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Council Watch on Seven Percent Increase in Water/Sewer Rates

By Jesse Baker

The Environment Committee meeting held on February 19 primarily served as a discussion of the proposed seven percent increase in 2013 water and sewer rates. The meeting began with a presentation of the city’s proposed 2013 and 2014 Water and Wastewater Operating and Capital Budgets and featured two delegations from the public. The Committee unanimously approved the 2013 rate increase and supported the plan to invest the revenues in underground infrastructure projects.

[VIDEO] Call For Renewed City of Ottawa Climate Change Strategy

Ecology Ottawa wants people to call their city councillor to ask that the upcoming greenhouse gas roundtable be used as a starting point for the city to revisit its climate change strategy. Here's why:

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Council Watch Monthly Digest- January 2013

Environment Committee (January 15): January saw the first Environment Committee of the year 2013, during which the Environment Committee dropped a bomb-shell that could have lead to a step backward in the city’s commitment to promoting and implementing green building practices. The Environment Committee passed an abrupt motion to abandon the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation process.

Environment Committee weirdness regarding LEED certification of city-owned buildings

By Aya Helal

The first Environment Committee meeting of 2013 dropped a bomb-shell that could lead to a step backward in the City’s commitment to promoting and implementing green building practices. City Councillor Diane Holmes submitted a motion, after the idea was first suggested by Councillor David Chernushenko, to abandon the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) accreditation process administered by the Canada Green Building Council (CGBC).

GHG Roundtable – Getting Traction – What’s Next

Yesterday Jim Watson, in an online town hall, responded to popular pressure and promised that the greenhouse gas roundtable would be held before the end of March. Now we have to ensure the roundtable is effective in starting a process toward a renewed city climate change strategy.

Mayor Watson had been put in a tough position because the Chair of Environment Committee, Councillor Maria McRae, had claimed authority over running the roundtable but because she is not enthusiastic about global warming leadership, no work had been done. Requests to attend the roundtable had begun to pour in from interested community and professional groups, also individual concerned citizens had begun to phone their city councillors asking what the delay was plus asking the mayor to take a prominent role at the event. On top of this, a twitter conversation had broken out, making the lack of progress more visible to the public.

Where’s that progress City Council agreed to?

In 2005 the City of Ottawa was making fair progress on the issue of climate change. That stagnated during O’Brien’s Mayorship and since Councillor Maria McRae became Chair of Ottawa’s Environment Committee has actually slid backward.

Concerned citizens and groups worked together with supportive councillors to change this. We were successful in having City Council approve a motion to host a roundtable to engage the community in greenhouse gas reduction. Maria McRae claimed chairmanship of the roundtable and for six months has done nothing to organize it.

Promising Practices: Eastern Ontario Leads Province In Executed FIT Contracts

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Promising Practices: Municipalities - Toronto Green Roof By-law

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Promising Practices: Energy Cooperatives - Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative

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Promising Practices: Businesses - Vert Design (Passive House in Ottawa)

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Promising Practices: Non-Profits - Christ Church Cathedral

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Ecology Ottawa Turns Trash into Treasure with the Great Glebe GREEN Garage Sale

5th annual event to raise funds for local environmental group and The Ottawa Food Bank

May 9, 2012, Ottawa—The national capital’s leading local environmental group, Ecology Ottawa, will be hosting its most exciting event of the year, the 5th annual Great Glebe GREEN Garage Sale, on Saturday, May 26 at 680 & 690 Bank Street (at Glebe Avenue, in the Rogers Plus and Kunstadt Sports parking lots).

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