Today's letters: Does urban Ottawa really need grazing goats?

Saturday, Oct. 19: Can goats chomp out the invasive plant species taking over Ottawa parks? Readers chew over the proposal. You can write to us too, at [email protected]

Published Oct 19, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  10 minute read

Nubion goats at Maple Hill Urban Farms near Moodie Drive. Some Ottawa councillors think goats could help control invasive plant species in the city. Photo by JULIE OLIVER /POSTMEDIA

Butting heads over goats in our parks

Re: Deachman: Overgrown Ottawa parks could be saved by grazing goats, Oct. 16.

My goodness, some city councillors have lost it, thinking parks in Ottawa that are overgrown with invasive species could be saved by grazing animals.

I guess they have not thought that perhaps wolves or coyotes might want to try a little fresh meat. And who will have little bags to pick up the droppings? The goats might also possibly go for a run down a city road. And where will they get water, as they do have to drink occasionally? These are just a few little problems. For heaven’s sake, give your heads a shake.

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Brenda Houle, Ottawa

Let’s not ‘kid’ ourselves about what goats can do

I enjoyed this clever article. I hope those city councillors aren’t kidding about asking for support from their colleagues because that would really get my goat.

Carol Paschal, Ottawa

Those goats just might save our parks

Great story about the use of goats in parks. It’s a proven idea that hopefully city council and the bureaucracy will utilize.

I especially loved the comment by Coun. Dave Brown who said: Why reinvent the wheel? For far too long, Ottawa bureaucrats have ignored best practices and instead have needed to make up an “Ottawa solution” — which might not work but gets them a bonus.

Bring on the goats.

David Keenan, Ottawa

Needs of rural areas are being ignored

Bruce Deachman’s article highlights a real problem that exists throughout rural Ottawa: the condition of rural ditches and the spread or weeds and other invasive species. This goes back to 2000 when the province amalgamated a number of areas into one ridiculously sized city.

Rural Ottawa comprises 85 per cent of Ottawa’s area yet only houses 15 per cent of its population. And rural Ottawa has an over-abundance of weeds and invasive species. Goats are one way to combat the problem but it’ll take more than one or two, and they’d have to be cared for when not chomping on our noxious growths.

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But, even lots of goats won’t solve the problem. These weeds spread rapidly. While the goats may be put to work on public property, private property also has to be cleansed.

Since amalgamation, Ottawa has only paid lip service to its rural communities, and rural councillors have little, if any, support from their urban “peers.” Rural ditches are in a pathetic state, yet no one cares.

The rural spread of weeds and noxious species can be eliminated but it needs a lot of resolve from the entire council.

Ken Bowering, Woodlawn

A synthetic rink won’t save the ByWard Market

Re: ByWard Market officials consider buying synthetic ice skating rink, Oct. 14.

Spending $50,000 for a synthetic rink is a waste while there are bigger issues when it comes to revitalizing the ByWard Market. As it is today, it is unsafe, unclean and there seems to be a major crime every couple of weeks. Visitors frequently have to step over human waste and garbage bins that have been rummaged through and their contents strewn around the sidewalks.

They also have to deal with an underfunded, confusing transit system en route to the Market.

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Artificial hockey rinks are not going to solve any of these chronic issues and will simply become yet another boondoggle to drain resources.

With the state the Market is in today, an investment like this raises more questions than answers: How much downtime will this artificial rink have due to cleaning up vomit, broken glass, used needles and garbage dumped there on a nightly basis by vagrants? Is the artificial plastic-ice susceptible to damage? If so, what is the inevitable repair cost? How much pedestrian space will be sacrificed for this fake rink?

As always, the city demonstrates it has more money than sense.

Steven McIlhargey, Ottawa

Stop assuming we all love hockey

According to the ByWard Market District Authority, the saviour for the beleaguered ByWard Market is a hockey rink. I think the authority needs to look a little beyond that.

The obsession in Ottawa with hockey has become a detriment. “Canada’s national game, our heritage, go Sens go: —  enough already. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in this city or the country is a fanatical hockey fan. In fact, some of us don’t even like the game.

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Full credit to Gary Bettman for turning what was once a six-month pastime into a year-round full time business, but does that make it right? Time to rethink the ByWard Market approach.

Robert Taylor, Ottawa

Premier Ford has his transit priorities all wrong

Re: Province to give itself veto power over city bike lanes, Oct. 17.

Premier Doug Ford has got to get his head out of the smog and face the fact that private automobiles are making our climate emergency worse. He should be putting his energy and our money into improving public transit; walkways to encourage pedestrians; and yes, bike lanes to keep cyclists safe and air quality better. The man is a broken record appealing to suburbanites who aren’t being offered realistic alternatives.

How can anyone contemplate spending billions on a tunnel or more highways while not exploring and funding affordable public transportation?

Julie Newlands, Ottawa

Ensure infrastructure for cycling is safe

This looks like another instance where draconian policy is driven by personal grievance (“Premier Doug Ford, who lives in the west end of Toronto, has complained about bike lanes that were installed on Bloor Street West, saying the street is jammed … “), and by simplistic short-sightedness (“You might see four or five bikes as you see traffic lined up all the way down the road … “).

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Policy requiring provincial approval, hence making it difficult for municipalities to install bike lanes on existing car lanes, presents significant challenges to the development of safe and sustainable transportation infrastructure. Such a policy also directly conflicts with the City of Ottawa’s vision to have more than half of all trips made through active transportation, public transit or carpooling.

Like other cities in Ontario, Ottawa’s long-term transportation plan focuses on reducing car dependency and promoting environmentally friendly alternatives such as cycling and walking. Restricting the ability to expand bike lanes on car lanes could lead to inadequate and unsafe cycling infrastructure, discouraging people from choosing bikes as a viable option.

Ensuring that cycling infrastructure is safe and accessible is key to promoting active transportation and reducing reliance on cars, contributing to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and healthier urban living.

Dono Bandoro, Ottawa

Traffic flex posts can make roads less safe

Re: Deachman: Ottawa’s traffic flex posts drive us nuts. But they work, Oct. 8.

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Since traffic flex posts were installed on St. Georges Street (north of Our Lady of Wisdom School) in Orléans, I’ve had a few communications with the city on the boards’ sub-standard installation. I say “sub-standard” because the roadway is not wide enough for the side markers to give cyclists any space between themselves and the curb.

The city’s response was to cite obscure comment in the Ontario traffic regulations stating that when the cyclist does not feel comfortable with the space available, they should “take the lane.” As an experienced cyclist, I’m not always comfortable taking the lane with Orléans/Ottawa drivers, and the city wants me to tell my 10-year-old grandson to do the same.  Moreover they wanted me to set up a program to advise the students at the school to take the lane in similar circumstances.

Major Street has the same configuration. Other installations only have the central bollard so the side marker was never installed (some sense shown) or has been destroyed.

Lorne Facey, Orléans

Giving thanks for our food abundance

Re: It’s Thanksgiving weekend. Stop complaining about grocery prices, Oct. 11.

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It was refreshing to read Maynard van der Galien’s take on grocery
store prices. I do have sympathy for those whose income is too low to buy
nutritious food, but I find much of the current discussion overblown.

I was brought up in England right after the Second World War, when rationing, shortages and dubious alternatives to real food (Spam, anyone?) were the order of the day. I hope I will always gaze in wonder at the sheer abundance in Canadian supermarkets, brought to us through efficient food distribution systems.

This is not to say that the system is perfect. It is outrageous that leaders of grocery chains are walking away with millions in salaries and bonuses.  And why do we expect to buy cheap strawberries, imported at what cost in food miles, in February?

Because we have so much choice, each of us can afford to look at alternative foodstuffs if what we were intending to buy is too expensive. If you can’t afford beef, for example, don’t buy it. There have never been more excellent protein alternatives available than there are today.

I do not own a car, so I save money and restrict myself to shopping at
the two relatively small supermarkets easily accessible by bus. I know of car owners who will drive from supermarket to supermarket to save a few cents on a dozen eggs. This is a false economy, in my opinion.

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Thank you, everyone on the food chain, for the abundance that we enjoy.

Carol Evoy, Ottawa

Many just can’t afford today’s food prices

I feel the need to comment on Maynard van der Galien’s rather condescending  approach toward those whom he refers to as “thin-skinned and misguided” when they say that the price of groceries and other essentials mean it’s difficult for them to make ends meet.

Van der Galien makes no mention of the fact that far too many in this day and age must pay for housing, the cost of utilities, raising children, transportation and many other expenses, before groceries even come into play.

He does not mention the years-long wait for affordable housing; the record number of people who now have to rely on food banks; those who are unhoused or unable to afford health care, etc. — all of which belong in this discussion.

Grocery stores are a blessing and the vast array of products available never fails to impress. Sadly, too many people can’t afford the prices.  They don’t blame those who produce the goods or provide the services.  They are simply hungry and are calling out for help.

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Bill Windeler, Orléans

Oil industry should get on with cutting emissions

The Oct. 15 advertisement on the front page of the Citizen claim’s that Ottawa is planning an energy production cap. This is untrue. The proposed cap is on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector, not production. This sector has said in the past that it can achieve such emission reductions without reducing production through the use of technology, specifically, carbon capture and storage. If this claim is true, the industry should get on with it and reduce their emissions.

The ad goes on to assert a dubious array of alarmist policy outcomes. It refers, for example, to 150,000 job losses in the coming years but ignores the jobs our economy is creating in the transition to renewable energy. Overall, there will be an increase in energy sector jobs.

We need to take action on climate change seriously, as recent severe weather tragedies in the United States remind us. Every sector should be doing its part to bring down our greenhouse gas emissions. The oil and gas sector has not been doing its share. The proposed emissions cap merely asks them to do what they’ve said they can do.

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Debra Mair, Ottawa

Canadian mystery writers can get published in Canada

Re: Independent mystery writers in Canada deserve their own award, Oct. 12.

I have read four of Peggy Blair’s novels. She maintains that Canadian mystery/crime writers who have their settings in Canada have difficulty getting their novels published. I disagree. Here are a number of successful Canadian writers who have their settings in Canada in their novels:

Gail Bowen (Regina);, William Deverell (Vancouver, Garibaldi Island); Howard Engel (Toronto); Barbara Fradkin (Ottawa); Maureen Jennings (Toronto); Mike Martin (Newfoundland); Louise Penny (Quebec); Scott Thornley (Hamilton); and Iona Winshaw (Nelson, BC.).

Wynand Segstro, Orléans

A spirited display of neighbourliness

I have a family staying with me for a while. There is a park nearby with a basketball net, and the young boy in the family and I like to shoot some hoops after school. We were playing “who can sink a basket from half-court” when two kids at the other end of the court joined in. Then some boys who were kicking a ball around in a nearby field asked if we wanted to play a game of soccer.

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What followed was a spirited game where disputed goals were solved by rock-paper-scissors and handshakes were given when the game ended. Afterwards, I was a bit shocked at what had just happened. In this age of video games, structured activities, and organized sports, I didn’t think organic, unstructured, good-natured play with your neighbours existed any more. It brought me be back to my childhood, when this was the norm.

And it warmed my heart a little.

Kevin Stille, Ottawa

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