Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Denley: Ontario’s power generation ads hide the real story in the dark

Ottawa Citizen

By Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen, April 13, 2016

Have you seen the advertisement Ontario Power Generation has been running on TV lately? It’s on so frequently that it’s almost impossible to miss it.

The ad opens with a moody, dark scene of a young baseball player heading out to the diamond at dusk. It flickers quickly through other actors in gloomy settings, most of whom look worried. Perhaps they are anticipating their power bills. And then, the lights come on and everyone is happy.

The message is simple. At OPG, coal power has been eliminated, leaving the government-owned power company’s product 99.7-per-cent greenhouse-gas-emissions free. The air is better and so is our environment. Eliminating coal was North America’s largest action to combat climate change. At OPG, they believe “the future is our most powerful resource.”

City Hall Blog: Ottawa’s LRT construction pain shared by many

Ottawa Citizen

By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, April 13, 2016

The indignation came not long after the Citizen posted a story about the upcoming closure of a key east-west cycling and pedestrian connection at the University of Ottawa.

As I reported Tuesday, the tunnel underneath Nicholas Street and the Transitway, which is used heavily by those travelling between the campus, Sandy Hill and the west side of the Rideau Canal, will close for at least 12 weeks starting in early May so crews can tear down the Transitway bridge and reconfigure an adjacent plaza as part of construction of the new uOttawa LRT station.

New Ottawa app projects impacts of climate change

Ottawa Citizen

By Anna Sophia, Ottawa Citizen, April 13, 2016

As governments and engineers ponder how to adapt to the far-reaching effects of climate change, one local company has come up with a tool to help solve the problem.

The Climate Change Hazards Information Portal (CCHIP) allows users to access a wide variety of climate data, while contextualizing it at the same time.

City legalizes Uber under new licensing system

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, April 13, 2016

Uber’s roughshod move into Ottawa’s taxi market has rewarded the international ride-ordering company with legal status in the capital.

After operating illegally on Ottawa streets since October 2014, city council on Wednesday voted to create a dual licensing system with different rules for the taxi industry and alternative ride companies like Uber.

Ecology Ottawa brewing up breakfast battle over pipeline pitch

Metro News

By Emma Jackson, Ottawa Metro News, April 12, 2016

Will you protest eggs and ham,If the Chamber keeps its plan?

The commerce group is holding tight

To plans to dine with pipeline might.

But climate groups are none too pleased

That “dirty oil” has been appeased.

In other words: Ecology Ottawa is mad, and it's planning a demonstration – dubbed the Green Eggs 'N Protest – bright and early April 21 to object to “an ill-conceived and badly-timed event” on the part of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber has invited TransCanada’s Stefan Baranski to deliver a speech called “Energy East: New Jobs, Investment and Growth for Ontario.” It’s part of the organization’s regular Eggs ‘N Icons breakfast series.

But the event falls on the eve of Earth Day – an unconscionable scheduling conflict according to Ecology Ottawa director Graham Saul, who has been vocally opposed to pipelines, particularly Energy East.

“We don’t want, on Earth Day, people opening up the news and seeing an unchallenged perspective from the pipeline (lobby),” Saul said.

Transportation minister won't sever gas tax funds from Presto deal

Ottawa & Re

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun, April 12, 2016

Ontario’s transportation minister wants “fiscally sustainable” deals between Metrolinx and municipalities using Presto smart cards.

But a spokesperson for Steven Del Duca also said the minister is not considering severing the Presto requirement from agreements that send provincial gas tax money to Presto partners, including the City of Ottawa.

“We will not comment publicly on the specifics of the ongoing negotiations, but we are confident that a new agreement can be reached, and we look forward to working with all of our municipal partners on this important objective,” Lyndsay Miller said in an email Tuesday.

Gatineau waste management plan calls for more composting - Ottawa - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, April 12, 2016

Gatineau residents won't be able to put compost or construction waste like wood in their garbage in two years, the city outlined Tuesday as they laid out their waste management plan for the next five years.

The year-by-year plan to reducing household, commercial and industrial waste aims to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by 45 per cent in 2020.

In 2018 composting will be mandatory, waste collection in apartment buildings will move to once every two weeks and construction waste and other bulky waste will only be picked up four times a year.

Uber confirms it will keep operating in Ottawa before legalization kicks in

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, April 12, 2016

Uber won’t stop operating in Ottawa while it waits more than five months to be street legal.

“We plan on continuing operations within the City of Ottawa prior to the bylaw coming into force on September 30, 2016,” according to an email Uber Canada general manager Ian Black sent to Coun. Diane Deans late Monday.

Cycling connection at U of O to close as part of LRT construction

Ottawa Citizen

By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, April 12, 2016

A key east-west cycling connection at the University of Ottawa could be closed for the summer as it undergoes a major facelift as part of light rail construction.

In early May, the tunnel underneath Nicholas Street and the Transitway, which is used heavily by those travelling between the campus, Sandy Hill and the west side of the Rideau Canal, will close for at least 12 weeks as crews tear down the Transitway bridge and reconfigure an adjacent plaza as part of construction of the new uOttawa LRT station. The Nicholas overpass will not be replaced, partly because Nicholas will be used by some OC Transpo buses that would normally travel along the Transitway.

Lansdowne Park, U of O master plan recognized by urban design awards

Ottawa Citizen

By Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen, April 11, 2016

Not everyone loves the transformation of Lansdowne Park, but it evidently impressed the judges for the 2016 National Urban Design Awards.

While neither Lansdowne nor the University of Ottawa’s new campus master plan won the top prize in their respective categories, both collected runner-up certificates of merit from the awards, announced Monday.

City’s gas tax cash from province could hinge on Presto negotiations

Ottawa Citizen

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, April 11, 2016

Millions of dollars in provincial cash used to fund Ottawa’s light-rail transit construction are dangling over the city’s head as it negotiates a new deal with the agency that runs the Presto smart card system.

The city and Metrolinx still haven’t signed an extension to their 10-year Presto contract, which expires in October. A major sticking point is the per-fare commission OC Transpo pays to the provincial agency each time transit passengers tap their Presto cards on a bus or train platform.

Feds ban asbestos in construction, renos at government sites - Ottawa - CBC News

By Julie Ireton, CBC News Ottawa, April 10, 2016

CBC News has learned a federal government department has banned the use of asbestos in all new construction and renovation projects at buildings it operates — a new policy that came into effect on April 1.

In February, CBC revealed that building products containing the toxic material was still being used in new construction of federal buildings in Canada.

Now it appears the government is taking action to put a stop to that practice.