New 'city council' to spread the green word, Ecology group wants 'bottom-up approach'

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Michelle Nash

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Hugh, left, and Jo-Ann Robertson will be working with Ecology Ottawa on building an shadow city council to voice Ottawa-area residents' concerns regarding the environment and what Ottawa's city council can do to maintain a green future.

Michelle Nash, Metroland

Hugh, left, and Jo-Ann Robertson will be working with Ecology Ottawa on building an shadow city council to voice Ottawa-area residents' concerns regarding the environment and what Ottawa's city council can do to maintain a green future.

EMC news - A new community-driven shadow city council is being created to ensure Ottawa residents can voice their concerns about the environment to their municipal government.

The initiative, brought forward by Ecology Ottawa, was organized and created through existing members. The concept is to have a committee which stands as an alternative city council on the environment.

Janice Ashworth, community organizer for Ecology Ottawa said the shadow council will be made up of 12 to 15 Ottawa residents who will consolidate and advocate environmental issues.

"The role that Ecology Ottawa is trying to fill is creating a citywide voice for the environment," Ashworth said. "We are trying to build a community council and try to co-ordinate for the environment, looking for leaders in various areas across Ottawa."

There are 90 neighbourhoods identified inside the city limits by Ecology Ottawa Ashworth said.

The goal is to have every neighbourhood represented and involved in the shadow council, but the council will move forward now, even if some neighbourhoods aren't in the mix yet.

"Ecology Ottawa has been working with groups in Barrhaven, Orleans and Kanata and we are hoping they will feed into this new structure, but that is all still to be determined," Ashworth said.

Some community associations in Ottawa already have their own environmental committee, but this new initiative is not trying to steal any of these already existing advocates to the community, but to find new ones who can speak on a grander scale, Ashworth said.

Hugh and Jo-Ann Robertson of Cardinal Glen in the east end are two members who will be working with the council. The Robertsons said they feel action is better than reaction when it comes to working towards a cleaner, greener future.

"Once you pass the critical point of climate crisis, you can't go back," Hugh said. "Legislation, incentives, punitive persuasion all take time for people to agree with and in some cases are not working at all, in which case you have to rely on the bottom-up approach."

Ashworth said the group will get together and decide on a series of campaigns: public transportation and light rail transit, the Ottawa River action plan and renewable energy.

"The main focus will be on Ottawa's city council and what they can do to help environment," she added. "We want to make sure city council feels there is a voice for their environment in their constituency and we are hopping to increase the strength of the voice so city council knows how important the issues are."

Ecology Ottawa is a volunteer driven organization and Ashworth noted initiatives like this are what drive the group forward.

Visit www.ecologyottawa.ca for more information regarding the council or how to become involved.