The number of severe storms and occurences of unusual weather in Canada and the United States is increasing, which is weakening municipal infrastructure such as sewage systems. Extreme weather events are making some areas more prone to chronic flooding and sewage backups because of more extreme storm events driven by climate change. This article in the Vancouver Sun warns that some municipalities should prepare to spend considerable amounts of money to upgrade vulnerable infrastructure.
Centre for Civic Governance
The Centre for Civic Governance works to support community leadership meeting today’s social and environmental challenges: climate change, Canada’s increasing equity gap, and shifting social trends. At the Centre for Civic Governance, our goal is to strengthen Canadian communities through sharing best practices, providing tools for locally elected leaders, and progressive policy analysis. We strive to provide knowledge and information to make real and positive social change.
Curbside Composing in Port Coquitlam
On July 14, 2008 Port Coquitlam launched its composting program.
Single-family homes are being asked to divert vegetable peels, coffee
grounds, and fresh fruit scraps from the garbage to their lawn
trimmings bin, to be collected at the curbside. The City is hoping to
reduce the amount of waste going to landfills by 16-26% per year, which
is part of Metro Vancouver’s plan to divert 70% of waste currently
going to dumps by 2015. Port Coquitlam’s composting program should
also lower waste disposal costs: hauling garbage costs $68/tonne while
kitchen and garden waste costs $50/tonne. Read an article about the recycling program or visit Port Coquitlam’s Kitchen Green Waste Collection Program website.
Ottawa Municipal Tax Reform?
City of Ottawa officials are anticipating a public backlash when new
property tax assessments are mailed out later this year. Increases in
property values, which had previously been frozen for the past three
years, has promped the city to begin an advertising campaign to alert
residents to the fact that the province controls the assessment system
and the city has little control. Ottawa is calling on the province to
overhaul the municipal tax system. This article in the Ottawa Citizen also points out that many U.S. states and almost all European countries have moved away from the property tax system.
International Local Government GHG Emissions Analysis Protocol
Since November 2007, ICLEI has been working with many organizations including the UN Environmental Program, the International Energy Agency, FCM and ICLE cities and stakeholders, to develop an easily implemented set of guidelines to assist local governments in quantifying GHG emissions from their internal operations and from their community as a whole.
The document consists of the general principles and philosophies that any local government, regardless of location, should adhere to when doing a GHG inventory. Release Version 1.0 of the Protocol is now available and ICLEI is welcoming any comments and feedback. Click here for more information about the Protocol and to download it.
Human Rights and Affordable Housing in Ontario
Report on the Consultation on Human Rights and Rental Housing in Ontario was released by the Ontario Human Rights Commission in
mid-June 2008. The report finds that all levels of government, as well as public and private sector landlors, discriminate against immigrants, refugees, single parents, the disabled, aboriginals, and the mentally ill. Such discriminating acts include advertising adult-only buildings or imposing credit checks, rent deposits, and minimum income requirements. The Report recommends that the federal government adopt a national housing strategy that would include measurable targets and sufficient funds to tackle homelessness. Also recommended is more rent supplements for poor families on the waiting list for public housing: the shelter allowance portion of welfare is only $544/month, whereas average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in Toronto is $1,052. Read an article about the report in the Toronto Star, or read the full report here.
Slower Economic Growth for Canada’s Small & Mid-Sized Cities
The Conference Board of Canada has released its Summer 2008 Metropolitan Outlook, a ranking of the economies of small and mid-sized census metropolitan areas (CMAs). The report finds that all small and mid-sized CMAs except Thunder Bay and Saguenay will experience slower growth this year. The cause for the economic slowdown is blamed on the high Canadian dollar, a sluggish US economy, layoffs and production cuts in the automotive sector, weaker service sector activity, and manufacturing and construction sector losses. Read the news release or download the report.
Langley Draft Water Management Plan
Due to rapid growth in Langley that is causing tremendous strain on aquifers, Langley has developed a draft water management plan that is currently going through a public consultation process.
The draft plan is the first comprehensive groundwater planning document in BC and aims at reducing water demand by 30% over the next decade. BC is the only province that does not regulate groundwater to prevent overuse and the data indicate that water level declines in Langley are indeed due to overuse, not lower precipitation levels. Read an article about the Langley initiative here.
Inspiration from Rocky Anderson
In 1999 Rocky Anderson was elected mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, the capital city of America’s most conservative state. Within 8 years he had instituted some of the western world’s most progressive policies on environmental sustainability, social inclusion and youth justice. In the process, he earned a World Leadership Award, exceeded Salt Lake City’s Kyoto targets by 150% (7 years ahead of Kyoto target dates), and co-chaired the Sundance Mayors Summit on Climate Protection with Robert Redford, to spread the word on how cities can lead the way to a better planet. Rocky is currently launching a new NGO called High Road for Human Rights.
Rocky in BC and Ontario
In 2008, the Columbia Institute was lucky enough to have Rocky speak at its annual governance forums in BC and in Ontario. The speech was described by audience members as “visionary and inspiring”, “impressive” and “fabulous”.
Click here for the video of Rocky Anderson’s keynote address, given at the Columbia Institute’s 2008 governance forum in BC (scroll down).
If you prefer an audio-only version, click here for Rocky’s keynote at the BC governance forum (5MB) and here for the speech from the Ontario forum (12MB).
Rocky Resources
Read a goosebump-inducing article detailing a speech Rocky gave to protest President Bush’s presence in Salt Lake City.
Toronto Cycling Union
The Toronto Cyclists’ Union, which started in May 2008 has hundreds of card carrying members. Modeled on AAA, the Union offers insurance, roadside assistance, cycling advocacy, and plans to even offer a dating service for $24 a year. Read more here.
London, Ontario to Ban Bottled Water in City Offices
City council in London, Ontario has voted in principle to stop selling bottled water in city offices, cafeterias, and parks, in an effort to try to reduce waste. A December 2007 report revealed that many plastic bottles are not being recycled and are contributing to landfill waste. The city will promote alternatives to bottled water such as water fountains and provide access to water pitchers and refillable bottles. Read the full story here.
Skytrain vs. Tram in Vancouver
A new study released by the UBC Design Centre for Sustainability shows that for the cost of a single subway line to UBC, an extensive tram system could be built instead. Read a story in the Tyee about the study or a CTV news article.
Architects’ Perspective on P3s
Last December, Moshe Safdie, the world-renowned architect made headlines when he resigned from the McGill University Health Centre hospital project. Safdie cited the government’s decision to move ahead with the project as a P3 as a main factor in his decision stating that in his experience P3s restrict innovation. This story gave us a glimpse into some of the problems that architects are facing in P3 projects. Now Brian Watkinson has written an interesting piece for Canadian Architect that expands on this story.
For locally elected officials concerned about P3s, this article reiterates what the critics of P3s have been saying all along. As Watkinson points out, transferring risk to the private sector is often unrealistic, and can threaten the integrity of the project, especially when the consortium takes on risks it can’t really manage. Additionally, the quality of the design suffers when P3s are used since architects are allowed little to no interaction with end users. Instead, user requirements are replaced with requirements of the P3 consortia for managing and maintaining the facilities. This article demonstrates a basic truth about P3s: they privilege profit over the needs of citizens and their right to quality public facilities.