'They want to get home': Mayor says Ottawa isn't demanding public servants remain downtown

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says it isn't the responsibility of federal public servants to keep downtown businesses afloat. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says the City of Ottawa supports the work of downtown Business Improvement Areas in showcasing the value of the central core, but that doesn’t mean the city is demanding public servants stay downtown.

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“It’s not the responsibility of federal public servants to make downtown businesses financially viable,” he said in response to a question from CTV Ottawa at a July 24 news conference about flood relief.

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Sutcliffe faced backlash this week over references in a city report to a communications campaign aiming to encourage workers and visitors who travel to the downtown core for work to extend their time in the area to help spread out afternoon traffic.

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The city is preparing the transit system for an estimated 65,000 additional weekly trips come September, driven largely by the latest federal return-to-office mandate.

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Among other interventions, previously reported in-depth by the Ottawa Citizen, the plan adds new express bus routes, increases fines for no-parking violations and promises to run the LRT earlier and more often.

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It also sets aside $50,000 to launch a “transit communication campaign geared to federal employees,” and another $110,000 for “promotion and paid advertising to share mitigation measures and travel tips.”

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The communications strategy sought to inform resident about the full range of mobility options available to them and included references to “targeted efforts to promote downtown activity, events and businesses, with the objective of encouraging workers and visitors who travel to the downtown core to extend their time in the area in order to spread the egress from downtown over a longer period.”

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That element of the plan drew swift condemnation from public-service unions and online commenters, some of whom used AI to generate fake OC Transpo ads mocking the initiative.

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Sutcliffe released a statement on Tuesday addressing “misconceptions and misinformation” about the city’s strategy.

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“Let’s be clear: There is no question of encouraging employers to keep their employees in the city centre longer, nor is there any marketing or communication in this regard,” he said.

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At the news conference Friday, Sutcliffe addressed the issue from a different angle.

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“My wife is a federal public servant,” he said. “My dad was a federal public servant. Three or four other members of my immediate family were federal public servants, so I understand what life is like for federal public servants. They want to get home. They want to feed the dog or cat. They want to pick up their kids at school or at daycare.”

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It’s “inevitable” and “perfectly understandable,” he said, that downtown Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) would respond to an increase in visitors by trying to find reasons for them to stay.