On November 10, our office hosted a panel discussion about how Ottawa is preparing for changes due to climate change, population growth and other challenges.
We’ve been thinking a lot about climate change lately, with more and more extreme weather hitting our community: a derecho, ice storms, tornadoes, extreme heat, smoke from wildfires. These types of events have made many of us realize we need to think about how we prepare for the future. On top of this, like so many cities across Canada, our population is growing, and we are facing financial challenges.
We invited experts from the City of Ottawa and partner organizations to share with residents about how they are adapting, where they are seeing challenges, and how residents can take action.
Our panelists included:
- City of Ottawa: Julia Robinson (Program Manager, Climate Adaptation), Hiran Sandanayake (Manager, Water Resource Planning and Engineering), Beth Gooding (Director Public Safety Service)
- Ottawa Hydro: Matthew Wilson (Manager, Policy and Government Relations)
- Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority: Sally McIntyre (Executive Director)
- EnviroCentre: Andrea Flowers (Director, Community Sustainability Programs)
Below you’ll find a video of the discussion, copies of their presentations, and important links:
Presentations
- City of Ottawa’s Climate Change Unit
- Hydro Ottawa
- Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority
- EnviroCentre
- City of Ottawa’s Emergency Management Team
Reference Links
Climate Change Unit
- Climate Resiliency Strategy
- Residential Protective Plumbing Program
- Compassionate Grants
- Rain Ready Ottawa
- Fusion Landscape Certified Professional
- Tree Planting programs
- Better Homes Loan Program
Hydro Ottawa
Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority
- Mississippi V Conservation Authority website
- Rideau Valley Conservation Authority website
- Find a Conservation Authority // Conservation Ontario
EnviroCentre
- Tiny Forests | EnviroCentre
- Plant Your Place | EnviroCentre
- Rain Ready Ottawa
- Fusion Landscape Professionals
- Energy Efficiency Grants, Rebates and Loans | EnviroCentre
- BetterHomesOttawa: Efficient Homes, Upgrades, Rebates
Emergency Preparedness
- Ottawa Alert (free notification tool)
- Emergency preparedness | City of Ottawa
Other links
- How our team responded to the derecho (a report from Councillor Glen Gower and his team)
