By Ottawa Community News, February 2, 2015
Critics say the federal government has been trying to hide legitimate concerns about the consequences of oilsands pipelines by keeping a report under wraps on the possible environmental threats posed.
"We are being sold a bill of goods by this government," New Democrat environment critic Megan Leslie said Monday.
"If this report has been around since 2013 and not been released, then it makes me think they must be trying to hide something."
By Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen, February 1, 2015
About 90 per cent of the trees the National Capital Commission intends to plant to replace the thousands infected by the emerald ash borer won’t be in the ground until 2018 or later, says a report released to the Citizen — a strategy a local environmental group is calling misguided.
The report, presented at an in-camera meeting of the NCC’s board of directors last September, outlines a five-year program, ending in 2017-18, for cutting down 12,374 dead or dying ash trees that pose a safety risk. That’s significantly more than the 7,500 trees NCC staff had estimated would need to be cut just nine months earlier.
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Graham Saul, executive director of Ecology Ottawa, said the NCC’s plan to replace most of the ash trees in later years “is just not an effective strategy.”
Not only would it leave some areas “barren for a long time,” Saul said it will make it harder for the new trees to survive when they are planted because other species of brush will have had time to establish themselves.
Ecology Ottawa estimates Ottawa will lose more than 20 million ash trees over the next three to five years, including about 25 per cent of all trees in the urban area. The city — which typically plants about 100,000 trees a year — is partnering with Ecology Ottawa to plant one million trees by 2017.
By Alison Sandor, CFRA News, January 30, 2015
It looks like the idea of one day linking Ottawa and Gatineau by rail is dead.
The City of Ottawa has put out a call for proposals to turn the old Prince of Wales Bridge over the Ottawa River into a bridge reserved for pedestrians and cyclists.
The move would put an end to any light rail connection between the two cities, unless an extra structure is added to the track for the cyclists and pedestrians.
By Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen, February 1, 2015
About 90 per cent of the trees the National Capital Commission intends to plant to replace the thousands infected by the emerald ash borer won’t be in the ground until 2018 or later, says a report released to the Citizen — a strategy a local environmental group is calling misguided.
The report, presented at an in-camera meeting of the NCC’s board of directors last September, outlines a five-year program, ending in 2017-18, for cutting down 12,374 dead or dying ash trees that pose a safety risk. That’s significantly more than the 7,500 trees NCC staff had estimated would need to be cut just nine months earlier.
By Glenn Gower, Stittsville Central, January 31, 2015
Earlier this month we asked our readers for ideas for big red Bradley-Craig barn on Hazeldean Road. Our readers responded in droves by email and social media.Although the barn has heritage designation, it’s 140 years old and showing its age.
Finding a sustainable business idea for the barn (and the money to fund it) would go a long way to ensuring its long term survival.