Sutcliffe has an answer for everything. We should be skeptical | Opinion

Is there anything incumbent Mark Sutcliffe can’t, or won’t do if re-elected mayor on October 26?

Scan Sutcliffe’s platform and statements, and it appears there is no problem in Ottawa he can’t solve if he wins. He checks every box.

Homelessness, broken transit, housing shortages, horrible roads, congestion, stuttering local economy, crime, — you name it, Sutcliffe has the fix. Lack of economic development in the suburbs and rural communities? He has a plan to create jobs. Sutcliffe has the answers.

At a recent, big campaign hurrah atop the downtown Westin Hotel, he pulled it all together in one final flourish. “We are going to make Ottawa better than it was before,” he said. “We are going to make sure that in 2030, 2040, in 2050, this city continues to be a great place to live, continues to be a welcoming city, continues to have more opportunities for our kids and grandkids.”

Planning ahead is good. But in these uncertain times, when Canada’s economy is cracking under the weight of Trump tariffs; when many local businesses are under severe stress — and when caution may be the watchword — you have to wonder whether everything Sutcliffe is promising is sustainable. On a 2.5 per cent tax increase?

The question needs asking because Sutcliffe is offering Ottawa residents a kind of future nirvana that seems too good to be true. No problem unsolved. Everything will be just grand. But we should be skeptical, and not swallow such a pitch without question or examination.

Let’s consider a few key promises. Sutcliffe promises to end youth homelessness in just four years, and then, “set the course” for ending homelessness altogether. Give Sutcliffe credit for trying, but he can’t do it, alone.

Homelessness is a multi-faceted problem, at the root of which is mental illness arising out of substance abuse, compounded by a lack of affordable housing. A solution requires the active financial involvement of the provincial government and the feds, but both have shown no inclination that this is a priority. Prime Minister Mark Carney has bigger fish to fry, what with Trump tariffs hanging over the country. Ending homelessness is not on the radar. And if Premier Doug Ford hasn’t done anything about homelessness in his Toronto backyard, there is no reason he’ll do it in Ottawa. Sutcliffe did not end homelessness in the last four years, and he won’t do it in the next four. He may have the heart, but not the resources.

Sutcliffe also says he will fix our broken transit service, but he had four years and didn’t do it. Yes, he is in no way responsible for the LRT problems, which he inherited. But under his watch in his first term, OC Transpo problems got worse, not better. Don’t take my word for it. Ask riders. Of course, Ford may bail him out by taking over LRT, but a mere ownership change doesn’t guarantee that the problems will suddenly disappear. The books may be balanced, but riders will still bear the brunt of the operational problems. Metrolinx will not work miracles.

Sutcliffe says he would have a $10 billion war chest to fix roads and other infrastructure. Great. But over the last four years in office, our roads got worse, not better. Now, facing re-election, he is promising to fix them. Make of that what you will, but in this campaign, Sutcliffe has promised to fix every problem under the sun. It just doesn’t wash.

Of the four leading candidates, Sutcliffe remains the favourite, and that is particularly why we should ask more questions of him. He has laid out his plans in careful detail. He has command of the issues. But in trying to be Mr. Everything, he comes across as someone merely ticking the boxes.

Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa journalist and commentator. Reach him at nylamiles48@gmail.com