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EXCERPTS
A dollar just doesn’t stretch as far as it used to.
That was the overwhelming message from dozens of daycare workers, community developers and residents during the draft budget meeting of the city’s community and protective services committee on Nov. 30.
Councillors on the committee approved $1.2 billion in spending – nearly a third of the city’s whole budget – without any amendments, despite 37 delegations speaking before them.
Some of those delegations urged councillors to seek a higher tax rate – something closer to three or four per cent, than the promised two – to help increase funding to badly needed social programs.
Shea Kiely, the executive director of St. Luke’s Table, which offers support and services for the homeless or those at risk of being homeless, said she represents a group of organizations looking for more than the 1.5 per cent increase in funding coming to them from the city.
She also questioned the city’s planned cuts to various departments, saying that the recent loss of bylaw officers to enforce rooming house regulations has had an effect on her clients.
“Ninety per cent of our clients live in rooming houses and the loss of the bylaw officers means bed bug infestations or repairs taking much longer,” she said.
Mike Bulthuis, the executive director for the Alliance to End Homelessness, said the city has made a commitment to build more affordable housing, but this budget would be the lowest contribution in the last five years.
Children
Bulthius said 6,500 Ottawans stayed in shelters in the past year; one in five of those were children.
Agencies from all over the city seem to be feeling the crunch, and a rate-of-inflation increase in funding from the city isn’t going to do much but help them keep the lights on.
Val Collins, from the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre, said the centre’s early years programs are exceeding capacity, and 300 women and children are being turned away annually from Chrysalis House – a shelter which helps women who are fleeing abusive relationships.
Collins said there’s a perception that Kanata is affluent, which can make the working poor seem “invisible” in the west end suburb.
Luc Ouellette, executive director of the Orleans Cumberland Community Resource Centre said the centre has seen an 11 per cent increase in the number of clients for the food banks, counselling and other services.
“The city needs to take a more aggressive approach in investing in community and social services,” he said.
Daycares
It’s not just social service agencies feeling the pinch, a number of daycares spoke about the changes in the provincial daycare regulations, which allows clients to “float” their subsidized spaces.
Melanie Yearington, director of Bridlewood Child Learning Centre in Kanata, said her organization is losing thousands of dollars in revenue.
Jackie Dwyer, who has worked in the field for a number of years, said centres will have to hike their fees to pay for the policy changes.
Joy Tomkinson, who brought her five-year-old granddaughter to the meeting, said she worries about the lack of affordable childcare. She has been needed to watch her grandchildren as her daughter struggles to find care.
“No one wants to see their children struggle,” she said, adding many grandparents, done raising their own kids, are taking on that role again out of necessity.
“At the playground you will see many a small hand holding a wrinkled one,” she said.
The city administers funding for daycare and fee subsidy. Social services general manager Aaron Burry said $11.5 million has been made available from the city’s reserves to help bridge the transition for daycares that need a hand. The daycares would have to submit a viability plan.
Burry also said the city hasn’t reduced the number of subsidized spots for families.
Aside from childcare and social services, the committee also controls emergency services and parks and recreation.
Committee chair Diane Deans said the city has pledged to spend $3.5 million on upgrades to parks and recreation facilities – including some new splash pads.
The city will cut 12 full-time equivalent positions to offset increases in the latest collective agreement, but will spend $10.5 million on the new Cyrville Road and Ottawa East fire stations.
Council will debate the budget as a whole on Dec. 9.
-reprinted from Ottawa Community News