What to do about the National Capital Commission (NCC)?

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Now that both the optometrist and Randstad are gone, that space in Chambers would make a great TV studio. It would provide some great shots of Confederation Square, the Chateau Laurier, and the Government Conference Centre. An even better idea would be for the NCC to use it as an Infocentre since they already own it and the corner unit has been on the market for a while. There's huge tourist traffic in that area. More than the World Exchange Plaza.

I fully agree. Bloomberg is already in the building somewhere, so they wouldn't be alone. Perhaps an Ottawa Citizen News Cafe like in Winnipeg?

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by McC

I was going to say a nice 2-story bistro fronting on to the square (basically wrapping around from Darcy's); but your Flagship Timmies idea is not terrible. It would probably be stupidly popular, and I can see millions of (tasteless) pictures being taken in front of the Cenotaph and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with patriotic coffee cups in hand, rims proudly rrrrrrrolled up.

I read in an interview somewhere that Beckta looked at the site before setting on Richmond/Churchill for his third spot (Gezellig).

[Schattenjager]

Watson calls for NCC reforms
Published on May 16, 2013
Mark Brownlee

Fed up over his inability to reach a compromise with the National Capital Commission on several key municipal files, Mayor Jim Watson signalled he’ll be suggesting changes to how the federal Crown corporation goes about its business.

Until now, Mr. Watson has shown a willingness to find middle ground between the NCC and the City of Ottawa for projects on which the two bodies can’t immediately agree.

But in calling for fundamental changes to the way the NCC works, those days appear to have come to an end.

“Over the course of the next couple of months I’m going to be speaking about how I think we can reform the NCC to make sure that it is more of a help than a hindrance,” said Mr. Watson, who made the comments to tourism officials at an event organized by the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association.

He referred to the NCC as “another level of government that no other city in the country has to deal with.”

Mr. Watson, without going into specifics about what he wants changed, singled out a number of policy areas in which the NCC has created a “problem” for the city’s attempts to attract visitors.

These include the NCC’s concerns about the Ottawa Convention Centre’s desire to get an art wall on its exterior and its decision to shut down a tourism office across from Parliament Hill.

A particular source of frustration appears to involve the city’s plan to extend its light-rail transit project to the west. The city is currently working on a route that would take the project farther west of the current construction route, which only goes as far as Tunney’s Pasture.

City staff announced last year their preferred option would be to run the route for long stretches on land the NCC controls along the John A. Macdonald Parkway. However the NCC expressed an unwillingness to give up the land, citing concerns that LRT would limit access to the waterfront.

The city initially showed a willingness to work with the NCC’s concerns by returning to the drawing board. It released a similar version of the route that would take the route underground for stretches at a time.

The NCC again said that option was unacceptable, though, because it still used the Parkway. That apparently lead Mr. Watson to the conclusion that the two bodies weren’t going to be able to reach a compromise without major changes to the Crown corporation’s mandate.

“When we’re trying to get light rail even farther west and take one and a half acres of scrub land and they’re saying ‘sorry you can’t do that, try another option that’s going to cost you another $600 million,’ that's a problem,” said Mr. Watson.

His speech ended too late for OBJ to get comment from the NCC.

Other complaints involved matters for which the federal government, rather than the NCC, were responsible.

He expressed disappointment that the Government Conference Centre, a former train station the federal department Public Works maintains just east of Parliament Hill, is open only to government meetings rather than the public.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/City-Hall/20...-NCC-reforms/1

[Postmaster]

I have to say the mayor is doing his part trying to drive the change this city needs.

[NOWINYOW]

I'm not a supporter of the Conservatives, nor am I a Liberal or NDP supporter. I will say though, if radical reductions to the relevancy of the NCC are to happen, the current Federal Gov't is the one that could and would make it happen. NOW is the time to petition the Feds to disband or drastically reduce the voice and governance of the NCC.

All good things must come to an end. If the NCC was ever any good, now is the time to call an end to the "good times". Local festivals, public transit routes and city growth should be administered by elected officials, not a group of un-elected patronage appointees.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by NOWINYOW

I'm not a supporter of the Conservatives, nor am I a Liberal or NDP supporter. I will say though, if radical reductions to the relevancy of the NCC are to happen, the current Federal Gov't is the one that could and would make it happen. NOW is the time to petition the Feds to disband or drastically reduce the voice and governance of the NCC.

All good things must come to an end. If the NCC was ever any good, now is the time to call an end to the "good times". Local festivals, public transit routes and city growth should be administered by elected officials, not a group of un-elected patronage appointees.

So if the NCC disbands, all of its assets would (or should) go to the cities. Imagine what the city could do with all that land, i.e. sell off the swaths of Greenbelt and parts of the shoreline, use the money to expand the OLRT.

As for the Gatineau Park; please turn it into a National Park and stop building highways thru it.

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

So if the NCC disbands, all of its assets would (or should) go to the cities. Imagine what the city could do with all that land, i.e. sell off the swaths of Greenbelt and parts of the shoreline, use the money to expand the OLRT.

Good point. I doubt the government would hand over all of the NCC land outright to the city. Some parts will probably never be developed and should be shifted over to Parks Canada.

There's big parts of the Greenbelt that are mostly unused fields. Developing parts of the Greenbelt would certainly prevent further outward expansion of the suburbs for a significant time.

Originally Posted by J.OT13

As for the Gatineau Park; please turn it into a National Park and stop building highways thru it.

Agreed!

[NOWINYOW]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

So if the NCC disbands, all of its assets would (or should) go to the cities. Imagine what the city could do with all that land, i.e. sell off the swaths of Greenbelt and parts of the shoreline, use the money to expand the OLRT.

The Feds could still own much of the land. Other parts become the jurisdiction of ELECTED officials.

There are cities all around the world that manage their natural resources quite well without a nanny level of Gov't.

[Dado]

I support the use of the former CPR corridor running along the Parkway for LRT, but clearly the City's communications/consultations with the NCC are out to lunch.

It's one thing to have a philosophical issue with the NCC or how it conducts itself, but to get angry with the NCC because of your own failings to deal with it in a proper manner is absurd. A casus belli this is not.

And besides, suppose it wasn't the NCC that owned the Parkway land but rather the Province through a Provincial Park or a Conservation Authority (it's in the flood plain, after all...). Or even Parks Canada for that matter. Since it's a former railway corridor, it could even be in the hands of a linear utility like a railway, hydro company or pipeline and would similarly be out of expropriative reach of the City. The point being that the same issue would exist for the City in all those circumstances, and the City's same failings would show themselves up then as well.


As for the other issues listed, the Convention Centre art wall and the tourism office, what of them? You can't just put up huge lit signs near the MTO's highways either... and we don't see Jim out there taking on the MTO to have its powers curtailed (which might actually be a useful fight). As for the tourism office, is something stopping the City from setting one up? Since when is it up the feds to promote tourism in Ottawa. Sure, it's in their interest in some regard to do so, but it's not exactly up to them to do it, either.

If Mayor Watson wants to signal that the City of Ottawa should get more respect from the feds, perhaps he should start by trying to deprovincialize the City through such things as getting rid of the OMB's role. After all, it's rather absurd to be complaining about the relatively minor annoyances the NCC sends our way when the OMB's very existence routinely distorts decisions of the City.

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by Dado

I support the use of the former CPR corridor running along the Parkway for LRT, but clearly the City's communications/consultations with the NCC are out to lunch.

It's one thing to have a philosophical issue with the NCC or how it conducts itself, but to get angry with the NCC because of your own failings to deal with it in a proper manner is absurd. A casus belli this is not.

And besides, suppose it wasn't the NCC that owned the Parkway land but rather the Province through a Provincial Park or a Conservation Authority (it's in the flood plain, after all...). Or even Parks Canada for that matter. Since it's a former railway corridor, it could even be in the hands of a linear utility like a railway, hydro company or pipeline and would similarly be out of expropriative reach of the City. The point being that the same issue would exist for the City in all those circumstances, and the City's same failings would show themselves up then as well.


As for the other issues listed, the Convention Centre art wall and the tourism office, what of them? You can't just put up huge lit signs near the MTO's highways either... and we don't see Jim out there taking on the MTO to have its powers curtailed (which might actually be a useful fight). As for the tourism office, is something stopping the City from setting one up? Since when is it up the feds to promote tourism in Ottawa. Sure, it's in their interest in some regard to do so, but it's not exactly up to them to do it, either.

If Mayor Watson wants to signal that the City of Ottawa should get more respect from the feds, perhaps he should start by trying to deprovincialize the City through such things as getting rid of the OMB's role. After all, it's rather absurd to be complaining about the relatively minor annoyances the NCC sends our way when the OMB's very existence routinely distorts decisions of the City.

Very good points.

[rocketphish]

NCC board member named in corruption inquiry steps aside

By David Reevely, OTTAWA CITIZEN September 4, 2013 5:00 PM

OTTAWA — A National Capital Commission board member named in Quebec’s inquest into corruption in the construction industry has recused himself from his duties, says a spokesman for John Baird, the federal minister responsible for the agency.

François Paulhus, a civil engineer now with his own company, was named by another construction executive in testimony before Justice France Charbonneau as participating in bid-rigging with the City of Gatineau for about five years in the mid-2000s.

No criminal charges have been laid and nothing has been proved, beyond the sworn testimony of AECOM’s Marc-André Gélinas.

At the time, Paulhus was an executive with engineering consulting company Genivar. According to Gélinas, they were both part of a cartel that also involved firms Dessau and CIMA+. They decided among themselves who should win particular public contracts and decided what the lowest bid would be to make sure of it, Gélinas testified Tuesday, the first day the Charbonneau commission sat after a 10-week summer break.

The allegation is serious — a short-circuiting of the bidding process that’s supposed to get the best deal for taxpayers — but nothing like the corruption that’s been alleged in Montreal and Laval. Gélinas testified that no public officials were involved in the bid-rigging in Gatineau.

Paulhus, who lives in Quebec City, promptly ended a campaign for city council there. He had been a star candidate on the slate of incumbent mayor Régis Labeaume.

He was named to the NCC board at the end of 2012, a position that pays a $4,000-a-year retainer plus fees for each day of work that typically amount to something less than $10,000 a year.

“We have concerns about what we heard at the Charbonneau Commission. These reports are obviously serious, and if proven, the individual should immediately withdraw from his position on the board of directors,” said Rick Roth, Baird’s spokesman. Baird, the federal foreign-affairs minister and MP for Ottawa West-Nepean, is also responsible for the NCC.

“It is our understanding that Mr. Paulhus has temporarily recused himself from the Board at this time, and we believe that is the right thing to do,” Roth added.

The commission confirmed it in a news release of its own: “Mr. Paulhus was mentioned by a witness yesterday at the Charbonneau inquiry. As a result, Mr. Paulhus will not participate in NCC affairs until this matter has been resolved,” the statement said.

A call to Paulhus’s number in Quebec City went unanswered.

The National Capital Act spells out that NCC board members are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the federal cabinet for terms of up to four years. They can be dismissed the same way.

[email protected]

ottawacitizen.com/greaterottawa
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ot...305/story.html

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

NCC board member named in corruption inquiry steps aside

...

Ooops!

I'm not in the least bit surprise that Quebec's construction corruption scandals has ties to the Federal level.

[S-Man]

...And especially the NCC, which is completely stocked with Quebecers and, overall, projects an air of untouchable elitism.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by S-Man

...And especially the NCC, which is completely stocked with Quebecers and, overall, projects an air of untouchable elitism.

The NCC's board is (overly) stocked with Quebecers? Really?

http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/abou...d-of-directors

Recently you called me "touchy" about these things. When people make uninformed dumbass assertions like these... it's no wonder people get touchy.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The NCC's board is (overly) stocked with Quebecers? Really?

http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/abou...d-of-directors

Recently you called me "touchy" about these things. When people make uninformed dumbass assertions like these... it's no wonder people get touchy.

Yeah, I'm with Acajack on this one. While a large number of francophones dominate the public service sector here in Ottawa (and even then, it's mostly just government workers), they are by no means the dominate force behind any real institution. Federal government? Almost no francophones. Provincial government? HA! Municipal government? Hardly any. NCC? 3 out of 14. Even in the military, how often have we seen Quebecers being the Chief of Defence Staff, or commander of any of the forces?

[rocketphish]

NCC close to naming new CEO

By Elizabeth Payne, OTTAWA CITIZEN September 13, 2013

OTTAWA — After more than a year without a permanent CEO, the National Capital Commission should have a new leader in place soon. The federal government says it hopes to name a CEO of the National Capital Commission “in short order.”

“There is a process underway and it’s nearing its conclusion,” said Rick Roth, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who is responsible for the NCC. Roth said the federal government hopes to make an announcement soon.

The government’s delay in filling the top job at the NCC after Marie Lemay left to become associate deputy minister of infrastructure in July 2012 has drawn criticism from those who see it as a sign of the agency’s — and the national capital’s — low priority with the federal government.

The NCC has been without a permanent CEO (executive vice-president operations Jean-Francois Trepanier has been doing the job on an interim basis) during a period of upheaval.

Since Lemay left, the federal agency has cut jobs and seen some of its duties transferred to the Department of Canadian Heritage. The NCC will no longer be in charge of public programming and promotional activities, including Canada Day and Winterlude, it was announced in May’s federal budget. The change has also seen some employees move from the NCC to Heritage, beginning this month.

The NCC’s role on the national stage and in Ottawa is more subdued than it was in the days when Jean Pigott held the top job and its relationship with the City of Ottawa — especially over light rail — has been fractious.

The appointment of the next CEO — whether high profile or not — will send a signal about how the Conservative government views its future.

Bob Plamondon, a Conservative consultant who was a key force behind the campaign to rename the Ottawa River Parkway the John A. Macdonald Parkway and who recently launched a book about Pierre Trudeau, would not comment on reports that he is being considered for the NCC’s top job.

Plamondon has recently put some of his thoughts on the NCC’s future in writing, however, in an op-ed published in the Citizen in April titled: We need a rejuvenated NCC.

In an ideal world, he wrote, Ottawa would be a federal district “free from provincial or local parochial influence.” Given that it is not, “It’s up to the federal government to make some compromises, yet take charge of our national capital and then give clear directions to the NCC to make it happen. That’s why I’m glad Prime Minister Stephen Harper is taking a fresh look at the NCC. Getting them out of the events business will allow them to focus on what’s really important.”

Meanwhile, the NCC says it will play an important role in the expected redevelopment of Chaudière Island and the Domtar lands, but it is not the role the federal agency had envisioned. The NCC had long wanted the federal government to buy the historic islands, which are considered a “land mass of national significance,” but a deal to do so fell through about 18 months ago when the federal government said no to the purchase. Ottawa developer Windmill Development Group has signed a letter of intent to purchase the property. Jonathan Westeinde, managing partner of the company, outlined an ambitious vision for the property that includes condos, retail, green space, “creative workspaces” and vastly improved public access to the river. The company is expected to make an announcement on its plans this month.

NCC board Chair Russell Mills said this week that since public ownership of the lands is “not in the cards,” having a private developer with input and guidance from “proper authorities” is the best solution for the Domtar lands.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/cl...127/story.html

[rocketphish]

Tories breaking spirit of their accountability legislation in search for NCC CEO, Dewar says

By Elizabeth Payne, OTTAWA CITIZEN September 13, 2013

OTTAWA — The Conservative government is breaking the spirit of its accountability legislation by conducting a closed-door search for a new National Capital Commission CEO, says Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar.

“This is the old way of doing business — appointing someone without looking at their merits and being open about it.”

Dewar said appointment of the top job at the NCC — a post that has been vacant since Marie Lemay left 14 months ago — “goes to the heart” of federal government accountability legislation that was a foundation of Conservative policy when it took power.

A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, whose office is responsible for the NCC, said a new CEO would be appointed “in short order.

“There is a process underway and it is nearing its conclusion,” said Baird’s director of communications, Rick Roth.

Dewar said the fact the process has been neither open nor transparent is troubling.

As part of its accountability legislation, the federal government set up a public appointments commission, which was to have made the process of appointments more open and accountable. No head was ever appointed, though, and that office was closed in May.

That would have been the ideal means of appointing a new NCC head, said Dewar. But without such an office, he would like to see appointments vetted by a parliamentary committee to “bring some transparency to the process.”

Dewar said the position should be based on merit. “It shouldn’t just be a friend of the Conservative party.”

Dewar said the NDP would like to see the appointments commission re-established — with a commissioner this time.

The NDP long pushed for changes to make the NCC more open, some of which have been put in place, including holding public board meetings. The lack of transparency around the appointment of a new CEO goes against that openness and accountability.

Dewar said there are concerns “we are going to see someone there more to serve the Conservative agenda than to serve the mandate of the NCC, that is to promote the national capital for all Canadians.”

Ottawa Conservative strategist Bob Plamondon, who was behind a campaign to rename the Ottawa River Parkway the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the job, something he would not confirm.

[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busines...843/story.html

[rocketphish]

NCC ‘blindsided’ by cuts in federal budget: Dewar

By Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen October 4, 2013

Officials at the National Capital Commission were “completely blindsided” when the federal government announced in last May’s budget that the agency would no longer be in charge of Canada Day and Winterlude, among other things, according to Ottawa Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar.

The significant shrinking of the NCC’s role, revealed in a couple of lines deep in the federal budget, came without consultation or warning, Dewar says, something that speaks to the federal government’s view of the agency and its relevance.

“The day the budget was announced was when people at the NCC became aware of this,” Dewar said. “They can’t tell you this, but I will: They blindsided the NCC.”

The employees affected by that change — 81 full-time and 13 students — moved from the NCC headquarters in the Chambers Building on Confederation Square this week to begin work at the Department of Canadian Heritage offices in Gatineau. With a smaller staff and reduced responsibilities, as well as a shrinking budget, the NCC is planning to move out of the centrally-located heritage building it has occupied for nearly two decades.

When the employees — who make up about 18 per cent of the NCC’s workforce — moved to Heritage, many of the NCC’s responsibilities moved with them. Heritage will now take over responsibility for running Canada Day celebrations, Winterlude, the Christmas lights program, national commemorations “to be established in the capital region”, public art commemorations and visitor services, among other things. A number of NCC employees working in communications, IT and finance also made the move, which leaves the NCC with responsibility for Gatineau Park, the pathways, parkways and property maintenance.

The Department of Canadian Heritage will create a Capital Experience Branch “to ensure a broad national experience is brought to all celebrations in the National Capital Region,” said a department spokesman by email.

Meanwhile, a series of budget cuts have reduced the money the NCC gets from Parliament by about $9.5 million a year.

Critics have characterized the transfer of responsibilities as the gutting of the National Capital Commission and a sign of its increasing irrelevance.

The federal government, when it announced the shift, called the NCC “locally based” and said the move was in preparation for the country’s 150th birthday celebrations. The shift, according the budget, will ensure that such events “draw on the cultural and social fabric of the whole of Canada.”

On Friday, a spokesman for Foreign Minister John Baird, who is responsible for the NCC, said the changes “simply consolidated some of the work being done by both the Department of Heritage and the NCC.

“The NCC still has an important responsibility to manage federal lands, buildings and protect the Greenbelt,” said Baird’s communications director Rick Roth.

Some of the public response to the shift of responsibilities has been positive. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson called it a positive move and said the Department of Canadian Heritage is better suited to stage such events than the NCC, particularly with Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations on the horizon.

But Dewar said the move is hollowing out the NCC instead of reforming it and enlivening its mandate.

“What we are left with is (an organization) that is going to be a landlord taking care of mowing the lawn and washing the windows. Clearly that is not sufficient.

“They are hollowing out a resource, taking money away and putting it into Heritage without any real understanding as to what the effects will be.”

Dewar said the federal government’s failure to replace former CEO Marie Lemay, who left the NCC more than a year ago, is also worrisome. Lemay championed cycling and said she wanted to make Ottawa a cycling haven. She also helped initiate moves to co-ordinate public transportation on both sides of the Ottawa River.

In 2006 the federal government launched a review of the NCC’s mandate led by University of Ottawa professor Gilles Paquet. The panel concluded that the NCC’s mandate should be strengthened to return the agency to its “former glory.” Creating a separate post for CEO was another recommendation. Lemay was the first person to fill that post.

Roth said Friday that the process to find a new CEO is underway.

Meanwhile, Dewar said that rather than reforming the NCC, the federal government is treating it “as an atm machine for other purposes.

“This is not good public policy. It is about trying to squeeze money out and trying to make it look like it is somehow going to improve things.”
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/bl...035/story.html

[acottawa]

I think the events were a distraction from their core mandate of planning/improving the capital and asset/facilities management. This could force the senior management and the board to pursue a longer-term vision rather than the "look what we organized" stuff that filled their annual reports.

[Buggys]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I think the events were a distraction from their core mandate of planning/improving the capital and asset/facilities management.

I agree with you.

Originally Posted by acottawa

This could force the senior management and the board to pursue a longer-term vision rather than the "look what we organized" stuff that filled their annual reports.

I hope that's the case! We need better coordination regarding city infrastructure within the NCR. Hopefully a more focused NCC will force Ottawa and Gatineau to coordinate more!