Roundup: Sutcliffe gets a federal no

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With a bit of an apology to non-Ottawa residents, but our mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, is trying to blackmail the federal and provincial governments for more money, and insists that the city’s budget shortfall isn’t his fault. That’s a lie, and his low-tax austerity plan has bitten him in the ass, and he wants someone else to bail him out, but man, has he made some choices. There is plenty about the budget hole that is his fault, not the least of which is pandering to rural and suburban voters at the expense of downtown meaning that their property taxes stay low while downtown’s are high (under the rubric that multi-unit buildings put more strain on the system, rather than the cost of extending the system to ever-more-distant suburbs and exurbs). In fact, during the last city election, his main rival warned him that his plan had a massive budget hole in it and lo, they were proved right. Funny that.

Well, the federal government isn’t having any of it, and for good reason, not the least of which is that they are not in the mood to set the precedent that bailing out one city because of their poor choices, which will lead to every other city demanding the same, and no, the whole issue of payments for federal properties in lieu of property taxes are not justification. So, Sutcliffe is pretty much out of luck, because I’m pretty sure that Doug Ford is going to give him much the same response. Of course, this is likely just a PR move so that he can justify the tax increases that he should have instituted two years ago, but making the federal government your punching bag to justify doing your own job is pretty sad.

Ukraine Dispatch

In spite of Ukraine downing all 27 drones Russia launched overnight Thursday, Russians bombed a shopping mall in Kostiantynivka in the Donestsk region, killing at least 14 people. The UN says that July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since 2022. Russia has declared a federal emergency as a result of the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk. Ukrainian forces also raided Russian forces on the Kinburn Spit in the Black Sea, and hit an airfield with their drone attack on the Lipetsk region.

Good reads:

  • Mélanie Joly announced new sanctions on Belarus on the anniversary of the rigged election in 2020.
  • The federal government has come to an agreement with Cyprus to assist with the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon should that become necessary.
  • The federal government has missed their self-imposed deadline to come up with a transition plan for open-pen salmon farms on the west coast.
  • Both major railways are threatening a lockout of workers if labour issues aren’t resolved by August 22nd, and want binding arbitration imposed.
  • The Star takes a deeper dive into the issue of private healthcare delivery (while the Ontario government calls it “innovation”).
  • More drama around the Google media fund, and the Canadian Journalism Fund’s criteria, which could impact organizations that rely on freelancers for content.
  • The Federal Court has dismissed a Russian billionaire’s appeal to be removed from Canada’s sanctions list.
  • Liberal Sources™ discuss what the loss of Pablo Rodriguez could mean for the party if he decides to run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberals.
  • In a naked play for union votes, Pierre Poilievre is calling on the federal government to match US tariffs on Chinese EVs, components, steel and aluminium.
  • The RCMP are interviewing former Doug Ford staffers in relation to the Greenbelt land swap deals, and the alleged corruption.
  • Danielle Smith is on a listening tour with her base ahead of a coming leadership review, and she’s indulging their conspiracy theories because of course she is.
  • Paul Wells does the math on Poilievre’s housing policy plans, and finds it to be as hollow and laughable as his slogans.

Odds and ends:

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1822002119605678256

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