Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Is it time to split up Ottawa's planning committee?

By CBC News Ottawa, July 18, 2019

Should Ottawa's planning committee be carved in two, one half dealing with urban issues and the other with suburban matters?

That's the pitch being made by Coun. Shawn Menard.

The Capital ward councillor believes the concerns of residents in the city's core neighbourhoods are being given short shrift by the 10-member committee, which features nine councillors from Ottawa's suburbs and rural areas.

Yeah, I (Scott Moffatt) do disagree with that. Because I think it's a matter of collaboration with other councillors, working together to do things.

We've actually managed to get some things done through the committee that I chair — which is the environment committee — by working together. Things that maybe other people would've seen to be controversial in nature. But the reality is we worked together, me as a rural councillor and Coun. Menard as a more urban councillor, to find solutions. And with very little controversy through the whole process.

What's that bug? How to identify any plant or animal with your smartphone

By Emily Chung, CBC News, July 18, 2019

Have you ever seen a weird plant or bug in your garden and wondered what it was? Many nature apps can help you identify just about any plant or animal using the camera on your smartphone.

"I think it's really cool to have your eyes open to the incredible variety of species that are around us every day," says Carrie Seltzer, who works for iNaturalist, one of the most popular apps of this kind, with more than 640,000 users around the world.

She says even the average lawn or the cracks in the sidewalk are teeming with a lot more species than just grass.

Canada needs to triple the amount of protected land and water to tackle 'nature emergency': report

By John Paul Tasker, CBC News, July 17, 2019

Against a backdrop of shocking declines in the health of the world's ecosystems and species, a new report from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) says the federal government must commit to much more ambitious targets to protect the country's land and water if it's to have a chance of staving off a "nature emergency."

The report says biodiversity is declining faster than at any other time in human history — over one million species worldwide are facing extinction, according to a recent, groundbreaking study. It argues Canada must adopt aggressive measures beyond current targets by promising to protect and restore 30 per cent of all the country's land and inland waters by 2030 — about 330 million hectares.

That proposed goal would almost triple the amount of land currently protected through measures by federal, provincial and Indigenous governments. As of 2019, 11.8 per cent of Canada's land mass had been set aside for conservation.

5 tips to help prevent bike theft

By CBC News Ottawa, July 15, 2019

Morning, noon or night, bike thieves can strike. So what's a poor bike owner to do to prevent it from happening to them?

That's where CBC Radio's All In A Day comes in. Host Alan Neal spoke with Stephane Fortin, a bike courier and organizer with the Ottawa Bicycle Messenger Association.

Fortin admits he's "very careful, almost paranoid" when it comes to protecting both his personal bike and the one he uses on the job. As a result, Fortin said he's never had a bike stolen.

He said experienced bike thieves will scope out bike racks looking for "low-hanging fruit," even in broad daylight.

Here are Fortin's five tips to prevent your bike from becoming a target:

Largest wildlife preserve in Quebec planned for the Outaouais

By CBC News Ottawa, July 15, 2019

A 29-kilometre stretch along the Ottawa River in western Quebec could soon be transformed into a vast wildlife preserve, protecting the habitats of dozens of threatened and vulnerable animals.

Quebec's ministry of forests, wildlife and parks, which has been working on the project for decades, says it wants to accelerate the process to establish what may be the largest preserve of its kind in the province.

There are more than 31 animals classified as threatened, vulnerable or likely to become so living in the wetlands along the river between McLaurin Bay in eastern Gatineau, Que., and Plaisance National Park in Thurso, Que.

Today's letters: Remembering the moon landing; and a few local development issues back here on Earth

By Pam Mayhew, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, July 20, 2019

(...)Pro-meat argument has more holes than Swiss cheese

Re: Charlebois: Hey vegans, provocative advertising about dairy will only polarize people, July 16.

I read Sylvain Charlebois’ article critiquing the vegan movement for inappropriate advertising with total disbelief. This man’s arguments have more holes in them than a slice of (vegan) Swiss cheese.

First, this 70-year-old vegan has never been in hiding, and although I am happy that so many plant-based alternatives now exist, I never considered myself deprived for “having to make most of my meals at home.” I discovered so many delicious new ways of cooking, and it’s been a great joy in my life to live in harmony with my philosophy of compassion and non-violence. You could call that my mission: to cause the least amount of harm to myself, animals and the planet.

Toxic spill suspected in large fish die-off in Ottawa, Lièvre rivers

By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen, July 19, 2019

A large number of dead fish found in the Ottawa River near Masson-Angers, Que. and Clarence-Rockland, Ont., were probably killed by a toxic spill, an investigation has concluded.

Quebec’s wildlife ministry conducted about a dozen necropsies on fish found floating July 8 near the confluence of the Lièvre and Ottawa rivers, at Masson-Angers, and further downstream.

The Ottawa Riverkeeper reports ministry tests at a lab in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., could find no sign of infectious disease, suggesting a toxin introduced into the river caused the sizeable die-off. Tests have yet to discover what the toxin might be or when and where the spill occurred. The Riverkeeper reports several hundred, possibly thousands, of fish were killed.

More dead fish found in Ottawa and Lièvre rivers

By Gary Dimmock, Ottawa Citizen, July 20, 2019

Days after an investigation confirmed a large number of fish in the Ottawa and Lièvre rivers were likely killed by a toxic spill earlier this month, reports of more dead fish have been confirmed by Ottawa Riverkeeper.

“We got reports of more dead fish on the Ottawa River near Rockland. We took our patrol boat upstream to the mouth of the Lièvre River, scene of last week’s fish kill. The reports were confirmed. We contacted all relevant authorities. There is still no known cause, but we are staying on the case,” Riverkeeper said in a statement issued Friday.

Quebec’s wildlife ministry conducted about a dozen necropsies on fish found floating July 8 near the confluence of the Lièvre and Ottawa rivers, at Masson-Angers, and further downstream.

Charlebois: Hey vegans, provocative advertising about dairy will only polarize people

By Sylvain Charlebois, Ottawa Citizen, July 16, 2019

Vegan groups are using billboards these days in the Atlantic region to denounce dairy-farming practices, and telling consumers that “dairy is scary.” Some of these ads show a picture of a young calf, saying that someone “took its mom, its milk, then its life.” All this is to encourage people to switch to a plant-based diet.

These billboards have attracted some attention, and based on some reports, they are about to spread across the country. Consumers here have not seen such ads in a few years, but it’s hard to imagine how they won’t fuel the divide between anti-meat advocates and barbecue enthusiasts, especially at this time of year.

Can Ottawa support the new and proposed high-rise condos along its LRT line?

By James Bagnall, Ottawa Citizen, July 15, 2019

From the 23rd floor of Ottawa’s newest apartment complex at 100 Frontier Path Private, the east end of the city stretches in great green swatches towards Montreal, bisected neatly by the Queensway.

Down below, Blair Station sits silent. It is the easternmost terminus of the first phase of Ottawa’s light rail system, which was to begin operations last year, but has been pushed to sometime later this year.

Philip Fraser, the chief executive of Killam Apartment REIT, is puzzling over how the LRT’s builders could be so far behind schedule. “This doesn’t make sense,” he said, during a recent tour of the apartment tower. “These people have done this before.”

Fraser, of course, has a direct interest in LRT’s punctuality. His company has a joint venture with RioCan REIT to build and manage up to five apartment buildings that could eventually be home for nearly 1,000 residents. The presence of an LRT station just steps away is a key feature of the marketing of these rental units.

Traffic: Colonel By crosswalk coming, Bank/Riverside multi-use path opens

By Megan Gillis, Ottawa Citizen, July 18, 2019

There’s good news this week for folks who get around by bike or foot.

Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard reported Wednesday that the city and the National Capital Commission have reached an agreement in principle for a signalized crossing on Colonel By Drive at Seneca Street in Old Ottawa South.

This is a big boon for people trying to cross busy Colonel By to bike, walk or skate along the canal.

How to green your workplace — without the guilt

By Angela Plant, CBC News Ottawa, July 13, 2019

Want your workplace to be more green? Be supportive, not scolding.

Nagging your coworkers to drink from a reusable cup or eat with recyclable utensils will only create subtle resentment, according to Angela Plant, program co-ordinator with Carbon 613, a network of Ottawa organizations trying to reduce their carbon footprint.

"Then they go right back to thinking about all the other things they were thinking about before you interrupted their thoughts about the plastic fork," Plant told CBC Radio's All In A Day, ahead of a talk she delivered on the subject earlier this week.