Campaigns don’t usually ramp up significantly until after Labor Day, but last week Mark Sutcliffe accused Catherine McKenney of misleading voters and “misrepresenting” their position on fare-free transit. But the outgoing Somerset councilor says they have done no such thing, insisting they never planned to scrap transit fares overnight, and told local media that Sutcliffe was “fear-mongering”. The fight grew out of an environmental debate hosted by Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability (CAFE) in Kanata last week (there’s another one in Orleans on Wednesday). In that debate, candidate Ade Olumide said that considering McKenney was in favor of “free transit for all,” he wanted to know whether McKenney (who uses the pronouns they/them) would raise taxes. McKenney came back and said “that never came out of my mouth”. Later in the same debate, Sutcliffe – a long-time broadcaster and businessman – brought the issue up again, pointing to articles McKenney had written on the subject in which he supported fare-free transport. “We need to move toward free transit, every city around the world will,” McKenney replied. “But I’m not suggesting that the taxpayer in this city should support free transit, and it’s not going to be part of my platform.” But Sutcliffe’s campaign then doubled down with two media releases in the days following last Tuesday’s debate. This included a link to an article McKenney wrote for a downtown community newspaper arguing for fare-free transit, including the point that a city would need less money for roads if more people took transit. McKenney also states in the article that “one way to encourage transit use is to significantly reduce and eventually eliminate user fees.” When asked about the style of those news releases and whether it’s indicative of what the tone of this campaign will be, Sutcliffe said he’s willing to work with everyone, but thinks it’s fair to challenge opponents. “People have been attacking me since the day I filed. So we’re going to be challenged during this campaign. People are going to ask us where we stand on the issues,” he said. “All I’m doing is trying to make it clear to people that Catherine has been in favor of free transport in the past and so we need to know where they stand on this.” Sutcliffe says no transit is free as taxpayers will have to pay. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC) Asked about news reports accusing them of “flip-flopping,” McKenney said “they’re just going to continue to run a positive campaign based on, you know, my ideas to make Ottawa a better city. “If people feel like challenging me, I’m happy to respond.”
What are the stops?
McKenney reiterated that they never promised a sweeping move to fare-free transportation for everyone at once.
“I’ve always been very clear that I support us moving toward free transit,” they said, arguing that it’s a public service like city libraries.
“There was a time when there was a cost to get into a library, we would never think of it today,” they said.
But they added that “they’ve always said it’s not going to happen overnight, it can’t be done right away and it certainly can’t be done on a property tax basis alone.”
McKenney said they will unveil their transit plan very soon and outline a clear path to making Ottawa’s transit system accessible and efficient, but wouldn’t share many details of that plan.
They have an announcement scheduled for Tuesday morning.
“We need to work with, you know, federal, provincial governments as partners to advance their goals for climate action and, you know, safe transportation and changes in the way we move around the city. I think over time we can get there. “
McKenney says they eventually want to move to fare-free transportation, but it won’t happen overnight. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC)
McKenney said they don’t want to raise fees anymore, as it only deters ridership, and they want to look at the costs of creating fares and how reducing those costs could help bring the city to fare-free transit eventually.
Other candidates are shooting down the idea of free fares.
Sutcliffe pulled no punches with his thoughts on a fare-free transit system.
“There is no such thing as free transit,” he said. “Obviously, we have to pay for the public transit system one way or another. And if the people who use public transit aren’t paying for it, then the taxpayers have to pay for it.”
Sutcliffe said he wants to focus more on improving the system so it works better for everyone by extending rail lines further into the suburbs and improving buses there.
It is also committed to making rides more affordable.
“I think we need to look at where the fares are, make sure they’re in line with what people can afford to pay,” he said.
“I’m not in favor of raising transit fees and annual increases that put transit beyond people’s reach because we do want people to use the system.”
OC Transpo riders go through a fare gate at Pimisi Station in 2021. It currently costs $3.70 per ride and $125.50 for a monthly pass to get on OC Transpo as an adult with a Presto card. (Hugo Belanger/Radio-Canada)
Bob Chiarelli was not available for an interview Sunday, but sent a statement.
“I’m opposed to the concept of free transit,” he said, adding that he believes it would raise residential taxes. He also pointed to discount programs such as the Community Pass and discounts for seniors, children and post-secondary students.
“I am willing to further adjust these deductions, but the wholesale dump on the taxpayer is intolerable,” the statement said.
Chiarelli went on to say that with the possibility of many public servants continuing to work from home means “some serious decisions have to be made about what the future transportation network will look like in this city.”
He has committed to a 100-day review of OC Transpo operations to find efficiencies.
Chiarelli promises a 100-day review of OC Transpo operations to find efficiencies. (Kate Porter/CBC)
Other candidates CBC spoke to share the feeling that fare-free transit isn’t realistic right now, but argue that OC Transpo is more affordable.
Graham MacDonald wants to work with the province to lower fares across the board, but said he’s not in favor of passing the cost on to taxpayers.
Param Singh had a similar idea, that the service needs to be rethought and made more affordable, though he said it could be a possibility to have free fares at some point in the future. He believes in making the system more accessible, again by working with other levels of government.
Nour Kadri had an idea to start a pilot program of some free rides in underserved communities and populations, such as the elderly, in order to try to transition to funding through other forms of revenue, such as having digital ads in transit.
In an email, Mike McGuire said he would not raise fares for at least a year and would restore some key routes that have been canceled, paying for it out of “the expected 2023 fiscal surplus.” He is against tax increases to support transit operations.
