Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar invited members of the community to talk about what they want in the federal budget Saturday and they came out in droves.
As more people showed up to the Bronson Centre than expected, event organizers pulled out extra tables and chairs from back rooms for concerned constituents.
Economist Michael McCracken, founder and CEO of Informetrica, started the morning off with a talk about the economics of the past year and what’s in store for the year to come.
After a round of questions for McCracken, the participants, who were organized into tables according to their area of expertise, drafted a list of recommendations for Dewar.
Each group set out to discuss a different list of questions posed by Dewar on what they’d like to see in a federal budget on subjects such as housing, transit, small businesses, education and training as well as the environment.
The panels were made up of experts and representatives from various associations and community groups as well as concerned individual citizens.
After a working lunch, one person from each group presented their recommendations in front of the entire forum.
The federal budget will be announced Tuesday.