Good green reasons to #moveZibi

Dream Unlimited Corp. and Windmill Development Group can make a bold move to build an eco-friendly community at LeBreton Flats. And the National Capital Commission (NCC) can help them shift from unceded Algonquin sacred space on islands in the Ottawa River to a welcoming site adjacent to the City of Ottawa’s new LRT station, Pimisi.

Some background:

In February 2015, Windmill confirmed to the media that it is part of Rendez Vous LeBreton Group, a consortium that includes the Ottawa Senators hockey team and other companies keen to develop LeBreton Flats.

On Dec. 15, Rendez Vous LeBreton Group became one of only two groups to submit on-time bids to the NCC for development of 21.6 hectares at LeBreton Flats. The Rendez Vous proposal includes a hockey stadium and residences. The NCC will decide which bid to accept, and is seeking input from the public to help it make that decision. 

Why should Dream Windmill #moveZibi?

• the City of Ottawa’s new LRT station Pimisi (the Algonquin word for eel) at LeBreton Flats will offer Dream Windmill condo owners easy access to mass transit. An eco-friendly community that is adjacent to the LRT station provides environmentally sensitive condo owners with a clear alternative to car travel when they wish to leave the community. This is consistent with the high principles guiding Dream Windmill’s approach to development.
• the companies’ desire to honour the Algonquin language by erecting signs in English, French and Algonquin can be realized, and dovetails perfectly with the name of the new LRT station, Pimisi
• the companies’ commitment to hire Algonquin tradespeople for the construction phase of  its eco-friendly community can be honoured.

What is #moveZibi?

It’s a hashtag for Twitter users. But if you don’t use Twitter, it’s your chance to let the NCC and Ministers of the Crown know that you want the NCC to choose the Rendez Vous LeBreton Group’s proposal for development of LeBreton Flats, because:

1. An ecologically friendly community next to the Pimisi LRT station provides the NCC a chance to reduce the climate impacts and greenhouse gas emissions associated with LeBreton’s development.  Tell the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, the Hon. Catherine McKenna (who is also the M.P. for Ottawa Centre) that you want LeBreton Flats to include an environmentally carbon-neutral and green community that Canada can be proud of.
2. Shifting the Dream Windmill proposal from the islands to LeBreton Flats means that the NCC can honour its commitment to consult with legitimate Algonquin First Nations about future developments that impact Chaudière Falls, as well as Chaudière, Albert, and Victoria Islands. It promised to do this in February 2015 as a condition for supporting the Zibi proposal. Then, it turned that responsibility over to Windmill Development Group. In fact, the NCC has not yet acted on its promise and must be held to account on this.
3. It is a chance for the Minister responsible for the NCC to ensure that the NCC accepts the reality of its mandate in the 21st century. Remind the Minister of Heritage, Hon. Melanie Joly, that Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has mandated his ministers to consult and negotiate nation-to-nation with Indigenous peoples, as part of reconciliation and a new way forward. The NCC, which falls under Minister Joly’s portfolio, must act now on that commitment.