Latest news with #FederationofCanadianMunicipalities
CTV News
5 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Hundreds of trees to be planted in Assiniboine Park with new funding
The Assiniboine Park Conservancy is getting a boost from the federal government to plant more trees in the park. The Assiniboine Park Conservancy is getting a boost from the federal government to plant more trees in the park. Hundreds of trees are coming to Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park with the help of some new money. On Tuesday, the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities announced joint funding of nearly $17 million to plant over 77,000 new trees around the country. The money will go towards 27 projects, including $150,000 to Assiniboine Park Conservancy, which will use the funds to plant 600 trees in Assiniboine Park. According to the government, the new trees will improve Assiniboine Park's biodiversity and forest health, while addressing the loss of trees from Dutch elm disease. It will also help the city achieve its target for tree canopy coverage. Gerald Dieleman, senior director of horticulture, said the news is exciting for the team at Assiniboine Park Conservancy. 'It's a goal here to increase our tree coverage across the park, and this funding helps support that,' he said. Dieleman said the conservancy plans to plant tree species that will thrive over the next 25 years, including mountain ash, Manitoba maples, lindens, and hackberries. He added the planting will take place over the next three years. 'Losing trees to Dutch elm disease, elm trees in particular, is a large concern because elms are the dominant species across the city and in the park too,' he said. 'These replacement trees are different species, and that's one of the goals of this program—to diversify the plantings across the park and the zoo, which is what we are doing here.' The government money will also be used to plant more than 19,000 trees in Kitchener, Ont.; 1,200 trees in Charlottetown, PEI; and 3,750 in Ottawa.
Cision Canada
6 days ago
- Health
- Cision Canada
Government of Canada and FCM Invest $16.9 million to Grow Greener Communities and Enhance Wellbeing with Tree Planting Projects Français
OTTAWA, ON, /CNW/ - Tree canopy coverage plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality of life in urban and rural environments. Healthy canopies offer a wide range of benefits to communities, including reduced risks of flooding and erosion, decreased heat island effects, improved air quality, increased biodiversity and enhanced mental and physical health. Today, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Rebecca Bligh, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), announced an investment of $16,886,020 to support communities in planting 77,000 new trees. The 27 projects receiving funding will result in 77,519 new trees planted in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, restoring or increasing canopy in rural and urban areas, enhancing recreational spaces, improving habitat connectivity, providing health benefits to residents and creating tree maintenance jobs. The funded projects will plant trees on streets and boulevards, in parks and recreational spaces, on private and institutional land, in residential areas and for ecological restoration and connectivity. Notable projects include: The City of Kitchener, ON, will plant 19,207 trees to enhance park spaces, expand naturalized areas and create habitat for wildlife and pollinators, while replacing trees that were lost to Emerald Ash Borer infestations. The project focuses on planting trees in areas with low canopy cover to reduce heat island effects and to ensure an equitable distribution of environmental benefits to all community members. The innovative tool the City developed to help prioritize tree planting in underserved areas was recognized with a Smart 20 Award from Smart Cities Connect. Assiniboine Park Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization working in partnership with City of Winnipeg, MB, will plant 600 trees in Assiniboine Park. The initiative aims to enrich the biodiversity, forest health and ecosystem services of the area, while addressing the loss of trees due to Dutch Elm disease and helping achieve 42% canopy coverage by 2065. The City of Charlottetown, PEI, in partnership with local watershed groups, will plant 1,200 trees and shrubs in 4 parks across the city. In the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in 2022, the city lost an estimated 12,600 mature trees, dropping the canopy cover rate from 20.9% to 17.6%. The project is a key part of the city's efforts to restore canopy cover levels by 2034. The City of Ottawa, ON, working in partnership with EnviroCentre, a not-for-profit organization, will plant 3,750 trees on private residential lands. As approximately 40% of Ottawa's urban area is private property, planting on residential lands is an important opportunity to expand canopy cover and provide benefits to residents, like cleaning the air and reducing the impact of heat waves. Funding for these projects is being provided by the Government of Canada's 2 Billion Trees Program and delivered through FCM's Growing Canada's Community Canopies (GCCC) initiative. Announced in May 2024, GCCC will support the planting of at least 1.2 million new trees across Canada by the end of March 2031 while offering funding, resources and coaching to communities. Communities looking to expand their tree canopies can apply for funding until September 18, 2025. Tree planting funding will accept applications until September 18, 2025, for the 2026 planting season to support communities in expanding their canopies. For more information about funded projects, please see the backgrounder. "Trees are a powerful tool in building stronger, more-resilient communities. This project is a great example of local leadership driving national progress which will deliver meaningful benefits for Canadians and our environment. Through the 2 Billion Trees program, we are proud to partner with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to grow greener, healthier and more-resilient neighbourhoods across the country for generations to come." — The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources "This government is committed to protecting and restoring nature like never before. Planting trees is one of the most effective ways to fight climate change, improve air and water quality, protect biodiversity, create good jobs, and bring nature closer to Canadians. The thousands of trees being planted in communities across the country will provide health and ecological benefits for generations to come." — The Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment and Climate Change "Trees are an essential part of the fabric of our communities, and the projects funded through GMF's Growing Canada's Community Canopies initiative will build greener and healthier spaces for all Canadians. Restoring and expanding tree canopies in communities through new tree planting efforts will protect and restore vital ecosystems and create local jobs while providing tangible health benefits to residents. Investing in our canopies today is an investment in the quality of life for generations to come." — Rebecca Bligh, FCM President About FCM's Green Municipal Fund FCM's Green Municipal Fund (GMF) is a globally unique organization providing funding and education to municipalities to help them both reach net-zero and build resilient communities, while also delivering economic and social benefits such as jobs, housing and infrastructure. Since inception in 2000, it has helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.9 million tonnes, funded more than 13,000 person-years of employment, enabled nearly 30,000 sustainable affordable housing units, and contributed $1.24 billion to the national GDP via the more than 2,336 approved projects. GMF manages approximately $2.4 billion in programs funded by the Government of Canada. Quick facts GMF's Growing Canada's Community Canopies (GCCC) is a $291M initiative, ending in 2031, that supports planting new trees across the country. GCCC funds planting the right type of trees in the right places so that communities across Canada can grow, manage and protect their tree canopies. The initiative is designed with smaller, rural, and remote communities in mind to encourage local climate action while enhancing tree survivability rates, fostering equitable access to trees across communities. Trees offer vital ecosystem services to communities as they provide carbon sequestration, stormwater management, cooling and air filtration. For example, the annual value of ecosystem services by the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario is estimated at $331 million. Investing in green infrastructure delivers substantial returns. According to TD Economics, for every dollar spent on annual maintenance, Toronto's urban forest returns anywhere from $1.35 – $3.20 worth of benefits and cost savings each year. TD Economics (2014, June 9). Trees improve public health by reducing stress and air pollution. For example, PaRX is a nature prescription program that emphasizes nature as a tool for improving mental and physical health. Through a partnership with Tree Canada, urban forestry experts provide personalized support to tree planting funding applicants in the application and implementation phases of projects, bridging the urban forestry knowledge gap many communities face. The guidance from urban forestry coaches helps ensure high tree survivability rates and maximize the environmental and social impacts of planting projects. GCCC has produced an evolving suite of knowledge and training resources designed to enhance urban forestry expertise in Canadian communities. Resources cover topics from selecting the right species and planting site to putting equity at the centre of tree planting projects. Associated links Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund Growing Canada's Community Canopies GCCC Tree planting funding GCCC Urban forestry coaching Government of Canada 2 Billion Trees Commitment Government of Canada 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan Tree Canada SOURCE Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
Ottawa Citizen
11-07-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Dreessen: Can the city spend smarter on its 'social' infrastructure?
Recently, news broke about the City of Ottawa's $10.8-billion infrastructure gap. This gap is not a surprise. Nor is it a complete picture of the gaps in our funding. Article content The dollar figures presented are eye-watering, to be sure. But they also only reflect things we rarely see until they break. Pipes for water, sewers and stormwater are critical services our city needs. They are concealed, out of sight, beneath roads and rarely do we get a glimpse of their existence unless there is some catastrophic failure, opening up a sinkhole in the middle of our commute. Article content Article content Article content But that is only part of the picture. Article content Ottawa also has $3.8 billion worth of community centres, parks, arenas and cultural facilities; most are 40 years old or more and half of them are in fair to very poor condition. These facilities are essential parts of our city, just like pipes and paving, and are critical to creating a vibrant social community. Article content Then there are library facilities worth some $213 million, more than half of which are in fair to poor condition. Article content Together, this social infrastructure is worth billions and needs critical investment. If we don't invest, we'll have thrown away the value of past generational investment and deprived current and future generations of the places that make a city livable. Article content Prudent planning, the responsibility of every property owner, is to know the age and lifespan of the assets you own and budget accordingly. While Asset Management Plans have been prepared, our city council hasn't made the necessary difficult decisions. Article content Article content These are the direct legacy of decades of underfunding essential maintenance and repairs. They are also impossible to meet when politicians target tax increases of no more than 2 to 2.5 per cent annually and continue to waste money on inefficiencies. Article content Article content The cost of this infrastructure renewal is not covered by development charges. Meanwhile, user fees should be discouraged as they can create an inequitable barrier to the public, which has paid for these facilities and services through their taxes. To meet the funding gap, we need to raise tax revenue or take on additional debt. Article content The City of Ottawa is an ardent supporter of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Coun. Tim Tierney is the current first vice-president and Coun. Laura Dudas is on the board of directors. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe spoke at the FCM conference here in Ottawa in May. There is a strong connection between the FCM and senior leaders in the city.
National Observer
18-06-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
A US climate conspiracy has spread to Canada — and local politicians haven't been warned
In a crowded room in Ottawa in April 2024, a woman stands in front of a screen displaying a bill from Tennessee. 'This is what we're aiming for,' she says, pointing at the text. 'We have their original resolution … and now we're making a Canadian version.' The Tennessee bill is uncompromising: it bans any city, municipality or school district from implementing climate policies traceable to the United Nations' Agenda 21, Agenda 2030 or net-zero goals if they in any way impact private property rights. A man in the crowd calls out that the UN is creating a 'one-world government' under its 'total control.' The woman onstage, Maggie Hope Braun, agrees and begins promoting the toolkits of Tom DeWeese, a US Tea Party influencer who claims that climate change is a hoax designed to usher in global socialism. Five months later, in September 2024, Maggie Hope Braun stood in front of the Peterborough County Council in Ontario and gave a far more polished speech. This time was different: she didn't mention Tennessee, provincial bans, a UN-takeover or a one-world government. Instead, she focused on fiscal responsibility, recommending that Peterborough County leave Canada's flagship local net-zero program. Mayor Carolyn Amyotte of North Kawartha was in the chamber that day. She said that Braun sounded 'reasonable, credible, legitimate and totally evidence-based. There's a lot of people I think that could be susceptible to it.' It wasn't until Amyotte came across Canada's National Observer's investigation into Braun's group KICLEI in May 2025 that she realized the full scope of what she had witnessed. Multiple councillors have told Canada's National Observer that they did not receive warnings from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities about KICLEI's misinformation campaign, even though it knew politicians were being exposed. Our investigation found that KICLEI – named to mimic the sustainability network ICLEI – is using an AI chatbot to turn climate misinformation into reasonable-sounding and convincing speeches, reports and letters to target 8,000-plus elected officials across Canada. The goal is to get municipalities to abandon net-zero policies. Three scientists at NASA, the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research, and University of Melbourne told us Braun's group KICLEI misrepresented their research. On June 4, Amyotte introduced a motion to share Canada's National Observer's investigation with all elected officials in Peterborough County. But there are signs that her warnings are not reaching everyone. As this Tea Party-inspired misinformation campaign continues, the institutions responsible for the targeted net-zero program appear to be avoiding giving it oxygen. Multiple councillors told Canada's National Observer that they did not receive warnings from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities about KICLEI, even though our reporting has found it knew that politicians across the country were being exposed to its misinformation. They still are. Last Monday, Patrick Wilson, a councillor in the town of Cochrane, Alberta, introduced a motion to leave a national climate initiative, which will be voted upon on June 23. He quoted extensively from KICLEI's website, saying that it expresses concerns 'much better and more eloquently than I could.' 'Make it so they don't know which side it's coming from' KICLEI was created in 2023 by Braun, an erstwhile Freedom Convoy activist, with the aim of convincing municipalities across Canada, like Cochrane and Peterborough, to leave a voluntary net-zero framework called Partners for Climate Protection. The framework was developed by ICLEI Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to help municipalities transition to net-zero (through a process covering emissions inventories, target-setting, action planning, implementation, and monitoring), based on international climate agreements, including the UN's Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. But those UN ties got the conspiracy gears turning, just as they did 15 years ago in the US. Dozens of US cities left ICLEI around 2010 due to a Tea Party backlash against the UN's Agenda 21, which they saw as threatening property rights. Campaigns in small rural municipalities eventually snowballed into state-level legislation. KICLEI is explicitly trying to replicate the Tea Party's American blueprint in Canada. In a YouTube video recorded in Ottawa in April 2024, Braun displays Tennessee's bill banning UN-linked climate policies and announces plans to 'do what they've done here.' 'They're tapping into conspiracist sentiments, which have been long-held beliefs in far-right circles in the US,' said Wes Regan, a researcher at the University of British Columbia investigating how conspiracies impact municipal planning. But they face an uphill battle. In its 2010 heyday, the movement failed to spread to Canada, which Regan suspects is because Canadian audiences are more moderate and less receptive to US Tea Party terms like 'climate hoax,' 'UN takeover' or 'one-world-government.' The movement has adapted. At a bustling information session in Pembroke, Ontario, Braun advised supporters to 'remove every triggering word — make it so they don't know which side it's coming from.' This tactic is streamlined by KICLEI's AI chatbot, which uses language like 'local consultation' and 'environmental stewardship' over overt ideological signals. Regan is troubled by this shift toward outward moderation while the underlying ideology hasn't changed. 'They're taking the right-wing conspiracist, anti-globalist playbook and using language that's friendly, positive and empathetic,' he said. Braun disagrees. 'There's nothing deceptive about using language that connects,' she told Canada's National Observe r in her written response to questions. For her, avoiding terms like 'Agenda 21' is simply good communication. She denied importing US laws. Braun published a blog post with detailed answers but refused to give an interview with Canada's National Observer. 'I actually thought they were an environmental group' To find out whether elected officials are falling for KICLEI's campaign, we attended the annual conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) – a body that represents over 2,000 councils across Canada. FCM organizes many environmental programs, including the Green Municipal Fund and the PCP program, which has been targeted by KICLEI. Canada's National Observer sent its findings by email to FCM three weeks before the conference, which started May 29. That afternoon, FCM hosted a workshop on misinformation, attended by hundreds of elected officials. Multiple councillors told Canada's National Observer that AI was mentioned only in passing and KICLEI's misinformation was not addressed. Councillor Mara Nagy from Pickering, Ont. said that she expressed concerns about KICLEI during the workshop because her colleague had fallen for it. The panel did not directly answer that part of her question. 'I would've liked for KICLEI to be addressed head-on,' said Nagy. She explained that the confusion is causing frustration among elected officials. 'I've not heard from FCM since,' she added. This silence was 'out of respect' for ICLEI, according to Ewa Jackson, managing director of ICLEI Canada. Jackson explained that they try not to amplify KICLEI's misinformation, instead providing support to municipalities who reach out with concerns. ICLEI has known about the campaign for almost two years – they stated that they have warned members and that it was raised by elected officials during a recent Sustainable Communities Conference. Jackson accepts that the campaign has caused confusion. When she introduced herself to elected officials in the misinformation workshop, she was mistaken for a representative of KICLEI. Another attendee of the workshop was James Leduc, mayor of Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ont., who started receiving KICLEI's correspondence after the town adopted its climate plan in November. 'I actually thought they were an environmental group,' he said. According to Chris Russill, an expert in climate communication at Carleton University, this confusion provides 'opportunities' to shape the opinions of elected officials. Russill also warned that AI has caused an 'exacerbation' of long-standing democratic vulnerabilities, including the lack of resources for local governments to fact-check correspondence. Faced with this, elected officials like Leduc look towards institutions like FCM for guidance. 'We really need their support,' he said. In a written response to Canada's National Observer, FCM acknowledged that 'disinformation campaigns have caused frustration for some members' but said that they have only received a 'small number of inquiries' about KICLEI's campaign. FCM's annual conference now appears to be a missed opportunity to set the record straight. In attendance at the event were multiple elected officials from Cochrane, Alta. – the same town that will vote next Monday on whether to leave the PCP program. During a press conference at the event, FCM President Rebecca Bligh said that FCM is 'alive to the issue' and that fighting AI-generated misinformation is an opportunity to partner with the federal government, which launched a new ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation in May 2025. But for now, it appears that councillors like Amyotte and Nagy are left scrambling to warn their colleagues before more municipalities abandon their net-zero commitments to carefully crafted conspiracy theories.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
/R E P E A T -- MEDIA ADVISORY - Canada's Labour, Business, and Municipal Leaders Respond to Trump's Tariff Hike/
OTTAWA, ON, June 3, 2025 /CNW/ - On Wednesday, June 4, three of Canada's foremost national leaders representing workers, businesses, and municipalities, will hold a joint press conference in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to double tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel. This reckless escalation is a direct attack on Canadian workers, businesses, and local economies. The impact threatens to devastate Canada's steel and aluminum industries, shut Canadian producers out of the U.S. market, and jeopardize thousands of good, unionized jobs across the country. Bea Bruske (Canadian Labour Congress), Candace Laing (Canadian Chamber of Commerce), and Carole Saab (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) will outline the urgent need for a coordinated federal response to defend Canadian jobs, businesses, and communities. WHAT: Joint press conference on U.S. tariffs and their impact on Canada WHEN: Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET WHERE: Press Conference Room 135-B, West Block, Parliament Hill WHO: Bea Bruske, President, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)Candace Laing, President and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC)Carole Saab, CEO, Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) SOURCE Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) View original content to download multimedia: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
