#BudgetSpeak As We Hear it Report

On Tuesday, November 5, Councillors Leiper, McKenney, King, Fleury, and Menard welcomed a record number of participants for the annual BudgetSpeak event. We rely on this event to get valuable feedback from residents of the urban wards about what their budget priorities are, so the councillors can best advocate on their behalf during the budget process.

The event covered three main themes; mobility, social infrastructure, and housing affordability. Participants heard from the City treasurer’s office about the draft budget for 2020, and three experts in these fields about what they believe are the big challenges faces Ottawa and how we can work together to overcome them. Afterwards, participants were given time to talk in table groups of roughly 8 people about what they identified as priorities for the 2020 municipal budget and possible solutions to the problems of transit reliability and access, overtaxed social services, and an ongoing housing and homelessness crisis. Included in this report is a brief summary of what our experts had to share with participants, and what we heard from residents. You can find more information about the 2020 Municipal Budget here.

Please find attached the rest of our #BudgetSpeak As We Heard It Report, available both in English and French, below.