Latest news with #ShawnMenard
CTV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
OC Transpo scrapping youth fares on Sept. 1: Here's how transit fares for youth compare across Canada
Ottawa youth will be paying the highest monthly transit fares in Canada this fall, as OC Transpo hits the brakes on offering discounted youth passes. The youth monthly pass for 11- to 19-year-olds will be scrapped at the end of August, as part of OC Transpo's plan to boost revenue to address a projected budget shortfall. As of Sept. 1, youth ages 11- to 19-year-olds will have to pay the adult monthly pass of $135 a month, instead of the current youth monthly pass cost of $104 a month. A look at transit fares across Canada shows transit riders ages 11 to 19 in Ottawa will be paying the highest transit fares for a month in Canada at $135 a month. The Toronto Transit Commission offers a monthly transit pass for 13- to 19-year-olds at $128.15 a month, while Brampton Transit offers a pass for $118 a month for 13–19-year-olds and a monthly pass of $84 a month for 6- to 12-year-olds. In Gatineau, the cost a monthly transit pass for 13- to 20-year-olds is $69 a month, while Kingston Transit offers a transit pass of $61.75 a month for 15- to 24-year-olds. Council approved the elimination of the youth pass as part of the 2025 budget. 'I voted against this,' Capital Coun. Shawn Menard said on X. 'This isn't 'fixing transit'. Instead of this, Ottawa should have a universal bus pass for youth 18 and under to build lifelong transit users.' Children ages 10 and under can still ride OC Transpo for free in Ottawa. In Ottawa, many students receive OC Transpo passes from the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority for travel to schools. A report for the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority shows the 2025-26 draft budget projected a $4.8 million increase in public transit costs due to the elimination of free transit for students 12 and under and scrapping the youth fare pass in September. The cost of youth transit fares across Canada
Ottawa Citizen
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
City of Ottawa four years behind in releasing greenhouse gas emissions reports
Article content In a July 29 email statement to the Ottawa Citizen, Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard, who is chair of the city's Environment and Climate Change committee, said he would also like to see the updates of the emissions figures and has been asking city staff to provide them. Article content 'I understand they went back to ensure consistency with how they collected the data and that these should be released soon,' Menard said. 'I have been steadfast in requesting this information.' Article content Coun. Marty Carr, who represents Alta Vista ward, said the reports would be tabled with the committee sometime this fall, ideally before budget discussions. She said the committee would be conducting a 'high-level overview' of advancements on climate change-related projects. Article content Carr, who is also vice-chair of the Environment and Climate Change committee, said the department responsible for climate change-related reports and initiatives had been reorganized after dealing with 'temporary resources.' Article content Article content Nichole Hoover-Bienasz, the city's director of Climate Change and Resiliency, said the delay in releasing updated greenhouse gas inventories since 2021 was due to a 'comprehensive third-party review of the 2020 data to ensure accuracy and alignment with best practices. Article content 'Dillon Consulting Ltd. was engaged to review the methodology and calculate the 2021 and 2022 inventories,' she said in a July 30 email. 'City staff are now finalizing the 2023 and 2024 inventories based on these recommendations.' Article content Hoover-Bienasz also said that Ottawa's community emissions had been trending back to pre-pandemic levels due to 'resumed in-person activities.' The 2020 emissions inventory report found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced emissions, with a 30-per-cent drop in gasoline use between 2019 and 2020. Article content 'The city continues to advance work to address emissions through the implementation of Climate Change Master Plan, including key priorities such as the Energy Evolution Strategy and Climate Resiliency Strategy,' she said. Article content Article content Carr said these reports would also be crucial for making budget and financial decisions from an 'environmental point of view. Article content 'That'll be really important for us to be able to measure to see what's actually happening because we obviously set a lot of targets that we've not been able to see if we've met at all,' Carr said. 'We know of steps that the city has been in different initiatives that they put forward, but we haven't been able to have staff see that, to be able to analyze the data and come to conclusions.
CBC
27-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Legal drinking coming to 7 Ottawa parks starting July 1
The City of Ottawa has put out its list of seven parks that are part of its legal drinking pilot project. People will generally be able to drink in designated areas of these parks from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., July 1 to Oct. 31: Brewer Park across Bronson Avenue from Carleton University. Lansdowne Park's Great Lawn east of the TD Place stadium. Minto Park off Elgin Street. McNabb Park at Gladstone and Bronson avenues. Queenswood Ridge Park near Tenth Line Road and St, Joseph Boulevard in Orléans. Riverain and Strathcona parks along the Rideau River near the Adàwe Crossing. The parks will have signs indicating that public drinking is permitted. Up to now, alcohol consumption has been banned in all city parks without a permit. But the provincial government changed regulations in 2019 to allow municipalities to designate public places where drinking is allowed. Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard asked city staff to consider implementing a pilot program in Ottawa, and earlier this year they came back with a report laying out the options. After a few tweaks at committee, the idea got unanimous support at council earlier this month.
CTV News
11-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ottawa city council throws support behind rural battery energy storage facility
Ottawa city council overturned a unanimous rejection of a municipal support resolution (MSR) for a controversial battery energy storage system (BESS) in the South March area. Last week, the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee voted unanimously to recommend council reject the support resolution for the Evolugen project on Marchurst Road following a marathon meeting that heard from dozens of public delegations opposed to building the project in that location. Issues such as the ability for emergency services to reach the site in the event of a fire, how to evacuate nearby residents, and concerns about possible contamination to the local water table were raised. On Wednesday, however, city councillors voted overwhelmingly in favour of granting the municipal support resolution, following a motion by Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry, seconded by Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard. Councillors voted 20 to 3 in favour of granting the municipal support resolution. The only councillors who voted against were Wilson Lo, David Brown, and Clarke Kelly. Coun. Tim Tierney was not present for the vote. The project was initially pitched for Fitzroy Harbour, but council denied its support. It was later moved 13 kilometres away to the South March area. Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) granted Evolugen, a Gatineau-based company, a contract to build the facility, but according to Curry's motion, the company must provide proof of municipal support to the IESO before Jan. 26, 2026, in order for the project to proceed. The motion notes that a municipal support resolution is 'not a planning approval, and if approved would not commit Council to any future land use decisions with respect to the facility.' Curry said the BESS project would make the city's grid greener and provide economic benefits to Ottawa. 'Energy is the new gold,' she said, noting that demands on the electrical grid will come from a variety of sources, including the expansion of LRT and the electrification of OC Transpo's bus fleet and of City of Ottawa vehicles. The motion also notes that the Province of Ontario, the IESO, and local hydro utilities 'have recognized and affirmed the critical role that battery energy storage systems will play in ensuring energy certainty and reliability as electricity demands in the Ottawa Region will continue to exponentially grow over the next twenty years.' West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly, in whose ward the facility would be built, said the voices of Ottawa's rural residents are being ignored. 'The community most impacted by this installation has reached out in overwhelming numbers to demonstrate they remain uncomfortable with what is being proposed and where it is being proposed,' he said. 'My community is not a bunch of NIMBYs or rural residents who are resistant to change. We understand that for a multitude of reasons, we must diversify our sources of energy and strengthen our grid with technologies such as battery energy storage.' Kelly said while residents had concerns about the proposal, they were not opposed to the facility itself. 'I will never accept that what has occurred here over the last two weeks was in any way appropriate or acceptable,' he said. 'When we talked at the first rural summit in 16 years about making sure that rural voices were heard, this is exactly what we were talking about. If West Carleton was its own municipality, this project would not get an MSR for this location.' As part of the process, council approved a direction to staff to ensure that Evolugen establish a 'Community Development Fund' by entering into a host municipality responsibility agreement with the City of Ottawa, through which it would provide an amount of at least $250,000 per year if the project proceeds. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe told reporters the city is under pressure from the provincial government to approve projects like this. 'The provincial government provides the opportunity for a municipal support resolution but the provincial government also makes it clear that it wants to see these kinds of projects go ahead, so it puts us in an uncomfortable position of having to be a part of a process over which we don't have the ultimate jurisdiction and maybe in long run, it would be better if these decisions were made at the provincial level,' he said. 'Having said all that, this is neither the beginning nor the end of the process. Going forward there will be more hurdles that will need to be crossed before this goes ahead and there will be public consultation as well.' If all regulatory approvals go forward, completion of the site is expected by 2027. Evolugen's website says the facility will provide benefits to the community, including grants for local organizations, job opportunities for residents, and reduced energy costs.
CBC
11-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Legal drinking is coming to Ottawa parks this summer. Here are the details
Social Sharing Ottawa city council has passed bylaw changes that will allow alcohol consumption in parks this summer. But it isn't a free pass to drink anywhere and everywhere, all the time. The shift is only a pilot program, and it comes with conditions. Here's a rundown. How did we get here? Up to now, alcohol consumption has been banned in all city parks without a permit. But the provincial government changed regulations in 2019 to allow municipalities to designate public places where drinking is allowed. Toronto did so starting in 2023, through a pilot program that showed few problems and got generally positive reviews. Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard asked city staff to consider implementing a similar pilot program in Ottawa, and earlier this year they came back with a report laying out the options. After a few tweaks at committee, the idea got unanimous support at council on Wednesday. When can I drink? Forget early morning mimosas at your picnic breakfast. The window on park drinking opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. The general manager of recreation, cultural and facility services can further limit those hours. And the pilot only runs for four months, from July 1 through Oct. 31. Where can I drink? That remains to be seen. Each city councillor will have the power to select parks in their wards, in consultation with the general manager and their residents. But there are certain restrictions that apply across the board. According to the text of the bylaw, drinking will not be allowed near beaches, playgrounds, splash pads, pools, skateboard parks, parking lots, ice rinks, sports fields or sanctioned sledding hills. Which parks are the candidates? City councillors have been floating a few ideas for parks they might choose in each ward. Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stephanie Plante said she's already suggested Riverain and Strathcona parks to city staff. Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper asked his constituents to email him with recommendations, but said he's initially thinking of Champlain Park and Laroche Park. Some councillors are considering declining to select any parks. Barrhaven West Coun. David Hill said he hasn't committed yet, but is probably not going to participate in the pilot. Orléans West-Innes Coun. Laura Dudas has a similar approach, barring an outpouring of demand from her constituents. "For myself and for my community I will not be proposing any particular park names," she said. "I will wait to see if my residents would like me to do so on their behalf."
