SkyscraperPage Forum - Green Policies within Government Operations

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Green City Initiatives in Ottawa-Gatineau

Gatineau has recently past a bylaw requiring developers to implement green roofs on 20% of any roof structure over 2000 square meters (roughly 21500 square feet). Developers tried to fight the policy in court, but lost.

https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/g...796717345318c3

https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/g...5986009e87c7cd

Although Ottawa has declared a climate emergency, I don't believe they have any plans to implement a similar policy (or anything to help the fight against climate change it seems).

Looking at downtown roof tops using Google Maps, it seems like we only have five significant green roofs at this time:

- The Canadian War Museum;
- The Provincial Court House;
- The C.D. Howe Building;
- The Jack Layton Building (former Eatons, Bank and Laurier).
- Gotham (just noticed today).

There are a few partial green roofs along the podium edge of the new EDC and James Flaherty buildings, the new Federal office building on Eddy. Quite a few podium terraces such as Place du Portage IV (looks terrible) Minto Place, Performance Court, Constitution Square, 90 George and the Rideau Centre.

Why do we have to few green roofs? Why is this not policy (in Ottawa)?

From what I recall, Toronto has specific powers in the City of Toronto Act enabling the municipality to require green roofs but Ottawa does not have the same powers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior (Post 9025816)

From what I recall, Toronto has specific powers in the City of Toronto Act enabling the municipality to require green roofs but Ottawa does not have the same powers.

That seems to be a power that ALL cities should have, not just Toronto. Not suprised. :uhh:

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13 (Post 9025809)

you should email your councillor about this; could be an easy win for jimbo to implement...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayday23 (Post 9029560)

you should email your councillor about this; could be an easy win for jimbo to implement...

Watson gets his bread buttered by developers. And they most certainly won't support a mandate for green roofs. Shows you how hollow these declarations are.

Heck, everytime I am at or pass a Confederation Line station not in the core, I always think of what a waste the roof space was. No solar or green roof.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Truenorth00 (Post 9033235)

That was my thought. No way would Watson do anything to cost his developer friends an extra cent.

As for the Confed Line stations, even more so with Stage 2 stations that have flat roofs. Missed opportunity.

It's not just green roofs. The lack of solar is absurd. Especially on a lot of big box stores in this city. Moving back from California, this becomes obvious. It's almost standard now in a lot of the world for their big box stores to put solar on the roof. At least provides power for the lights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Truenorth00 (Post 9034333)

That's a good point as well. Massive flat surfaces with no trees or anything else blocking out the sun.

Could we change the thread to "Green City Initiatives in Ottawa-Gatineau" to have a broader discussion? I wish we could edit the name of threads we created ourselves. I feel bad asking for name changes all the time.

I'd second this.

For example, I recently found out that Ottawa has a commitment to 15 minute neighbourhoods in the Official Plan:

https://engage.ottawa.ca/the-new-off...%20to%20school.

Yet, they approved more sprawl. And transit and zoning decisions don't necessarily seem to be lining up with that goal.

Green Policies within Government Operations

We often talk about the obvious green initiatives like transit lines, electrified transit fleets, active transportation, planting trees and 15 minute neighborhoods. But what about everyday government operations? Hundreds pf thousands, possibly millions, of public servants commuting to their office jobs. The office towers themselves. The vehicle fleet of public service like Parks Canada, the NCC, the Police, Bylaw... This thread is dedicated to policies within Government Operations on all levels (Feds, Province, Municipal). What are the Government bodies doing to reduce greenhouse emissions within the public service. The things that may not be obvious to the average person but might be doing a major difference to Canada's overall environmental impact.

Here's a bit on the Federal Government's plan.

Quote:

Feds to keep more bureaucrats at home, overhaul property portfolio to get to 'net zero' emissions

By 2030, 80 per cent of all vehicles used by the federal government must be either hybrid or electric

John Paul Tasker · CBC News · Posted: Nov 26, 2020 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: November 26

Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos will today release the federal government's plan to drive down greenhouse gas emissions within the federal bureaucracy itself, with the goal of achieving "net zero" by 2050 through a radical restructuring of the government's property and vehicle portfolio.

The Liberal government's "greening government strategy" sets new, more ambitious targets to drive down the emissions produced by government operations through a "climate-resilient" approach to the public service and its activities, according to a draft of the plan seen by CBC News.

The plan follows on the government's pledge last week to implement national, binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next 30 years.

The multi-pronged approach includes retrofitting buildings, procuring more electric vehicles and staffing adjustments that will give public servants greater flexibility in deciding how and when they go into the office.

Duclos said the government is in talks with public sector unions now about how to make pandemic-related telecommuting a more permanent feature in the working lives of public servants after the COVID-19 crisis is over.

While more employees will be physically present when the pandemic subsides, remote work will become more common than it was before, Duclos said.

"Obviously, no one wanted a pandemic, we all want the pandemic to be over. That being said ... once we get through it there will be lessons learned and that will include lessons on how to improve the productivity of public servants," he told CBC News, adding there will be new "work arrangements" for some bureaucrats.

Federal vehicle fleet to be 80% hybrid or electric by 2030

The government is also proposing greater flexibility in start times for workers so that more public servants can avoid rush hour traffic.

Duclos said cutting the amount of time tens of thousands of federal workers spend in idling cars will result in lower emissions. The government also will look to make carpooling a more viable option for workers.

Under the new plan, the government will begin replacing its massive fleet of vehicles with more fuel-efficient options.

The government owns 20,000 cars and trucks. The new green plan stipulates that, by 2030, 80 per cent of all the vehicles used by the federal government must be either hybrid or entirely electric (EV).

And in what amounts to a first for any government anywhere, the green plan will impose the same standards on cars used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) — with some notable exceptions for tactical vehicles and tanks that don't yet have electric equivalents.

Duclos said tanks, fighter jets and ships will be exempt, but cars used on military bases or by Mounties on patrol will need to be hybrid or electric.

For other modes of transportation in the federal fleet which still lack an electric option — such as planes and ships — the government says it will opt for cleaner fuels to reduce the amount of emissions produced.

Duclos said the push to reconstitute the federal fleet of vehicles with electrics will create a ready-made market for car manufacturers; Ford already promised last month to retool its Oakville, Ont. plant to make electric cars. The widespread adoption of EVs by Ottawa, he added, could eventually drive down the cost of those vehicles for Canadians.

"It reduces the cost of access. Investments through procurements and the purchase of zero-emission cars — that generates new markets and supports the development of new technologies," Duclos said.

Starting immediately, Duclos is also mandating that every new building built by or for the federal government be carbon neutral.

Similar standards will apply to buildings that the government leases from private landlords, and 75 per cent of all buildings leased by the federal government will have to be carbon neutral. The government will also pursue energy efficient retrofits to existing buildings.

Duclos said he couldn't state just how much this plan would cost taxpayers. A spokesperson for the minister said those details will be tabled by the finance minister at a later date. While a price tag hasn't been publicly released, Duclos said the federal government might actually book some savings through lower fuel and electric bills.

Ottawa to consider dimming the lights

In downtown Ottawa, where tens of thousands of public servants normally work in buildings scattered throughout the city core, lights burn at all hours in government offices even when there isn't anyone in them.

Even with a great many public servants working from home due to the pandemic, the lights are still on in many of those offices, with few actually working at a desk.

"There is indeed a lot of waste to be reduced in the use of buildings," Duclos said. "I'm now sitting in my office and I do see lights on in a lot of government buildings ... clearly they could be turned off without any significant impact on the quality of the workplace."

Duclos said the government already has made some progress toward the goal of net zero in thirty years' time. The government's overall emissions in 2020 are projected to be 34 per cent lower than they were in 2005.

"We are seeing the right slope," he said. "We're confident we can achieve this. We're leading by example. The government of Canada needs to do its part to support a cleaner environment, a cleaner economy."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/fed...PyA6LYSZZ8w_Ps

Kate Porter
@KatePorterCBC

#OttCity environment committee meets. Up first, the "Rain Ready" pilot project to encourage home owners to deal with runoff on their own properties.

Homes in Westboro/Pinecrest area will be able to tap into $ incentives, but idea is to make it citywide eventually. #ottnews

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EuWwGZGW...jpg&name=small

To start, the areas in light grey will be eligible for free home consultations about dealing with rain runoff. Areas in dark grey also eligible for the #ottcity financial incentives for rain gardens, permeable pavement, etc. #ottnews

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EuWxwt1X...jpg&name=small

Feb 16, 2021

https://twitter.com/KatePorterCBC/st...88587553669120

City grant to help homeowners reduce runoff
Left unchecked, stormwater can cause erosion, flooding, beach closures

Kate Porter · CBC News
Posted: Feb 16, 2021 4:38 PM ET | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

The City of Ottawa will launch a pilot program this spring to help homeowners capture more stormwater on their own properties, diverting runoff from city sewers and helping keep gardens green.

Homeowners in neighbourhoods inside the Greenbelt, as well as some parts of Orléans, will be able to apply for a free professional consultations that will give them ideas for retrofits.

Financial incentives of up to $5,000 will also be available to help some homeowners cover the cost of installing permeable driveways, rain gardens or "soakaway pits" where water can be absorbed, as well as redirecting downspouts.

The grants will be available to those in the Westboro and Pinecrest Creek areas, as well as homes near waterways in the east end including Green's and Bilberry creeks, the focus of studies in 2011 and 2019.

Those studies looked at the poor water quality in creeks, erosion, flooding and beach closures that occurred downstream from older neighbourhoods that weren't built with stormwater ponds, now commonplace in newer subdivisions.

"Encouraging homeowners to manage runoff on their properties offers the most cost-effective opportunity for stormwater management," Julia Robinson told the city's standing committee on environmental protection, water and waste management on Tuesday.

City staff acknowledged it can be hard to motivate residents to retrofit their properties for environmental reasons without incentives, so they analyzed 75 similar projects in North America for ideas.

Ottawa's stormwater pilot project is to last two years, during which time city staff expect their total budget of $750,000 to finance 125 projects. They plan to report back in the fall of 2023 with ideas on how to keep the program going long-term.

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5915640.161349848...ater-pilot.jpg

In the meantime, staff say even those areas that aren't eligible for the grants could see some benefit, thanks to a public awareness campaign that could help more DIY-inclined homeowners retrofit their own yards.

The city will also subsidize a training program offered by Landscape Ontario to train local landscapers to incorporate stormwater mitigation into their designs.

"Love it, love it, love it," said Coun. Keith Egli, whose Knoxdale-Merivale ward residents will be eligible for the retrofit grants. "I think this is a great program. If we have to kind of sugar-coat it and call it landscaping as opposed to good environmental stewardship, if it works, it works."

The pilot project goes to city council for approval on Feb. 24.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ilot-1.5915528

There's a housing crisis. We need to tackle it. I get that. But we also have a climate crisis, and it seems the Provincial Government has no interest in that that one. The City also seems to have limited interest.

To return on topic, last week's rain storm, amongst so many other natural disasters in recent years, shows us how our cities need to be better designed for climate resiliency, and the first thing should be banning asphalt parking lots of more than a certain surface area. Green roofs of course, bioswales. Allow alternatives to grass (we've seen some movement on that front).

While we're on the subject of trees (Federal Heating Plant thread)

Quote:

8 Ottawa neighbourhoods urgently need more trees. Here's where they are

More than half the city's wards lost tree canopy coverage over 5 years

Gabrielle Huston · CBC News · Posted: Sep 07, 2025

Ottawa's first ever "tree equity analysis" has identified eight neighbourhoods where more greenery is urgently needed, and one councillor whose ward's been flagged says it will help focus the city's tree-planting efforts.

"I'm very happy that we will be addressing those areas," said Alta Vista. Coun. Marty Carr, the vice-chair of the city's environment and climate change committee.

"I think there's a couple of opportunities on the horizon with new developments in some of those areas where we can more thoughtfully plan for trees, and encourage the community to plant as well."

Tree equity is the concept that all the neighbourhoods in a city should have equal access to trees.

But many Canadian neighbourhoods with lower incomes and a higher proportion of racialized residents have fewer trees than their wealthier counterparts, according to research by Nature Canada.

Ottawa is no exception.

The 2017 tree canopy assessment found that every $10,000 drop in neighbourhood median income correlated with a four per cent decline in tree cover, according to last week's memo to council from climate change and resiliency services director Nichole Hoover-Bienasz and parks maintenance and forestry services director Andrea Lanthier-Seymour.

Meanwhile, the benefits of tree cover include cooler temperatures and improved health outcomes.

Through the tree equity analysis, each neighbourhood was assigned a number between 0 and 100 that's calculated by comparing the tree canopy cover to demographic, health and socioeconomic data about its residents.

A low score shows there aren't enough trees to meet residents' needs.

https://i.cbc.ca/1.7627114.175717278...=Resize%3D1180

https://i.cbc.ca/1.7627112.175717265...=Resize%3D1180

Priority and action neighbourhoods

Council directed staff to take on the analysis so the most inequitable neighbourhoods could be identified and supported, according to the memo.

The eight "priority" neighbourhoods are spread out across the city, with Somerset and Alta Vista ward each hosting two, according to last week's memo. Of those eight, four are "short-term action areas," meaning staff plan to start tree planting in 2026 and 2027.

Carr said she wasn't surprised that two of the short-term action areas fell in her ward.

"Neither area has had any sort of consistent effort of having any sort of tree coverage whatsoever," she said, noting that one includes a lot of industrial space where landscaping isn't top of mind.

While there are many groups planting trees in Alta Vista, Carr said that work doesn't usually happen in those two communities, which rank low on the neighbourhood equity index.

"We don't have a lot of community associations because the folks in those neighbourhoods have other other things to worry about," she said.

"That's why the tree equity report is so important, because not every community can focus on this."

Overall canopy coverage

City staff will now work with the local councillors, community groups, social services and residents in the eight priority areas so that trees go where they are "most wanted and needed," the memo explained.

That neighbourhood-level work is critical, said Paul Johanis, chair of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital.

"It's really access or proximity to the trees very locally that provides direct benefits, health benefits," he said. "So understanding and measuring what's happening at that level is equally as important."

Johanis noted that the citywide goal is 40 per cent tree canopy cover, but many wards fall well below that threshold, based on the canopy coverage report released alongside the tree equity analysis.

That report began in 2017 when Ottawa's urban forest management plan was adopted. Based on the latest findings, Johanis and Carr acknowledged the city is lagging on reaching its goals.

"We did get a couple of years behind in the city, certainly. Because [of] the amount of trees that were lost [in the derecho], staff had to focus on that," Carr said, referring to the devastating storm that tore through the city in 2022.

"And if these reports were delayed a little bit because of that, the work that needed to be done on tree canopy coverage and tree equity was delayed. So we're seeing that work now."

As of 2022, the citywide canopy cover in Ottawa "remains stable" at 36 per cent, according to the report.

In urban Ottawa, canopy cover declined between 2017 and 2022 from 21.5 per cent to 20.6 per cent, though the report notes that drop "may be within the margin of error."

Losses were substantial in parts of the city where land was being cleared for construction and infill development, Hoover-Bienasz and Lanthier-Seymour wrote.

The reason the urban tree canopy cover did not decrease more is because of reforestation efforts and the existing trees growing bigger, they said.

In rural Ottawa, canopy cover rose over the same period from 36 per cent to 39 per cent, according to the report.

"This is a positive outcome given the significant challenges over this period, including the impacts of the 2022 derecho and other major storm events [like the 2018 tornadoes], ongoing climate-related stressors, and increasing development pressure from intensification to meet Ottawa's housing and growth targets," it said.

City staff will present their findings from both reports to the environment and climate change committee on Sept. 16.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...-are-1.5566837

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but old tree lined neighbourhoods should be preserved. Modest houses built of sustainable materials for dirt cheap 60+ years ago have a role to play. I know the argument that they were not dense, but although they had larger lots, many of those areas had pockets of density, condos, apartments, even high-rises in the corners. Preserving existing buildings and existing trees is the best environmental policy.

The main drags and secondary streets can take the new density, along with large Federal office campuses, big box stores, malls and parking lots. We're not running out of space. We are running out of trees.

Whatever happened to Sutcliffe's promise of planting a million trees?