Hello,

This month’s newsletter introduction is from former PERC program manager Nasha Choudhary, who has written up an overview of Ottawa’s 2026 Budget. I am preparing step down as editor of the PEN, and Nasha will be taking on that role in the coming months.

On December 10, 2025, the Ottawa City Council approved the City of Ottawa’s 2026 budget, emphasizing that environmental responsibility continues to shape how the city grows and prepares for the future. A post by the City claims that this budgets embeds climate action and resilience in core infrastructure decisions, rather than simply framing as side projects.

The post states that the budget allocates $9 million to advance Ottawa’s Climate Change Master Plan and support emissions reduction and climate adaptation. In practical terms, that includes strengthening critical facilities against extreme weather, investing in renewable energy and energy-efficiency initiatives, expanding electric-vehicle infrastructure, and accelerating building retrofits across municipal operations.

The city is also putting significant resources into its urban forest. With $17.5 million dedicated to tree and forest maintenance and $2.3 million for tree planting programs, Ottawa is reinforcing the green canopy that improves air quality, absorbs carbon, and cools neighbourhoods during increasingly hot summers. For reference, a recent post by Ecology Ottawa says an analysis of Ottawa’s progress on urban tree canopy development shows that “in general, we’re doing okay with tree preservation, but we’re behind on tree planting.

Environmental priorities extend to essential systems as well. Funding will support drinking-water pipe rehabilitation, upgrades to facilities such as the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre, improved drainage to reduce flooding risks, and continued investments in waste diversion and landfill management. Together, the city claims these measures reflect a steady, practical approach: protecting natural systems while maintaining the infrastructure residents rely on every day.

—Nasha Choudhury

Stories From The PEN!

• You can read Ecology Ottawa’s delegation to City Council's Environment and Climate Change Committee February 17 meeting, in which the organization calls for several improvements— including a new funding stream to support community waste diversion initiatives—in this article.

• I would be remiss to not include mention of the recent Winter Olympics in this newsletter. I’m sure you all have some knowledge of Team Canada’s performance during the Games, but did you know that Olympic athletes also launched a second campaign to urge the International Olympic Committee “to permanently and swiftly ban fossil fuel sponsorship”? Read about it in this article from The Energy Mix, written by Gaye Taylor.

Call for Submissions

Do you have insights or experiences about ongoing issues that you want to share through the PEN?

The PEN is seeking original stories that discuss peace and environmental issues affecting Ottawa and its communities. While parameters are flexible, stories generally aim to be between 400-1000 words and should be submitted 10 days before the end of each month. If you have something you’d like to write about for an upcoming newsletter, please email [email protected] with a brief description of your idea (no fully written stories please!) and a 1-2 sentence bio about yourself and your connection to the issue.

From The PEN Archives

The Spring 2021 PEN includes a critique by Erwin Dreesen, which argues that Ottawa’s draft Official Plan failed both in substance and in process. While the document contained strong environmental aspirations such as increased climate resilience, expanded greenspace access, and a 40% tree canopy target, it was undermined by a lack of meaningful public consultation and clear implementation mechanisms.

The Plan was criticized as overly complex, top-down, and inaccessible, with 264 pages of dense policy language and layered designations such as “Transects,” “Overlays,” and “Special Districts.” Community groups were not meaningfully engaged, and neighbourhood-level planning appeared to be sidelined. The article also highlights major omissions: no clear monitoring framework, insufficient integration of the Climate Change Master Plan and Energy Evolution strategy, weak equity provisions, and no firm commitment to building retrofits, which is a critical component of emissions reduction.

While environmental language was prominent, the author questions whether it would translate into measurable, accountable action.

—Nasha Choudhury

Other News

• Taggart, along with Stantec Consulting Ltd., proposes redeveloping a site currently occupied by the Carleton Tavern. The proposal includes developing a 38-storey mixed-use residential tower featuring 465 new residential units, four levels of underground parking containing 322 parking spaces, and a privately owed public space. The developers say the Tavern would be demolished due to its age and structural deterioration, to be replaced by a “reimagined” Tavern, rebuilt “in its original form” with a two-storey building, reports CTV News.

• Claridge Homes proposes expanding the city boundary by 276 acres for a future development in Ottawa’s west end, which the developer says could add about 2,391 new homes for more than 6,800 people. The proposal has had some pushback, including from Councillor Glen Gower, who said he “does not support this urban boundary expansion,” CTV News says.

• Apparently, the center of our galaxy may not contain a supermassive black hole. New research suggests the Milky Way may swirl around a mass of dark matter instead, writes Science Alert.

• North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford says the federal return-to-work order will favor urban residents, while public servants living in her community now face a “daily grind of up to three hours” to travel into Ottawa and Gatineau, CTV News says.

• Reduced snowpack—from warming temperatures and drought—threatens Canadian watersheds with major consequences for municipal water systems, agriculture, lake water levels and shipping, wildfire risk in Canada’s forests, and more, reports CBC.

• Speaking of snow; if you are wondering where snow cleared from city streets and parking lots end up, this article from CTV News will enlighten you.

• Neil Saravanamuttoo has some thoughts about “Who Really Runs Ottawa?” in this post from his substack, The 613.

• Ottawa fire services is warning residents to be careful when charging lithium ion batteries after a drill battery started a fire in Richmond. There have been at least 60 fires involving lithium-ion batteries in Ottawa since 2022, reports CBC.

• The National Observer reports that cuts to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) staff will significant undermine national capacity to research and development new varieties, as well as other important measures to build farm resilience to climate change.

  • AAFC announced in late January that it was shutting down seven research farms and centers across the country and reducing 665 department positions, resulting in1,050 employees losing their jobs. While the announcement is part of a larger plan from the Carney government to reduce federal spending, the cuts come after AAFC staffing numbers had already decreased 14% since 2012, even while the size of the federal workforce as a whole has grown 30% in recent years.

I look forward to connecting with you again next month through the PEN Newsletter. In the meantime, please use the comments section of the newsletter or email [email protected] with thoughts or questions.

—Christopher Bonasia, PEN editor

PERC appreciates all of our readers for giving us this chance to connect with members of our community, and we love being able to provide you with a forum to discuss pressing environmental and social justice issues.

But we also rely on your support to make this happen. If you are interested in helping our organization continue to use storytelling and networking to help individuals, non-profits, and community groups work locally for a greener and more peaceful world, please consider making a donation to the Peace and Environment Resource Centre.