By Kelli Corscadden
William A. Ostapyk says he is the answer to the overzealous spending plaguing the current city council.
Ostapyk, a retired Ottawa high school teacher, says he can provide a balanced budget for the city and he knows how to do it. But he says it will mean a freeze on all new initiatives, something that won’t be easy on citizens.
“We need to maximize what we have in existence and try to live with that for a little before we can get back on our feet,” says Ostapyk, who taught economics for 40 years at several Ottawa schools.
Ottawa is expected to run a deficit of $170 million for 2004, something Ostapyk says the city and its citizens can’t afford.
Ottawa can be a world-class city, he says, but it may have to look to the federal government for help.
For instance, Ostapyk says the city should completely hand over the development of LeBreton Flats to the federal government.
“If they want to showcase Ottawa as Canada’s capital, let’s support them,” says Ostapyk.
Ostapyk doesn’t support the provincial government’s proposal to make Ottawa officially bilingual, since he says Ottawa already provides service in both languages on the front lines.
“Ottawa, for as long as I can remember, has been a practical, bilingual city.”
Ostapyk says the city may have to look into providing multi-lingual translators to assist the increasingly multicultural population. He also says the city should consider providing multilingual services, but the budget may not allow that any time soon.
“They are going to be requesting services in their own language and we need to be ready,” he says.
During his 15 years as a school board trustee, Ostapyk focused on recreational programs. He says the city has been moving in the wrong direction in dealing with troubled youth.
He says Ottawa youth are in pretty good shape and the current facilities to keep kids busy after school — such as recreation centres — are adequate.
Expanding them, Ostapyk says, would be a waste of resources and would not help the few youth who do get into trouble.
“I have nine kids and six grandchildren. I’m concerned about what’s going to be good for the next generation,” says Ostapyk. “I don’t want to leave them with this mess.”