Campaign Launch Speech, July 29th, 2010

Dear Friends. We are embarked on a great adventure. Every four years, the people of Ottawa get the chance to rethink and reinvigorate our local government. Where are we going and what do we want to achieve in the next four years?

The answer for me is simple. We want and need to start retrofitting our city for a different world. The 21st century is not going to be like the 20th century.  We have just passed through the richest, most prosperous century humanity has ever seen. Our city’s population and the world population have more than tripled. The 21st century will not be the same.  We will not see the same growth; we will not have the same endless supply of cheap oil and every city and nation will be beset by climate change.  The front page of today’s Globe and Mail makes it very clear. Every indicator is that climate change is here to stay and it’s going to get worse.

All cities are going to have to change. We must revive local agriculture, local businesses and develop energy and travel choices that don’t require you to open a car door.

And we can.  Ottawa is superbly located to meet the challenges before us. We have already started in my ward.  We have made our streets greener, friendlier.  We have restored our community centres, library, schools and community services. We’ve improved our parks.  We brought in the pilot light rail instead of widening Bronson. We have vibrant farmers markets in every neighbourhood.

Now, we must do the same for the greater ward that we all share – our city. But right now, the political will is just not there to accomplish this. If it was, we wouldn’t have cancelled the north/south light rail line and adopted a no new rail plan for 20 years. Calgary is expanding a rail system, they’ve had for 30 years. If Calgary can do it, why can’t we?

Selling our public spaces to developers to build malls and building a stadium without any provincial or federal funding is not smart city politics. It means the precious 8 cents from your tax dollars that goes to our city will be further eroded without providing a single new service because the stadium will be operated from profit by the developers.

I believe we can change this. We can build a city wide light rail system in four to six years. Mayor Chiarelli and I did it with the pilot and we can do it for the city.

Je suis Acadien. Qu’est-ce qu ça veut dire pour un maire aspirant à la ville d’Ottawa?  Ça veut dire que j’apporte mes valeurs acadiennes au poste de maire.  Nous sommes un peuple qui insiste à l’importance de l’harmonie entre voisins. Il faut respecter vos concitoyens, n’importe quelle leur langue ou leur situation.  Mais nous sommes têtus en conservant notre propre langue et notre propre culture. Nous insistons toujours sur l’égalité des hommes et des femmes. Nous sommes profondement democratique. Le premier conseil villageois et députés élus en Amérique du Nord étaient Acadiens.

Et nous sommes un peuple de famille.

Alors, j’amène ces qualités au conseil, une ouverture d’ esprit, une joie de vie, un désire profond de rester à l’écoute du peuple, mais également nous sommes un peuple très pratique une fois quelquechose est décidé, on navigue constament vers le point désiré.

Je suis Acadien dans tous ces qualites. Je ne lache pas. Je me rendrai au bout comme j’ai fait en étant conseiller de ville depuis 12 ans.

It’s a big mountain I’m asking you to climb with me. One of the biggest challenges will be money. We’re going to have to raise at least 250,000 dollars. Without developer money behind me that won’t be easy and make no mistake it won’t be possible without at least a quarter of a million dollars. Otherwise we will simply be drowned in the competitors advertising.

The other part of the mountain will be getting the messages out about what the Clive Doucet Campaign is about. If Lansdowne taught us one thing and one thing only, it’s how easily the messaging in the main stream media is controlled, but I’m convinced we can do it – by standing up for the South March Highlands forest and Lansdowne Park for people, by standing up for small farmers and small businesses, by standing up for new rail service now, by standing up for a new vision for growing our city that’s smart and cost effective.

I have done many things in my life, but I’ve never felt more sure about presenting myself to be your mayor, because I am absolutely certain if Ottawa is to prosper, we must start changing the way we grow. The old ways have gotten us into this mess. I want to leave my grandchildren new services and public spaces that cost less to operate, not more. I want to see us looking forward with optimism and civic confidence towards the new century, not nostalgia towards the old – and we can’t do this without changing.

Thank you.