As a public transit strike in the nation's capital approaches its second week, an Ottawa city councillor is calling for both sides of the dispute to resume talks and consider putting the issue before an arbitrator.
"We're in recession, we're in pre-Christmas and we're going down the tubes and neither side seems to be conscious of how grave that is for our city," Coun. Clive Doucet told CTV Ottawa on Tuesday.
"All the stores across the city from Kanata to Orleans are suffering. We're having people go out of business, people losing their jobs. You can shoot a canon down the Rideau Centre, for example."
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Doucet says he thinks both sides need to return to the negotiating table and talk behind closed doors to put an end to the strike. If no deal is reached, he says the next step is taking the dispute to an arbitrator.
"I don't like arbitration, but I'm prepared to live with it for the sake of our citizens," he said.
Bus driver speaks out against union
Although the city continues to urge the Amalgamated Transit Union to take its latest offer to the union membership for a vote, the union says it won't budge unless driver scheduling is taken off the table.
But while solidarity appears to remain strong on the picket line, some bus drivers are questioning the motives behind the strike, demanding answers from union leaders.
"They're using old-school tactics," said one bus driver, who refused to be identified, fearful of the repercussions of speaking out against the union.
"It's not right for us to hold the city hostage and it's not right for the mayor to balance his budget on our backs," he said. "I would like to vote on the city's offer."
Backlog causes delays for police
Meanwhile, Ottawa's police chief says there are an estimated 140,000 more vehicles on the city's roads each day, causing havoc for the city's emergency services.
"Our officer was put in danger as a result of the traffic flow issue and several of our officers who were attempting to provide backup were unable to for an extended period of time," said Vern White.
"I do want to raise that it is a concern of ours from a safety perspective -- for our own officers and for the public."
Mayor Larry O'Brien has already warned the public the transit strike could extend into the new year if a contract is not signed by Christmas.
In the meantime, transit employees were notified on Tuesday that many of their benefits will be suspended until they go back to work.
No new talks are scheduled.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee and Joanne Schnurr
