By Erin Conway-Smith
Advocates for the most vulnerable people in Centretown are preparing to make their case to preserve social services in the wake of a review that could see drastic cuts to city programs.
Among the scenarios presented in the universal program review, released last week to city council, are the elimination of 1,436 child-care spaces, 140 long-term care beds, and 123 homeless shelter beds.
“Bad timing — it’s cold out there,” says Catherine Boucher, executive co-ordinator of the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation.
Boucher says her organization, which provides affordable housing, will spend this week studying the 2,500-page review and preparing for the community consulting process, to begin in January. The review, released Nov. 28, looked at the hypothetical impact of cutting five, 10, 15 and 20 per cent of budgets for all city services and programs, to show what may be required to cleave $120-million from the city’s budget for 2004.
“I surely don’t think that cutting shelter beds is going to help that,” says Boucher. “There’s a downside to that — people die.”
Boucher says the city should envisage a modest tax hike, rather than cuts to shelter beds and housing support services. “That’s not a sustainable thing as a caring society, as a good city to live in — to have people freezing in the middle of January.”
Shellie Bird, co-president of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, says her organization is helping co-ordinate a January meeting for social service groups in Ottawa, with the aim of devising a strategy to approach the consultation process as a united front.
“We have been pitted against each other — we have been told to make our case against others and that’s a divisive thing,” she says. “We firmly believe in our community that all services are vital.”
Christina Marchant, manager of community programs for Family Services Ottawa, cites numerous services at risk that concern her — from library services that are used free of charge by families, to child care, to sports programs that keep children off the streets.
“There is an awful lot at stake here,” she says.
“It just doesn’t make sense that we’re trying to save all this money at the risk of losing a people-friendly city.”
The universal program review, available on the City of Ottawa Web site, is set to be tabled at council on Dec. 10. The city is scheduled to present a recommended budget in February.
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes says in January she will hold meetings in Centretown to hear opinions from groups and individuals — part of a city-wide consultation process to heed the priorities of citizens.
Asked if she would follow Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen and pursue a tax increase instead of cuts to services, Holmes says she hasn’t made any decisions yet, and is waiting until she hears from the community.
“I’m interested in hearing what people in Centretown have to say,” she says.
Holmes says the review highlights the problem of downloading services onto cities, and demonstrates the need for more funding from the provincial and federal government.
“It shows you what has to be done to get this deficit problem of ours under control,” Holmes says.
“And it shows you how badly funded we are.”