By Michael Olson
Ottawa’s amalgamation has thrown downtown residents, suburbanites and businesses into the same pot, and all will be clamouring for a piece of the mega-city’s economic pie. Determining priorities for the new city will be a highly charged and vocalprocess and it’s important that those without a voice – the homeless — don’t get lost in the shuffle.
Largely confined to the downtown core, homelessness is a perennial problem without a ready fix. And not many people are willing to take the time to sort through the issues. It’s hard for homeless people to compete for public attention when their concerns are stacked up against flashy projects such as light rail transit and red-light cameras.
To its credit, the city recognizes homelessness is prevalent and growing in Ottawa. It has earmarked $1.7 million to carry out an anti-homelessness action plan developed in partnership with community groups. Given the provincial government’s indifference towards social housing, it’s heartening to see most of the funds will be used to build sorely-needed housing for lower income families and others in need.
But this funding pales in comparison with other, sexier initiatives. The light rail project, for example, is expected to cost $16 million in capital and another $8 in operating expenses over the next two years.
Meanwhile, considerable resources are still being directed towards band – aid solutions for the homelessness problem such as emergency shelters.To move beyond make-shift fixes, it will be necessary to call on all groups in the new city to participate in finding a solution.
Companies such as Nortel, Corel and JDS Uniphase have spurred tremendous growth and made knowledge the most valuable asset in the city. But they’ve also contributed to rising homelessness rates. Some people simply can’t fit into Ottawa’s new economy. Without tech-savvy skills, many are finding themselves on the streets. While these high-tech companies aren’t directly responsible for the effects they cause, lending a hand would show them to be responsible corporate citizens. Loaning out equipment and staff to teach the homeless valuable computer skills would go a long way towards ensuring that nobody gets left behind by Ottawa’s electronic revolution.
Municipal government might have the most praiseworthy intentions with its action plan but it’s a bit short on a key ingredient for a long-term solution: the computer programmers and other IT professionals. Without a pillar of support from the private sector, the city’s lofty ideals could be reduced to mere rhetoric.The city may be able to build more housing. But the IT community is the community who can let the less fortunate drink from their lucrative cup of logarithmic wisdom.