This article from @OttawaCitizen's @marlogee contains some interestingly framed statements, plus a good bit of one-sided perspectives. I'm increasingly curious about how municipal matters are being covered by local media. 1/ ottawacitizen.com/news/should-ot…

Here's the first paragraph: "Dollars from developers have become something of a lightning rod around Ottawa’s city hall, with a controversial $300,000 donation leaving councillors seeking a formal policy FORBIDDING them from negotiating these kinds of deals." That's incorrect. 2/

Putting aside that "dollars from developers" have ALWAYS been a "lighting rod" around City Hall, this sentence seems to pre-conclude & mis-portray Council's goal for the policy that Council is seeking. The cart's before the horse, but the horse hasn't left the stable yet. 3/

The objective of the policy, as per the motion that Council passed, is pasted below. What Council is seeking is simply to develop a policy on developer contributions in order to ensure consistency and improve transparency. We don't yet know what that policy will be. 4/

Before city staff have begun to explore a policy, and certainly before Council has had a chance to view, let alone debate the policy, the article suggests that councillors have already determined the policy. That's lighting-speed policy development. 4/

Further in the article, the journalist describes the MOU between Councillor Menard and Katasa thusly: "...the deal raised the eyebrows of many around the council table, with some councillors saying it didn’t pass the sniff test." Nothing sells news like controversy, right? 5/

Another way to write that sentence: "...while several councillors raised concerns over perception, with a few members even alleging impropriety, many councillors expressed their support for the agreement, even noting a lengthy history of similarly negotiated contributions." 6/

To conclude: 1) Council only speaks as one voice after Council has deliberated and voted on a matter. Just because the Mayor wants something does not make it so. 2) When media gives imbalanced coverage, the public discourse becomes further unbalanced.