff interference with public consultations.
Currently the city staff, council, school boards, police, children's aid societies and all city funded organizations in this city are not overseen by the Provincial Ombudsman's Office. This creates an insurmountable barrier for a citizens trying to find accountability. (Children's Aid Societies claim to be local organizations.)
As mayor I would initiate a process of establishing an office of the inspector general which would be similar to an ombudsman but it would have better authority to acquire evidence and it would turn all its findings public. Even before the process is passed I will assign several of my personal staff the responsibility of investigating complaints of wrongdoing. The results of these investigations will all be made public.
And finally last but not least I would start proceedings to establish an appeal process for all council and city staff decisions which deny services.
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TAX REFORM
• FAIR FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL TAX
• DEPRIVATIVE LOCAL TAX COLLECTION
We need to have City Council pursue a legal action against the provincial and federal governments for withdrawing the funding for our local programs and services. We are paying for them in our income tax rates and we should not have to pay again in our local taxes or lose the the program or service. In fact we are due for a local tax reduction to regain lost ground caused by this downloading. I am willing to take on this fight and negotiate a fair deal. Furthermore, I will take the necessary steps to bring our property tax system out of private hands back into our control.
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FOOD SECURITY REFORM
• ESTABLISHING A FOOD SECURITY COMMITTEE
Food security happens when…
-farmers and fishers can earn a fair income for their efforts
-food is produced in a way that is safe for people and the environment
-local, regional, and community food production is supported
-social justice and inclusion are priorities
-all people are empowered to work together to create positive change in the food system and our communities
In order to establish food security for Ottawa I intend to establish a Food Security Committee that will consult effectively with Ottawa citizens and consult with established committees in other cities such as Toronto to examine their best practices in promoting and establishing food security.
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