Don
That is awful nice of you Mr. Watson as you sound so concerned. Who originally makes these estimates on how much things cost and then another 1 million after wards because of soil condition. You should have know about the soil conditions as City Hall was built on it plus all the landscaping.... your blowing your horn again Mr. Macho.......

Herry69
we appreciate that we are not getting dinged on this one. just can't figure out why engineers these days are virtually useless. maybe they should all go back to school. at least this way, they'll know what they're doing instead of adding on more costs. on the other hand, this is typical mickey mouse ottawa, always getting ripped off by somebody...

Rink of Nigthmares
For those whom may not have noticed, Ottawa is fortunate to have the Rideau Canal which freezes in winter, thus allowing tax payers to skate on.

Why did we need this particular ice rink? Please can someone help me understand this?

another waste of money...meanwhile raw sewage will continue overflowing here and there in the River...

Ben1
Rink of Dreams....wow. Maybe..just..maybe, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard will appear and skate with Wats his name too.

Just a thought. What if rink could've being build on a section of the canal close to the NAC. I wonder if that would've worked. That way you get the ice right away and when mother nature decides to co-operate, we get the rest of the canal to skate on too.

Andre
And we are to trust the city of Ottawa with an estimate on light rail transit... Ya, right!

Jinbo
A $10,000 dollar soil test would have solved this one! Why would the City not do a soil test regardless as this is a permanent structure/facility? Were they just going to hope the rink was always going to stay level?I would love to be the consultant getting the extra million for this one. Get your act together City of Ottawa. The Sens foundation could have spent this on another worthy cause!

Gilbert in Orleans
So why not refrigirate the canal? this would make for the longest skating surface and it could then be for the longest time... from September to April! This would give the NCC someting else to do than block the public transit lightrail!

Just Wondering - Ottawa
Must be some engineer who approved the grounds here for the rink..scary to think now that the soil is not good...Mayor Watson should perhaps dig deep into his own sock and come up with the difference...why the Sens Foundation...

dave j
Typical Liberal thinking; estimate, sell and then have it cost 2X's the amount. Dalton and Jim are two peas in a pod.

GG
HOW COULD BE OUT A MILLON DOLLARS
WELL MAYBE THE CITY NEEDS THE MONEY FOR SOMETHING OTHER
COULD BE THE VERY BIG WAGES THEY PAY TO THERE PEOPLE I DON'T TRUST ANY ONE OF THEM, THEY SCREW UP EVER THING AND WE PAY FOR IT I SHOULD RUN LOLLOLLOLLOL

Roger in Ottawa
Incompetence at City Hall knows no bound.
While on the subject of incompetence, it would be nice if the sidewalk snow plow drivers learned how to drive. There's a lot of sod being torn off lawns as usual.
But I digress, they're unionised so it doesn't matter . . .

Rob
I don't even want to pay for the $250,000!!!! along with the libraries we so desperately need. Thanks Jim...keep up with the tax increases!

James
As a taxpaying citizen of Ottawa, living in the rural part of the amalgamated city of Ottawa, I see this "Rink of Dreams" as another sorry reminder that the amalgamation just isn't working. Why would I want to pay taxes for something that I will NEVER use and likely never even see as I live too far away.

The Mayor and current council just don't represent rural interests and if I have to pay for something like this with my tax bill, I'd much rather have a "Rink of dreams" in my area to service the needs of my local rural community instead of furthering some elitist notion downtown which has as much usefulness for me as a rink in Montreal would.