Cumberland Candidate Stephen Blais believes there are too many politicians at City Hall. By eliminating six council seats, Ottawa could save approximately $2 million per year, or $8 million over the length of a council term.

“By eliminating six council seats, we could use these savings to hire more police officers or public health nurses and make much-needed repairs to roads and sidewalks,” said Blais. “Although it’s rare for politicians to reduce their own ranks, I believe it’s time to put the needs of our city first.”

Orléans’ Member of Provincial Parliament, Phil McNeely, represents approximately 109,000 residents at Queen’s Park. However, his salary and office budget are only slightly better than the current councillor for Cumberland Ward, even though Mr. McNeely represents almost five times as many residents.

“Stephen Blais has always fought for more efficiency and transparency in government,” said Bruce Hollands, former vice president at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. “His plan to reduce the number of politicians at City Hall will allow millions to be reinvested in improving the quality of life for Ottawa families.”

The City of Vancouver has 10 city councillors, while the Cities of Calgary and Edmonton have 14 and 12, respectively. In Ontario, the City of Hamilton has 15 councillors. In addition, the City of Toronto has two city councillors for every federal riding, while Ottawa has a little more than three councillors for every federal riding. Ottawa should have two city councillors for every federal riding and three separate rural councillors to recognize the importance of our rural communities to the fabric of the National Capital.

As a school board trustee, Stephen Blais kept a campaign promise to lobby for Catholic board trustees to reduce their own ranks and represent the same amount of students as Public School board trustees.