Term of Council Priorities Analysis Draft-V5

Term of Council Priorities Analysis 1 DRAFT V5 – Ecology Ottawa

Term of Council Priorities – What it Means to Our City’s Environmental Protection

Context and Content

This document is an analysis of the City of Ottawa’s 2015‐2018 Term of Council Priorities as relates to

environmental commitments that the city has made in the past. In particular the priorities document is

compared with the 2014 Air Quality and Climate Change Plan. As this analysis makes clear, many of the

city’s promised actions related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, cycling, walkability, public

transit, watersheds, trees, nature conservation, waste, emergency preparedness, etc. all relate to

climate change. This is why the climate plan cuts across so many environmental files, and why the

climate plan is a lens through which a wide range of environmental issues can be advanced. As such, for

those who care about the environment in general, the full implementation of the climate plan clearly

represents the best single way to ensure that the environment is a priority in our city.

The structure of this analysis is:

Summary – Ecology Ottawa’s high‐level assessment of the priorities document

Background

Priorities document structure – a brief description

Priorities document initiatives – each proposed action

o Prior commitments included

o Prior commitments missing

o Performance measures →

o Budget allocations

Summary

This report lays out Ecology Ottawa’s initial assessment of the

proposed Term of Council Priorities, a document outlining what

the mayor and council are planning to prioritize in the coming years. The Term of Council Priorities will

guide city action on issues like healthy watersheds and clean water, trees, cycling, pedestrians and

public transit, and renewable energy and action on climate change.

The release of the city’s Term of Council Priorities has overarching promise but there are strong reasons

to avoid complacency since too many previous commitments are missing.

Unquestionably the city needs to do more.

There are large gaps in the city’s approach. For example, although the priorities document is definitely

oriented to action on climate change—and it includes specific performance objectives defined in

advance to be used to measure success—measurement of whether greenhouse gas emissions are

actually going up or down is not one of those performance

metrics.

There also remain dozens of commitments made in the past

which do not appear to be scheduled for implementation.

It is also true that the city’s climate approach is taking place

in a changing landscape that suggests even more effort is

For brevity the City of Ottawa’s 2015‐

2018 Term of Council Priorities

document will herein be called the

“priorities document” and the 2014

Air Quality and Climate Change Plan

will be called the “climate plan.”

The priorities document identifies

various metrics to be used as

performance measures. These will

be evaluated and reported twice

during the term of council in

something called a “balanced

scorecard”.


needed. For example in May the Ontario government announced greenhouse gas reduction targets

considerably more ambitious than the city’s. For the province to meet these goals, major cities like

Ottawa will have to reduce emissions accordingly.

The good news:

The implementation of the 2014 Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan is explicitly

identified as a strategic initiative, though many of the actions from the climate plan do not

appear.

Under transportation, public transit is strongly represented and initiatives also include cycling

and walkability, although implementation of a Complete Streets policy is not included.

Waterways will be protected through the Ottawa River Action Plan, the Water Environment

Strategy, and a stormwater management plan.

Renewable energy and energy efficiency are touched on, though not deeply.

Waste diversion is touched on, though not deeply.

Increased forest cover is included but not a Forest Management Strategy

Background

In May 2014 the city adopted the 2014 Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan.

Implementation mainly depended on funding starting with the 2015 budget. The main budget adopted

in March deferred these funding decisions to the adoption of the city’s 2015/2018 Term of Council

Priorities.

Priorities Document Structure

The priorities document sets out seven “Strategic Priorities”

Economic Prosperity

Transportation and Mobility

Sustainable Environmental Services

Healthy and Caring Communities

Service Excellence

Governance, Planning and Decision‐Making

Financial Sustainability

Within these seven broad categories there are 21 “Strategic Objectives” and

subordinate to them, 63 “Strategic Initiatives.” It is the Strategic Initiatives “which

are the concrete actions, tactical programs and services, that will advance

Council’s objectives and strategic priorities.”


Priorities Document Initiatives

The following topics are seen as relating to city action on climate change, in some cases strongly related.

In many cases some of the 63 “Strategic Initiatives” of the priorities document respond to a climate

related topic. However we also include topics that do not have corresponding Strategic Initiatives in the

priorities document. Each topic is treated in more detail in the sections that follow.

Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan (ES1‐20, page 83 of appendix A)

Energy

o Renewable Energy Strategy (ES1‐22, page 84 of appendix A)

o Energy Management and Investment Strategy (ES2‐25, page 86 of appendix A)

Transportation

o Completion of the O‐Train’s Confederation Line Light Rail Transit Projects (TM1‐4, page

19 of appendix A)

o Light Rail Transit Stage 2 Readiness (TM1‐5, page 20 of appendix A)

o Transportation Master Plan Phase 1 Cycling Projects (TM1‐7, page 117 of appendix A)

o Transportation Master Plan Phase 1 Pedestrian Projects (TM1‐8, page 117 of appendix

A)

o Community Pathways and Connections Program (TM3‐9, page 118 of appendix A)

o Rideau Street Streetscaping (TM3‐10, page 67 of appendix A)

o Queen Street Streetscaping (TM3‐11, page 119 of appendix A)

o Cycling Safety Improvement Program (TM4‐13, page 120 of appendix A)

o Winter Improvements for Cyclists (TM4‐14, page 121 of appendix A)

o Traffic, Pedestrian and Road Safety Enhancements (TM4‐15, page 121 of appendix A)

o Making the O‐Train’s Confederation Line an integrated part of the OC Transpo system

(TM5‐16, page 95 of appendix A)

o Bayview Yards Environmental and Geotechnical Development Assessment (ES1‐23, page

23 of appendix A)

o Improved Public Engagement in Planning Matters (GP1‐54, page 73 of appendix A)

o ByWard and Parkdale Market/Sparks Street Mall Renewal (EP2‐3, page 17 of appendix

A)

Forest Management Strategy

o Maintain a 2:1 ratio (or greater) between trees planted and trees removed annually

(ES1‐C, page 22 of appendix A)

o Increase Forest Cover (ES1‐19, page 61 of appendix A)

Greenspace Protection and Land Acquisition

Water Environment Strategy Phase 2 (ES1‐18, page 81 of appendix A)

Waste Diversion

Emergency Management

Energy East Pipeline


Sustainability as a Priority

A potentially important continuation from the 2011‐

2014 priorities document is that the city will “apply a

sustainability lens to decision‐making.”

The good news is that—as was the case four years

ago—this quote appears at the highest level in the

priorities document, as one of the seven top level

priorities: Governance, Planning and Decision‐Making.

However what “sustainability lens” might mean has

never been elaborated unlike other city lenses.

The city must act on these good words with an

implementation plan, education and training.

Intensification as a Priority

One of the strategic objectives from the previous

priorities document of 2011‐2014 phrased it well:

“compact neighbourhoods where residents can live,

work, shop and play close by, complete daily activities

easily, access viable transit, and support local

businesses” may be one of the most important things

the city can do. The result not only fights climate

change but saves the city services costs.

Yet intensification is not included in the 2015‐2018

priorities document.

TOPIC – Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan (ES1‐20, page 83 of appendix A)

The climate plan exists not only as a 2014 document but as one of the 63 “Strategic Initiatives” of the

priorities document. It is because it’s a “Strategic Initiative” that the climate plan can be funded for

implementation.

The priorities document describes this Strategic Initiative as follows:

The Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan (AQCCMP) sets out a Green House Gas

(GHG) emission reduction target, goals and objectives, and encompasses a variety of projects

and initiatives to be implemented by the City over the next five years to achieve more efficient

and renewable municipal operations, as well as working with community partners to reduce air

pollution and make Ottawa more resilient. A number of the strategic initiatives in the 2015‐2018

City Strategic Plan, representing investments of close to $1.8B, will contribute to the progress of

the AQCCMP, including: the Energy Management and Investment Strategy (2015‐2019), the

Increase Forest Cover initiative; Completion of the O‐Train’s Confederation Line Light Rail Transit

Projects; Water Environment Strategy Phase 2; the Stormwater Management Retrofit Master

Plan; Transportation Master Plan Cycling and Pedestrian projects; Community Pathways and

Sustainability Lens

In the past both the city’s “accessibility

lens” and “equity and inclusion lens” were

fully described and implementation

processes defined. Not so for sustainability.

A sustainability lens is equated to a “triple

bottom line” of social, environmental, and

financial accountability in the city’s 2012

Plan for Sustainability and Resilience, part

of Framing our Future, which the priorities

document says “long‐term sustainability

goals… are directly aligned with.”

The “balanced scorecard” which reports on

success of the 2011‐2014 priorities

document says:

“The target of increasing the percentage of

new urban dwelling units provided through

intensification to an average of 38 per cent

per year was exceeded in 2014, with a

result of 54 per cent.”


Connections Program; and Cycling safety and winter improvements programs. Other actions

falling within the AQCCMP strategic initiative include the Green Municipal Fleet Plan, Electric

Vehicle Charging Stations Pilot, Green Building Policy, Emergency Energy Plan, Subwatershed

Planning, and Source Water Protection Plans, among others.

Prior Commitments that are Included in the Priorities Document

Throughout this document we compare specific commitments that the City has made in the past

(primarily in the climate plan) with the commitments that they are making in the priorities document.

However the climate plan as a “Strategic Initiative” is unique in that it is an overarching funding priority

for the whole climate plan; it doesn’t list the climate plan elements individually. We do review the

specific listing of promises included or omitted though. These can be seen in the various topic areas

(water, energy, transportation, etc.) that follow this one.

Prior Commitments that are Missing from the Priorities Document

The climate plan promised “options for further action will be tabled early in the next term of Council and

undergo public review.” This commitment does not appear to have been satisfied to date and is not

specifically mentioned in either the 2015 budget or the priorities document. It is particularly important

because the specific actions that are already listed largely impact emissions related to city operations,

while the majority of emissions (95%) come from the community as a whole. It is “options for further

action” as relates to community emissions that are largely undefined.

The climate plan promised to “explore the development of a local GHG Inventory process that assesses

ways to potentially tailor the methodology to better reflect local Ottawa community conditions” and to

do so within existing 2014 budget resources. Any progress on this has not been reported. If it is not

being done, the lack of an improved GHG Inventory will make it harder for Ottawa to evaluate success.

Performance Measures

The City appears to be saying that it will measure progress on the implementation of the climate plan in

three ways:

20‐A: Decrease the municipal fleet’s total litres of fuel consumed per 100 kilometres for the

municipal fleet, by 3% by the end of 2015; 4% by the end of 2016, 5% by the end of 2017 and 6%

by the end of 2018. (page 83 of Appendix A)

20‐B: Decrease in kilowatt hours per square meter (ekWh/m2) purchased at City facilities by

2.67% (from 2014 values) by the end of Q4 2018. (page 83 of Appendix A)

ES1‐B: No net increase in corporate per capita Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions between 2012

and 2016. (page 22 of Appendix A)

Combined, these three performance measures make up the entire criteria for evaluation as to whether

this initiative is succeeding at the two reporting points expected during this term of council. Alone they

appear to be extraordinarily weak metrics for a city‐wide initiative that aims to reduce GHG emissions

across both city operations and the general public. One might expect a measure of overall GHG

emissions such as the city’s GHG Inventory to be cited along with an interim reduction target at least

consistent with the city 2024 target (remembering too that the recent provincial target is more

stringent). The performance measures listed are exclusively aimed at city operations although the


climate plan itself advocates evaluating corporate and community emissions together. Moreover,

performance measure ES1‐B “no net increase in corporate per capita GHG emissions” actually allows for

an increase in absolute GHG emissions.

Budget Allocations

The Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan initiative (ES1‐20) is allocated (page 87 of

appendix A):

$250,000 per year in 2015/16/17/18 in operating funding, and

$500,000 per year in 2016/17/18 in capital funding

TOPIC – Energy

There are two priority initiatives that relate to Energy

Renewable Energy Strategy (ES1‐22, page 84 of

appendix A) →

Energy Management and Investment Strategy (ES2‐

25, page 86 of appendix A) ↘

When compared with the commitments in the 2014 climate

plan, there appears to be more missing from the priorities

document than there is included in it.

The Renewable Energy Strategy (ES‐22) is particularly

promising, however, because it represents one of the few

initiatives that could be applicable to the greater community

beyond strictly city operations. It may be the seed of

Ottawa’s 100% renewables goal – a goal already adopted by

Vancouver and campaigned on by Councillor Chernushenko.

But there is very far to go in moving this initiative beyond

what might be as little as a “baseline analysis.”

Prior Commitments that are Included in the Priorities

Document

Change street lighting from sodium to metal Halide

to LED lighting (as strategic initiative ES2‐25 Energy

Management and Investment Strategy) – This

initiative is long overdue; cities like Edmonton,

Toronto and North Bay are well advanced in their

deployment.


Establish a Working Group to examine opportunities and constraints to building‐use conversions

in the downtown (in advance of anticipated reductions in federal government tenancy) and

ES1‐22 Renewable Energy Strategy

description: Complete a baseline

analysis of energy supply and demand

within the City of Ottawa and assess

options, in collaboration with

community partners, for all such

partners to advance energy

conservation, energy efficiency and

renewable energy generation within

their respective areas of

control/influence.

ES2‐25 Energy Management and

Investment Strategy description: The

2015‐2019 Energy Management and

Investment Strategy will build on the

momentum and successes of the

2010‐2014 Smart Energy Program.

The goal of the program is to manage

the City's increasing growth and

demand for energy through the

implementation of various energy

conservation measures including the

installation of LED street lighting.


establish design requirements. (The 2014 climate plan committed the City to do this with

existing resources from the 2014 budget!)

Establish a Task Force to investigate opportunities for district heating in the downtown.

Undertake an Energy Mapping analysis (similar to Guelph) to inform program options moving

forward. (Once again, the 2014 climate plan said that the City already had the resources it

needed in 2014 to move this forward.)

Continued assessment of the Local Improvement Charge (LIC) which included

o If feasible, participate in Ministry of Energy stakeholder meetings on proposed on‐bill

financing for energy retrofits

o Further explore the US results of participation in commercial property LIC programs

o Explore ‘start‐up’ grant opportunities as obtained by Toronto and Halifax

o Continue to monitor related activities in other Ontario municipalities

o Continue to monitor Toronto’s Energy Retrofit Pilot Program (after 12 months of

activities, March 2015) and the Halifax Program

o Prepare a report with recommendations related to the use of LIC financing in Ottawa

Add co‐generation capacity as needed at the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre

Develop City policy on EV stations

Develop City policy on solar PV at City buildings

Implement green/cooling measures to reduce the ‘heat island effect’

Retrofit Ottawa community housing units. This was hailed as a major initiative when the City

adopted the 2014 climate plan and was expected to receive substantial support. Now it appears

that there is no money available to make this happen beyond existing OCH resources. Hopefully

this can change.

Work with the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), Electrical Safety Authority, Energy Ottawa and/or

others to ensure FIT installations at City facilities can be used as a back‐up energy supply.


For the Renewable Energy Strategy 22‐A: Complete 100% of the project by Q4 2017

For the Energy Management and Investment Strategy ES2‐25

o 25‐A: Increase the number of streetlights converted to energy efficient LED technology

by 15,000 per year.

o 25‐B: Reduce maintenance costs per converted streetlight fixtures by 50%.

Given the importance of energy issues to tackling climate action it might be reasonable to expect more

comprehensive performance metrics across a range of initiatives.

Budget Allocations

For the Renewable Energy Strategy $100,000 per year in 2015/16/17/18 in operating funding.

This is obviously a very, very small amount of money to go beyond a “baseline analysis” even if it

can be used to leverage other funding.

For the Energy Management and Investment Strategy

o $1,000,000 per year in 2015/16/17/18 in capital funding

o $490,000 per year in 2015/16/17/18 in operating funding


TOPIC – Transportation

Transportation receives a lot of attention in the Term of Council Priorities document due to a large focus

on light rail as well as linking light rail to cycling and walking infrastructure. For brevity not all Strategic

Initiative descriptions are included, though their references indicate where those descriptions can be

found in the priorities document.

Ecology Ottawa must also point out that the priorities document indicates continued extensive

investment in roads but that the ongoing expansion of motor vehicle routes moves Ottawa in the wrong

direction in terms of getting off fossil fuels, paving square kilometers of land surface, reducing the

health effects of air pollution, etc.


The following transportation related actions from the climate plan are included within the priorities

document:

Implement the Transportation Master Plan, including the Cycling and Pedestrian Plans (covered

by multiple strategic initiatives as follows)

o Completion of the O‐Train’s Confederation Line Light Rail Transit Projects (TM1‐4, page

19 of appendix A)

o Light Rail Transit Stage 2 Readiness (TM1‐5, page 20 of appendix A)

o Transportation Master Plan Phase 1 Cycling Projects (TM1‐7, page 117 of appendix A)

o Transportation Master Plan Phase 1 Pedestrian Projects (TM1‐8, page 117 of appendix

A)

o Making the O‐Train’s Confederation Line an integrated part of the OC Transpo system

(TM5‐16, page 95 of appendix A)

Adopt and implement a strategy to design and build ‘Complete Streets’ (note also “Prior

Commitments Missing” below)

o Cycling Safety Improvement Program (TM4‐13, page 120 of appendix A)

o Winter Improvements for Cyclists (TM4‐14, page 121 of appendix A)

o Traffic, Pedestrian and Road Safety Enhancements (TM4‐15, page 121 of appendix A).

This appears to be a new and promising addition.

o ByWard and Parkdale Market/Sparks Street Mall Renewal (EP2‐3, page 17 of appendix

A)

o And possibly ‐ Improved Public Engagement in Planning Matters (GP1‐54, page 73 of

appendix A)

Support transit‐oriented development initiatives

o Community Pathways and Connections Program (TM3‐9, page 118 of appendix A) This

also appears to be a new and promising addition.

o Rideau Street Streetscaping (TM3‐10, page 67 of appendix A)

o Queen Street Streetscaping (TM3‐11, page 119 of appendix A)

o Bayview Yards Environmental and Geotechnical Development Assessment (ES1‐23, page

23 of appendix A)



There is no mention in the priorities document of the adoption or implementation of a Complete Streets

policy. Ecology Ottawa urges this inclusion. The expression “Complete Streets” is not even used in the


The following actions from the climate plan are not included within the priorities document:

Implement Vehicle Telematics for Municipal Fleet (had been recommended for inclusion in 2015

budget)

Investigate opportunities to use City ‘community centre’ parking lots, outside the Greenbelt, in

proximity to transit services, to serve as Park & Ride

or designated carpooling locations

Procure buses and other Transit vehicles that meet the latest emissions standards available at the time of manufacture

Incorporate SmartDriver techniques into all driving instruction for all driver training at Transit Services

Monitor the Idling By‐law and internal related procedures

Update and implement the Green Municipal Fleet Plan, including the purchase of hybrid and electric vehicles, as appropriate

Use the ‘Eco‐Driving’ training policy/ practice

Pilot the creation of ‘bike and ride’ amenities at designated community facilities (e.g. currently being piloted at Bob MacQuarrie Complex)

Replace vehicles at their optimal life cycle dates so that the older vehicles are replaced with newer vehicles which are more fuel efficient and meet current emission standards.

Performance Measures and Budget Allocations

Transportation related Strategic Initiatives performance

measures are too numerous to list in this document. Related

budget allocations are orders of magnitude above others

noted in this analysis due to the fact that they relate to large

construction projects.

The following initiatives from the

climate plan are absent but of

secondary importance:

Provide OC Transpo services for Ottawa festivals such as Canada Day, Bluesfest, Race Weekend, Folk Fest, Winterlude and other special events

Use ‘grit’ instead of sand as an abrasive on the roads, thus reducing particulate in the air and in catch basins and rivers

Use regenerative air sweepers and proactive spring time sweeping program to reduce particulate matter in the air and out of the rivers

Use ‘Smart About Salt’ program and monitoring of pre‐wetting to reduce salt use

Implement current road operational practices that have adapted to climate change, such as location of snow disposal facilities and the installation of real‐time Weather Information Systems.

Encourage flexible working schedules/locations for city employees, where feasible.


TOPIC – Forest Management Strategy

The priorities document makes mention of Ecology Ottawa as a partner in planting one million trees by

2017 and Ecology Ottawa extends its appreciation for that.


The following forest management related actions from the climate plan are included within the priorities

document:

Adopt and implement a strategy that identifies ways to increase tree cover and maintain the

health of the city’s assets (covered in initiatives as follows)

o Maintain a 2:1 ratio (or greater) between trees planted and trees removed annually (not

an “initiative” but a Strategic Objective Performance Measure, ES1‐C, page 22 of

appendix A)

o Increase Forest Cover (ES1‐19, page 61 of

appendix A) →

o Ottawa 2017 Celebrations (EP1‐1, page 15

of Appendix A) includes “…planting

Canadian Native Maple trees in special

locations and/or sesquicentennial groves in

each of the city’s 23 wards”

Implement the Emerald Ash Borer strategy (covered

by strategic initiative ES1‐19 noted above)

Forest cover is also said to be funded through the

2015 budget. That funding envelope is not

considered in this analysis.

Prior Commitments that are Missing from the Priorities

Document

The following forest management related action from the climate plan are not included within the

priorities document

Complete the Forest Management Strategy that identifies ways to increase tree cover and

maintain the health of this City asset.


Noted above, itself a performance measure: Maintain a 2:1 ratio (or greater) between trees

planted and trees removed annually

19‐A: Achieve the City’s tree planting target of 125,000 trees per year.

Budget Allocations

For Increase Forest Cover $5,605,000 per year for 2015/16/17/18 in operating funds

Increase Forest Cover initiative

description: Initiatives for protecting

and increasing forest cover include

tree planting in the urban, suburban

and rural areas, and rehabilitation of

parks and green spaces by partnering

with Ecology Ottawa in order to have

1 million trees planted. As well, the

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Woodlot

Management Strategy focuses on the

rehabilitation of 993 parks and 187

municipal nature features in the

management of a wood‐boring

beetle, the Emerald Ash Borer.


TOPIC – Greenspace Protection and Land Acquisition:


No greenspace or land related actions from the climate plan are included within the priorities

document.

Prior Commitments that are Missing from the Priorities

Document

The following actions from the Air Quality and Climate

Change Management Plan are not included within the Term

of Council Priorities:

Identify and prioritize land for protection,

acquisition, and naturalization, taking climate

change into consideration. (identified for inclusion

in the 2015 budget)

Create a new land trust for Ottawa

Increase the City’s Land Acquisition Fund Reserve

A ”Sensitive environmental land stewardship

framework” brought forward for consideration in

the 2015‐2019 Term of Council priorities

Base planning decisions for rural and urban communities on watershed and subwatershed plans that document existing conditions, assess the impacts of land use, and recommend way to protect and enhance the natural system

Implement restoration measures in consultation with conservation authorities, landowners and others


None

TOPIC – Healthy Watersheds

Overall, protecting water is addressed thorough the

strategic initiative Water Environment Strategy Phase 2

(ES1‐18, page 81 of appendix A).

We are concerned, however, that that green infrastructure

and low‐impact development are not mentioned in the

priorities document. Nor is the promotion of lot‐level

stormwater management solutions.

Initiative description: Develop the

Water Environment Strategy (WES)

Phase 2 and, pending Council

approval, begin implementation.

WES‐2 will include long term goals, an

action plan, and inter‐agency

coordinating framework, building on

the Council approved Phase 1 and

input from the 2014 Water

Roundtable.

Also listed under Land Use and

Agriculture initiatives in the climate

plan but not mentioned in the

priorities document are:

Implement the Official Plan (e.g. intensification measures)

Promote green buildings through the development review process

Invest in existing roads, water, wastewater, transit facilities and other infrastructure so that it can support redevelopment

Implement the EAB Strategy

Support the community garden program



The following actions from the climate plan are included in the priorities document:

Implement the Ottawa River Action Plan (as strategic initiative ES1‐17 Combined Sewage

Storage Tunnel, page 81 of Appendix A)

Implement the Pinecrest‐Westboro Stormwater Retrofit Plan (within strategic initiative ES1‐21

Stormwater Management Retrofit Master Plan, page 84 of Appendix A)

Implement the Source Water Protection Plan (as above ES1‐21)

Complete and implement the Eastern Subwatersheds Stormwater Retrofit Plan (as above ES1‐

21)


The following actions from the climate plan are not included in the priorities document:

Promote and implement low‐impact development practices (e.g. permeable pavement, grass

swales, etc.)

Implement the Wet Weather Infrastructure Management Plan

Implement the Infrastructure Management Plan


Performance measures related to water are:

ES1‐A: Maintain the number of Water Quality Index good to excellent ratings annually at 75% of

monitored locations on Ottawa’s major rivers. (Ottawa, Rideau and Mississippi).

18‐A: Complete the first annual water quality data report by Q4 2016.

18‐B: Make Baseline Water Quality monitoring data available through the City’s Open Data

initiative by 2015.

21‐A: Complete 100% of the Eastern Subwatersheds SWM Retrofit Study by the end of 2015.

21‐B: Complete 85% of City‐wide SWM Retrofit Master Plan by end of 2018.

Budget Allocations

$1,000,000 per year in 2015/16/17/18 in capital funding for Water Environment Strategy Phase

2 (ES1‐18, page 62 of appendix A)

$2,465,000 over 4 years (weighted to 2017/18) in capital funding for Stormwater Management

(SWM) Retrofit Master Plan (ES1‐21, page 62 of appendix A)


TOPIC – Waste Diversion

Waste management gets minimal attention in the priorities document.

Prior Commitments that are Included in the

Priorities Document

Expand recyclable collection and services

across City facilities and in key public

locations

o Waste Diversion in Parks, Buildings

and Grounds Services Operations

(ES2‐24, Page 85 of Appendix A)

Prior Commitments that are Missing from the

Priorities Document

Complete and implement the Waste Plan, looking for ways to increase diversion


24‐A: Increase diversion rates in small‐scale curb‐side City facilities to: 40% by Q4 2015; 45% by Q4

2016; 50% by Q4 2017 and 55% by Q4 2018.

Budget Allocations

$24,000 in each of 2015/16/17/18 for operating

funds

TOPIC – Emergency Management

Emergency Management is not considered in the


In his 2012 annual report the Auditor General for

the City of Ottawa pointed out that the city does

not have a systematic and comprehensive climate

change adaptation plan, i.e., one which will help us

deal with the inevitable changes that are coming

with climate change.

Prior Commitments that are Included in the

Priorities Document

None

Prior Commitments that are Missing from the

Priorities Document

Implement Hazard Identification and

Mitigation Program and Plan.

Initiative ES2‐24 description: Since 2009, the

Parks, Buildings and Grounds Services branch

have implemented many successful waste

management programs within their

operations. With established diversion

programs in place, the focus will now be on

enhancing diversion and participation rates.

Emergency Related: Appendix B of the climate

plan was a report on progress on the

predecessor 2005 climate plan. The following

notes are extracts:

With respect to a climate change

adaptation strategy: Adaptation

measures related to stormwater

management have been carried out

each year. Various measures were

considered during update of the

Infrastructure Master Plan and

integrated into the 2014 AQCCMP.

Reduce heat island effect: Ottawa

Public Health is working with Health

Canada to assess the heat islands/cool

sinks in Ottawa with respect to

populations who are especially

vulnerable to heat.

Climate change emergency response

programs: worked with the Office of

Emergency Management on Ottawa’s

Long‐Term Risk Prevention.


Continue to review and refine the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment for the Emergency

Management Program; identifying natural, human‐caused and technological hazards to the City

of Ottawa based upon provincial guidelines and industry best practices

Continue to identify corporate resources through an Emergency Energy Plan, to address

emergency energy‐related issues


None

TOPIC – Energy East Pipeline

Although the climate plan did not address TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline proposal, the City of

Ottawa represents a prominent voice in this discussion which clearly relates to climate change and

protection of watersheds. For these reasons Ecology Ottawa would have wanted to see Energy East

included in some form in the discussions of Term of Council Priorities.

Conclusion

As described in this analysis Ecology Ottawa has numerous points where we’d like to see more action and effort but in summary here are our four most important recommendations to the City of Ottawa:

Mayor Watson should throw his weight behind his words and through ambitious action on the climate change plan, achieve lasting and important gains across the entire environmental portfolio.

We recommend that “green infrastructure” be explicitly included in the Term of Council Priorities.

We recommend that a new Forest Management Strategy be explicitly included in the Term of Council Priorities.

We recommend that a new Complete Streets policy be explicitly included in the Term of Council Priorities.

This analysis is released as a draft for discussion.

Term of Council Priorities Analysis Draft-V5

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