With the City of Ottawa election weeks away and Jim Watson likely assured another term as mayor, Clive Doucet has a Transit plan that he hopes will entice people into voting for him. Unfortunately, while Doucet’s wide-ranging pie-in-the-sky transit plan may appeal to those that share his transit vision, it does not include the most critical element of detailed cost. If his plan is based on budget cuts he should elaborate on the impact of those cuts and how he intends to remedy their consequences. If he intends to seek funds from other sources and considering his past experience as a city councillor knows, or should know, that budget planning at both the provincial and federal level can take a few years before the funds are available. And to state that his plan will be all done by 2022 is essentially wishful thinking.
Rather than trying to hoodwink voters into believing a plan which is unlikely to happen in the time frame proposed due to costs, or more likely not at all, it would be more helpful if political candidates offered voters a platform that was both realistic and fully costed.
