The average Canadian uses 335 litres of water daily. For many of us, that water is invisible. It’s the steam rising from our coffee or the laundry spinning in the machine. We use water so much without noticing. But what if we began to notice? What if water was not invisible, but alive? Not only a daily resource, but a sacred being on its own?
In June, we urged everyone to weigh in on Draft 2 of Ottawa’s New Zoning By-law. The City had taken some great steps towards creating the framework for creating healthy, walkable 15-minute neighbourhoods, but there were still ways that the new By-law could improve. The City has now released the Final Draft of the New Zoning By-law.
Last year, the Auditor-General of Ottawa presented an audit of the City's implementation of its Climate Change Master Plan, issuing seven recommendations. Today, City staff presented a response to the first two of these recommendations, providing clarity on the community's role in climate and a prioritization framework for the Climate Capital Fund.
On September 16, City Council’s Environment and Climate Change Committee received two critical reports: a Greenhouse Gas Inventory and a Progress Update on the Climate Change Master Plan (CCMP). These documents are critical. Both tell us how we're doing on climate: the Inventory how we're doing on GHG emissions reductions, and the Progress Update on the CCMP's eight priorities. Please read our delegation below.
Ecology Ottawa was at Environment and Climate Change Committee to speak to the latest installment of the City's Tree-Planting Strategy, as well as two related memos: a Tree Equity Analysis and a Tree Canopy Mapping report. In short, we asked for much more data than staff is currently providing, as well as an acceleration of our canopy-strengthening efforts. We invite you to read our delegation.
City Council's Environment and Climate Change Committee meets on September 16 to discuss some critical topics, including some reporting we've waited literally years for. We discuss here a few of these: the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the Climate Change Master Plan Update, the City's response to the CCMP Audit, and the Tree-Planting Strategy.
Environmental issues remain among the most urgent concerns of our time, representing a universal challenge that invites every community to contribute their unique expertise and perspectives. As a doctoral student at the University of Ottawa, I study how individuals from vastly different backgrounds and worldviews come together around causes that affect us all, building community through shared environmental action.
On September 2, City Council’s Finance and Corporate Services Committee considered the 2026 Budget Directions. Ecology Ottawa delegated at this meeting, calling for increased investment into transit, transparency on the emissions our budgetary decisions produce, and more accessible high-level information about our city's finances.
As members of Ecology Ottawa’s EcoYouth Council, we recently had the opportunity to hear Sakej speak at the Defend the Land event at the Ottawa Public Library. We also heard wisdom from Shannon Chief from the Anishnabe Moose Committee, and from Cedar Aisipi and Gabrielle Fayant from the Assembly of Seven Generations. The discussion was about effectively campaigning for decolonization and environmental justice.
It’s been a terrible last few weeks in Ottawa for people outside of cars. A woman in her 70s was killed while biking in Manotick, a woman in her 20s was killed by a pickup driver downtown, two children—one biking in Barrhaven, the other scooting in Stittsville—were struck by drivers, a woman was struck walking in the Byward Market—and there are many more. This is atrocious. Our city is not safe for basic mobility.
You could be forgiven for not knowing about the vigorous debate brewing in one of Ottawa’s many older, inner urban neighbourhoods. But it presents two interesting questions: At what point does the city stop re-hashing debates over how particular neighbourhoods should evolve? And when should the city assert its authority and stick with its own policies?