Denley: Ontario is on the verge of introducing a climate change plan better than Trudeau's

By Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen, November 1, 2018

According to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the carbon tax the federal government plans to impose on Ontario is “a complete scam” that will cause gasoline prices to “skyrocket.” It is, to put it mildly, an unsophisticated attack on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s climate change plan.

Too bad, because Trudeau’s approach doesn’t withstand rational examination and Ford’s government is on the verge of producing a plan that will.

The biggest problem with the Trudeau carbon tax is not that it will cause gasoline prices to “skyrocket,” but that it won’t. If climate change is truly the serious problem that Trudeau assures us it is, surely it requires a serious solution. In Ontario, Trudeau’s carbon tax will kick in at 4.42 cents a litre. That’s a bold 0.12 cents a litre more than the cap-and-trade charge Ford has eliminated.

Eggertson: City of Ottawa's six-per-cent solution on climate change isn't good enough

By Bill Eggertson, Ottawa Citizen, November 2, 2018

Many Canadians recognize that our climate is changing (not always warming; sometimes cooling too). Most of these realists understand that something must be done, and some hard-core believers even intend to take action that will minimize catastrophic climate change.

While international agencies warn that the time for dramatic action is much shorter than previously believed, our federal politicians continue to want temperature rise limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius without cranking up our air conditioners, and a growing number of populist provinces want to be excluded from any plan to reduce carbon emissions.

Traffic calming pilot project isn't working, say Othello Avenue residents

By Drew May, 1310 News, November 1, 2018

Residents on Othello Avenue say the 3D painted "speed bumps" the city put on their street almost three months ago aren’t slowing drivers down.

The virtual speed humps are supposed to create an optical illusion that makes it appear a real bump has been built onto the roadway. Drivers won’t feel anything while driving over them, but according to a press release from the city, studies in the United Kingdom have shown they help reduce speed.  The thermal plastic speed humps are part of a pilot project that cost $3,500, which would be cheaper than building an actual speed bump.

Dawn Eady-Dowdall, a resident of Othello Avenue, said she hasn’t seen people slow down “at all” since the 3D bumps were painted on.

Architect group launches study and survey to improve Ottawa's ByWard Market

By Mike Vlasveld, 1310 News, November 1, 2018

Architects DCA is sharing the results of a self-directed research and design report on the untapped potential of Ottawa's ByWard Market.

Key themes included vehicular dependence, the importance of density, and examples of similar public places that have thrived where the ByWard Market has failed.

This report provides a three-phase approach to maximizing the potential of the historic landmark.

A comprehensive visual display is available from until November 13, on the ground floor of the ByWard Market Square Building. The report is available online.

Getting there: Signs of O-Train progress all around

By CBC News Ottawa, November 2, 2018

Today's the day the city was to have been handed the keys to the Confederation Line, after the first of two LRT delays was announced earlier this year.

As we all know by now, that didn't pan out. Transit users won't board the new O-Trains until sometime in early 2019.

Getting there: Signs of O-Train progress all around

By CBC News Ottawa, November 2, 2018

Today's the day the city was to have been handed the keys to the Confederation Line, after the first of two LRT delays was announced earlier this year.

As we all know by now, that didn't pan out. Transit users won't board the new O-Trains until sometime in early 2019.

Ivison: Heated political rhetoric on carbon tax does disservice to Canadian voters

By John Ivison, Ottawa Citizen, October 30, 2018

There has been a lack of rhetorical spine in Canadian politics of late. With trade agreements, pipelines and illegal migration debates relatively dormant for now, the political conversation has been a bit like the pudding Winston Churchill rejected because “it has no theme”.

The discussion in the House of Commons is aimless and MPs are only roused from their slumber when the subject of the carbon tax is raised.

It’s curious why it invokes such passion. This time last year the average price of gas in Canada was around 11¢ per litre cheaper than it is now. The increase envisaged under the Liberal government’s carbon pricing plan is about 11.5¢ per litre over the next five years – and that’s before any tax rebates are paid to voters in those provinces where the federal backstop will kick in (Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Manitoba).

Today's letters: The synagogue attack, cannabis smoke and greenhouse gases

By Bruce Budzinski and Bruce F. Simpson, Ottawa Citizen Letters to the Editor, October 31, 2018

We need a ‘clean air’ bylaw

Most people would agree the smell of pot smoke is not pleasant. I read with sadness an article in the local Orléans newspaper last week about a woman whose house smells of this stuff because her neighbours smoke it frequently near the fresh air intake of her furnace. I think this is only the tip of the iceberg. We are going to see these types of issues increasingly and they will be worse the closer people have to live to one another, and certainly worse next summer.

Can you imagine sitting in your backyard with your kids on a spring day and having to smell marijuana smoke all the time? It would make it so you could not enjoy your yard, or a park, or even open the windows in your house. My right to breathe clean air should not be overruled by someone else’s right to get high.

(...)Moderation in all things environmental

Re: Letters – Carbon dioxide is not pollution, Oct. 27.

The problem with the argument that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant is that it is a half-truth. There are very few things that are good for us in small quantities that are not bad for us in large quantities.

CWD the topic of meeting in Embrun

By James Morgan, The Review, October 30, 2018

Wildlife conservation officials and hunter’s organizations in Ontario are trying to increase awareness about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and educate hunters about what they can do to prevent an outbreak in the province.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), and the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) hosted a CWD information session in Embrun on Sunday, October 28 at the Community Centre. About 20 people attended.

Keith Fowler, QDMA President for the Rideau-St. Lawrence area, said local hunters started asking questions about CWD once they heard of the outbreak nearby in Québec. QDMA is a not-for-profit organization of hunters who are involved with the management of sustainable whitetail deer populations.

Today's letters: Why we must tackle the carbon problem

By Phil Kinsman, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, October 30, 2018

Atmosphere needs to stay in balance

Re: Letters – Stop staring at my soft drink, and carbon dioxide is not pollution, Oct. 27.

Letter-writers Colin Alexander and David Wieland asked why carbon dioxide is treated as a pollutant in the fight to protect against extreme climate change.

CO2, water vapor, nitrogen and oxygen are all part of the atmosphere and necessary for life as we know it. But none of us would survive in a room full of CO2, just as we would drown in a room full of water or risk immolation in a room full of oxygen.

Email:
Phone: 613 860 5353
Address:
123 Slater St, Floor 6
Ottawa, ON K1P 5H2