Hersh: Ideological differences can strengthen Ottawa council — if we let them

In his inaugural address to city council last month, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe proclaimed an apparent vision of unity for our collective future. He spoke about common problems facing our city, such as homelessness and our ailing transit system.

But as the speech went on, the new mayor delved deeper into what he saw as the real problem in politics: the “disturbing trend” of competing ideologies.

This was a common refrain during the municipal election campaign. Commentators and candidates would point to the dysfunction of the last council and suggest that the issue was that councillors were divided and “couldn’t get along” — reducing real ideological differences to personality clashes.

There is no question that the last council was toxic. The main reason for this was not, however, due to personal squabbles. Rather, it was because councillors who pushed back against policies that they found inadequate or even harmful were disparaged and said to be slowing down important council business, or “not being collaborative.” This led to controversial decisions around the Château Laurier addition and the Tewin land development, and to a vote against an LRT inquiry without due consideration for dissenting opinions.

The attitude that led to these decisions, that council’s role is to move forward at all costs, stems from the mistaken belief that such council business is somehow apolitical. But decisions made in a political space are political. Even decisions as seemingly minute as priorities in snow-clearing, accessible sidewalks, or the timing of garbage pickup are made because decision makers have an ideology, whether they acknowledge it or not.

The fact that libraries have reduced hours, that swimming pools close long before heat waves are over, that your sidewalks and streets are full of potholes while a Porsche dealership gets a multi-million-dollar tax break — these are the results of political choices driven by ideology.

Let’s be honest; everyone has an ideology — and disagreement isn’t inherently harmful. Calling people “divisive, “ideological” or “uncollaborative,” as was common in the last term of council, should not be used to dismiss legitimate concerns or uphold the status quo of austerity politics. Our local institutions should encourage healthy and thoughtful debate, not discourage it.

Part of that could be achieved by looking at new ways of reforming the democratic structure of city hall. With the governance report now under consideration, councillors will have an opportunity to propose changes to how council runs.

One proposition, for example, could be for council to elect “city council speakers” as the City of Toronto and multiple cities across the United States have done. Having a meeting chair who is directly elected by council, as opposed to automatically appointing the mayor to lead city council meetings could reduce skepticism about the chair’s neutrality, and encourage more open and fair debate.

Another change could be to modify the composition of different committees. In July 2019, for instance, Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard suggested splitting up the planning committee into suburban and urban (a rural planning committee already exists). A move such as this could ensure ward representatives have more of a say on what happens in their wards.

People deserve a city hall that is democratic and at least honest about power and politics, and councillors who actually stand up for them and their interests, after a decade of a council that only existed to serve the interests of a privileged few.

A stronger, more robust democratic structure at city hall, along with allowing more space for ideological differences, could lead to more thoughtful decision-making.

Sam Hersh is a community and political organizer based in Ottawa. He is on the board of directors of Horizon Ottawa, a local grassroots organization that focuses on municipal issues.

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