Media Releases

Upcoming debates and events before the 2018 municipal election

As we count down the days to the 2018 municipal election, debates are being planned across the city. Join us for the following debates, planned by Ecology Ottawa, our distributed volunteer teams, or community groups.

Ecology Ottawa are hosting (or co-hosting) the following debates on the environment.

Mayoral all-candidates' debate on the environment, September 26, 6:30 pm at the Shaw Centre. More details and register here.

Les Amis des Parcs – Session d’Information – 09/13

Cliquez ici pour vous inscrire à l'événement !

Le programme Les Amis des Parcs a été créé en collaboration avec Park people dans le but de célébrer les communautés francophones d'Ottawa et leur culture, tout en mettant en avant les espaces verts de la Capitale. Dans ce cadre, Écologie Ottawa soutient et accompagne toute personne issue de la communauté francophone souhaitant célébrer cette dernière, que ce soit du sport, de la musique ou encore de la gastronomie !

STORM THE WARD 2

The upcoming Ottawa Municipal Election is on October 22nd, less than eight weeks away! Join Ecology Ottawa team for a canvass to talk about environmental issues and the upcoming municipal election.

Door-to-door canvassing is more fun when you’re joined by dozens of other people. This Storm the Ward is an opportunity for new volunteers to get involved, and for a massive amount of people to knock on thousands of doors in a few hours. Best of all, they’re a lot of fun.

Innes Ward Debate on Environmental Issues

Due to some last-minute problems, we have to reschedule the all-candidates' debate on Wednesday, September 19 at the Blackburn Hamlet Community Hall.

We firmly believe that it is vital that Innes Ward residents hear from their candidates on environmental issues facing the city. We're working hard to schedule a new debate date with the candidates, and will let you know as soon as we get a new date pinned down.

Municipal Election 2018: Candidates' complete responses

2018 is a big year for Ottawa. In October, we will elect a new city council. That means we have the opportunity to elect a city council and Mayor who prioritize a green, healthy and liveable Ottawa for the next four years.

This municipal election, Ecology Ottawa will continue to raise awareness of local environmental priorities among both voters and candidates, inform Ottawa residents of their candidates’ environmental stands, promote environmental leadership and get out the vote for a greener council.

Mayoral Debate on Environmental Issues

In the lead up to the 2018 Ottawa municipal election, Ecology Ottawa is hosting an All-Candidates' Mayoral Debate on the Environment. The debate, co-hosted by Ottawa Riverkeeper, Walk Ottawa, Healthy Transportation Coalition, Waste Watch Ottawa, Just Food, and the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital, will take place at the Shaw Centre on Wednesday, September 26th.

ACTION ALERT: Let's Green Ottawa City Council!

We need your help getting our all-candidates' survey into the hands of each and every Ottawa municipal candidate.

The citizens of Ottawa will vote for mayor and council on Monday, October 22. Here at Ecology Ottawa, one of our top priorities between now and election day is to ensure that environmental concerns are a priority election issue.

To do this, we've developed a sixteen-question survey for candidates to complete, touching on a wide array of Ottawa-specific environmental concerns. These questions encompass four different areas: climate change action (Renewable City), building safe and healthy streets (Active City), protecting Ottawa’s greenspace and watersheds (Living City) and waste management. These questions focus candidates’ attention on the most pressing environmental issues affecting Ottawa. The answers let environmentally-minded voters know where politicians stand, and allow us to hold elected representatives to account on campaign promises.

Victory on Holland Ave!

Thanks to the actions of grassroots activists and supporters like you, Holland Ave. will be getting a safer detour for cyclists installed this summer.

The last few weeks have seen renewed debate surrounding cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in Ottawa. When Mayor Jim Watson announced earlier this year that plans to build bi-directional bike paths had been scrapped in favour of preserving parking along Holland Ave., the cycling community in Ottawa sprung into action.

Green Infrastructure in Ottawa: A State of the City Report

Green infrastructure - the use of natural and built systems to slow down, soak up and filter stormwater - is an exciting area of focus for many cities around the world; Green infrastructure can be used to manage wet weather impacts in a way that enhances water quality and strengthens resilience to impacts from climate change. Ottawa has started experimenting with green infrastructure with a number of pilot programs, and has begun collecting data.

Active Transportation Survey Summary

In addition to Ecology Ottawa's active transportation report, which can be downloaded here, Ecology Ottawa sent out a survey to Ottawa community associations, business improvement areas (BIAs) and community health centres to explore how Ottawa could increase the proportion of people that use active transportation to reach their regular travel destinations. We looked at opportunities, challenges and solutions.

How to get involved and help elect a greener city council

Monday, October 22nd is the date of the municipal elections for Ottawa. That means we have the opportunity to elect a city council and mayor who prioritize a green, healthy and liveable Ottawa for the next four years.

Ecology Ottawa sees the upcoming election as an important opportunity to elect a greener city council. We want city councillors who value sustainable modes of transportation like walking, cycling and transit, who seek to preserve and enhance Ottawa’s trees, greenspaces and waterways, and who are committed to strong action on climate change. We can only achieve this vision if hundreds of people across the city come together to take action.

On climate policy, Ontario will leave Doug Ford behind

Below is a blog post from Avery Dawes, one of the members of Ecology Ottawa's summer team.

On July 3, Premier Doug Ford officially ended Ontario’s cap-and-trade program and removed his government from the national debate on climate and emissions reduction policy. According to Ford, the program would cost Ontarians too much money while doing “nothing for the environment.” Like Jason Kenney in Alberta and Premier Scott Moe in Saskatchewan, Ford is a longtime vocal opponent of provincial and federal efforts to fight climate change and protect the environment.