Ottawa should have the power, accountability and resources to run its affairs as a mature level of government, mayoral candidate Clive Doucet said yesterday.
He announced that if elected, he will establish a City of Ottawa Act that will give the city the authority to fulfill its responsibilities properly.
“We need a new deal for the City of Ottawa,” he said yesterday. “We need a City of Ottawa Act like Toronto has an act.”
In Toronto, the act has given the city power to get green roofs, put development charges into transit and roads and the authority to levy growth taxes, Doucet said.
The city needs a new attitude, he added.
“We have to start governing our city as if we were a city, not a township. We have to do a better job of servicing it.
“We have to start believing in ourselves as a city.”
Doucet also said he would do more to promote the business sector, draw on the resources of the National Research Council, universities and community colleges, create a new R&D technology hub specializing in green urban infrastructure and strengthen the roles of economic development groups.
