Ottawa’s Orgaworld fiasco vs your home Internet bill: Either way, it’s a rip off
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  2. Ottawa’s Orgaworld fiasco vs your home Internet bill: Either way, it’s a rip off Metro
By Steve Collins, Ottawa Metro News, July 13, 2014

I sometimes think I need a personal auditor general — and perhaps some other staff around the house the AG could blame on my behalf when domestic finances go horribly off-track. Last week, the rotten details finally came out regarding the city’s 20-year, $140-million contract with Orgaworld to process our green-bin waste, which has cost taxpayers some $8 million in money-for-nothing overcharges and $1.7 million in legal expenses so far. My household bills aren’t a pimple on these figures, but on the same day AG Ken Hughes released his report, we got another eye-popping invoice from our Internet-service provider, the sort where you exceed the usage cap and the company writes itself an absurd bonus cheque, like a water company that charges you a dime a drop. If these companies wonder why their customers are reluctant to authorize direct withdrawals, surprise cash grabs like this are probably reason No. 1. via Ottawa’s Orgaworld fiasco vs your home Internet bill: Either way, it’s a rip off | Metro.

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Auditor slams City of Ottawa officials over handling of Barrhaven housing development

By Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen, November 24, 2023

The City of Ottawa’s auditor general has slammed municipal officials for mishandling a major housing development in Barrhaven that involved extensive alterations of the Jock River floodplain to accommodate a sprawling new subdivision with nearly 1,000 new homes.

Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon has released a scathing, 14-page report detailing her team’s investigation into the project after allegations of mismanagement were made through the city’s fraud and waste hotline. The report has been tabled for discussion at the city’s audit committee meeting on Monday.

...The plan involved cutting away more than 100,000 cubic metres of soil along the north shore of the Jock and depositing more than 400,000 cubic metres of soil on adjacent land immediately to the north so houses could be safely built there, beyond any flood risk.

Find the whole article here.

Ottawa city council asks province to reinstate nine-storey building heights on minor corridors

By Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen, November 25, 2023

In a head-spinning move that has angered some community groups, Ottawa is asking the province to reverse its decision to override the city’s official plan on building heights.

A motion, approved by council this week in a 19-2 vote, instructs city officials to ask Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra to reinstate rules allowing higher buildings heights along minor road corridors. It’s something the city’s planning committee rejected two years ago, when it approved Ottawa’s new official plan.

Pellerin: Speak up for the glorious, badly under-used, Rideau Canal

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, November 24, 2023

The City of Ottawa, the National Capital Commission and Parks Canada are launching a consultation on the Rideau Canal, and they want our opinions.

What they hope we do is complete a survey, attend a virtual meeting, visit a pop-up kiosk at Landsowne Christmas Market on Nov. 25 and send our comments. I’m going to skip right to the last step.

...Around here, we only think of roads for commuting. Everything else — even a lovely gem like the Canal — is for recreational purposes. It’s a failure of imagination that deprives everyone, residents and visitors alike, of truly magnificent public spaces in the nation’s capital.

Find the whole article here.

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