2018 Ottawa Municipal Election

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Exactly. Cannabis is no worse than alcohol. If we're okay with booze being sold everywhere in retail storefronts it would be hypocritical to do the same with cannabis.

Heck, if the disadvantaged neighbourhoods get hooked on cannabis, that could be a good thing if it leads to less alcohol use. Getting stoned all the time isn't good, but it's better than getting drunk all the time. Stoned people are way less dangerous to themselves, to others, and to property than drunk people are.

Booze is sold as a liquid so it is inefficient to ship through the mail, does not have a plain packaging requirement so customers can get information from the physical product. Many kinds of booze are also temperature sensitive. There is literally nothing to see in a physical pot store, particularly since they are not allowed to sell paraphernalia or allow customers to sample the wares.

[J.OT13]

Well, here's another reason for store-fronts; some of us don't want to be victims of data breaches.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...ders-1.4895619

[J.OT13]

I was debating if I would open a new thread or recycle this one.

Rideau-Rockcliffe by-election to replace Nussbaum set for April 15 with advanced polls April 5. It will cost $329,500.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...-ncc-1.4994008

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I was debating if I would open a new thread or recycle this one.

Rideau-Rockcliffe by-election to replace Nussbaum set for April 15 with advanced polls April 5. It will cost $329,500.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...-ncc-1.4994008

And how much of that will Nussbaum pay?

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

And how much of that will Nussbaum pay?

Hopefully none.

[Admiral Nelson]

Originally Posted by uhuniau

hopefully none.

+1.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Admiral Nelson

+1.

Well, I mean, other than his 1/976,386-ish share of the cost of a by-election, so, what, a few quarters and a nickel?

[rocketphish]

Former Vanier BIA director among candidates for Rideau-Rockcliffe byelection

By: OBJ staff
Published: Jan 30, 2019 4:11pm EST

Several candidates officially put their names forward on Wednesday to replace outgoing Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Tobi Nussbaum on the same day city council announced a byelection for his seat.

Nussbaum, who defeated challenger Peter Heyck to hold onto his seat in the 2018 municipal election, has left the post to start his new position as CEO of the National Capital Commission next week. Those interested in replacing the outgoing councillor have until March 1 to file their nomination papers for the byelection, slated for April 15.

As soon as council voted Wednesday to officially hold the byelection, a few candidates already had their papers ready to go.

Among them is Jamie Kwong, the former executive director of the Quartier Vanier Business Improvement Area. Kwong led the BIA from 2015 to 2017 before leaving to work as a consultant with the federal government. She also previously served as the executive director of the Orléans Chamber of Commerce.

Joining her in filing nomination papers Wednesday was Johan Hamels, a former executive director of the Green Party of Canada. Hamels has experience with the capital’s francophone school board and served as treasurer of the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative for five years.

Marc Dorgeville, a former climate science currently working as a budget counsellor in Rideau-Rockcliffe, also announced his intention to file for the race on Wednesday.

https://obj.ca/article/former-vanier...ffe-byelection

[Buggys]

The taxpayers are left holding the bag again. Why can't they appoint the person who got the next best result from the election that already happened?

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Buggys

The taxpayers are left holding the bag again. Why can't they appoint the person who got the next best result from the election that already happened?

Because he was overwhelmingly rejected by the majority of voters the first time around?

[Buggys]

This wouldn't be an issue if we had some sort of ranked voting system.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Buggys

This wouldn't be an issue if we had some sort of ranked voting system.

There were only 2 candidates.

Nussbaum declined his severance pay, roughly $30,000. Most politicians would take the money and walk away. Worth noting that he took a job where he will arguably have a greater impact on the lives of NCR residents than his former role.

I have a problem with people like Philippe Couillard who quit days after winning the election in his riding but lost the premiership. Or those who vacate their seat about a year before a general election, which triggers a bi-election for a new person coming in for a just few months.

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

There were only 2 candidates.

Nussbaum declined his severance pay, roughly $30,000. Most politicians would take the money and walk away. Worth noting that he took a job where he will arguably have a greater impact on the lives of NCR residents than his former role.

I have a problem with people like Philippe Couillard who quit days after winning the election in his riding but lost the premiership. Or those who vacate their seat about a year before a general election, which triggers a bi-election for a new person coming in for a just few months.

He didn’t decline it - he wasn’t entitled to it. Needs to stay for the full term to qualify.

[J.OT13]

He did complete one full term. We've had some discussions about whether or not he was entitled, but I've never seen a confirmation that he was not.

[CityTech]

Guys, it's $300k. The city's annual budget is in the billions. This is like pennies on the sidewalk. Who cares.

[Buggys]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Guys, it's $300k. The city's annual budget is in the billions. This is like pennies on the sidewalk. Who cares.

Taxes come off the sweat of working people's backs, are paid instead of being able to afford to have kids sooner, and before dealing with all our medical issues.

For someone who works minimum wage at a physically demanding job where the bosses sit in their comfortable offices and don't really care about their people, 300k is a lot!

For people who could only have children with the assistance of a fertility clinic and/or surrogacy, where it routinely costs 100k to have one of their children arrive into the world, no guarantees, 300k is a lot!

For people who cannot do things in life because they struggle to afford to pay for issues related to their medical conditions, 300k is a lot!

...So instead of telling other people it's not a lot, perhaps just the people who think it's not a lot can offer to pay it and take the burden away from the people who are already struggling.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by Buggys

Taxes come off the sweat of working people's backs, are paid instead of being able to afford to have kids sooner, and before dealing with all our medical issues.

For someone who works minimum wage at a physically demanding job where the bosses sit in their comfortable offices and don't really care about their people, 300k is a lot!

For people who could only have children with the assistance of a fertility clinic and/or surrogacy, where it routinely costs 100k to have one of their children arrive into the world, no guarantees, 300k is a lot!

For people who cannot do things in life because they struggle to afford to pay for issues related to their medical conditions, 300k is a lot!

...So instead of telling other people it's not a lot, perhaps just the people who think it's not a lot can offer to pay it and take the burden away from the people who are already struggling.

This has nothing to do with minimum wage or babies. $300K is like 30 cents per Ottawa resident or $8 per Rideau-Rockcliffe resident. By comparison, it costs about $2.50 for someone on minimum wage to take a 10-minute pee break and a box of Pampers is $35

[J.OT13]

It's not $300,000 out of my pocket. It's just ¢30. Better this than Qaqish who had spent $90,000 to plaster his face on bus shelters or Mark Taylor who had a bunch of swag with his name and "Deputy Mayor" title. Or how about Hubley, Mitic, Qaqish, Tierney bought tickets to the NHL Classic for themselves and "guests"? Nussbaum was unfortunate timing, the examples above and many others are Councillors taking advantage of their budget to line their own pockets.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...gets-1.4574418
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...f-deputy-mayor
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...kets-1.4508743

[McC]

Originally Posted by Buggys

...So instead of telling other people it's not a lot, perhaps just the people who think it's not a lot can offer to pay it and take the burden away from the people who are already struggling.

That’s literally exactly how the progressive income tax system and VAT work; the only bug in the system is property taxes forming the basis of a large part of municipal budgets.

[Buggys]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

This has nothing to do with minimum wage or babies. $300K is like 30 cents per Ottawa resident or $8 per Rideau-Rockcliffe resident. By comparison, it costs about $2.50 for someone on minimum wage to take a 10-minute pee break and a box of Pampers is $35

We should strive to use tax dollars efficiently, and not automatically try to add "just one more small cost" to everyone.

Big costs can happen from small costs added up.

By comparison, a minimum wage worker only makes about 25k per year gross, with very little savings if any, and very often with only an expensive healthcare plan from the employer that doesn't cover much. One round of IVF is 15-25k out of pocket.