Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

School will not sell land to Brigil for $400M twin tower project

Ottawa Citizen

By Paula McCooey, Ottawa Citizen, December 16, 2015

Brigil Construction will have to return to the drawing board if they plan to go ahead with their ambitious Place des Peuples mixed-used condo development in front of the Museum of History, says the board of a French private school that owns part of the land on the proposed site.

The College Saint-Joseph de Hull never agreed to sell the land located at the corner of Rue Notre-Dame-de-L’ile and Rue Élisabeth Bruyère, currently used as a school parking lot, to Brigil. However, the developer’s architect Douglas Cardinal designed one of the 55-storey towers on the school land.

McKenna says proposed canal crossing ‘a priority’

Ottawa Citizen

By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, December 16, 2015

Every level of government seems to agree that a new footbridge over the Rideau Canal between Fifth Avenue and Clegg Street is a good idea, but so far only the City of Ottawa is committing cash to the project.

“It’s a priority of mine, it’s a priority of the city’s, the province is also interested, so now the question is finding the funding so we can make it go forward,” Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna said Wednesday after emerging from a meeting with Mayor Jim Watson and three other local Liberal MPs.

Local group part of the largest climate mobilization in the history of Ottawa

By Kemptville Advance, December 14, 2015

A sense of togetherness.Members of Sustainable North Grenville, along with members of Transition Brockville, took part in the 100 % Possible Climate March in Ottawa on Nov. 29. A total of 25,000 people participated in the march, which focused on raising awareness about renewable energy sources.

John Brauneisen, of Kemptville Transportation Service, donated the bus used to transport the 24 individuals from SNG and TB to Ottawa.

Adàwe Crossing sees 20,000 trips in 10 days

Metro News

By Emma Jackson, Ottawa Metro News, December 15, 2015

The city’s newest cycling and pedestrian bridge has had 20,000 user trips in its first 10 days, according to city data.

The Adàwe Crossing opened Dec. 4, connecting the neighbourhoods of Sandy Hill and Overbrook over the Rideau River six months earlier than planned.

At the time, councillors Tobi Nussbaum and Mathieu Fleury hailed the bridge as a safer, more direct east-west connection between the east end and downtown.

Since then, between 1,400 and 1,800 daily weekday trips have proven them right, said Nussbaum.

COP21: 5 ways Canadians can help reduce climate change - Technology & Science - CBC News

By Aleksandra Sagan, CBC News Ottawa, December 15, 2015

Nearly 200 countries have signed on to a historic agreement to limit climate change after years of negotiations.

Despite the best intentions of the new pact and subsequent, expected government policies, some experts say citizens need to make changes in their day-to-day lives, too, to help reduce the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

LeBreton Flats redevelopment down to 2 proposals - Ottawa - CBC News

By CBC News Ottawa, December 15, 2015

Sports and culture are at the heart of the final two proposals competing for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats.

The National Capital Commission said Tuesday that it will review the bids by DCDLS Group (formerly Devcore Group) and Rendez Vous LeBreton Group, which represents the Ottawa Senators, to make sure they meet requirements ahead of public consultations in the new year.

When shortlisted in February, the NCC said both proposed green spaces, commercial and residential developments, as well as their own unique facilities for the 9.3-hectare site.

Climate deal a ‘clear signal’ to financial markets: McKenna

Ottawa Citizen

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, December 15, 2015

“All options are on the table” and no concrete measures have been chosen for Canada’s climate plans, says Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, but she believes the country can make great strides while protecting our economy.

“I’m hopeful. I’m a realistic optimist,” she said in an interview Tuesday.

McKenna led Canada’s delegation to Paris for this month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, in which 195 countries agreed to combat global warming.

NCC experts liberate young moose from Orléans backyard

Ottawa Citizen

By Ottawa Citizen, December 15, 2015

National Capital Commission staff came to the rescue of a young female moose that found itself trapped in an Orléans backyard Tuesday morning.

Police were called to a house on Lunenberg Crescent near Champneuf Drive around 8:10 a.m. after residents spotted the animal in their neighbour’s backyard.

Ottawa scientist recognized for work in development of Ontario’s biggest farm crop

Ottawa Citizen

By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, December 15, 2015

Forty years ago, Ottawa’s Harvey Voldeng took a minor cash crop and bred it into a powerhouse that today is worth $1.9 billion a year in Ontario alone.

Soybeans are now Ontario’s biggest crop, and the fourth-largest (by sales) in Canada.

All that from a legume that originally wouldn’t grow beyond the hot zone south of Guelph — until the mid-1970s, when Voldeng bred a breakthrough at the Central Experimental Farm: A soybean that thrives in short summers.

Transitway shutdown to affect Ottawa routes soon

Metro News

By Emma Jackson, Ottawa Metro News, December 14, 2015

Check your route and check it twice this holiday as the Transitway shuts down between Hurdman and Lees stations.

The shutdown, which starts on Sunday, is part of the city’s ongoing conversion to light rail from Tunney’s Pasture to Blair Road.

As of Dec. 20, express routes will be shortened and most regular buses will bypass or limit service to Hurdman, Lees or Blair. Buses headed through downtown will use the highway’s new dedicated bus lanes.

More debate, less applause, for Ottawa's budget is a good thing

Metro News

By Steve Collins, Ottawa Metro News, December 13, 2015

Back in 2011, Jim Watson’s first budget passed unanimously, and earned actual applause for a 2.4 per cent tax increase. “I cannot recall a budget being tabled that received a round of applause from the council chambers,” Walter Robinson, who’d been Mayor Larry O’Brien’s chief of staff, told me at the time.

“I think that’s a telling political signal.”

Since then, council has unanimously passed four more on ever-smaller tax increases, but there was no applause last week.

Pineview Community Association looks to form long-term vision

By Alex Robinson, Ottawa Community News, December 13, 2015

The Pineview Community Association has put a call out to residents to find out the neighbourhood’s major needs.

The young community association, which is in its second year, has launched a survey in an effort to engage with as many neighbours as possible to develop a long-term vision for the area.