Media Releases

Complete Streets petition handover 2013-11-25

[caption id="attachment_1770" align="alignleft" width="212"] Keith Egli, Chair of the Transportation Committee, Ottawa City Council, receiving the Complete Streets petition from Trevor Haché, Policy Coordinator, Ecology Ottawa[/caption]

Ecology Ottawa Policy Coordinator Trevor Haché went to City Hall on Monday to hand over the Complete Streets petition to the Chair of city council's transportation committee, Keith Egli. There were over 3200 signatures on the petition calling for City Council to adopt a Complete Streets policy into the Transportation Master Plan.

A lesson Ottawa can take from Toronto

Ottawa Citizen

Tobi Nussbaum's op-ed published in the Ottawa Citizen's online edition on Sunday argues that Ottawa should follow Toronto's lead in using local improvement charges (LICs) to fund energy retrofits on private property within the city of Ottawa.

Thanks to recent changes in provincial law that now permit municipalities to do so, Toronto plans to provide $20 million in loans to 1,000 home and business owners to finance energy and water efficiency upgrades. The pilot is expected to reduce 5,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually while generating 300 new jobs and saving participating owners as much as $1 million. The upgrades could include anything from higher efficiency windows to better insulation to hot-water solar panels.

Not Just Trees to be Cut in the New Year

With the 2014 budget pending approval at next week's City Council meeting, the Environment Committee's focus during their November 19^th meeting was the draft operating and capital budget for the upcoming year. Councillor Maria McRae, alongside of Staff, began with a presentation highlighting some of the key investments that will be going towards the environment. Most notably, the investments into forestry services, McRae says, will aim to replenish Ottawa’s trees at a 2:1 ratio to combat the emerald ash borers, leaving the city in better shape than it was before the invasion. She assured that the money will go towards tangible projects with real benefits for residents, and will contribute to a safe and cleaner city. Staff presentation later also highlighted the investments into the city's sewer system ($12.6 million), the Ottawa River Action Plan ($65 million), and other clear initiatives designed to minimize our city's carbon footprint, such as a gas collection system expansion, tree renewal program and Smart Energy ($8.7 million).

Nov. 2013 newsletter from the Community Energy Network of Eastern Ontario

Read the full version of this newsletter on-line here.

November 2013
NEWS & NOTES from the Community Energy Network of Eastern Ontario

CEN Retreat at Wintergreen Studios, May 2013

Greetings Community Energy Network members!

The Community Energy Network of Eastern Ontario (CEN) has had a busy summer and fall, and we wanted to share some of the important work we've been engaged in!

In this newsletter:

OPA microFIT Program
OREC share offering
Local Improvement Charges for energy retrofits, and more!

Thanks for all you are doing to help make Eastern Ontario a leader in renewable energy and energy conservation. We love to hear from you, so please feel free to contact us about your events and other great things you're working on!

Sincerely,

Trevor (Ecology Ottawa), Kristina and Brenda (Sustainable Eastern Ontario), Laura and Kara (Tucker House Renewal Centre)

Read the full version of this newsletter on-line here.

Toll tunnel answer to downtown truck problem: Watson

Ottawa & Region

News

Ottawa Sun

The Ottawa Sun is reporting today that Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson likes the idea of a toll tunnel designed for trucks to get them out of the downtown core, where they have been extremely disruptive and dangerous to the people of Lowertown and Sandy Hill for decades.

Mayor Jim Watson is touting the idea of a truck-only toll tunnel connecting Hwy. 417 with the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge as a solution to keeping big rigs out of Ottawa’s core.

Prime Minister’s Office ‘sandbagged’ to stop Harper’s tar sands flood

Prime Minister’s Office ‘sandbagged’ to stop Harper’s tar sands flood

Ottawa residents participate in ‘defend our climate’ national day of action

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] 150 people show up to sandbag Stephen Harper's office.[/caption]

November 16, 2013

A flood of tar sands oil from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was stopped today in Ottawa. Participating in a national #DefendOurClimate day of action, Ottawa residents helped to build a wall of sand bags to stop a symbolic oil spill outside the PMO. The event emphasized Prime Minister Harper’s role in reckless tar sands expansion and his failure to take action in the face of the climate crisis.

Forecast of Renewable Energy Sources with Some Wind Resistance

Even though it was a brief meeting on November 13^th, it was nice to see that City Council had a few renewable-energy related items brought forward in their meeting. Most notably, it included the support for feed-in-tariff program applications for mounted solar projects (item 3) and a motion that was later put forward regarding municipal government having a voice regarding the implementation of wind farms established by the Province.

Ecology Ottawa's feedback to City of Ottawa on Transportation Master Plan

Ecology Ottawa–verbal remarks to the Transportation Committee, feedback on Transportation Master Plan

Friday, Nov. 15, 2013

[Please check against delivery]

Good morning, Chair Egli and members of the Committee,

My name is Trevor Haché and I’m speaking today on behalf of Ecology Ottawa, a volunteer-led grassroots organization working to make our city the green capital of Canada.

Press Release: Weakness of Federal Pipeline Review Process Forces Ontario to Act

November 13, 2013 - For Immediate Release

Weakness of Federal Pipeline Review Process Forces Ontario to Act

Ottawa, ON - Ecology Ottawa welcomes the recent decision by the Ontario government to conduct a public consultation on the proposed Energy East pipeline. The decision, announced this morning in Ottawa at a press conference by Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli and Ottawa MPP John Fraser, confirms that Ontario will subject the pipeline to a public review process.

Ottawa Neighbourhood Study presentation

The Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (ONS) provides data on strengths and challenges for each neighbourhood in Ottawa. By all working together we can improve the neighbourhoods in which we live.

Join us for a information and discussion session on how activists can better use neighbourhood data: November 21st, 2013, 7 pm, Routhier Community Centre in Lowertown.

Why we need to design streets for pedestrians, not cars!

If we design streets for pedestrians first and cars second, it would be possible to start reversing our mindset. Cars cannot continue to dominate our streets because it's unsustainable and keeps us socially isolated. City planners know this but they need to hear from you to help them defend their position with urban developers. Tell city planners you want streets designed for pedestrians and not cars!

Defend Our Climate - Stop The Tar Sands Flood

On November 16th, help us build a united wall of opposition to pipelines, reckless tar sands expansion and runaway climate change at local events across the country. Help us Defend Our Climate and Defend Our Communities.

We 're going to be joining dozens of other communities across the country standing united against climate change and tar sands expansion. We want to stop the flood of Tar Sands crude that Stephen Harpers wants to bury our city, our country, and our climate under.