Ottawa's environment committee in for name change
Committee would be renamed environment and climate protection
The City of Ottawa's environment committee could soon be renamed to better reflect its expanding role.
On Tuesday the city's finance and economic development committee, which handles such governance issues as committee names, approved a motion to rename the environment committee the "environment and climate protection committee."
"This is the work that increasingly the city is doing and will have to do," said environment committee chair Coun. David Chernushenko.
He said cities now play an active role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by adopting greener transit fleets and building bike lanes. They must also deal with the fallout of climate change by updating storm water systems to deal with increasing rainfall, Chernushenko said.
"The grand pronouncements, the international treaties, even the signing of cheques are being done at the higher levels of government, but ultimately every point of action is coming back to the city."
The renaming would follow in the footsteps of provincial and federal departments that have already included the notion of climate change in their titles.
Not all councillors warm to change
But not all councillors like the idea.
Rideau-Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt said climate protection does not make up the bulk of the work the environment committee does, such as drinking water and waste removal.
Moffatt had earlier suggested merging the environment committee with the transportation committee to form a public works and utilities committee.
Barrhaven councillor Jan Harder agreed with the name change.
"I think it recognizes the work this city is already doing. And the word 'protection' is very different from the word 'change,'" said Harder, who said she would have voted against the motion if it had included that word.
The name change still needs the approval of full city council.