2022 Ottawa Municipal Election

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Sutcliffe unveils policy for economic growth
Mark Sutcliffe is one of 14 people running to be Ottawa's next mayor.
Anil Jhalli

One of the candidates for mayor has released his plan for economic growth for Ottawa with less than two weeks away until 2022 municipal election.

Mark Sutcliffe, a former CityNews Ottawa talk show host, entrepreneur and author, is one of 14 people vying to be Ottawa's next mayor.

Sutcliffe told The Rob Snow Show on Oct. 13 that if he's elected as Ottawa's next mayor come Oct. 24, he plans to create a 'one stop shop' or single window of service for businesses looking to navigate permits and other paperwork at Ottawa City Hall.

"That includes directing staff to reduce timelines for approvals from city hall with real-time reporting on progress to ensure timelines are met," he said. 'We have to respect by-laws and respect the rules but we need to start saying yes more often otherwise people won't want to do business in Ottawa."

Sutcliffe said working with Ottawa Tourism, tourism leaders across the city and other stakeholders to create one new recurring, annual cultural event in Ottawa and a new major cultural attraction that brings people to the city each year to create significant economic activity.

The mayoral candidate said launching a talent summit that will bring together leaders from the business community, Invest Ottawa, the Ottawa Board of Trade, Regroupement des gens d'affaires, Ottawa Tourism, post-secondary institutions and other partners to enhance Ottawa's efforts to be a community that attracts the best and brightest minds.

"The tourism sector is still recovering from COVID-19 and it is recovering more slowly than other markets in Canada," he said. "We need to get more people visiting Ottawa."

Sutcliffe noted it's important to put the ‘market' back in ByWard Market and encourage live music, street buskers, food festivals, and other performance art experiences by:


Increasing walkways, car-free zones, and public seating to encourage people to stay in the market.
Establishing a permanent ByWard Market cleaning crew to keep the public space clean and beautiful.
Working with community service agencies and the Ottawa Police Service, develop a dedicated Neighourhood Resource Team and a Storefront Neighbourhood Operations Centre to address crime, as well as mental health and substance abuse disorder in the neighbourhood.
Restoring the ByWard Market as a central gathering place again and prepare to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2027.
"I have a long record in the community of contributing to building our economy," he said. "If we don't havea strong economy, we can't fund all the priorities we have as a community."

Other highlights from Sutcliffe's plan include:

Producing a mayor’s annual report card with full accountability to report on our performance on the environment and the economy.
Placing the mayor at the top of a special working committee that promotes Ottawa and pursues investment and job creation in the city
Following through on major projects like light rail transit (LRT), Lansdowne Park, Civic Hospital, LeBreton Flats
Targeting tax relief for small business, by renewing the special small business commercial property tax rate measures.
Keeping fees for approvals at levels that are consistent with the rise in property taxes with no hidden charges on business.
Keeping user fees low and reject calls to raise parking fees or introduce 'congestion charges' to come downtown.
Developing a federally-funded plan for a new major national attraction in downtown Ottawa, such as a museum or cultural centre.
Facilitate a Gatineau LRT connection to the downtown and Ottawa’s LRT system.