2021 draft budget: $3.9B in operating costs with 3 per cent tax increase; $153M deficit if pandemic lasts all year

By Staff, CTV News Ottawa, November 4, 2020

OTTAWA -- Mayor Jim Watson and City Manager Steve Kanellakos have unveiled the 2021 City of Ottawa draft budget.

The draft operating budget comes in at $3.94 billion.

Council directed City staff to draft a budget that includes a three per cent property tax increase, which would add an extra $115 to the average property tax bill next year for urban residents or an extra $88 for rural residents.

The water rate is going up by 4.5 per cent for urban residents and 10 per cent for rural residents, which translates to approxmiately $37 dollars next year for urban residents and $7 for rural residents. Urban residents pay water, wastewater and stormwater fees, while rural residents who are not connected to the water system only pay stormwater fees. 

(... environmental & transportation items)

Environment

  • $8.7 million to cap Stage 3A of the Trail Waste Facility
  • $3 million to enhance and retrofit facilities and reduce energy use, costs and greenhouse gas emissions, with an average eight-year payback
  • $1.5 million to plant 125,000 trees
  • $1.2 million for solid-waste projects, including expanding the recycling in parks pilot

Transportation

  • $12.6 million to improve active transportation facilities through the Ottawa Pedestrian and Cycling Plan
  • $4 million to implement the Strategic Road Safety Action Plan
  • $806,000 to implement temporary traffic-calming measures
  • $523,000 to improve road safety
  • $512,000 to install pedestrian crossovers
  • $500,000 to improve technology and support development of a bike-parking program

City draft budget doesn't do enough for climate, housing emergencies, advocates say

By Natasha Bulowski, Ottawa Citizen, November 5, 2020

Despite the city declaring both climate and housing and homelessness as emergencies, the 2021 draft budget fell short of providing the kind of investment needed to tackle these big, complicated issues, advocates and some councillors say.

On Wednesday, the city proposed $15 million to create new affordable and supportive housing units, the same amount as in 2019 and 2020, even though 80 different organizations signed a letter to the city last month saying at least $20 million would be needed to tackle the emergency.

On the environmental front, the budget proposed $1.5 million to plant 125,000 trees and $3 million to enhance and retrofit facilities to reduce emissions and energy use, among other small investments.

(...)When it comes to money earmarked for environmental issues, Robb Barnes, executive director of Ecology Ottawa, echoed Tilley in saying that some money is better than none, but characterized the proposed budget as having a very “business as usual approach.”

“The city is just not serious about climate action at this stage,” said Barnes. “It talks a good game but we’re not seeing any kind of budget commitments that’s commensurate with the stated goals of the city and the city’s own analysis of what needs to be done.”

One thing Barnes would like to see is a diversion of funds from road expansion and maintenance into energy evolution, but that has yet to happen.

No budget yet for federal Liberals' promise to plant two billion trees by 2030

By Mia Rabson, National Observer, November 3, 2020

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's massive tree-planting promise from the 2019 election has yet to be allocated a single dime.

Trudeau pledged a year ago that the government would plant two billion more trees by 2030, or about 200 million extra trees per year. It was to be part of a $3-billion, decade-long effort to manage, conserve and restore forests, grasslands and wetlands, starting with $300 million in 2020-21.

It was clear last month that no trees had been planted this year, a failure Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan's staff chalked up to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it has become clear the program was never given any money.

"We are awaiting a budget decision," said Beth MacNeil, assistant deputy minister of the Canadian Forest Service, before the House of Commons' natural-resources committee on Oct. 30.

"But in the meantime we do continue, myself and my team, since late last fall to engage with potential partners."

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/11/02/news/-budget--liberals-promise-plant-two-billion-trees-2030?utm_source=National+Observer&utm_campaign=06ac9c6da4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_04_12_30_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cacd0f141f-06ac9c6da4-277003849

Release of 2021 draft budget Wednesday could reveal city's Plan B if government bailout stops

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, November 4, 2020

The draft 2021 budget for Ottawa’s municipal government will be released Wednesday, but the provincial budget on Thursday might provide a better indication of whether city hall can get through the year without making service cuts.

Mayor Jim Watson will table his 11th consecutive municipal budget during a special council meeting held by videoconference, kicking off a month-long review process by council’s committees, boards and the transit commission.

(...)Can council credibly respond to emergencies in housing and climate change?

City council has signalled priorities by declaring two emergencies: one related to climate change and another related to housing and homelessness.

Council last month unanimously approved a $57.4-billion plan to eliminate greenhouse gases over 30 years, the cornerstone of city hall’s response to council’s declaration of a climate change emergency.

(...)Several community groups have called on the city to spend $20 million next year to build affordable housing near transit stations, an ambitious request in a shaky budget year since the city has been targeting $15 million for new housing initiatives in previous year

Green jobs for youth the key to pandemic recovery in Canada

By Brendan Strandberg-Salmon, National Observer, October 26, 2020

To change the course of student careers and society for the better, the Canadian government must launch a green jobs initiative for youth and give youth hope for themselves and their communities.

COVID-19 brought the lives of Canadian youth like me to a grinding halt. Schools closed, graduations were cancelled, social events were curtailed and careers were derailed. Unemployment rates for those aged 15 to 24 soared to a historical high of 29.4 per cent in May, up from 10.3 per cent in February. Those who kept their jobs primarily carried out high-contact and low-paid essential work.

In September, Statistics Canada reported one in four Canadians under 30 were “NEET” ― not in education, employment or training. Jobs are returning more slowly for youth, and studies of the 2008 recession show that youth who are unemployed for long periods struggle to maintain employment later in life.

In short, young people living through this pandemic are at risk of becoming a lost generation.

Canada must lead in helping youth recover from unemployment by establishing a youth green jobs initiative within its COVID-19 recovery strategy.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/10/26/opinion/green-jobs-youth-key-pandemic-recovery-canada?utm_source=National%20Observer&utm_campaign=7d412e6f73-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_10_26_01_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cacd0f141f-7d412e6f73-277003849

Today's letters: Governments haven't respected public's right to know

By Wesley Dearham, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, October 29, 2020

Why not have pick-up days for hazardous waste?

Recently, I drove to one of the City of Ottawa’s hazardous waste depots held periodically through the year. This one was at the Barrhaven snow dump, many kilometres from my Westboro residence. To their credit, those who organized and ran this event did a superb job given the hundreds of cars bearing a variety of household hazardous waste ranging from toxic and flammable liquids to propane tanks and fluorescent lighting tubes. Traffic flow was well managed. One also has to give credit to the many Ottawa residents who took the time to dispose of this waste in a responsible fashion.

There is, however, a serious flaw with this operation — no fault of those who operate or participate in it. It defies logic that so many vehicles need to line up and idle their engines for nearly an hour to accomplish this important task. This aspect of these depots contravenes the goals of reducing global warming and air pollution. The city has announced its new climate change masterplan with great fanfare. One relatively easy way to reduce greenhouse gases would be to eliminate these drive-in depots or at least diminish their impact.

Ottawa-Hull rail loop isn't at the top of Mayor Watson's list of transit priorities

By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, October 29, 2020

A rail loop connecting the downtowns of Ottawa and Hull is a tough sell for Mayor Jim Watson, who’s first trying to extend LRT to the fastest growing parts of his own city.

Watson said he’s most interested in bringing LRT to Ottawa’s western and southern suburbs. Those areas still won’t have rail service when the Phase 2 O-Train expansion is complete in 2025.

The newly formed Supporters of the Loop is renewing a call to create a transit loop that would connect tourist attractions and government offices in the core of the capital region on both sides of the Ottawa River.

“I think it’s a very interesting idea but I have to be very clear and consistent that my next priority for transit of any kind in our city is Phase 3, which goes to Stittsville and Kanata and Barrhaven,” Watson said during a press conference Wednesday.

OPINION
Solar power is the new king, and that crown is going to be very difficult to knock off

By Sara Hastings-Simon, CBC, October 21, 2020

This month, the International Energy Agency crowned solar power the "new king" of global electricity markets.

The IEA's World Energy Outlook stated that solar photovoltaic (PV) is now the cheapest source of electricity in history, having achieved an incredible 99 per cent reduction in module costs since 1980.

If solar power is king, wind is queen, with both seeing significant growth through 2030 across the range of scenarios.

This news prompts a couple of questions.

The first is, obviously, how did we get here, seemingly so quickly?

Denley: In the loop – Plan for a car-free Wellington Street would be a game-changer for Ottawa

By Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen, October 28, 2020

When Ottawa and Gatineau community leaders band together to support a city-enhancing project, it’s a rare occasion and one that demands public attention. It’s even better when the idea is a winner that solves longstanding national capital problems.

That’s the case with a plan to create an electric streetcar loop that would connect the Parliament Buildings, the ByWard Market, the Canadian Museum of History, the National Gallery and major federal office buildings. The electric trams would travel down a car-free Wellington Street, cross into Gatineau on a rebuilt Alexandra Bridge and return to Ottawa over the Portage Bridge.

Connecting an urban area’s major workplaces and attractions with an easy-to-use transit system is an obvious idea, widely accomplished elsewhere and long talked about here. Ottawa is spending about $4.7 billion on LRT, but it doesn’t connect to Gatineau. The Quebec side is planning a $2.1-billion rail setup to carry people between the two cities, but it ends on Wellington Street, providing only part of the value it could deliver.

City staff propose renaming Trillium Line stations

Jacquie Miller, Ottawa Citizen, October 29, 2020

OC Transpo is looking for public comments on changing the name of two of the stations that are part of the Stage 2 LRT Trillium Line.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says staff have proposed renaming the Gladstone Station Corso Italia, to recognize the significance and contribution of Little Italy to the cultural fabric of Ottawa.

Carling Station, at Carling Avenue and Preston Street, would be renamed Dow’s Lake Station to better reflect the area and to highlight its appeal as a tourist attraction where visitors flock during the Tulip Festival and Winterlude, Watson posted on Twitter.

Public consultations will begin Thursday.

Urban gardens growing strong amid COVID pandemic

By Mark Fawcett-Atkinson, National Observer, October 28, 2020

Mike Levenston stands over a half-harvested stalk of kale, eyeing the autumnal remnants slowly disintegrating into the soil. It’s a familiar scene for Levenston, an urban gardener who has been growing food and community in the garden he founded, dubbed City Farmer, for more than 40 years.

At the time, it was almost unheard of to grow food in cities, and gardens weren’t given much thought in city planning efforts. No longer: Urban gardens are thriving worldwide, especially this year as pandemic-bound city dwellers have sought sustenance in gardens, parks and other green spaces.

“I’m there seven days a week. It’s the best place for my family to be in COVID times because it’s a garden with lots of space,” Levenston said. “We’re busier than ever because of the backyard garden craze. We sell city compost bins (and) people are picking them up every day, and (there) are a lot of new gardens (in the city).”

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/10/28/news/urban-gardens-growing-strong-covid-pandemic?utm_source=National+Observer&utm_campaign=7d186ec028-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_10_27_10_38_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cacd0f141f-7d186ec028-277003849

New heaters for LRT track switches delayed

By Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, October 21, 2020

With winter approaching, Ottawa transit commissioners and staff are concerned that some problematic switches on the light rail tracks won't get their new gas-powered heaters until early December.

Transit officials have said this winter will be the true test of whether Rideau Transit has managed to fix the LRT's many issues.

During the train's inaugural winter, switches that got stuck on the eastern leg of the Confederation Line were responsible for some of the train's many disruptions.

Transit commissioners have discussed the heaters before, and had learned the Trillium Line has heaters powered by propane and natural gas, whereas the new Confederation Line's were originally electric.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lrt-update-october-2020-switch-heaters-1.5770828?ref=mobilerss&cmp=newsletter_CBC%20Ottawa_1643_213432
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