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DND
relocation will have major social and economic impact on Orléans
To
the resudents of Ottawa-Orléans:
Last
week, we found out that the federal Conservative government
plans to spend $630 million to renovate the Nortel Campus
for DND. This is on top of the $208 million that has already
been spent on the property, bringing the total estimated
cost of the project to more than $800 million.
According
to an article in today's Ottawa Citizen - "DND officials
hid cost of Nortel renos" Nov. 28, 2011 - the federal
government has known about the excessive cost of retrofitting
the Nortel campus for close to a year, however, they've
kept it hidden from the public fearing a potential backlash.
But
the total cost of the project for the residents of Orléans
far exceeds the cost to purchase and renovate the buildings.
The campus will be the new home for 10,000 DND employees,
the vast majority of whom live in Orléans. This
is on top of the 3,800 RCMP jobs that have already been
moved to Barrhaven.Kanata currently has 1.65 jobs per
household compared to 0.5 jobs per household in Orléans.
DND
personnel living in Orléans will face a commute
of over one hour to the west end, whereas their present
commute is 20 minutes by bus to their DND jobs downtown.
When
the move was first proposed by the Harper government in
2008, I warned that it would greatly impact the sustainability
of our City, especially in Orléans.
Not
only will we lose about 6,000 to 7,000 people - people
with secure jobs and pensions who have played an integral
role in our community - Orléans will no longer
be the first choice for DND and RCMP personnel relocating
to the National Capital region, as it has been.
Up
until now, we were told the move to the old Nortel campus
was being made for economic reasons. We are now learning
that it will cost over $800 million. When one considers
the dislocation of so many people and other impacts, the
cost could easily exceed $2 billion.
The
decision will also cost families living in Orléans.
According to some estimates, home values have already
dropped by an average of five per cent. That equates to
a total loss in equity of over $500 million for Orléans'
30,000 homeowners.
The
job transfers will also impact the future Ottawa Light
Rail system as thousands of east end employees who would
have taken the train to their jobs downtown will instead
opt to drive to Kanata and Barrhaven.
For
those people who choose to remain in Orléans, daily
schedules will need to be changed; parents will end up
spending more time in their cars and less time at home
with their families. The impact on their quality of life
is immeasurable and something the Harper government has
failed to take into consideration.
We
should also look at the "densification" of our
downtown. Moving the jobs to Kanata and Barrhaven promotes
further urban sprawl which runs counter to the City of
Ottawa's Official Plan. If ever there was a need for an
"environmental assessment", this federal decision
to make our City and our community less sustainable is
one. Is the Federal Government exempt when it comes to
environmental sustainability?
We
preach sustainability of our City, we place it in our
Official Plan, yet we say nothing when this kind of political
decision is made.
I
spoke to thousands of people going door-to-door during
the 90 days that I campaigned to represent the good people
of Orléans. Inevitably, the conversation turned
to the Harper government's decision to transfer thousands
of DND and RCMP jobs to Kanata and Barrhaven. Most of
the people I talked to were concerned with the issue and
those who were directly impacted by it were extremely
upset and angry.
I
discussed the need for the Federal Government to provide
light rail to Trim Road so our people could traverse the
downtown more easily to their new jobs in Kanata. This
would cost about $300 million, a pittance compared to
the total cost of the DND project and the impact it will
have on our local economy as hundreds of families move
to the west end.
During
the election I called for a community and economic sustainability
summit to look at the implications of the many factors
impacting Orléans. These include future improvements
to the Split and widening the Queensway between the Split
and Nicholas Street; extending light rail to Trim Road;
the interprovincial crossing; the future widening of OR
174 from Trim Road to Rockland; and the transfer of thousands
of DND and RCMP jobs to Kanata and Barrhaven.
I
understand the Orléans Chamber of Commerce will
be taking the lead on this initiative, which is urgently
needed. I ask that you contact your elected representatives
at every level and urge them to take part in this very
important exercise
Sincerely,
Phil McNeely MPP
Ottawa-Orléans
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