Ottawa Centre Liberal candidate Richard Mahoney says he is confident voters will not punish him too harshly in the upcoming federal election for the sponsorship scandal and other Liberal Party missteps of the past.
“I think that the Gomery Report obviously gave us evidence of some fairly serious wrongdoing,” he says, “It will be an issue, (but) I think people will put it in context.”
Mahoney says voters will recognize that the scandal was more than seven years ago, and that the report exonerated Prime Minister Paul Martin.
He also says Ottawa Centre voters will appreciate that Martin called for the inquiry himself and this will help him in the election.
The report, which was issued earlier this month, linked some Liberal party members to corruption in connection with the sponsorship program.
The Liberal’s minority government is now threatened by a possible opposition motion of non-confidence.
From left to right:Richard Mahoney, Paul Dewar, Keith Fountain and David Chernushenko.
Keith Fountain, the Conservative Party candidate, says Ottawa Centre voters are not happy with the Liberal scandal, and are willing to put up with an early election if it means a change of government.
“In the end people might not want an election, but they want a government that is doing something,” says Fountain.
“The Liberals have lost the moral authority to govern, and everyone I (have) talked to on the street is saying ‘lets get rid of these guys’, instead of ‘lets not have an election.’ People see it as a necessary evil.”
David Chernushenko, the Green Party candidate, says he does not think the timing is right for an election.
However, he says recent political games played by other federal parties will give the Green Party an edge if a holiday election does happen. He says voters are fed up with parties who try to “grab the most headlines without actually doing anything.”
“Here we are now with a legitimate chance as a fourth party, (and) there will be even more people ready to vote Green,” Chernushenko says.
“I see four parties fighting this election,” he adds.
While the sponsorship scandal may be on voters’ minds, all of the candidates say that Ottawa Centre voters will not be voting on just the findings of the Gomery Report. Other concerns range from climate change to traffic congestion .
“I think there are enough issues, not just Gomery,” says Paul Dewar, the New Democratic Party candidate. “The time is right for an election on the issues. I think people want to see real solutions. They want to see what their government is able to do, and if the government can’t get results for people, that is what an election is about.”
At a Centretown Citizens’ Community Association meeting earlier this month, the candidates took part in an informal debate and got a chance to speak about concerns closer to home. Residents were encouraged to pose questions to the candidates.
Issues raised included the location of the Gilmour Street parole office, federal funding for the proposed concert hall on Elgin Street and the relocation of public service jobs out of Ottawa.
“It was nice to be able to hear, and talk about real community issues, because we often get distracted by a set of two or three national issues that polls show, or major TV networks tell you, are the big issues,” says Chernushenko.
Although the election hasn’t been called, it seems clear to the candidates that the campaign race has started.
“It appears an election may be on us,” Mahoney says. “I’m not advocating an election right now, but in a way I’m excited that it’s on.”
Julian Amour has spent five years trying to make the concert hall at 150 Elgin St. a reality, but if government funding doesn’t come soon, he says he is giving up.
Armour, executive director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, says while the City of Ottawa has committed funds, the provincial and federal governments must contribute by Dec. 31 or he will throw in the towel and the city will lose a “desperately needed” affordable arts venue.
“There’s only one issue and it’s the funding from the other two levels of government,” Armour says.
Although he has put a lot of personal time and effort into the project, Armour says that if he doesn’t get the funding he won’t drag the campaign into 2006.
“You know, there’s only one life. I don’t want to spend the rest of it trying to raise money for a facility that won’t happen.”
The society is asking for a total $13 million from the federal and provincial governments.
The city has already committed $5.5 million and waived or reimbursed $600,000 in project fees, such as permit costs.
Ottawa committed the money on the condition that the society must also receive funding from the senior levels of government. So far, neither has made a decision, Armour says.
There seems to be support from local politicians, Armour says.
For example, Ottawa Centre Liberal MPP Richard Patten supports the projects, says his spokesman, Daniel Stringer.
The society also committed to raising $8.5 million for the hall. Armour says that so far the society has raised more than $1.5 million.
He says he hopes to make an announcement later this fall on the total amount and perhaps a title sponsor.
“The $8.5 (million) we’ll be able to raise,” he says, unwilling to elaborate.
Another Ottawa arts group, The Great Canadian Theatre Company, (GCTC) recently began construction on its new building in Westboro despite uncertain government funding, says Arthur Milner, former interim artistic director of the GCTC.
Milner says the theatre has faced similar problems as the chamber music group in getting funding for its new building. He says getting such funding from government is a long and arduous task.
“The thing about it is (that) it’s a very complicated process. We started going through it with the federal government about a year and a half ago,” Milner says.
So far, only about 40 per cent of the funding for the $10 million centre is in place, with $2.5 million coming from one local family.
The theatre company has asked for $2.5 million from the provincial government and $3.3 million from the federal government.
“It’s undeniable that there’s a lot of waiting that goes along and if you think you can shorten the waiting by setting a deadline, then that’s fine,” Milner says of Armour’s funding cut-off date.
“But we don’t have that kind of deadline.”
Peter Honeywell, executive director of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, says that while it’s unclear whether the music society will get its funding, the state of arts funding in Ottawa is bleak.
According to a report prepared for the city earlier this year, Ottawa ranked last among the seven largest cities in Canada in government funding for the arts.
The paper revealed combined municipal, provincial and Canada Council spending in Toronto was more than $59 million and in Ottawa just over $8 million.
Per capita, that translates to $22.95 and $10.01 respectively.
Honeywell says this is because Ottawa has a fat-cat image.
“You’ve got the NAC, you’ve got the National Gallery. You’ve got a lot going on here. Why would you need more money?” he says.
Despite this, Armour says his meetings with area politicians left him optimistic that the funding will come through.
“They’ve led me to believe that there is strong support for this.”