Some critics say the city isn’t doing enough to get replacement trees in the ground a year after a derecho windstorm destroyed thousands of trees across Ottawa, and after Mayor Mark Sutcliffe campaigned on a promise to plant a million in his term.
In a typical year the city plants about 100,000 trees. They cool urban heat deserts, shade houses and sequester carbon, and they increase property values and improve quality of life, among other benefits.
Mark Sutcliffe speaks during a mayoral debate on the environment last fall. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)
Sutcliffe said during last year’s election campaign that he would get 250,000 trees planted annually.
In 2023, his first full
