Sutcliffe optimistic prorogation won't hurt 'Fairness for Ottawa' campaign

'If anything, it brings a bit of clarity to what was a very uncertain political picture in December.'

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Published Jan 06, 2025  •  2 minute read

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Parliament is prorogued and the prime minister is on his way out, but Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is still hopeful that the federal government will step up for the capital city.

“I don’t see this as an obstacle to the federal government following through on the discussions we’ve been having,” Sutcliffe said Monday afternoon, shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his bombshell announcement.

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“If anything, it brings a bit of clarity to what was a very uncertain political picture in December,” Sutcliffe said.

“We now know we won’t have an election in the next three months and that the prime minister is going to resign. In the meantime, I think it’s business as usual.”

Proroguing Parliament kills any bills that were being debated in the House of Commons or the Senate, but the govenment continues to function and can make funding announcements, he said. In that sense, prorogation is not unlike an extended Christmas break.

Sutcliffe said he corresponded with Jenna Sudds, the minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the ranking MP for the National Capital Region, over the weekend.

“We’re continuing to work toward a conclusion. I’m not counting on anything, but things have been moving in a positive direction,” he said.

The 2025 City of Ottawa budget, passed by council in December, included a $36-million placeholder representing revenue from “higher levels of government” the city will need to balance its books. Sutcliffe said the city can wait until the end of February before it needs to start looking at other ways to bridge that gap.

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The most critical issue is a $120-million operating shortfall for OC Transpo, which on Monday began a soft launch of its Trillium Line to Limebank Station and the Ottawa airport. Sutcliffe has said “all options are on the table” if the city doesn’t receive more money from the federal and provincial governments. Those options could include service reductions, higher transit fares and an increased transit levy.

Transit already accounts for more than a third of the city’s tax increase this year.

While the mayor remains hopeful about his “Fairness for Ottawa” campaign, other government initiatives for the region will die with prorogation. In October, independent Quebec Sen. Rosa Galvez and Sophie Chatel, Liberal MP for Pontiac, co-sponsored a bill in the Senate that would provide formal protection for Gatineau Park. Not only would the bill establish the boundaries of Gatineau Park, it would require the NCC to submit a “master plan,” including a “long-term ecological vision” to Parliament at least every 10 years for the 360-square-kilometre park.

Chatel told the Citizen in October that she “strongly believes” the bill would pass and that it had the support of all 12 MPs from the National Capital Region. But it, like all other bills before Parliament, died with prorogation. It is the 14th such legislative attempt to protect the park that has failed since 2005.

Chatel did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

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