No more trees, electric cars or single-use plastics: Mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe unveils environmental plan

Mark Sutcliffe says Ottawa hopes if elected mayor says it can. More places to charge electric cars and e-bikes, he expects a million trees to be planted by the end of his term, and technology rather than new landfills or expansion of existing landfills. It's about looking at solutions that convert waste into energy.

The mayoral candidate's environmental platform includes 26 more pledges, and Sutcliffe said ahead of Wednesday's release that the key principle behind them is "climate change." "Stop talking about it and start doing something about it."

"People I've spoken to in the community are tired of all the talk about climate change and want leadership and leadership that leads to results."

This is the first in a series of issue-based platform releases from broadcaster and entrepreneur Sutcliffe, who ran for mayor in late June. Ultimately, he said, the full platform will be complete, along with the associated financial and tax plans.

Mr. Sutcliffe said that conversations with Hydro Ottawa had given him a lot of promise and that he was told the goals were achievable. On a cost-recovery basis he installed 200 electric vehicles and he installed charging stations for 100 e-bikes in city buildings.

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Explore the feasibility of achieving fully electric or hybrid by 2030, constructing new city buildings to a net-zero standard, and installing district heating and cooling in city halls and district courts. , and other levels of government, began to stop buying single-use plastics soon after he took office. 

On plans to plant one million trees — 250,000 per year over the period — Sutcliffe says it's a "very ambitious goal" Admitted that it is necessary. “We need to be bold and ambitious because we want cleaner, greener cities and that is what people expect.”

As to what will happen, he said: It will require a lot of cooperation. We bring together the best people from across our community. There are several organizations doing some work in this area, and we intend to make it happen.

The future of Ottawa's trail road landfill is hotly debated at City Hall.is considering work on a new solid waste master plan. According to the 2021 Staff report, this waste was expected to reach capacity between 2036 and 2038. Mr. Sutcliffe said he had spoken with experts who believed it would be viable instead of a new or expanded landfill site,and said it was something that communities would like to see.

Sutcliffe made the city more affordable Some of his key promises are to address climate change and save the city money in the long run. The idea is that you can save money. This is a large scale version of the experience people encounter when investing in energy efficient appliances and home heating.

He also argued that all decisions at City Hall need to be viewed through a climate lens. 

"It starts at the top...so this is an ambitious plan," Sutcliffe said when asked how it would operate. "City officials, if I am elected, will know that I have been elected on the basis of aggressive and ambitious plans to address climate change. They voted for me and they voted for this platform, so they will know these are the priorities of the people of Ottawa.

There is an expectation that all these must be dealt with, and it is clear that decisions must be made in a different way."

Catherine McKennie and Bob Chiarelli,13 other most high-profile candidates Candidate mayoral electionsays it will argue for its own climate-related stance.

McKennie, who uses the pronouns they/them, said they would have a complete platform, including climate and transportation, in the coming weeks, but their plans included: "I It included more eco-friendly buildings and housing in our cities, increasing green space and tree canopy, ending costly urban sprawl, protecting agricultural land from development and making it more climate resilient. It will not only build, but “create a safe, walkable neighborhood with biking infrastructure and low-emission transportation throughout Ottawa.”

Chiarelli“will take center stage on the environment, climate change and transportation at the right time, but not yet," said a campaign spokesperson. 

Ottawan citizens hear mayoral candidates delve into these themes in a series of environmental mayoral debates set up by groups of local organizations such as thecommunity You are expected to have the opportunity. Association for Environmental Sustainability and Ecology in Ottawa. They would have met McKennie but missed Sutcliffe and Chiarelli at their first meeting on Tuesday night — the former had committed to a previously scheduled event, a campaign spokesperson said — but Sutcliffe is scheduled to attend the debates that follow, while Chiarelli is scheduled to participate in the debates on the August 30 and September 28 events.