Local Events

I had the honour of introducing Lieutenant Brendan Ryan of the Royal Canadian Navy as the performer of the National Anthem at last week’s City Council meeting, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy. In addition to Lieutenant Ryan’s wonderful rendition of the national anthem, representatives from the Canadian Navy presented City Council with framed pictorial histories of HMCS Ottawa, HMCS Rockliffe, HMCS Gloucester, and HMCS Eastview.

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South end councillors say they are generally pleased with the final outcome of the 2010 city budget as it secures funding for important local infrastructure projects, saves local transit routes and allows post secondary students to try a new university bus pass. With the approved budget, taxes will increase 3.77% this year.

"It's always a difficult choice for council to find the correct balance between providing the services as citizens we need and want, and all the while keeping taxes as low as possible," said Diane Deans, Gloucester Southgate Councillor. "I think this was a good effort by council and I think we got as close to the right balance as we could."

After a little over a month of public consultations, councillors had a better understanding of what residents didn't want to see cut, she said. The main concerns were bus routes, tree stump removal and Crime Prevention Ottawa.