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Brigitte Pellerin

Brigitte Pellerin

The Star

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Pellerin: Ottawans want wildlife protected and smart measures should be adopted soon

Black-or-white solutions don't always work so well.

19.04.2024 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Ottawa's new medical dispatch system should serve francophones better

The city's new priority dispatch system is a great idea, but it still doesn't take both official languages into account. Nous méritons mieux.

11.04.2024 5

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Benoît Pelletier was everything a responsible politician should be

Even after politics, he contributed on important issues such as the legal framework for medical assistance in dying. He fought for the rights of...

05.04.2024 8

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Free spirits? City of Ottawa should let us quaff a cold one in our parks

28.03.2024 7

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Free spirits? City of Ottawa should let us quaff a cold one in our parks

Ottawans are a mild bunch, unlikely to get too rowdy. The city's bylaw department handed out a grand total of nine tickets in two years for drinking...

28.03.2024 5

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Maybe the City of Ottawa is doing heritage all wrong

Surely policies should be aimed at beautifying the national capital, not making it uglier.

22.03.2024 5

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Yes, high schools should make commencement more inclusive

Equity and empathy do not require a lessening of standards. To graduate, you still need to have attained a certain number of credits.

15.03.2024 5

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Needed – a feminist approach to Canada's housing crisis

Policy decisions that affect housing have been made mostly by men. Nothing wrong with men. But even the best of them can’t speak for us all.

08.03.2024 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: This Quebec City project shows affordable housing can be done right

The redevelopment of Place Fleur-de-Lys is an investment in real community-building, an innovation Ottawa can learn from.

01.03.2024 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: A 1915 plan for Ottawa suggests a better city is possible

You've never heard of the Holt-Bennett Plan either? It just might have given us a beautiful — and functional — urban landscape.

23.02.2024 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Book bannings? Not if the Ottawa Public Library has anything to say about it

In a civilized society, we don't burn or otherwise destroy or restrict books — even when they make us feel uncomfortable.

16.02.2024 9

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Speeding? Running a red? Driving while distracted? Time for a refresher driver ed course, Ottawa

When the light is red, it means “do not go” because it’s other people’s turn. This applies even when you are in a hurry. Perhaps this is the...

09.02.2024 8

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: We don't have to wait for Ottawa city hall to solve every problem

Urban innovation is everywhere, and committed citizens can tackle local issues and improve everyone's lives without always relying on government.

02.02.2024 7

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Give the Ottawa River legal 'personhood'

It may be one way to protect our natural environment from, say, a radioactive waste dump being built too close to the water.

26.01.2024 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: This program mixes construction with the humanities — and it's about time

Algonquin College's building conservation program will bring heritage carpentry and conservation together, with critical thinking skills. That's how...

19.01.2024 7

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: It's not sci-fi to aspire to a future Ottawa that works

With the help of my imaginary chatbot, I can see how the capital should look 25 years from now and how we can get there.

12.01.2024 6

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: E-scooter use lags in Ottawa because we didn't give riders enough space

In Ottawa, we force all non-vehicular traffic to share a measly 20 per cent of all public spaces.

05.01.2024 9

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: In 2024, the City of Ottawa must make hard choices, not just do easy stuff

Housing will be a top issue, and city council mustn't cave to NIMBYism. And how about some concrete action on the climate change file?

29.12.2023 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: To combat rising hate, let's find ways to stop yelling at each other

In 2024, we won't get past political polarization and all the violence it can lead to without paying better attention to one another.

21.12.2023 3

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: One way Ottawa can be like Paris — put pedestrians first

The French capital's new plan aims to ensure everyone feels safe and welcome in the public space. Canada's capital would do well to emulate it.

14.12.2023 20

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Yes, Ottawa's libraries need security — but that's not enough

Public libraries aren't designed to help people with mental-health issues or substance disorders. Still, many are trying.

08.12.2023 20

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Ottawa's 'superdomes' show the value of a simple public-private partnership

They're well-designed, they're cheap and they answer a community need. You could sell people on the concept of a P3 if most P3s were like that.

01.12.2023 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Speak up for the glorious, badly under-used, Rideau Canal

The NCC, Parks Canada and the city each have some responsibility for the waterway, which is why little has been done to exploit its potential.

24.11.2023 4

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Ariel Troster, Shawn Menard — please save us from urban scourges

The dynamic duo of urban councillors should look into bed bugs, patio fees and other hurdles that hold Ottawa back.

17.11.2023 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Two cheers for affordable housing improvements in Ottawa

We still have a long way to go before the housing crisis is properly addressed, assuming we have the political will to get there.

10.11.2023 7

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Let's tell our Jewish neighbours we've got their backs

Antisemitism is on the rise following events in the Middle East. Our friends, Jewish and Muslim, need our reassurance and protection.

03.11.2023 2

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Stunt driving is not only dangerous — it's accelerating in Ottawa

We’ve done a lot about the plague of drunk driving through a mix of enforcement and awareness. Surely we can find an effective way to address...

27.10.2023 5

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Quebec's tuition plan for English-language universities is here to stay

It's perfectly defensible for the province to give preferential treatment to Quebec residents in post-secondary education — provided it works.

20.10.2023 9

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: The 'circular economy' means we're not just spinning our wheels on helping the environment

Do you thrift? All the cool kids do it, including my favourite teenagers. It's a fantastic way to extend the life of so much more than clothing.

13.10.2023 7

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Stop griping about Ontario's minimum-wage hike and pay people fairly

If the only way a business owner makes a profit is by underpaying employees, that owner doesn't deserve to be in business.

06.10.2023 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Reconciliation can — and should — involve every one of us

There is no perfect way for non-Indigenous people to do their part to advance this work, but a solid dose of cultural humility and respect is never...

29.09.2023 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Public transit is a public service. Treat it that way

In Ottawa, we think money going to transit is 'spending' rather than 'investment' in the absolute basics of city life. That's the wrong mindset.

22.09.2023 10

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Let's drown out anti-trans hatred in Ottawa with love

Schools are becoming less safe for gender-diverse youth seeking safety from families (and others) who don't accept them. This has to change.

15.09.2023 9

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: What constitutes a 'mass shooting?' How about 50 rounds fired into a crowd

Would this month's shooting at an Ottawa wedding reception have been any worse if more people had been injured or killed, or if more bullets flew?

11.09.2023 5

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

Pellerin: Ottawa convoy trial will be long and slow — and that's a good thing

Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are now answering criminal charges arising from the 2022 downtown occupation. Proceedings should be underwhelming, but...

08.09.2023 5

Ottawa Citizen

Brigitte Pellerin

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