Hello,

Today is Halloween!

With that aside, there are three points I want to cover in the first part of this month’s newsletter.

1) First, you may be aware of proposed plans to redevelop Lansdowne Park that would include a reconfiguration of greenspaces and a $493 million reconstruction of the stadium. Maybe you are in favor of the proposal, maybe you are opposed—but if you support having residents’ voices heard, you can sign this petition that calls for a binding, citywide referendum before approving a Lansdowne stadium demolition and rebuild.

2) Second, Ottawa’s Environment and Climate Change Committee met on October 15 to discuss the proposed Solid Waste Services By-Law to be in effect December 2, 2024.

Much of the meeting centered on the City’s new three-item garbage limit and points of clarity regarding the 140 liter bin size limit. Councilors were advised that residents with flip-top trash can lids should remove the lids before trash pick-up if possible. City operators have also received guidance to “use their discretion for residents whose bins have historically been collected without issue but are somewhat over the 140 liter volume metric limit, so long as the bins contain no more than 140 liters of waste, do not exceed weight limits, and continue to meet handle and removable lid requirements.”

As of the date of the meeting, only half a percent of properties had received a tag for illegal bins, and about 1.7% of properties were in excess of the 33 pound weight limit. Recycling and compost are not regulated under the new By-Law.

Following a clarification towards the end of the meeting, which noted that residents can use plastic bags to contain materials placed in the green bin for compost—a change that was implemented to encourage more residents to use the green bin—Committee Vice-Chair Marty Carr asked if there are “any statistics on how much more garbage was then thrown out by the green bin facility itself.” Carr said they were asking in order to determine if the change was worthwhile or if it was leading to more plastic, and was told that those statistics would be included in an audit report that will be released next year.

You can view the recording here.

3) And third, the Northern Lights were visible over Ottawa a couple weeks ago as the the sun was going through the most active phase of its 11-year solar cycle. It was pretty cool.

Stories from the PEN!

This month’s stories from the PEN include:

• Chantel Haigh describes her experience at SmartNet Coalition’s Sustainability & EV Showcase that was held this month at Just Food Farm, where attendees were able to view exhibits for green businesses focused on renewable energy and technology, non-profits, local farmers, and electric vehicles.

• In an article reprinted from The Energy Mix, Gaye Taylor writes about key findings of the sixth annual National Climate League report that was released by the Climate Reality Project Canada. The report ranks 53 Canadian cities across 23 policy indicators for climate action, and finds that major cities are leading smaller cities. Ottawa ranked fifth on the list, having met 70% of the indicators.

PERC Announcements

The Peace & Environment Resource Centre also has two announcements for this edition:

• In partnership with PERC, Eco-Internships has recently received a gift from the RBC Foundation to host its Youth Support and Training Program! Eco-Internships is looking for youth between the ages of 19 - 29 who want to enhance their experience and career development skills in order to secure work in the environmental sector. By registering, participants will be enrolled in a training course on key skills and topics necessary for the workforce. You can find out more about the gift from RBC and the Youth Support and Training Program here.

• And another of PERC’s partner organizations, Sustainable Eastern Ontario (SEO), is excited to announce the upcoming Sustainability Star Awards (SSA) 2024, taking place on Thursday, November 14, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Cours Bayview Yards, 7 Bayview Station Road, Ottawa, ON K1Y 2C5, Canada. You can register and find out more about the Awards here.

From The PEN Archives

The November 2011 PEN included a write-up about the Ottawa Occupy movement that set up in Confederation Park and held its first General Assembly to show solidarity with Occupy Wall Street—the New York-based protest against “bank bailouts, corporate greed, and the influence of Wall Street in the United States government” that had begun in September of that year.

According to the PEN, “the first General Assembly demonstrated how democracy could be used in everyday life. Those who attended the event were able to join a democratic process of decision-making. Concerned citizens asked questions, made proposals, and discussed friendly amendments. Everyone’s vote counted, regardless of his or her riding.”

[editor’s note: The NCC issued eviction notices protesters still in Confederation Park as winter approached five weeks after the first Assembly, and police cleared the site of about 25 occupants on the morning of Nov. 23. In addition to the impending cold temperatures, police had also raised safety concerns after receiving “complaints from inside the encampment that people felt unsafe.” Police issued eight tickets for trespassing and one person was injured. More information available from this 2021 CBC article.]

Other News

• On October 30, city council voted to enable city staff to explore the feasibility of implementing a 'bubble bylaw' that could restrict demonstrations near community spaces like schools and hospitals, citing an increase in hate crimes. Though the vote passed with support from twenty-two councilors, it was opposed by councilors Shawn Menard, Jessica Bradley and Sean Devine.

  • You can hear councilor Menard’s dissent in this Twitter(X) post.

• A Glebe resident is making an effort to divert scrap metal from going out in the trash by coordinating a monthly scrap metal collection on Saturday mornings for members of the Glebe community. The collection accepts “almost anything containing metal, from old phones and cables to broken bikes.” Find out more here.

• Ottawa Public Foods is now open again to “offer a place for ‘Take what you need - leave what you can’” with a new fridge at 415 MacLaren St.

• Apparently, there are unexploded WWII bombs in Mer Bleue bog, but it probably isn’t a danger if you stay on the trails.

• A Globe and Mail investigation of the transparency of Canada’s 53 largest cities, based on how they perform on Freedom of Information requests, found that cities took an average of 25 days to complete a request. Of 580 FOI requests filed from July 1 2022 to June 30 2023, Ottawa completed requests in an average of 47 days, released 29% in full, and 51% in part. Only five other cities took longer to complete a request.

  • Note: Ottawa FOI requests are regulated under Ontario’s Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which gives municipal institutions a 30 day time limit to either complete the request or provide notice for any delays.

• There is still time to register for Ottawa’s 2024 Rural Summit on November 2.

• City Council approved changes to its Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan that it had adopted in April.

• As the City prepares next year’s budget you can “have your say” by attending on Councillor consultations. Some were already held in October, but there are several others still scheduled through November.

• Following the success of its Housing Forever Bonds campaign, the Ottawa Community Land Trust has acquired its second property at 366 Brant Street in the Vanier neighbourhood. Under OCLT ownership, tenants of the building can be assured their rent will remain affordable.

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.