Sutcliffe clarifies position about funding for Capital Pride, other events

Ottawa mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe is responding to questions about a newspaper column he wrote 16 years ago in which he questioned City of Ottawa funding for Capital Pride and other events. 

In a 2006 piece in the Ottawa Citizen, Sutcliffe compared funding of Capital Pride, the Tulip Festival and other events to parents handing out more money to a teenager who never learns to look after themselves. 

Capital Pride organizers wrote a letter asking Sutcliffe to clarify his position on the subject. 

Capital Pride has sent a letter to @_MarkSutcliffe asking him to clarify his position on funding festival and events in the city. We are asking other candidates to do the same. @pressprogress #ottnews #OTTpoli #Ottawa /1 https://t.co/7zGbGWHu2C pic.twitter.com/aPFtzpIlGT

— Capital Pride • Fierté dans la Capitale (@FierteCapPride) October 20, 2022

“Consider that according to Ottawa Festivals, special events, festivals and fairs generate over $222 million for the local economy, generate tourism spending totalling $122 million; and support 68,000 jobs,” Capital Pride organizers said in a tweet. “Capital Pride is proud of our work in championing equity and inclusion. Our annual Festival welcomes over 100,000 people. We create opportunities for the 2SLGBTQ+ community to celebrate and organize, for people to be themselves and see they are a part of our city.”

In a statement to CityNews Ottawa, Sutcliffe said his 2006 column, the City of Ottawa reviewed fesitval funding to ensure all funded events have a socio-economic benefit and that he supports that model. 

He pointed to his platform which he noted included $2 million over four years in new funding for arts and culture. If elected mayor, Sutcliffe said he looks forward to working with all organizations and groups involved in arts, culture and the festival community in Ottawa.  

“I’ve given thousands of hours to Ottawa’s arts and culture community as a volunteer with the Great Canadian Theatre Company and OrKIDstra,” said Sutcliffe. “I know how hard they were hit during the pandemic. Ottawa’s arts and culture community deserve a Mayor who knows how important the sector is to both the cultural fabric and economic well-being of our city, and a mayor who will balance fiscal responsibility with compassion for the most vulnerable in our society.”