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Mayoral candidates Alex Lawson, Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper, and Neil Saravanamuttoo debated at the Ottawa Board of Trade, revealing deep divisions on city funding. Only Mark Sutcliffe pledged to cap property tax increases at 2.5 per cent, while Jeff Leiper advocated for a 1 per cent levy, criticizing Sutcliffe's reliance on government commitments and debt.
Mayoral candidates Alex Lawson, Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper and Neil Saravanamuttoo faced off Thursday at a debate hosted by the Ottawa Board of Trade, where deep divisions emerged over their plans for funding the city and the wisdom of capping tax increases.
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. From left to right, mayoral candidates Alex Lawson, Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper and Neil Saravanamuttoo used an Ottawa Board of Trade debate on Thursday to challenge each other on tax increases, transit and public safety.
Mayoral candidates Alex Lawson, Mark Sutcliffe, Jeff Leiper and Neil Saravanamuttoo faced off Thursday at a debate hosted by the Ottawa Board of Trade, where deep divisions emerged over their plans for funding the city and the wisdom of capping tax increases. Among the candidates, only Sutcliffe has pledged to cap property taxes, promising to limit any increase to 2.5 per cent for the first two years if he's re-elected.
"None of the other candidates will commit," he said. "They want you to write them a blank cheque and then find out later. "Sutcliffe hammered Leiper on the topic during an earlier debate focused on environmental issues, poking fun at his opponent's tendency toSutcliffe says voting for a candidate who hasn't made a specific tax promise is like writing them 'a blank cheque. ' "I don't want to pay more tax," Leiper said to open Thursday's debate.
"No one in this room does. " He went on to target Sutcliffe's recently announced infrastructure plan, which appears to rely heavily on fresh financial commitments from higher levels of government, as well as debt. Jeff Leiper pitching 1% property tax levy for infrastructure if elected mayor "He has proposed millions of dollars in spending," Leiper accused as Sutcliffe repeated, "Just like I did last time.
" Leiper argued Sutcliffe is promising things he can't deliver and putting an overly favourable shine on his record, despite residents "getting worse service from city hall. " Leiper said the city's transit system is hurting because of underspending, adding that Sutcliffe's plan to improve service relies on "fake money" from the provincial government that's not yet guaranteed. "It's not fake money.
The provincial government signed an agreement with us to upload the LRT," Sutcliffe responded, alluding to a memorandum of understanding between the city and the province. Mayoral rivals spar: Does solving Ottawa's transit woes require experience or fresh eyes? Leiper, left, and Saravanamuttoo, right, both say the budget-setting process at city hall should allow for more meaningful input from residents.
Saravanamuttoo, an economist and former federal public servant, chimed in to say he's hearing anxiety about tax hikes from residents.
"When I go around the city and I talk to voters, they ask me why can we not decrease property taxes? And I say that's a completely fair question," he said.
"It's impossible to give a arbitrary number in advance," he said. "It's just a number that's pulled out of the air, quite frankly. "Lawson, left, directs a statement to Sutcliffe, right, during Thursday's debate. Lawson, a homebuilder with more right-leaning policies, also cast doubt on Sutcliffe's tax promise.
He questioned why the incumbent is promising to raise taxes despite predicting that he will find $250 million in budgetary efficiencies, or what Lawson called "fluff.
""We haven't released a position on it yet because we're not done doing the numbers," he said, turning to Sutcliffe. "I'm not going to release policy based on your schedule. We'll release it when we release it.
" Lawson said he doesn't expect people to vote for him before providing a tax promise, adding that those casting ballots in advance polls are doing so because they're ready for change. Sutcliffe's commitment to keep property tax increases to two to 2.5 per cent hearkens back to his 2022 campaign. He kept that promise for the first two years of his mandate. Elyse Skura is a reporter based in Ottawa.
Since joining CBC News, she's worked in Iqaluit, Edmonton and Thunder Bay. Elyse spent four years reporting from Tokyo, where she also worked as a consulting producer for NHK World Japan. You can reach her at elyse.skura@cbc.ca.
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