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The $562,500 fine the city received for pouring sewage into the Ottawa River has nothing to do with municipal funding for hospitals, money for civic services or, for that matter, the price of tea in China. The sewage spill is an issue unto itself.
Not so, says Mayor Larry O’Brien. The city has refunded more than $6 million to The Ottawa Hospital in building fees since 2002. Mr. O’Brien maintains that the Ontario fine against the city for an accidental spill in 2006 could mean the municipality would pull its breaks to the provincially funded hospital.
According to provincial legislation, refunding such building fees is no longer possible, so the money must come from the hard-pressed city budget. As a result, the mayor says that funding has become optional.
That’s not something Mr. O’Brien should say, not just as policy, but also before he has consulted with council. This mayor has repeatedly made statements without the authority of council behind him. That’s bad for him and the city.
Furthermore, you don’t hear people fined for, say, traffic offences threatening to stop sending money to charities. That’s not what the people of Ottawa want to hear. No organization or person is above the law, especially law-making bodies.
The City of Ottawa broke the law. It must pay the price and that’s all.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008