Policies & Threats Related to Greenspaces
New updated content: 2026-11-03 11:38:39 Members reaffirmed the GA position against urban expansion and making it an election issue in the upcoming municipal election. The Chair made the case against urban expansion in a <CBC podcast> which aired on September 21.
New updated content: 2026-11-03 11:38:39 The inaugural meeting of this new forum, established by the Strategic Initiatives branch of the City of Ottawa, was held on June 5. The purpose is to gather a wide cross-section of stakeholders to help City staff identify means of achieving community reductions in GHG emissions and to champion such opportunities in the community. The Chair attended on behalf of the GA as one of
New updated content: 2026-11-03 11:38:39 In line with its intention of endorsing a slate of candidates in the upcoming municipal election, members considered a list of candidates for councillor sorted into categories: incumbents the GA can support (12), those on the fence (3), incumbents who do not garner our support (7), links to the electoral campaigns of the competitors in those wards, and links to the electoral campaigns of candidates
As per past practice the Greenspace Alliance is participating in the municipal election by endorsing candidates it believes would better support greenspace and environmental issues in the next term of council. We have restricted our endorsements to candidates for ward councillors as in the end what matters most is getting a council majority that supports green issues, regardless of who is mayor. You will find attached our choices and rationale.
New updated content: 2026-09-30 14:42:30 Due to uncertainties regarding anticipated new legislation by the Ontario government, work on the review of the City’s Growth Management Strategy has been deferred to early 2027. The GA has participated in two stakeholder meetings, through which some positive results were achieved, such as ensuring that a no urban expansion scenario would be one of the options under consideration. We will now await the new
New updated content: 2026-09-30 14:42:30 A notice of motion brought by Councillor Lo at the Environment and Climate Change Committee, if adopted, would have completely eviscerated the City’s Tree Protection Bylaw. The GA delegated at the Committee meeting of April 21 against the motion. The Committee approved a watered-down motion applying only to a small area of Barrhaven with marine clay subsoil. This nonetheless establishes a precedent, which was quickly
New updated content: 2026-09-30 14:42:30 The City’s Natural Systems and Forestry departments jointly held an evening workshop on the management of the Urban Forest. Delegates representing stakeholders at many points in the urban tree lifecycle and supply chain were invited to discuss the future evolution of the Urban Forest Management Plan and set priorities. It was a well run and facilitated workshop, in which y City staff and senior management
New updated content: 2026-09-30 14:42:31 The Greenspace Alliance generally gets involved in the municipal election through the vetting of candidates for election as Councillor based on the strength of their platforms, and in the case of incumbents, their record, on greenspace and environment issues. It was agreed to repeat this exercise for the 2026 election.
New updated content: 2026-11-13 14:24:27 The community co-chairs, including the GA Chair, participated in several planning meetings with City staff to prepare for the next forum meeting, which will be held on November 10. It was agreed that this session would focus on Priority 2 identified in the first meeting of the Forum, tree planting on private land. An agenda and list of participants has been developed, and invitations will
New updated content: 2026-06-10 16:48:00 The Chair attended a Climate Working Group meeting hosted by the Director, Climate Change and Resiliency Services, Strategic Initiatives Branch. Other attendees included CAFES and Ecology Ottawa representatives. This group has met a few times before and is intended as a sounding board on public engagement regarding City climate policy, both mitigation and adaptation. A draft Terms of Reference was discussed and finalized by the
