Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Ecolomondo secures $32.1 million from Export Development Canada

By Louise Sproule, The Review, March 1, 2019

Ecolomondo Environmental (Hawkesbury) Inc., a subsidiary of Ecolomondo Corporation (TSXV: ECM) has announced that it has secured an amount of $32.1 million in project financing  from Export Development Canada (EDC) to build the company’s new, first of its kind turnkey Thermal Decomposition (TDP) facility that will be located on Tessier Street in the Town of Hawkesbury, Ontario.

Ecolomondo expects to achieve financial close by the end of March 2019, subject to satisfactory documentation of the loan agreement and satisfaction of customary representations, warranties, covenants and conditions that are customary to these types of loans. The loan will bear a floating interest rate using a Canadian reference base rate plus a market-based margin and it will mature on March 31, 2031.

Federal update: Historic and ambitious infrastructure plan for Canadians

Submitted by Catherine McKenna, MP Ottawa Centre-, Kitchissippi Times, March 4, 2019

When our government was elected in 2015, one of our key promises was to make up for Canada’s infrastructure deficit, which was partly due to a lack of investment by the previous government.

We knew we had to think long term and be visionary. We knew it was time to provide Canada with 21st century modern, resilient and green infrastructure. That’s why we’ve worked tirelessly to put together a landmark plan that will invest more than $180 billion over 12 years in public infrastructure.

Our plan is ambitious and national but in reality, it is local. It aims to invest in Canada, but above all, in every community and every Canadian.

Ottawa man turning disposable coffee cups into works of art

By Ryley White, 1310 News, March 3, 2019

A local artist is treating disposable coffee cups as canvases for his paintings of Ottawa.

On Sunday, Tomas Pajdlhauser hosted an art show at Citizen restaurant on Gilmour Street, showing off 100 disposable coffee cups for sale, each featuring a unique illustration of an Ottawa winter scene.

“This is something that I’ve been doing for a while, drawing on coffee cups here and there,” he said.

Pajdlhauser, who works for an animation studio in Ottawa, said he spends a lot of his time observing and sketching scenery, often taking trips out of town to find inspiration for his sketchbook illustrations.

Federal government highlights climate change plan in Ottawa

By Jason White, 1310 News, March 4, 2019

The federal environment minister stopped by her local hardware store to highlight items Canadians can purchase with their carbon pricing rebates to reduce their energy usage and their effects on the climate.

As the federal government pushes its carbon pricing plan, the environment minister stopped by an Ottawa store to give examples of ways Canadians can reduce their energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

The federal carbon pricing plan will make some things -- like gasoline -- more expensive, but the government says that will be offset in Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan by a Climate Action Incentive payment. The payments will be given out when Canadians file their taxes; the government says a family of four in Ontario will receive at least $307 in 2019.

Update: OPEN HOUSE on March 6 – 7:00-9:00pm – Goulbourn Rec Complex – Bold new development proposed for Stittsville Main

By Lesley McKay, StittsvilleCentral, March 3, 2019

Attend this Open House to ask questions of the developer and architect who will both be in attendance to answer your inquiries. Whether you are in favour or opposed to this new development, make your thoughts known through this meeting or by sending your feedback to city planner Stream Shen at [email protected] or by phone at 613-580-2424 ext. 24488.

Huntington Properties have put forth a proposal, prepared by Fontenn Planning + Design, to the City of Ottawa to construct a new retail and apartment development on Stittsville Main at the corner of Orville Street. The proposal also includes seven townhouse units to be built at the back of the property in front of the existing condominiums.

The building will be four stories high. The ground floor will be used for retail space with the top three stories consisting of apartments. It is planned that 44 apartments will make up the top three stories.

New winter trail opens along Rideau River

By CBC News Ottawa, March 4, 2019

A new winter trail along the Rideau River opened on Saturday for residents to enjoy just before the snowy weather wraps up.

Residents can now snowshoe, cross-country ski or use their fatbikes along the one-kilometre stretch from from Hurdman Bridge to Montreal Road.

The pilot project was launched in collaboration between the Rideau Sports Centre and Coun. Mathieu Fleury​.

Adam: Yes, Ottawa needs to approve LRT Stage 2 now

By Mohammed Adam, Ottawa Citizen, March 4, 2019

Money matters obviously, and Ottawa councillors are right to question the skyrocketing cost of Stage 2 LRT, which has shot up to $4.6 billion from the original estimate of $3.4 billion. A number of councillors are unhappy not only at the $1.2-billion increase, but at being stampeded into approving such a complex project with little debate. Stage 1 has been such a debacle, with the missed deadlines and conflicts with builder Rideau Transit Group (RTG), that some want the city to complete it before proceeding with the second phase. And that’s even before the latest reports about whether the trains can really cope with Ottawa winters.

The councillors are right on all counts. In an ideal situation, council would take time to consider this next phase. But given the troubled history of LRT in this city – and how far we’ve come this time – there’s no choice but to move ahead with this project now. I wish there were a better way to do this, but there just isn’t. The city has been discussing this project for years and can’t postpone it at this critical moment to take a second look at the cost.

Ottawa residents have long embraced this project and public consultation is done. It would be laughable and an enormous waste of money to spend $2.1 billion on a 12.5-kilometre Confederation Line from Bayview to Blair, then just walk away. We have to get on with the 44-kilometre expansion to Moodie Drive, Algonquin College, Riverside South and the airport, and all the way to Trim Road.

Roy: Here's a smarter way to help fund Phase 2 of Ottawa's LRT

By Marc-André Roy, Ottawa Citizen, March 1, 2019

Ottawa city councillors are being asked to approve the contract for the $4.66-billion Phase 2 LRT project by March 6.

Notwithstanding ongoing efforts to secure the provincial $1.2-billion share of the project, it was revealed in a technical briefing last week that the cost of the project is more than $1 billion over the original target – owing in part to a longer than anticipated construction schedule and higher than expected construction costs

(...)There is a smarter way. A 2017 study commissioned by four city councillors points to potential options to simultaneously promote transit use and reduce road congestion, while raising funding for important infrastructure projects such as the Phase 2 LRT project..

How to work with, not against, extreme weather in your garden: Urban Growth

By Mark and Ben Cullen, the Toronto Star, February 8, 2019

The weather, it’s a-changin’. And it’s due to climate change — which is not news to almost anyone.

Our globe’s long-term warming trend is reshaping how we garden, like it or not. While we do not like the overall trend, and support measures to curb this change, we also accept that there is a certain level of warming which is at this point locked in.

(...)“While the trend is warming, along with that we also get more extreme weather,” Kavanagh said. “We don’t escape the wild swings that have given us some of the coldest weather. But there are still some new opportunities for plant species.”

 

Egan: Shut up and sign: keep trains on time but public in the dark?

By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen, March 3, 2019

The plans for Stage 2 of LRT released a few days ago have rattled some neighbourhoods, but here at Citizen/Sun headquarters, we were genuinely touched.

Touched, as in — “the THING is TOUCHING us” — with its tentacles landing on our lawn on Baxter Road.

I looked closely at the drawings for the proposed Queensview station, which is tight up against the north side of the Queensway, between Woodroffe and Pinecrest. Snaking from the station is a long overhead walkway that crosses the highway, and heads right for my desk by the window, whereupon it makes a sharp turn west, but not before I can wave at everyone on their way to IKEA.

'Unreliable' LRT trains can't handle Ottawa winters, internal reports reveal

By Joanne Chianello, CBC News Ottawa, March 4, 2019

Reports obtained by CBC show more serious issues than the public's heard about

Ottawa's $2.1-billion light rail system, supposed to be finished by the end of this month, will not only miss its third completion deadline but is experiencing issues far more serious than city officials have led the public to believe, according to internal reports obtained by CBC. The reports from the city's rail operations show a litany of issues with the Confederation Line — the east-west system being built by the SNC Lavalin-led Rideau Transit Group — especially when it comes to the system's ability to handle Ottawa winters.

An Ontario City Just Won The Unofficial Award For The Worst Winter In All Of Canada This Year

By Narcity, March 4, 2019

(...)The city in question here is none other than Canada's capital city, Ottawa. According to Dave Phillips, who is a senior climatologist at Environment Canada, Ottawa had the worst winter in all of Canada. He even told the Ottawa Morning show that "If I was awarding the gold medal for winter misery I think it would go to Ottawa."

READ ALSO: The Polar Vortex Is Currently Blasting This Canadian Province With Extreme -40°C Temperatures

He went on to say that this was because in Ottawa they dealt with everything this winter. Whether it was extreme cold, freezing rain and ice pellets, or heavy snowfalls, Ottawa had it all. In fact, when it comes to snowfalls specifically the city had over 50% more snow this year than they normally get in the winter. The best thing about Ottawa's crazy winter though is that it was all documented online.