The Ottawa Citizen
Paul Dewar

As we approach the 50th day of the longest-lasting bus strike in our city's history, it is time for both parties to end the strike by agreeing to binding arbitration with no caveats.

We have all been affected, with the elderly, students, small businesses and our city's low-income residents suffering the most.

The suspension of bus services for these groups is not an inconvenience; it is a crisis.

According to the city's solicitor, transit will not fit the legal designation of an "essential service" as outlined in the Canada Industrial Relations Board criteria.

However, the past 46 days have unmistakably demonstrated that transit is essential to the overall health and well-being of the residents of Ottawa.

The two parties have to look at their dispute in the context of what it is doing to our city.

Plain and simple, arbitration is the only way to get buses back on the road.

It can happen now or in another 50 days -- either way, both sides must give something to get the city moving again.

Our residents cannot be asked to wait much longer. They deserve better.

The federal mediator recommended back on Dec. 9 that both parties agree to send the issue of scheduling to a separate negotiation process. The union has now agreed to this position and the city has put forward some ideas for how a separate process on scheduling could unfold.

Section 79 of the Canada Labour Code allows for the two parties to break the logjam by agreeing on this arrangement to end the strike.

Sadly, the focus on external processes has only delayed the resumption of bus services in Ottawa.

First it was the request by the city to force union members to vote on a proposal which had already been rejected by their representatives.

Then there was the application to the Canada Industrial Relations Board to declare bus services essential.

These tactics have only served to distract from the responsibility of both parties to negotiate an agreement, resulting in a strike that has simply dragged on for far too long.

Our community has repeatedly shown that in Ottawa we care for each other in moments of need.

During the ice storm of '98, Ottawa rose to the occasion and people helped each other through the crisis without hesitation.

It is this same spirit of generosity that has brought friends, family and strangers together to help each other during this difficult time while our public transit sits idle.

But enough is enough. This crisis must end.

Clearly, we will need to mend fences after the strike is over and restore everyone's trust in the public transit system.

The first step toward this reconciliation is for both sides to agree to the mediator's recommendation.

To reject this solution would be to ignore our citizens in a time of crisis. And that is simply not how we do things in Ottawa.