The following is a letter the community recently sent to the mayor and city council. It was in response to the survey posted with the wildlife strategy review here.
The Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre’s response (with which we agreed) is here. Note that the City will hold a virtual public information session May 31 at 6:30 p.m. and an in-person meeting June 7 at 7:00 p.m. To attend either meeting, you must register.
Dear Mayor Sutcliffe and City Councillors,
With the NCC Greenbelt on two sides, Graham Creek on another, and the Sailing Club and Andrew Hayden Park on most of the fourth side, Crystal Beach Lakeview is almost surrounded by nature. This green space contributes greatly to the desirability of our neighbourhood. We value and respect our wildlife neighbours—and—sometimes, a few of us have concerns about their interactions with us. Wildlife strategy can be an emotional issue, as we’ve seen in recent
city-wide expressions of dismay over the killing of that black bear in Kanata.
It is important that we be able to have robust and valid public consultation on the review of the City’s wildlife strategy. It is important that the public be able to hear expert opinions and understand how we and wildlife can live together harmoniously.
Like the Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre, we are pleased to see the City reviewing the wildlife strategy and hope for an outcome that protects biodiversity and peaceful coexistence. The Crystal Beach Lakeview Community Association supports the Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre in their expression of concern that such discussion is being impeded by old approaches and by a badly designed and biased survey. We agree with their criticisms in the letter sent May 16, a
copy of which is attached to this email.
Ottawa is full of expertise around data collection and survey design. So many Ottawa citizens learn how to write survey questions in their work for various levels of government and the high-tech industry, that training on how to write valid survey questions must surely be easily available. The survey must be taken down and engagement must be done properly, giving the public access to knowledge about current wildlife research and up-to-date practices.
Thank you for your time and attention,
(Kate Twiss for) Nic Martinez
President, Crystal Beach Lakeview Community Association)
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