Small steps for a big house

The daily operations of hundreds of employees on Parliament Hill take their toll on the environment. The federal government has been trying to make Parliament more green since 2004, implementing several eco-initiatives. But parliamentarians are still guzzling gas — and water.

The Privy Council Office spends about $30,000 on bottled water every year, according to the Polaris Institute, a social movement think tank based in Ottawa. The institute also reports that between 2006 and 2009, the federal government spent more than $7 million on bottled water, the equivalent of 4.5 million bottles of water.

Used paper towels on Parliament Hill are collected for composting

The Department of National Defence spent about $1 million of that money on water for soldiers in Afghanistan. But the government spent the majority on water bottles in areas with potable tap water.

In May, Senator Grant Mitchell suggested the Senate launch an inquiry into the amount of money the federal government spent on water bottles.

“This inquiry calls upon the federal government to do something for the environment that is so fundamentally dead-easy that I cannot believe and do not want to assume that this government would not jump up and do it,” Mitchell says.

But water isn’t the only concern on Parliament Hill. Those old, storied buildings in downtown Ottawa have their own policies, from the shuttles that ferry MPs and senators from building to building, right down to the paper they use.

Creative eco-initiatives

The ‘Partners for a Green Hill’ is a joint House of Commons, Senate, Public Works and Library of Parliament initiative. It lays out rules for waste disposal, recycling and procuring contracts. For example, all companies they work with must include an environmental statement in their proposals. Eco-friendly services are also offered to employees on the Hill. 

All cafeterias within the Parliamentary precinct and the West and Centre Bloc's kitchens do organic composting. And the used paper towels from all public washrooms are composted and spread over landfill sites to decrease wind erosion and enrich the soil. The Senate’s shuttles have also been part of a pilot program which, since 2007, has used only hydrogen vehicles.

Meanwhile, the House of Commons’ shuttles continue to run on regular gasoline.

 Senate's hydrogen bus on Parliament Hill

It might seem strange for MPs and Senators to need shuttles to drive them down the street, but they often have to go back and forth between different buildings, several times a day.

The parties go green

The New Democratic Party’s Ottawa headquarters has a ‘green’ roof. This means their building’s roof is covered with panels that hold low-growing, hardy plants. This kind of roof has a host of environmental benefits. Green roofs insulate the building, which keeps the cold out and keeps temperatures lower during hot and humid summer days. The NDP offices also use environmentally friendly cleaning products and re-usable dinner ware.

When MPs must fly, many of them use Air Canada’s Zero Footprint program, which offsets the carbon dioxide produced during air travel by planting trees.When MPs must fly, many of them use Air Canada’s Zero Footprint program, which offsets the carbon dioxide produced during air travel by planting trees. Ingrid Caron, the NDP’s main administrative assistant, says their MPs also try to take the train instead of air travel when they can. 

Daniel Lauzon, the Liberal party’s communications director, says leader Michael Ignatieff drives a car that runs on ethanol fuel.

The Conservative party did not return phone calls regarding their environmental policies.

Perhaps they were too busy getting their Copenhagen climate plans together?