Site Alteration By-Law

report on April 5 meeting of ARAC

Paul attended this meeting and provided written and oral comments, which gave rise to a good exchange with committee members. He also spoke in favour of a motion put forward by Councillor Eli El-Chantiry requiring that staff work on a definition of the peri-urban area, something we have been advocating as a necessary first step in dealing with pre-emptive clearing of woodlands in advance of urban expansions. The motion was adopted and the bylaw will return to committee on May 3.

Federal Impact Assessment Act

We submitted written comments to the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development regarding Bill C-69. The deadline for providing comments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency on the regulations concerning the project list and information requirements has been extended to June 1.

Action: Nicole will prepare comments for submission on behalf of the GA. 

Report from the April 18th Meeting of the FCA on Environmental Issues

Paul and Erwin attended this FCA meeting. Paul gave this presentation  inviting the FCA to work with the GA on the greenspace inventory and mapping project and collaborating on the 2018 Ottawa municipal elections. There were also interesting presentations by Duncan Bury of Waste Ottawa and Angela Keller-Herzog concerning the activities of CAFES.

Tree Protection By-Law

report from April 19^th CAFES meeting

Kate attended this meeting on behalf of the GA. The main outcome of the meeting unfortunately seems to have been the disappointment of the participants that Martha Copestake, the City Forester, did not attend although it was expected she would. This does not bode well for public consultation on this issue and a letter of concern will be drafted by CAFES in this regard.

2018 Municipal Election Strategy

Information session for candidates and third parties, April 19, and other electoral issues

Jake attended this meeting on our behalf. It was mostly intended for candidates and potential third party advertisers regarding new funding rules which come into effect on May 1.

Jake and Amanda also provided an update on the GA election strategy, which is focused on ensuring that all candidates are well aware of the greenspace issues they will confront during the next term of council, many of which are already known as they are ongoing and will not be resolved during the election. This will done through a candidate survey in June and regular messaging to candidates through various means throughout the election period. Their brief reports can be found here.

Park Summit

Paul attended the Park Summit organized by Parks People and Ecology Ottawa. It was held at the All Saints event space on Laurier Avenue East and the GA had a table along with a dozen other environmental groups. The event was not as well attended as last year’s and the traffic at our table lighter. Nevertheless, some useful contacts were made.

Urban Climate Alliance Survey

Earlier this year we participated in a survey of environmental organizations with a local focus organized by the Toronto Environmental Alliance. They have sent us a copy of the <results>, in which they find some common ground. They will be proposing some form of cross-province collaboration in the months to come.

Workshop on Sustainable Development Strategy 2018-20123, NCC, May 1

Amy participated in the initial workshop which kicked off this round of the NCC’s own internal environmental planning. We are seeking to have someone attend this session, where the results of their planning deliberations will be presented.

Ontario Bill 139

Erwin provided an update on the responses to series of questions he posed regarding the various aspects of the new appeals regime under the Planning Act. He received substantial responses to one subset of questions but was redirected to two bodies newly formed under the Act to address the others. Updates to the GA website regarding these questions and responses can be found here.