FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE: Horizon Ottawa Condemns Transit Commission Vote to Support Significant Cuts
OTTAWA - Horizon Ottawa is condemning today's vote at the Transit Commission to support the $47 million in cuts to the transit budget which would see among other things 117 less buses on the road without replacements and further delays in capital projects.
The bulk of the "efficiencies" being pushed by Mark Sutcliffe are coming from Ottawa's transit system which is already facing significant financial pressure and has seen significant service disruption.
By comparison, the budget spent on road widening and expansion is set to increase by over 30% to $55 million in this year's budget.
"If a budget is about priorities then today, the commission made clear that public transit is not one of theirs." said Sam Hersh, a Board member of Horizon Ottawa. "By voting to cut this budget, this commission is essentially turning a blind eye to the experiences and frustrations of residents across this city."
Delegates who spoke up at the meeting raised various points mostly to do with poor services levels and how budget cuts would negatively impact their daily commutes.
Despite the vote being passed at Transit Commission however, the transit budget still needs to be approved at Council on March 1st.
"Despite this vote today, we will continue to join residents in fighting these cuts." Said Hersh. "We will work to ensure that we can have a functional transit system even if that isn't this council's priority."
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For Media Inquiries:
Sam Hersh
[email protected]
613-663-7018
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE: Horizon Ottawa Releases Donor Information from Osgoode By-election Candidates
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
09 June 2025
OTTAWA - Horizon Ottawa has released information about how candidates in the Osgoode by-election have financed their campaigns in an effort to improve transparency. The organization has consistently called on candidates to refuse contributions from the development industry based on the perception that this could create a conflict of interest when elected officials are tasked with decisions that would affect developer profits. The City of Ottawa already requires candidates to release a list of all donations over $100 following the election, but Horizon also stresses the importance of voters having access to this information before casting their ballot.
Of the eleven candidates registered in the by-election, Horizon was able to contact ten, six of whom responded to the request. Horizon’s findings can be seen in this chart:
Three candidates: Dalton Holloway, Jennifer van Koughnett, and Peter Westaway provided a list of their donors and were verified to have not received any funding from those connected to the development industry.
Greg Vail provided a list of donors and was found to have received two $100 contributions from donors who could be construed to be connected to the real estate development industry.
Isabelle Skalski and Dan O’Brien both claim to have received no developer-related funding, but did not disclose a list of their donors.
Doug Thompson, Colette Lacroix Velthuis, Guy Boone, and Bobby Gulati did not respond to Horizon’s request. While this does not necessarily mean that their campaigns were funded by developer-connected donors, Osgoode Ward residents will not have access to this information before selecting a councillor.
Horizon encourages each of these candidates to show voters that transparency matters to them and to make this information publicly available before election day on June 16th.
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For media inquiries:
English
Tom Ledgley
613-663-7018
French
Sam Hersh
613-663-7018
