Trail Building School in the South March Highlands

This past weekend I had the good fortune to attend a trail building school held by the people who invented sustainable trail building and literally wrote the books on it, the International Mountain Bicycling Association's IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew:

Supported by Parks Canada and the Trans Canada Trail (TCT) and directed by the International Mountain Bicycling Association Canada (IMBA Canada), the IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew works with IMBA Canada-affiliated mountain bike clubs, TCT Provincial and Territorial organizations, Parks Canada and other trail user groups. Its mandate is to build new trails, maintain and restore existing trails, participate in solving trail management challenges, and to promote trails in order to improve trail conditions and trail experiences for everyone.

The IMBA Canada Trail Crew is a dynamic two-person team of professional trail builders that will travel throughout Canada year-round.

The work that the crew will do will benefit all types of trail users including hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, cross country skiers, snowshoers, bird watchers, and all other outdoor opportunities that use trails.

Source: Parks Canada website

Sustainable trail building is not just about mountain biking, and indeed most MTB trails are shared trails and IMBA has been working with other trail users in providing education and has trained people from the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Parks Canada in sustainable trail building methods. Parks Canada is currently revising their trail building manuals to reflect IMBA guidelines, and the NCC seems to be going through a slow shift in their attitude to mountain biking.

The first thing we learned at trail building school is that water runs downhill, well actually that was the second thing we learned. The first thing we learned was that planning is the most important part of trail building and should have the most time devoted to it. Key points are that all trail users need to be considered in planning a trail and that route design can be key in making a trail sustainable.

This is where the water runs downhill part comes in. One of the biggest factors in sustainable trail building is avoiding erosion so that designing a trail so that water runs off it rather than along it is key, and much of what we learned had to do with the degree of incline and slope of a trail. The bench cut method is one way of doing that. Some of the things we learned are described here.

Other factors in designing trails include keeping them away from fragile habitats of endangered species, the Blandings Turtle was mentioned, indicating that the Trail Care Crew was familiar with the SMH situation.

During the trail building school we got to meet many new people and learn a lot of new information, some of it not directly related to trail building techniques, such as the fact that OMBA has been given permission by the City to post signs on the SMH trails to help bikers and hikers know where they are and find their way out. I expect the signs will be in place by next spring. I also learned that the City of Ottawa's draft trail plan for the South March Highlands, with its inappropriate trail closures and denaturalization of trails, is apparently dead. Hopefully it will be back to the drawing board with proper consultations with the public and experts in trail design and building.

We spent the morning in the classroom and the afternoon in the field building a new trail, actually a re-route, in the South March Highlands.

Photos courtesy of David N of OMBA

In The Classroom


The Crew


Hiking In


The Route Is Flagged


Briefing From The Expert


Raking The Path


Bench Cut


Rock Work


The Finished Trail


Restoring The Old Trail


More photos of trail building school are available here.

Trail building school was sponsored by the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association (OMBA).

Life Cycles

Not Your Typical Bike Movie

Who Are Terrorists Anyway

To me, terrorists were always people who targeted innocent civilians going about their daily lives. So how does a 15 year old child soldier accused of killing an American soldier in a battle become referred to as a terrorist.

But my definition of terrorism (and genocide) includes dropping atomic bombs on civilian populations. However, my definition does not take into account that it's not terrorism if the good guys do it and only the losing side ever commits war crimes.

To Americans, and Obama, Muslims Are "Them"

Let us be clear the President of the United States is not a stupid man who speaks without thinking and when he speaks of "we", unless he makes it clear he is talking about some specific group like the Democratic Party or his family, he is speaking of the American people. So when he says

"The idea that we would burn the sacred texts of someone else's religion is contrary to what this country stands for,...It's contrary to what this nation was founded on, and my hope is that this individual prays on it and refrains from doing it."

he is clearly stating that Islam is "someone else's religion", not the religion of Americans and thus that Muslims are not real Americans. Indeed he is accepting the religious right's assertion that, despite what the Constitution of the United States says and what the founding fathers intended, the United States is a Christian country and Americans are Christians.

This is the almost inescapable result of the American attempt to take a nation of immigrants from many different countries and create an artificial ethnic nation from it. For some people it may be easy, just change your last name, for others it is not so easy to change the colour of your skin or indeed the religion of your birth or choice if that is required to be considered real Americans.

I must say, I much prefer the inclusive Canadian multiculturalism where our nationality is not based on ethnicity, but on citizenship.

Everyday Can Be Burn A Religious Text Day

Any day can be Burn A Religious Text Day. Just take the day and look for some historical atrocity or crime committed on that day and determine who committed it and their religion. Then burn their religious text. It's really quite simple.

For example September 11 is the anniversary of the brutal 1973 coup by Augusto Pinochet against the democratically elected government of Chile and the assassination of President Salvador Allende. I couldn't find Pinochet's religion, but he went to a seminary school taught by brothers, and after all it is South America, so we will assume he was Catholic. Anyway, facts are not important on Burn A Religious Text Day. The important thing is to insult all the members of a religious community, supposedly to right a wrong committed by one or a few of the members of that community. So in that case we would burn the Bible. I would suggest burning the New Testament because burning the Old Testament would be the same as burning the Qur'an, since the messages in both of them are so similar. And, apparently, there already is a Burn The Koran Day.

So that's it. Happy Burn A Religious Text Day everybody.

Only One Choice or One Choice For Change

With Alex Cullen officially out of the race for Ottawa Mayor the race becomes a three way race between Mayor Larry O'Brien, former Mayor Jim Watson and the man with a vision, Clive Doucet.

Unfortunately with the flawd municipal election process that we have many may feel that their only choice is to vote for Jim Watson. Watson is attractive to the left and right for different reasons.

To right wingers who simply cannot bring themselves to vote for their philosophic choice of Larry O'Brien, due to his demonstrated incompetence, Watson is a safe choice - not too radical and someone who will not change the way things are done at City Hall.

To left wingers who fear another O'Brien victory, Watson is portrayed by the media as the only candidate who can stop O'Brien and and as a moderate and a safe choice.

The question for voters is whether safe mediocrity is really what they want or do they want real change to the developer driven administration at Ottawa City Hall. In that case there is only one choice and that choice is Clive Doucet.

Cyclist Killed Near Inappropriate Pathway Detour Route

On August 13, 2010 a cyclist was killed while riding along city streets in the area of the official detour route for a section of National Capital Commission (NCC) pathway along the Ottawa River that was closed for rehabilitation.

This post is not meant to assign blame for this tragedy. I will leave that to the appropriate authorities. I also want to make it clear that I rode the official detour route and it seemed perfectly comfortable and safe to ride, for me.

That being said, the Ottawa Citizen article did raise concerns about cyclists detouring through the neighbourhood streets which I wish to address. Indeed, there are many people who choose the shared pathways to cycle because they do not feel comfortable riding on the roads and it seems appropriate to attempt to keep a pathway detour on pathways as much as possible. In this case, when there is a parallel pathway running alongside the detour route, not using it and detouring further away on city streets seems completely inappropriate. I have not been using the official route but an unofficial detour that I mapped out several weeks ago (and shared with others) before the official detour route was marked.

Click on Map To Enlarge
As you can see the official detour (and my route) follows alongside Carling Avenue for a bit on the paved shoulder. It then, out of necessity, goes down Maplehurst Avenue and then along the parallel pathway. My unofficial detour continues along the parallel pathway until it reaches the end of the construction zone and continues on an open and rideable section of the main pathway. For some reason the official detour leaves the parallel pathway at Kempster Ave. and meanders through city streets not joining the main pathway till well past the end of the construction, as the map above indicates.

As soon as I saw the official detour route I wondered why it did not follow the most logical and appropriate route rather than taking cyclists, many who choose to ride the pathways to avoid the roads, onto city streets.

UPDATE AUGUST 16, 2010

Today construction has started on the dark blue section of the detour. The old asphalt has been removed and new gravel put down and it appears to have been packed down by a roller. That section of pathway is now effectively open and being used, at least till they start repaving it. The rest of the detour, blue section, has the old asphalt removed, new gravel down, and rollers were on it today.

UPDATE AUGUST 23, 2010

All of the pathway construction is paved (lines not painted) and effectively in use, although not yet officially open.

UPDATE OCTOBER 20, 2010 (from NCC)

Re-opening: Ottawa River Pathway

The rehabilitation work of the 2 km of recreational pathway between Carling Ave. and Britannia Rd is completed. The NCC has done its final inspection and the pathway has officially re-opened.

Canadian Muslim Leaders Speak Out

This statement from the Canadian Council of Imams — signed by almost 40 senior Muslim religious leaders — will be read during Friday prayers in hundreds of mosques across Canada.

CANADIAN COUNCIL OF IMAMS DECLARATION

We, the imams who have signed below, hereby affirm and declare the following fundamental points:

1. We believe in the oneness of Allah (God) and in the oneness of humanity and that all the Messengers of God, including the final Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), have taught human beings how to come closer to God and closer to one another. Islam is a religion of nature and humanity, one that teaches that a person cannot be a good Muslim until he/she becomes a good human being. All human beings are equal, and all of them are the children of Adam and Eve (peace be upon them). The best Muslim is the one who is good to his/her family and neighbours and one who avoids harming others with his/her hand or tongue.

2. We believe in peaceful coexistence, dialogue, bridge building, and cooperation among all faiths and people for the common good of humanity. Islam does not permit the killing of innocent people, regardless of their creed, ethnicity, race, or nationality. The sanctity of human life overrides the sanctity of religious laws. Islamic rulings do not – and should not – contradict natural laws. Islam is a religion that promotes peace, justice, equality, dignity, and freedom for all human beings.

3. We believe in the preservation of all the necessities of life. Islam upholds the sanctity of religion, life, intellect, family/society, and property.

4. We believe that the well-being of our fellow citizens is the well-being of Muslims, and that the well-being of Muslims is the well-being of our fellow citizens. Being law-abiding people is part of the Islamic practice, and following the pristine teachings of Islam leads to good citizenship.

5. We believe in gender equity and each man and each woman’s divine right to education, social contribution, work, and treatment with respect and dignity. Men and women complement each other, and healthy relationships between them are essential to a healthy society.

6. We believe that it is the right of every individual adult person to determine for themselves their conduct towards and within their society (for example, in matters of dress or good manners), and their personal conduct in matters of faith and belief as well, as long as their conduct does not threaten the common good. Likewise, we believe that every society must be allowed to express and celebrate humanity's profound cultural diversity, as long as the expression of that diversity does not include the compulsion of any individual to violate their own human rights, or their personal values, or their human nature, or otherwise threaten the common good of all people.

7. We believe and strongly encourage Muslims to seriously engage in civic life and contribute to their communities and society as much as they can.

Source: Canadian Council of Imams - CANADIAN COUNCIL OF IMAMS DECLARATION

Further Information:

CBC News - Canada - Canadian Imams denounce Islamic radicalism

Why we needed an Imams' declaration for peace - CNN.com

Ever Wish You Could Really Commit Something to "Memory"

If you are a blogger or student or anybody who writes a lot I am sure you do a lot of pre-writing, thinking things through and even composing articles in your head when you are not at your computer. Some of the best things I have never published have been written that way. They never got published because they never got committed to my hard drive. By the time I got around to writing what I wanted to write the brilliant piece of work that was in my mind had disappeared from my thoughts.

Don't you wish that as you composed those brilliant pieces in your mind you could actually commit them to memory somewhere for later retrieval and editing. Wouldn't it be great if you could have a memory card slot in your brain to save them too and then pop into a USB slot and edit.

So are there any techie entrepreneurs out there working on this (besides the CIA of, course, who are no doubt working on secret brain implants to record your every thought).

Marianne's Folly - Kanata Lakes 40% Agreement

It seemed like a good deal - a developer agreeing to protect 40% of it's land as "greenspace" instead of the normally mandated 5%. It seemed like a good deal till you realize none of that land should be developed in the first place as it was all zoned as environmentally protected conservation lands. The only thing that made it seem like a good deal was the fact that developers rule in Ontario and have their own kangaroo court - the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to threaten communities, municipalities and environmentalists with.

We can argue till the proverbial cows come home whether the deal should have been made or whether the developers bluff should have been called and the original zoning defended by the cities of Kanata, Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton and City of Ottawa.

What we do know is that the agreement could not have been implemented in a worse way, resulting in very little actual environmentally sensitive land being protected and a private golf course being designated as "greenspace".

The first mistake was in designating the allegedly "protected" land as "greenspace" rather than environmentally important land. The second mistake was in not identifying the protected lands at the very beginning before any development took place in Kanata Lakes. And the third, and most important mistake, was in virtually letting the developer decide what was to be in the 40 of "greenspace", leading to such absurdities as the golf course being included in the "protected" lands.

So now we have an unsustainable corridor of protected land, surrounded by development and barely connected to the rest of the South March highlands . That is what we got for giving up the fight to protect all of the South March Highlands - folly indeed.

At Least She Won't Be Sunburned When She Cracks Her Head Open

Anna Bebon, from Tommy & Lefebvre, is cool to go out
in the sun thanks to her UV-protected clothing by Lole.
Photograph by: Jana Chytilova, The Ottawa Citizen
As one who is a strong advocate of wearing bicycle helmets, seeing the apparent promotion of cycling without a helmet by a prominent local cycling store in what considers itself to be the city's newspaper of record is sure to catch my attention.

Perhaps upon further reflection and examination of the photo that comes with a photo credit, but looks like it should also have a Photoshop credit, I should not take the article, which appears to be an advertorial, too seriously. I mean what type of dock is that anyway, and why would anyone try to cycle on it.

Nevertheless, community leaders should be careful about what type of messages they are sending.

Thousands Line Up For Newest Apple iThing

Thousands have lined the streets prior to the release of Apple's newest product. Apple fans, with their credit card limits newly boosted to the max, are lining up in advance of the January 13, 2013 release of the latest Apple Inc. product whose price and function are a heavily guarded secret. Price apparently is no object when it comes to being first to get the newest iThing. The product, whose function is still undetermined, will simply be known as the iProfit.

Why We Left Bell Canada (Short Version)

Summertime and the Blogging is ...

Well it's summertime for the Fifth Column and the blog posts are becoming sporadic as I get busy with travel and other activities. However I do have a few blog posts floating around in my head so I do hope to be posting again soon.

Workers Win (Local 6500 vs VALE INCO)

They say nobody wins in a strike and certainly after a year the workers will never regain the income they lost and the company will never regain it's lost production, and in this case the extra expenses incurred on scabs and security to pretend they were operating normally.

But we have to look a lot further than that in this case, to the objectives of both sides, to declare a winner.

The objective of the Brazilian based VALE was to bring their Sudbury operations in line with their operations in third world developing countries, by dictating rather than negotiating a concessions only contract, and in the process break the workers union.

They clearly failed in that goal. Although it took a year long strike they were finally forced to negotiate and realize that Sudbury is not Brazil or Indonesia. The workers proved their solidarity ending their strike stronger than before and a whole new cadre of union activists were created.

The workers struck for a "fair deal" and negotiated a contract that included some gains and was a far cry from the original dictated terms of the company. The deal included cost of living increases to keep up with inflation as well as additional increases raising their real incomes. It did include some changes to the bonus system but much less than originally proposed, and while it included a new pension system for new hires it was much improved from the original proposal, and there were also improvements to the pension plan for current employees. On top of that was a signing bonus and substantial early retirement incentives to avoid layoffs. It is an agreement that while clearly not a "good deal", under the circumstances can be called a "fair deal".

It was unfortunate that it took a year long strike, with it's subsequent loss of production, to teach VALE that it has to respect their Sudbury workforce and negotiate with them rather than dictate to them, if they expect to operate in this country.

And the workers, and their union, now stronger than ever, have five years to prepare and save up for the next round of negotiations where they can build on the gains in this contract. Hopefully VALE will have learned their lesson and it will not require another year long strike before they start to negotiate. There may even be hope that a new respectful relationship with their Sudbury workers can be built during these five years.

The Fifth Column again congratulates the members of Local 6500 on their solidarity.

An Activist's Viewpoint

Congratulations Brothers and Sisters

Congratulations to Local 6500 on Your Solidarity - One Year Stronger

Sudbury, Port Colborne – United Steelworkers (USW) members in Sudbury and Port Colborne, Ont., voted today to end their year-long strike against mining giant Vale, approving a new collective agreement.

USW Local 6500 members in Sudbury voted 75% in favour of the new contract, while Local 6200 members in Port Colborne ratified the deal by a 74% margin.

“Our members have spoken and I believe everyone respects the decisions they have made in extremely difficult circumstances,” said Wayne Fraser, the USW’s District Director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

“We congratulate our members for the determination, spirit and solidarity they demonstrated over the last year in their unprecedented struggle against this huge multinational corporation,” said USW Local 6200 President Wayne Rae.

“We also extend our sincere appreciation to our community for its tremendous support throughout the last year and to the countless people, unions and other groups around the world who demonstrated incredible international solidarity with our members,” said John Fera, President of USW Local 6500.

Highlights of the new collective agreement, which runs until May 31, 2015, include:

- Across-the-board, hourly wage increases with cost-of-living increases each of the five years. Thus, bringing the wage hike to between $2.25 and $2.50 an hour over the life of the agreement.

- Improvements to the existing Defined Benefit Pension Plan increasing to $41,400 per year, with cost-of-living indexing for life, along with life-time health care benefits.

- A Defined Contribution Pension Plan for new hires that provides for Company contributions equal to 8% of employees’ regular basic earnings. As well, employees will be able to make additional contributions ranging from 2% to 6% of regular earnings, with matching contributions from the Company subject to certain limits. The new plan also will include Long Term Disability coverage for employees.

- As a result of sustained, hard-fought negotiations, the nickel bonus program will allow employees to earn up to $15,000 annually in addition to regular earnings.

“For the last 12 months our members have stood together in the face of incredible adversity,” Fraser said. “They demonstrated tremendous character and they can hold their heads high as they return to work.”

“As our brothers in Voisey’s Bay NLF head into negotiations, our members in Sudbury and Port Colborne will remain in solidarity with them as they continue to fight for the fair deal they deserve,” said Fraser.

City Considering SLAPP against Terry Fox Road Extension Opponents

In a break with city policy, Ottawa's city solicitor is recommending the city try to intimidate the opponents of the Terry Fox Drive extension into dropping their legal action against the city.

As the Ottawa Citizen reports:

The fight over the Terry Fox Drive extension could come with a $50,000 legal bill, city solicitor Rick O’Connor said Tuesday.

And the group of people who want to stop the $47.7-million roadway should be ordered to put up the cash before their case goes ahead, O’Connor told members of city council’s corporate services committee.

“We would be asking the court for this particular group to put money into the court to be set aside in the case that we win and that we’re entitled to our legal costs at the end of the day,” he explained. “If we are successful on a motion for security for costs, we’d be looking for this corporation to set aside approximately $40,000 or $50,000.”

The corporation, South March Highlands Carp River Conservation Inc., is taking the city to court next Tuesday in a bid to stop the Terry Fox Drive extension, a four-kilometre road being built through the ecologically sensitive South March Highlands in northern Kanata.

The group will ask the judge for an injunction, which would put an immediate stop to construction, pending a judicial review of whether the city broke the law in going ahead with the roadway without an updated environmental assessment.

The City of Ottawa has a policy not to ask for court costs from community groups that undertake litigation in the public interest. However, O’Connor said that South March Highlands Carp River Conservation Inc. does not meet the definition of a community group, having incorporated just three weeks before the lawsuit was filed.

“Clearly they initiated the incorporation solely to protect themselves … and they should know that they can’t hide behind the incorporation if, at the end of the day, we are entitled to have our costs,” he said.

Eric Gillespie, the lawyer for South March Highlands Carp River Conservation Inc., said it is the legal arm of a coalition that represents several community groups, some of which have long fought for conservation in the area.

“The City of Ottawa has a clear policy to not seek costs from community organizations. As a result, a request of that nature is very surprising and would seem very inappropriate,” he said.

This is clearly an attempt by the City to use the SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) tactic against a citizens group concerned about the environment and the ecological integrity of the South March Highlands to prevent them from acting in the public interest. This is a tactic that Environmental Defence and more than 60 Ontario groups are calling on the province to pass legislation protecting public interest groups from, and it is a tactic that we certainly do not expect representatives of the public to employ.

Considering the city policy to play fast and loose with federal and provincial environmental laws, as well as ignoring it's own demographic data, all in pursuit of free federal money, when it comes to this project, perhaps we should not be surprised by this latest proposed tactic.

Paul Renaud of the Coalition to Protect the South March Highlands has responded with the following statement:

This is absolutely outrageous and none of us should accept this abuse of municipal power against its own citizens.

1. How is it not in the public interest to conserve and protect the South March Highlands? Of course it is.

2. How can a public interest group stop being a public interest group by acting in the public interest? Does this mean that Friends of the Greenspace Alliance and other public interest groups are no longer acting in the public interest to defend green space just because they incorporate? Of course not.

3. Public interest groups already have to pay twice – i.e. for both sides in this legal case: our lawyer and the City’s lawyer who is paid by our tax dollars. Why should we pay 3 times? Perhaps we should offer to withhold our tax dollars to level the playing field.

4. The Coalition to Protect South March incorporated precisely to avoid this type of scare tactic being used against its members. Clearly we were wise to do so.

5. Is the City so unsure of its case that it is trying to keep it from getting to court? If so, why is City Council condoning both potentially illegal activity and the abdication of its policy not to pursue costs?

The Sierra Club Canada has issued the following statement:

Sierra Club Canada is shocked to hear the City of Ottawa is pressing a
community group for up-front court costs in the South March Highlands
case. Despite City policy not to demand court costs from public
interest community groups, a city solicitor is pressing for the group
to pay as much as $50,000.

“Moves like this impede the democratic process in the City of Ottawa,”
said Sierra Club Canada Executive Director John Bennett. “Citizens
should have a right to voice their concerns without fear of
heavy-handed reprisal.”

“There wouldn’t be a need for this if the City had obeyed the
environmental assessment laws in the first place,” said Mr. Bennett.
“The City is acting as a bully selectively applying its own rules.”

The Fifth Column calls upon all Ottawa citizens to let your city councillor know that you do not approve of your municipal government using intimidation tactics against citizens groups that oppose the actions of the city or developers.

Municipal Elections Suck

So why do municipal elections suck.

Because the way the system works now all too often the least preferred candidate wins rather than the most preferred candidate.

This results from the fact that there are often a large number of candidates, many of whom may share a similar philosophy and similar policies and who appeal to the same group of voters. For simplicity sake lets divide the candidates (and voters) into alphas and betas, for want of better terms.

Various scenarios can come into play here but for demonstration purposes lets look at a simple one. Let us say there are three alpha candidates that share 60% of the vote roughly and one beta candidate with 40% of the vote. Let us assume, reasonably, that the beta candidate is the last choice of almost all of the alpha voters. And let us assume, also reasonably, that while all the alpha voters may have individual preferences all the alpha candidates are acceptable to almost all of the alpha voters.

Under our present electoral system the beta candidate, the last choice of the majority of voters and the one acceptable to only a minority of voters would get elected. Similar situations can happen with different numbers of candidates and different breakdowns with either beta or alpha candidates benefiting from the flaw in the system.

Another effect of this of course is that people realize this is happening and "strategic voting" comes into play and voters attempt to avoid this by voting for their second or third choices instead of their first, depending on who the media says has the best chance of winning. Such a situation deprives voters of the ability to vote for their first choice and gives the media an inordinate (and undemocratic) amount of power in choosing who gets elected.

There is an alternative - system that allows voters to vote for their first choice amongst acceptable candidates and not vote for unacceptable candidates. Instead of voting for one candidate you would rank the candidates in order of preference, ranking as many candidates as you wish and avoiding ranking unacceptable candidates if you do not wish to. The votes would be tabulated electronically dropping the bottom candidates from the list and redistributing their votes to the voters next choice until a candidate receives over 50% of the vote.

Under this system the least preferred candidate would never be elected and the elected candidate would always be acceptable to the majority of voters.

This would allow voters to vote for their first choice knowing that if their first choice was not amongst the top vote recipients their vote would be transferred to their second choice and not become a de facto vote for the candidate they least liked. Strategic voting would be eliminated and all candidates would know how much real first ballot support they had and candidates would not be penalized because the media tells everyone they do not have a chance.

This type of system, of course, would not just work in municipal elections. Indeed, this is the type of system that the United Kingdom is going to hold a referendum on.

Using such a system in Ontario municipal elections would be an excellent place for us to start. While it is likely too late to introduce in this years election it may very well not be too late to add a question to the ballot in the November election to find out what voters think of the system.

Every Canadian Should Read This

It is long. It is shocking. It will make you sad. It will make you cry, It will make you puke. It will make you angry. It will make you fucking scream. But you should read it.

How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, Canada: backofthebook.ca

Mountain Biking the South March Highlands Trails - The Video

Why Is Bill Blair Still Toronto Police Chief

If there is one thing I thought all Canadians agreed on, in it was the rule of law and that the role of the police was to enforce the laws made by our elected governments not make up their own.

I find it hard to understand how a chief of police could admit to making up his own law and instructing the police to enforce it, while lying to the public about it, without adding "therefore I resign immediately". It does not even matter whether the law was enforced fairly or appropriately, which in this case the evidence indicates it was not - the police do not make up their own laws. It seems to me there can be no greater crime that a police chief could commit than to do that and upon admitting that there is no choice but immediate resignation.

Am I missing something. Why is there not total and complete public outrage over this. Are there really that many people that think a police state is acceptable, even for a weekend.

The G20, Peaceful Protests, Black Bloc Vandalism and Police Violence

The rationalizations are coming out now for why the police were conspicuously absent when acts of vandalism were taking place (away following peaceful protesters around Toronto streets), why they abandoned police cars for the Black bloc to torch (was it inadvertent, incompetence or intentional), and why they decided the best way to counteract a small group of criminals was to attack peaceful protesters, media and bystanders by detaining, arresting and even assaulting them for simply exercising their Charter right of peaceful assembly.

The rationalizations being - it worked, there were no incidents of vandalism on Sunday so whatever the police did was justifiable - they did arrest some criminals so that justifies the arrests of hundreds of innocent people along with them - and the ever used, people were asking for it by being where the police did not want them to be and refusing to do what the police ordered, whether lawful or not.

Indeed the overkill of police intimidation no doubt played into what changed the protests from protests against the actions of the G20 into demonstrations in support of the Charter right of freedom of peaceful assembly.

While we all deplore the vandalism of the Black bloc tactics, interestingly enough there were no reports of physical harm to people resulting from them, while there are many reports of physical harm from attacks on innocent people by the police, as well as massive attacks on the civil liberties and Charter rights of Canadian citizens.

The Story in Videos







For more reports from citizen journalists see Progressive Bloggers.

Over 900 people were arrested and the police claim about 400 will be charged with criminal offences, a tacit admission that over 500 innocent people were arrested. My prediction is that after the Crown Attorneys look at the actual evidence and eliminate those charged simply because they were talking to the wrong people or were wearing black in the wrong neighbourhood (sounds familiar, except for the "wearing" part) less than 100 will actually be charged with anything.

On the upside I suppose it was educational - for a weekend Torontonians and all Canadians got to see what it is like to live in a police state.

Amazing

Be sure to watch from beginning to end (and from end to beginning).



From AARP U@50 Challenge

South March Highlands - The Video

The story of the South March Highlands and why it must be saved, in under five minutes. A must watch video.

Best viewed full screen in 720HD

the5thColumnist Is a Twit

Yes, I've decided to become a twit, or a twitterer or whatever you call one who tweets. I've been watching Twitter for awhile and decided to try it. Like most forms of Internet technology I think it is misused more than it is well used, particularly as another way for celebrities to say "I'm more popular than everyone else - I have more friends without lives of their own following me than you do."

One of the things I think Twitter is really useful for for is live blogging - allowing 'citizen journalists to cover events live just like the mainstream media as well as for disseminating in formation on political/social/environmental campaigns and events.

I will probably be using it primarily to let followers know when I have updated either of my blogs - The Fifth Column or Richard' GPS Trail Maps and occasionally to draw followers attention to other blog posts that I am really impressed with.

So why now. Well I just broke my arm a week ago in a mountain biking accident and will be unable to bike for 6 to 8 weeks and somewhat limited in what I can do with just one useful arm and hand so I'm probably going to be spending more time at the computer for awhile.

You can find me on Twitter at Richard W. Woodley (the5thColumnist) on Twitter. You do not have to have a Twitter account to access this page and read my twits.

Saving the South March Highlands - Pursuing the Possible

(click map to enlarge)

As the above map indicates only approximately one third of the South March Highlands are protected within the city owned South March Highlands Conservation Forest, although originally all the lands were zoned with environmental protection.

The way zoning works, as far as environmentally protected land is concerned, is that developers can apply for rezoning through the municipal process or by appealing to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) as many times as they want. If they lose they can keep coming back with new proposals using the outspend, outwait and outfrustrate strategy to combat environmentalists and communities that want to protect environmentally important lands. However once land is zoned for development it is virtually impossible to undo it - because that would be taking away landowners rights. The environment, apparently, has no such rights.

Indeed developers make a large portion of their profits from "political development" - buying protected land cheap and using their influence to get it rezoned for development and massively increased in value.

If you look at the zoning map below (with the protected land approximately indicated in orange) you will see that about half of the non-protected lands in the South March Highlands are developed or zoned for development, and about half are zoned as Environmental Protection Zone (EP) or Parks and Open Space Zone (O1). We know that the zoning does not provide protection as all the lands were originally zoned protected.

(click map to enlarge)

Zoning Codes Used on Map
RESIDENTIAL ZONES
Residential Third Density Zone R3
Residential Fifth Density Zone R5
OPEN SPACE AND LEISURE ZONES
Parks and Open Space Zone O1
ENVIRONMENTAL ZONE
Environmental Protection Zone EP
RURAL ZONES
Agricultural Zone AG
Rural Residential RR
Rural Countryside Zone RU
OTHER ZONES
Development Reserve Zone DR

So how do we set priorities in terms of protecting the undeveloped land from development.

One strategy, and one hard to argue with, is to focus on the most urgent threats to the land, which at the moment is the construction underway on the Terry Fox Drive Extension and the imminent start of work on the KNL housing development. This brave battle has been taken on by the Coalition to Save the South March Highlands (website in progress) and the I want to save the land North of Beaver Pond Park in Kanata Ontario Facebook Group. Unfortunately these are both very difficult battles to win.

The City seems determined to ignore its own demographic information indicating no urgent need for the road and to completely undermine the environmental assessment process in order to get free federal money for this environmentally devastating project. Everyday that construction continues we get closer to the point of no return. Perhaps the old saying needs to be rewritten to "free money is the root of all evil".

The battle over the KNL lands has been fought between the developers, the community and environmentalists for literally decades until the community just ran out of the ability to keep fighting. A brave last stand is underway but unless KNL can be convinced to sell the land and someone can be convinced to buy it and protect it, it's loss is inevitable.

But there is another strategy. One that can be undertaken alongside these brave attempts to stop the highway and save the KNL lands. It is a strategy that looks to the future - to save SMH lands before it becomes almost impossible to do so.

On November 10, 2000 the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton announced the purchase of 556 acres of the South March Highlands for $1.6 million at the urging of Kanata Regional Councillor Alex Munter who has stated his biggest achievement would be putting South March Highland into public ownership to keep it protected. These are the lands that along with Trillium Woods form the bulk of the currently protected lands in the South March Highlands Conservation Forest.

If one examines the zoning map you can see that an additional area of almost the same size within the South March Highlands is zoned either as Environmental Protection Zone (EP) or Parks and Open Space Zone (O1).

No matter what happens in the battles over the Terry Fox Drive Extension and the KNL development the City of Ottawa must move immediately to acquire this land, using it's expropriation powers if necessary, before it undergoes the "political development" process and it's value is increased. As it stands, there is very little the landowners can do with it other than pay taxes on it. The City would be doing them a favour by purchasing the land (their hopes of using their political influence to increase it's value being irrelevant).

It is clearly in the public interest to purchase these environmentally sensitive and important lands and it is becoming increasingly apparent that is also what the public wants.

This strategy is clearly very possible.

As to those pursuing the strategy of trying to achieve the near impossible - Keep up the battle you might yet succeed and if you do not you will have raised public awareness and moved public opinion in a way that hopefully provides City Council with the political will to do the possible and save two-thirds of the South March Highlands rather than one-third.

Walk the Land to Heron Pond -- Sunday May 30th 1:00 pm

Bring your friends and family! Spread the word -- please pass this on to your networks. We've invited all municipal election candidates and we want to show them that people care about the South March Highlands and don't want the Terry Fox Drive Extension!

The Coalition to Protect South March Highlands is inviting everyone out to hike in this special and little-known area. This area is an overlooked gem of biodiversity within the City of Ottawa, on a par with Gatineau Park or Algonquin Park. It contains unique Canadian Shield geology, wildlife habitats and pristine forests, and is the most densely bio-diverse area in the City. It is home to more than 654 species, seventeen of which are species-at-risk, including the Blanding's Turtle, American Ginseng, Whip-poor-will and Butternut tree.

The Terry Fox Road Extension, currently under construction, and the planned residential development to follow, will devastate this ecologically significant and sensitive area. Come out and see why we're fighting so hard to protect it.

We will hike to Heron Pond, which is the largest body of water in the South March Highlands. We expect to see Blanding’s Turtles.

WHERE: The hike will leave at 1 pm from the intersection of 2nd Line and Klondike. There is ample parking along 2nd Line on both shoulders of the road. The walk will take place rain or shine, so dress accordingly and with proper footwear for hiking in the woods.

For more information contact Andrea Prazmowski at praz@magma.ca

Marie Lemay Gets it Right Again

It looks like the National Capital might have a new crusader against the hegemony of the automobile in our society.

Last month she was promoting turning "the national capital into a cycling role-model for Canada" and this month she wants Ottawa and Gatineau "to put public transit at the centre of their plans for city-building, today and over the next 50 years".

The position of head of the NCC has often been criticized for being an unelected and unaccountable position. However, as NCC CEO, Marie Lemay has shown more leadership than our elected Mayor "Photo-op" Larry ever has.

Reflections on Murdered Trees

During Sunday's OMBA trail day there was some discussion about using natural materials, and particularly wood from around the trails in the South March Highlands, for trail projects such as bridges. I raised the issue that there may be a perception problem even if you use dead trees or trees that have come down during storms. Indeed there have been complaints of mountain bikers cutting down trees, though none of them have been confirmed and no evidence can be found of it happening. I suspect they may simply be based on people seeing trail crews going in with saws to cut down trees that have fallen over the trails during storms.

Then, yesterday, as I was riding along M-line, I remembered my earlier nature hike along the Terry Fox Drive Extension work with members of the Coalition to Save the South March Highlands where we saw the huge trees that had been cut down for the roadway, not to mention the cutting down of what may have been the oldest tree in Ottawa, an over 200 year old Maple. It seems that in Ottawa the City will spend hundreds of thousand in court costs to fight residents who want to remove trees that are damaging their foundations but when it comes to really significant trees and forests it gives the orders to clear cut them.

None of that can be undone but it got me thinking that maybe some of what has been cut can be salvaged for use in what remains of the conservation area, perhaps for trail work or for other uses.

If there is anything left of the over 200 year old Maple it should be preserved for use in a memorial to the City's greed (for free federal money) and willful environmental blindness. I would love to see the stump cut level with the roadway so drivers actually had to drive over the top of it to be reminded every time they drive the road of what was sacrificed for their precious highway.

Unless of course, the unthinkable happens, and they stop the madness.

Submission to NCC CEO Marie Lemay on Mountain Biking and the South March Highlands

This is also being submitted directly to Marie Lemay via e-mail
To: Marie Lemay
Chief Executive Officer
National Capital Commission (NCC)

From: Richard W. Woodley
environmentalist, hiker, mountain biker, snowshoer, cross country skier, kayaker

I am writing to you about two subjects of concern to myself and many other residents of the National Capital Region. While they may not seem related at first you will see that indeed they are.

The most critical issue I am writing about at this time is saving the South March Highlands from development. The other related issue is the NCC's attitude to mountain biking.

Myself and many other cyclists in Ottawa were very pleased to read of your vision for cycling in the nation's capital as reported in the Ottawa Citizen:

OTTAWA — The NCC wants to inspire Canadians about the capital region by becoming a model for transportation, combining a network of cycling lanes and pathways across the downtown cores of Ottawa and Gatineau.

Marie Lemay says she hopes that “people would turn to us and say: How is it done in Ottawa? How is it done in our capital?”
...

Although the NCC has maintained recreational biking paths in the national capital region for 40 years, Lemay said she realized last summer the importance of moving beyond those paths to create a safe, integrated network of cycling lanes and pathways across the downtown cores of Ottawa and Gatineau.

As well as being a cyclist who rides the bike paths and roads in the National Capital Region, I am also a mountain biker. The National Capital Region, with it's Greenbelt and Gatineau Park, as well as the South March Highlands, has the potential, and the geography, to be a haven for mountain biking, and mountain biking should be included in any vision for cycling in the capital.

Mountain Biking and the NCC
Unfortunately the NCC has a very poor reputation with mountain bikers, largely due to their lack of understanding of the sport, and policies based on prejudice and misinformation, as I have written previously about mountain biking in the Gatineau Park in The Fifth Column:

The NCC, in it’s wisdom, has decided that mountain bikers should be second class citizens in the park. If they want to ride single track trails they are relegated to a small section of the park (Camp Fortune) run by a private operator where fees are charged. Meanwhile hikers and trail runners have free reign over all of the public trails in the park at no charge, including the wide trails designated for mountain biking.

I appreciate having the wide gravel trails to ride, they are fun, but mountain bikers, like serious hikers, love rough natural technical single track trails, which are a lot more environmentally friendly than widened gravel roads, which the NCC loves to build and call trails.

There are two arguments for keeping mountain bikers off single track trails - user conflicts and environmental damage. However, neither of these arguments holds up to scrutiny.

In various places, including the NCC’s own greenbelt (where bicycle use is against NCC regulations but the regulations are not enforced), hikers and bikers regularly share the trails with each other with few problems. I can personally attest to never having had a conflict with hikers on the greenbelt trails while riding them regularly (several times a week). I can also attest to hiking and mountain biking in the South March Highlands and always having other trail users treat me with respect, whether as a hiker or a biker.

As to the environmental impact, the overwhelming scientific evidence indicates that hikers and mountain bikers have equivalent impacts on trails. See, for example, the reviews done by the International Mountain Bicycling Association and the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

For more information on mountain biking see the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) website and the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association (OMBA) website.

...

The NCC has an opportunity to make the Gatineau Park an internationally acclaimed location for both road cycling and mountain biking. Let us see if they are up to the challenge.

I would also at this time like to reference my three submissions on Mountain Biking in the Greenbelt to the NCC's Greenbelt Review. They provide more details on how the NCC can make the National Capital Region a haven for mountain biking.

Why Mountain Biking Should Be Allowed on the Greenbelt Trails

Winter Trail Conflicts on the Greenbelt Trails

Old Quarry Youth Mountain Bike Skills Park

Saving the South March Highlands and the NCC
When I first moved to Ottawa I spent a lot of time in the Gatineau Park. However when we moved to Kanata we reduced considerably the time we spent in the park. Partly it was due to having the Greenbelt in our backyard but a large reason was because we had our own ecological jewel, our own Gatineau Park so to speak, in Kanata, in the form of the South March Highlands.

Now that jewel is threatened. While a portion of it has been purchased and protected by the City of Ottawa a large portion is slated for a housing development (KNL/Urbandale lands).

And the protected lands are going to be divided by a four lane highway, the Terry Fox Extension, using what has been described as the worst possible route from an environmental perspective. The City of Ottawa is rushing the project through even though the initial demographic projections for population and traffic have been considerably reduced (without even considering the now possibility that the KNL housing development may not proceed), and they are doing it by playing fast and loose with the environmental assessment process.

The reason for the fast tracking is free money provided as part of the federal government's economic stimulus plan. Now one might expect a government that claims to be fiscally responsible to attach conditions to it's funding requiring that the money be spent wisely and that the partners take the time to do things right. But apparently the only condition placed on the stimulus funding is that it be spent quickly.

So now we have a double threat - a housing development through an ecological jewel and a road being rushed through prematurely to serve that development.

Let us talk about the South March Highlands from an environmental perspective. The south March Highlands have been studied extensively by Dan Brunton who has authored many studies of the area, including:

Natural Environment Area boundary in South March Highlands Special Study Area: Final Report, June 2004

Natural environment assessment: South March Highlands Conservation Forest, May 2008

This is how Dan Brunton described the South March Highlands in his 2004 report:

3) OVERVIEW OF THE SPECIAL STUDY AREA (ADAPTED FROM BRUNTON 2000)

The Special Study Area is situated at the southern end of the Precambrian Shield bedrock outcrop known as the Carp Hills which extends from Kanata northwestward to the Ottawa River in the Galetta area. This wetland-rich landform is unique in the City of Ottawa, constituting a 'island' of rugged, heavily-glaciated, rocky, Gatineau Hills-like habitat on the otherwise ±level, sedimentary lowlands. The end result is a landscape with severely limited agricultural potential and substantial challenges to residential/ commercial development. It has remained largely undeveloped, constituting one of the largest areas of continuous natural landscape in the City. The more or less original natural state coupled with a uniquely complex geology has resulted in the southern portion of the Carp Hills (the South March Highlands) supporting a diverse and significant natural biodiversity including Provincially and Regionally significant features and habitats (Brunton 1992a; 1992b; 1997).

The South March Highlands incorporates a number of watercourses and their watershed areas. The SSA incorporates catchment areas for the Carp River, Shirley’s Brook and Watts Creek. Most of the drainage in the SSA is westward down the Hazeldean Escarpment slope and into the Carp River. The northeastern corner of the area drains eastward, however, flowing into the south branch of Shirleys Brook. So too does the Watts Creek headwaters which commence immediately west of the First Line Road ROW in the southern half of the area and flows easterly through Kanata (‘Kizell Drain’), eventually discharging into the Ottawa River (Dillon Consulting 2002). Numerous small and/ or intermittent drainage channels occur in the many depressions and ravines occurring in this rugged landscape, all other eventually reaching the Carp River system.

The SSA (Figure 1) is part of the South March Highlands natural area which, in various configurations, has been identified as a candidate Provincially Significant Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) (Brunton 1995), a High Value Natural Environment System Strategy (NESS) natural area (Ottawa-Carleton 1997; Brunton 1997) and Natural Environment Area-A and Natural Environment Area B (Ottawa-Carleton 1999). The significance of this area is reflected in the purchase of over 225 ha of natural landscape north of the railway for long-term ecological protection purposes by the former Region in 2000 (Figure 9). This ‘Regional Conservation Land’ area was enlarged by the City of Ottawa through the purchase of an additional 20 ha of adjacent natural landscape in 2002.

The SSA supports a rich diversity of native plant and animal species typical of superior examples of their respective habitats within the South March Highlands (Brunton 1992a). Some of these species are found within the Highlands only in or immediately adjacent to the SSA (see section 4.1, Significant native species, below). The mature upland deciduous forest habitat in the northern half of the study area contributes the greatest number of these representative and locally unique species (Brunton 1992b).

The SSA contains an extensive complex of common and rare habitats demonstrating a high degree of ecological integrity. Over 80% of this area supports Regionally rare vegetation types (Geomatics International 1995). A number of the nesting bird species present here and in the adjacent forested landscape to the east breed successfully only in extensive woodlands (Brunton 1992b; Muncaster 2002c). Habitat fragmentation is rare here, with the First Line Road ROW providing the only physical interruption crossing the length of the SSA.

A high level of natural biodiversity is identified as an important contributor to the identification of a Provincially Significant natural area (Ontario 1997). The contribution of the SSA to the ecological integrity of the larger South March Highlands natural area is an important element of the latter area’s overall significance and conservation value.

The following is from Brunton's 2008 report, which discusses the impact of reducing the protected area of the South March Highlands to 35% of the original conservation area. Notice the use of terms like "ominously" and "disquieting".

6.1 SIGNIFICANCE AND SENSITIVITY CONCLUSIONS

Remarkably, much of the native biodiversity identified in the 1991 - 1992 South March
Highlands inventories is retained within the 35% of the former South March Highlands conservation area presently designated as Conservation Forest. Approximately 94% of the native vascular plants of the larger area, for example, are (or were) found here. The fragility of this representation is underscored, however, by the wide variety and serious nature of present and increasing environmental stresses described in section 5. Impacts and ecological challenges (above).

It also bears repeating that the 41 Regionally Significant plant species now known from the Conservation Forest represent only 85% of the 48 such taxa known from the larger former conservation area and include none of the known Provincially Significant species of the South March Highlands. More ominously, perhaps, is the fact that 13 (27%) of Regionally Significant taxa, are either known or suspected to have been extirpated. Similarly, one known SARA-scheduled (Threatened) animal species, Blandings Turtle, has only been observed at the very western and northern edges of the Conservation Forest while another SARA-scheduled (Threatened) species, Golden-winged Warbler occurs at a site adjacent to a proposed arterial roadway corridor.

This evidently lower level of sustainability for the most vulnerable components of the native biodiversity of the Conservation Forest is particularly disquieting when future ecological isolation and the fragmentation of remaining natural landscapes is factored in. The proposed residential and transportation development within the South March Highlands (Terry Fox Road arterial, Second Line Road extension, etc.) undoubtedly markedly increase ecological stress on both the representative and exceptional natural features and functions of the Conservation Forest.

And this is how he described, in his 2004 report, the impacts the KNL development and Terry Fox Road extension would have on the South March Highlands.

KNL lands:

Residential development is committed in the majority of the KNL lands between the First Line Road ROW and Goulbourn Forced Road. This has major implications for the ecological significance of both the SSA in particular and the South March Highlands in general. That includes a major reduction in the ecological corridor function presently active between the Regional Conservation Lands north of the Terry Fox Road ROW and the Trillium Woods Urban Natural Feature (UNF) within and immediately east of the Extended Study Area, along either side of Goulbourn Forced Road (Figure 9). It will also increase the edge effect impact of the Terry Fox Road ROW on the adjacent Regional Conservation Lands habitat. The KNL residential development area is transected by Kizell Pond Urban Natural Feature along Watts Creek.

The KNL development plan dramatically reduces the existing area of ecological connectivity between the SSA and other significant natural areas of the South March Highlands (Brunton 1992a; 1992b; 2000). The remaining UNF west of Goulbourn Forced Road constitutes about 100 ac (40 ha) of upland and wetland habitat (S. Murphy, pers. comm.). The Richardson Forest in Lot 6 will be particularly negatively effected, being completely isolated from comparable natural habitats to the north and east. As well, virtually all of the interior forest values of the Richardson Forest will be eliminated.

The loss of continuous forest habitat within the KNL lands north of Watts Creek in the West Block will have similar though less intense impacts on the northern portion of the SSA. The negative impact is lessened in that area by the existence of continuous natural habitat along the top and face of the Hazeldean Escarpment to the west of the SSA (Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5). Development of portions of the West Block on the KNL property will result in the loss of native biodiversity, a reduction in biological restoration and recruitment potential and the initiation of microclimatic changes. It will inevitably reduce the self-sustainability and overall ecological significance of the adjacent portion of the SSA. Without detailed on-site examination of the lands involved, however, it is difficult to quantify the loss of particular natural features.

4.8.3 Terry Fox Road extension impact

Dillon Consulting (2003) has established that construction of the proposed Terry Fox Road extension across the SSA will have a significant, negative ecological impact ....“Terry Fox Drive will form a barrier and break between the northern and southern portions of the presently continuous South March Highlands [natural] area”. Recognizing the importance of maintaining ecological connectivity across this barrier, Dillon Consulting. (2003) proposes a system of modified culverts and a major sub-roadway ecological passageway along the preferred roadway ROW to partially mitigate these loses.

As part of the recent discussions on the design of this road, an alternative route crossing the SSA and located slightly west of the preferred route (Dillon Consulting 2003) was suggested by a landowner. Dillon Consulting (2003) considered that the Balys & Associates alternative route would have “a higher impact on the environment (volume of rock knolls to be removed, and wetland impacted)”. In a later assessment of the natural environment implications of the Balys & Associates proposed route, it was suggested (Muncaster 2002b) that the degree of ecological disturbance along this alternative route for the crossing of the Hazeldean Escarpment and the SAA might be no greater or even somewhat reduced to that of the preferred Terry Fox Road ROW. That opinion, however, does not address the question of maintaining ecological connectivity across the roadway ROW other than to suggest that roadway development along either alternative will inevitably have some impact

Regardless of the route selected, it is clear that the extension of the Terry Fox Road arterial across the South March Highlands will constitute a major ecological challenge to the Provincially Significant values in and about the SSA and throughout a large segment of the South March Highlands. Major mitigation measures, as described above, will be required to at least reduce the losses of significant ecological value here.

So where do we go from here.

The Sierra Club has launched a campaign to stop the Terry Fox Drive extension as reported in the Ottawa Citizen:

OTTAWA — The Sierra Club Canada plans to start a national campaign this week attempting to stop the extension of Terry Fox Drive through the sensitive wetland habitat of the threatened Blanding’s turtle.

John Bennett, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada, said the club will use its network to reach thousands of environmentally minded citizens, asking them to put pressure on municipal, provincial and federal politicians to stop the four-kilometre, $47.7-million roadway.

“It’s just a stupid, stupid plan. This is about greed and avarice and building more houses in a place that’s not appropriate,” Bennett said. “They don’t need to build this road through this wetland.

As well, the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee has recommended that the City halt construction on the Terry Fox Drive extension as reported in the Ottawa Citizen:

The Ottawa forests and greenspace advisory committee will ask city council to put the construction of the Terry Fox Drive Extension on hold and order a more thorough environmental review.

The committee passed a unanimous motion Monday night to ask the city to "immediately re-examine the demographic, transportational and economic rationale" for the project and to halt construction until an "in-depth ecological analysis is undertaken."

The request will come before the city's planning and environment committee, where it would need the endorsement of councillors before it could be voted on by City Council.

This has rekindled interest in the preservation of the whole South March Highlands and led to local residents forming a Coalition to Protect the South March Highlands .

What needs to be done now is to find a way to preserve what has not yet been developed in the South March Highlands or face a situation, as indicated by Dan Brunton, where only 35% of the original conservation is preserved and that 35% is at a great risk of being unsustainable, as Brunton indicates in his reports.

The following map is from Brunton's 2008 report. The Terry Fox Drive Extension route is added (not on the original Brunton report map).


Many believe that the South March Highlands can only be saved if the NCC becomes involved and acquires the SMH lands that remain undeveloped. I believe that may be our only hope. Although the City has been purchasing adjacent lands, they do not have the funds to buy the KNL lands, nor the other undeveloped SMH lands. And even though much of the remaining land is zoned "environmental protection" that becomes meaningless once a developer goes before the Ontario Municipal Board. The only way to really protect environmental lands is to purchase them and the only entity capable of purchasing the undeveloped SMH lands is the National Capital Commission.

Some have suggested that the NCC swap land in the Greenbelt for the KNL lands, but I believe that would be a short sighted solution that would be regretted in the future. The Greenbelt is a corridor and it all serves a purpose. Some of the farmland may not be environmentally sensitive but in many cases it provides a buffer between environmental lands and developed land. As well we are just beginning to realize the potential role that urban farmland can play in our society.

I would only consider a Greenbelt land swap to be a solution as a last resort and even then the land would have to be very carefully selected. Swapping urban development land that might be in the NCC's possession might be an alternative though.

Fast action by the NCC is necessary in order to be able to convince the City of Ottawa to stop the Terry Fox Drive Extension work before even more damage is done to the environment of the South March Highlands. As well, KNL plans to start work on its housing development very soon.

The NCC has, I believe, a short window of opportunity to save the day and save this precious environmental jewel in the National Capital Region, but they should do so without sacrificing that other jewel of the National Capital Region, the Greenbelt.

The NCC and Mountain Biking in the South March Highlands
The South March Highlands and Kanata Lakes trails are known as the place to go for technical mountain biking in Ottawa. If you are not sure what technical mountain biking is think of a rugged natural trail that you have hiked and could not imagine anyone riding a bike on, and then think about someone riding through the trail on a mountain bike and you've got it.

The City of Ottawa is currently developing a management plan, for the South March Highlands Conservation Forest. This is the 35% of the original conservation area that is owned and protected by the City of Ottawa. In developing the management plan the City has worked closely with all user groups and one of the main items of consensus was that the trail system would be a shared system with mountain biking as one of it's main uses. The City is currently negotiating a shared stewardship agreement for the SMH trails with the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association.

While I may not agree with everything in the city's draft plan, such as the denaturalization of some of the single track trails, I would hate to see the consensus that has developed regarding shared trail use threatened.

I have raised my concerns about the South Mach Highlands Conservation Forest draft management plan in the submissions referenced below:

Submission re: South March Highlands Conservation Forest Management Plan

Submission re: South March Highlands Conservation Forest Management Plan Draft Trail Plan

South March Highlands Trail Plan – Where Are The Environmentalists

Saving the remaining undeveloped lands in the South March Highlands from development can only benefit the mountain biking community, by increasing the potential trail system, to keeping the trails further from the impact and noise of development, to eliminating the need for a four lane highway beside and through the middle of the trail system.

However, you can appreciate that considering the NCC's historical record and attitude to mountain biking that the mountain bike community would have serious concerns regarding any involvement of the NCC in the South March Highlands.

There are a number of potential scenarios that could happen if the NCC was to step in and do what is necessary to purchase the remaining SMH lands and save the South March Highlands from further development. Certainly the idea of having one land manager is going to come up. There are a number of ways that this could be dealt with. One is to have the NCC deed all the lands to the City because the City has already started the process of drafting a management plan for the area. Another is to have the City and NCC jointly manage the lands. And a third option might see the NCC take over all the lands. All of these options have potential benefits.

Whatever option may be chosen, for the South March Highlands to be saved from development the more stakeholders that support the plan the better. Getting support from the mountain biking community for an NCC role, which I believe is vital, is going to require strong assurances that all the work that has been done in developing a strong consensus on a shared trail system recognizing mountain biking as an important activity in the South March Highlands will not be ignored.

I call upon the NCC to give a strong corporate assurance, and yourself to give a strong personal assurance, that if the NCC is involved in the South March Highlands that they will recognize that the trail system will be shared and mountain biking considered a legitimate and important activity in the South March Highlands.

Together we can save the South March Highlands.

Sudbury's Leo Gerard Channels Joe Hill

"If it takes civil disobedience," so be it, said Gerard. "We're not going to walk away from our jobs or our fathers' and grandfathers' jobs just because Vale says so. We'll fill every goddamned jail if that's what it takes."

Sudbury's Leo Gerard, as reported in The Sudbury Star:

United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard is refusing to apologize for two controversial statements he has made during the 9 1/2-month strike by more than 3,000 Steelworkers.

Gerard will not say he is sorry for telling Sudbury in September that if business owners were not for striking Steelworkers, then they were against them.

Nor should anyone expect Gerard to say he regrets telling The Sudbury Star two weeks ago that USW will not allow Vale Inco to return to full production without its unionized production and maintenance workers.

"If it takes civil disobedience," so be it, said Gerard. "We're not going to walk away from our jobs or our fathers' and grandfathers' jobs just because Vale says so. We'll fill every goddamned jail if that's what it takes."

Gerard and his union have taken a good deal of heat for both of his remarks.

But the Steelworker who began with Inco's transportation department 45 years ago before rising to the top job with the international union said he is not taking either comment back.

And it is about time my brothers and sisters in Sudbury said no to scabs doing their jobs.



Joe Hill: last seen on a picket line in Sudbury