Podcasts about Nepean

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Canada shaming Donald Trump at public events across Canada from Charlie Angus in Edmonton, Alberta to Prime Minister Mark Carney in Nepean, Ontario. Get 10% off at tecovas.com/MEIDAS when you sign up for email and texts. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MONOLOGUE The Liberal Smear Machine Backfires: Their Desperate Attempt to Taint Poilievre Is Beyond Pathetic NEWSMAKER  Ottawa Detective Helen Grus found GUILTY of discreditable conduct in vaccine probe case https://www.rebelnews.com/ottawa_detective_helen_grus_found_guilty_of_discreditable_conduct_in_vaccine_probe_case   Tamara Ugolini – Senior Editor with Rebel News OPEN LINES THE CULT OF CLIMATE CHANGE Climate “Experts” Would Have Us Believe Every Country is Warming Faster Than All the Others, At the Same Time! https://x.com/wideawake_media/status/1904854786773569949?s=43&t=NGJd8e_0uhcJwabvmjR8g   One hundred thousand olive trees are to be uprooted in the south of Spain to make way for solar farms. https://x.com/junkscience/status/1904715696426139776?s=43&t=NGJd8e_0uhcJwabvmjR-8g   This week in 1913 the US was devastated by tornadoes, floods, fires and snowstorms. A few months later California set the world record temperature of 134F https://x.com/tonyclimate/status/1904936947279421555?s=43&t=NGJd8e_0uhcJwabvmjR-8g   Tony Heller is a geologist, weather historian and founder of Real Climate Science dot com MONOLOGUE The Emerald Isle's Last Stand—Conor McGregor and the Fight for a Christian Ireland NEWSMAKER Carney Claims He Has No Clue as to Why MP Chandra Arya of Nepean was Stripped of his Nomination https://www.blacklocks.ca/never-told-of-liberal-checks/   A judge has dismissed a liability claim by the family of an Ontario high schooler who died weeks after taking a Covid shot https://www.blacklocks.ca/dept-denies-duty-of-care/   Singh Calls Carney a Bad Landlord https://www.blacklocks.ca/calls-carney-a-bad-landlord/   Tom Korski, Managing Editor of Blacklock's Reporter www.blacklocks.ca OPEN LINES THIS DAY IN ROCK HISTORY In 1977, Hall & Oates scored their first of six US No.1s with “Rich Girl,” taken from their 1976 album, Bigger Than The Both Of Us. It spent three weeks at the top and was ranked the 23rd biggest hit of 1977 by Billboard.   In 1983, Duran Duran made their debut at the top of the UK singles chart with “Is There Something I Should Know?.” The Birmingham New Romantic group would top the UK charts again a year later with “The Reflex.”   In 1996, Canadian star Shania Twain enjoyed her first US No.1 when her second album, The Woman In Me, rose to the top of the Billboard country chart. The album went on to sell 20 million copies around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The momentum is with Pierre Poilievre as he attracts MASSIVE crowds in the GTA and scores a big endorsement from the Boilmakers Union. He also successfully launched an attack against Carney about his disturbing ties to Communist China.  On today's Episode of the Candice Malcolm Show, Candice is joined by one of her favourite internet personalities The Pleb Reporter. Candice and Pleb talk about Carney's sweetheart deals with China, including a $276 million loan from a Chinese state bank.  They also uncover past comments Carney made about wanting the Chinese YUAN to be the global reserve currency. Does Carney want Canada to turn our back on the United States so we can become more closely aligned with China? Later in the show, they talk about Liberal shenanigans of removing democratically elected candidates in Nepean and Central Nova, and how Liberal candidate Evan Soloman fell for a meme account troll post.  Finally, you will not believe who CTV hired to be their election “fact-checker.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is an elections podcast now. Each week throughout the election, we'll bring you a variety of smart commentators to keep you upto speed. This week, former Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod talks about her old riding of Nepean, where Mark Carney is running, with Pierre Poilievre running just next door. MacLeod has also worked with Poilievre, and weighs in on his leadership. And Hélène Buzzetti, political columnist for les Coops de l'information, talks about the political landscape in Quebec. Can Carney overcome his weak French and lack of familiarity with Quebecers? And can the Conservatives gain ground in the province? Season 3 of the Paul Wells Show is supported by McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy

The Agenda welcomes four of the five new Liberal MPPs to discuss returning to Queen's Park with official party status for this first time in seven years: Rob Cerjanec, the MPP for Ajax; Lee Fairclough, the MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore; Jonathan Tsao, the MPP for Don Valley North; And Tyler Watt, the MPP for Nepean.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A health warning has been issued for more than 200 women who gave birth at Nepean Hospital's Birth Unit between 2013 and 2024.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like many other young athletes growing up in Nepean, Ontario, Kyle Buchanan naturally came from a hockey and baseball family. He spent years playing these sports before a friend introduced him to lacrosse.“I was around 10 years old. He was wearing a lacrosse T-shirt and I just was curious about it,” Buchanan said.After learning more about the sport and finding out his uncles had played when they were younger, Buchanan decided to try it out, and never looked back.“I loved the speed and the excitement and the scoring and the physicality of it,” he said. “I fell in love right away.”At just 5-foot-8, the forward looked up to other smaller, right-handed forwards who he could model his game after. For him, that person was Jeff Zywicki, who had a storied career in both the NCAA and NLL.After Buchanan finished his collegiate career at Robert Morris in 2012, he entered the NLL Draft and was selected with the first pick of the sixth round by the Washington Stealth.“Funny story, I actually ended up beating out Jeff Zywicki for the final roster spot on that team, which was kind of crazy,” he said. “It kind of came full circle.”After playing in only nine games during his rookie season, Buchanan turned to advice he had received from his uncles and cousins while growing up: be a good teammate and lead with your effort.Like many other young athletes growing up in Nepean, Ontario, Kyle Buchanan naturally came from a hockey and baseball family. He spent years playing these sports before a friend introduced him to lacrosse.“I was around 10 years old. He was wearing a lacrosse T-shirt and I just was curious about it,” Buchanan said.After learning more about the sport and finding out his uncles had played when they were younger, Buchanan decided to try it out, and never looked back.“I loved the speed and the excitement and the scoring and the physicality of it,” he said. “I fell in love right away.”At just 5-foot-8, the forward looked up to other smaller, right-handed forwards who he could model his game after. For him, that person was Jeff Zywicki, who had a storied career in both the NCAA and NLL.After Buchanan finished his collegiate career at Robert Morris in 2012, he entered the NLL Draft and was selected with the first pick of the sixth round by the Washington Stealth.“Funny story, I actually ended up beating out Jeff Zywicki for the final roster spot on that team, which was kind of crazy,” he said. “It kind of came full circle.”Buchanan has been all over the lacrosse world but has never seen anything quite like Banditland.“I think it's just something that really separates Buffalo from some other teams, that you know what you're going to get every single night running out onto the floor,” he said. “You hear the bagpipes, all that kind of stuff. There are just these traditions here that make it a special place.”In his first year with the organization, Buchanan tallied 19 goals and 57 points while collecting 81 loose balls. He also ranked third on the team with 38 assists during the 2021-22 campaign.Last Saturday, he recorded two goals and two assists in the home opener to kick off the 2022-23 season.For Buchanan, signing in Buffalo was the perfect opportunity to play close to his two young daughters, play with his best friend (former Bandit Kevin Brownell), and play for a historic franchise.“I was on the other side of it for so many years and got to play one or two games (in Buffalo), had some family and friends in town, and it was really cool,” he said.Today, Buchanan looks forward to seeing friends and family at almost every home game.#kylebuchanan#buffalobandits#nationallacrosseleague#chrispomay#livewithcdp#barrycullenchevrolet#wellingtonbrewery https://bandits.com/https://beacons.ai/chrisdpomayhttps://www.cameo.com/chrispomayWant to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/54200596...Chris Pomay Live With CDP Talk Show

Brad Spillane speaks with Jo Kain, from Grand Pacific Health who is setting up a Suicide Prevention Service in the Nepean, NSW area. Also with Brad and Jo in the studio is Pat Blacker, who is with a mob called Stand By, who provide post suicide support in the Nepean / Blue Mountains area. Pat and Brad plan to do a number of shows this year with the Men's Mental Health Show as Stand By have decided to throw their support behind the show. (This episode begins with a brief chat between Brad and RBM89.1FM presenter Ron Green, then gets into the subjects at hand).

Chandra Arya, Liberal MP representing the Ontario riding of Nepean who has officially entered the race to replace Justin Trudeau as leader of the Federal Liberal Party

Le SPVM a demandé à une femme de ne pas «provoquer» les pro-Palestiniens ! | On reçoit Arya Chandra, candidat pour le Parti libéral du Canada et député de Nepean | Maja Vodanovic, mairesse de Lachine et candidate à la direction de Projet Montréal vient nous partager sa vision pour la métropole Dans cet épisode intégral du 10 janvier, en entrevue : Marie, analyste politique. Arya Chandra, candidat pour le Parti libéral du Canada et député de Nepean. Maja Vodanovic, mairesse de Lachine et candidate à la direction de Projet Montréal. Une production QUB Janvier 2025Pour de l'information concernant l'utilisation de vos données personnelles - https://omnystudio.com/policies/listener/fr

Greg Brady focused in on more about the terrorist attack that rocked New Orleans. Next, a long-time Member of Provincial Parliament who found himself living in a homeless shelter has received financial support from politicians of all political stripes. Lisa MacLeod, PC MPP for the riding of Nepean, joins us to discuss this story about political parties coming together and also to highlight the need for some kind of safety net for our MPPs. Lastly, Lenore Skenazy, author of “Free-Range Kids: How Parents and Teachers Can Let Go and Let Grow”, says 2024 gave us no shortage of interesting stories involving helicopter parents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg Brady focused in on more about the terrorist attack that rocked New Orleans. Next, a long-time Member of Provincial Parliament who found himself living in a homeless shelter has received financial support from politicians of all political stripes. Lisa MacLeod, PC MPP for the riding of Nepean, joins us to discuss this story about political parties coming together and also to highlight the need for some kind of safety net for our MPPs. Lastly, Lenore Skenazy, author of “Free-Range Kids: How Parents and Teachers Can Let Go and Let Grow”, says 2024 gave us no shortage of interesting stories involving helicopter parents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When thirty-four-year-old St. Paul housewife Carol Thompson was murdered in the spring of 1963, her entire neighborhood was shocked by the evil that had invaded their middle-class neighborhood. As far as anyone knew, Carol was a happily married mother of four who appeared to have it all, but the cruel brutality of her murder suggested someone had hated her enough to kill her.When investigators began to dig deeper into Carol's life and background, they found the truth was that, far from the happy façade she showed the world, Carol Thompson's life was anything but happy. In the weeks that followed her death, investigators would uncover an unexpectedly complicated conspiracy involving several well-known criminals, all leading back to the one person no one wanted to suspect.Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!ReferencesAssociated Press. 1963. "Slaying details related in court." New York Times, November 27: 49.—. 1963. "Woman is linked to 'hire' murder." New York Times, November 5: 17.2016. A Crime to Remember. Directed by Tony Glazer. Performed by Chloe Boxer and Christine Connor.Cesnik, Jim. 1963. "'Cotton' Thompson--as father, friend." Minneapolis Star, June 25: 1.Letofsky, Irv. 1963. "Never an acquittal vote." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), December 7: 1.Letofsky, Irv, and Jim Cesnik. 1963. "City man held in Phoenix in Thompson slaying case." Star Tribune, April 20: 1.Minneapolis Star. 1963. "FBI to check policies on Mrs. Thompson's life." Minneapolis Star , April 3: 1.—. 1963. "St. Paul mother 'critical' after stabbing in home." Minneapolis Star, March 6: 1.—. 1963. "Thompson arrested in wife's slaying." Minneapolis Star, June 21: 1.Presbrey, Paul. 1963. "Thompson killing gun identified." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), April 10: 1.Roberts, Sam. 2015. "T. Eugene Thompson dies at 88; crime stunned St. Paul." New York Times, September 6: 28.Romer, Sam. 1963. "Interview with captured suspect." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), April 20: 1.Rudick, Irvin. 1963. "Anderson told Sharp he slew Mrs. Thompson." Minneapolis Star, April 23: 1.Star Tribune. 1963. "Police seek clues in St. Paul slaying." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), March 7: 1.—. 1963. "Police want more talk with victim's mate." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), March 23: 1.—. 1963. "Statement also lists his assets." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), March 27: 1.Thompson, William. 2007. Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson. Nepean, ON: Borealis Books.United Press International. 1963. "Thompson trial told of insurance." New York Times, November 6: 29.Young, Douglas. 1963. "Husband of slain St. Paul woman explains $1,061,00 in insurance." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), March 27: 1.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Greg Brady focused in on the proliferation of Indigenous land acknowledgments. Next, Lisa MacLeod, Conservative MPP for the riding of Nepean, to discuss the playing of a Hamas hymn during a Remembrance Day ceremony. Lastly, April Engelberg, Toronto lawyer and former city council candidate. She talks Swift, and two things that aren't swift at all....Toronto streets and the long delayed LRT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg Brady focused in on the proliferation of Indigenous land acknowledgments. Next, Lisa MacLeod, Conservative MPP for the riding of Nepean, to discuss the playing of a Hamas hymn during a Remembrance Day ceremony. Lastly, April Engelberg, Toronto lawyer and former city council candidate. She talks Swift, and two things that aren't swift at all....Toronto streets and the long delayed LRT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

- Lisa McLeod - MPP for Nepean, joins Deb to explain her issue after Ottawa high school principal apologizes for song played during Remembrance Day assembly - Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie will pledge tax cut on home heating fuels. She joins Deb to explain and we take your calls

Friends! Here's one I ripped off into the universe from the municipal roads of Nepean. Just some post thoughts and ponderings. I hope they find you well in the continuation of this glorious fall weather. I'm just getting to a place where I'm trying to embrace the love in my life and not wanting that to wane. For a long time, I've had a blockage that would stop me from those feels. Well - here's me. Trying to accept. Trying to get there. Thanks for being here! Catch me in a town near you (as I head out on tour soon with Stephen Stanley from The Lowest of the Low and The Stephen Stanley Band) by visting my website to see where I'm playing. If people can hate for no reason, I can love for no reason - and I love you. Thanks for stopping by Graventown. Yer always welcome here. As a full time independent artist, you can support me by joining my SUPER RAD subscription service at https://ko-fi.com/gravencanada

Australian bass are one of our premier freshwater sportsfish, and Sydney's fishing population doesn't need to travel too far to find them. Todd Young has been guiding bass fisherman for decades and explains where and how to target this species within 30 minutes of the CBD. We go through the tackle Todd recommends and explore not only his choice of lures but the techniques and situations in which he uses them. If you're Sydney-based and looking for a lure fishing option that's super close to home, this could well be it.  ________________ Keen for more great fishing advice? Consider supporting the Australian Lure Fishing Podcast by joing Team Doc Lures. You'll receive access to amazing fishing resources such as ebooks, livestreams, online tools, audio masterclasses and more! Check it out at: https://team.doclures.com ________________ You can listen other episodes about fishing for Australian Bass here: https://doclures.com/australian-bass/ For help fishing with soft plastic lures, check out our bootcamp: https://team.doclures.com/product/soft-plastic-lure-bootcamp For help finding Sydney fishing spots: https://doclures.com/fishing-spots-in-sydney/ For more advice on fishing the Nepean River: https://doclures.com/fishing-the-nepean-river/  

Welcome to another episode of She Sells Ottawa. In today's episode, we'll be discussing what we're seeing in this current market, all the buzz about capital gains and how they might affect you. We'll also zero in on last week's sales in Kanata, and later, we'll dive into the do's and don'ts of home showings for both buyers and sellers. And of course, we're excited to feature a fantastic local business we had the pleasure of visiting. So let's kick this episode off! Check out Links to things we talked about on our Ep 3 Podcast: https://wowa.ca/calculators/capital-gain-taxHere is a great article explaining the cap gains: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/capital-gains-tax-budget-1.7176370Google Earth! to check out all those neighbourhoods and homes before showings! https://earth.google.com/web/Our Spotlight Local Business! Phynicia Restaurant - An Authentic Lebanese restaurant Like & Follow them on FB! https://www.facebook.com/phynicia.resturant/605 Longfields Dr Unit: 9, Nepean, ON K2J 6T7 in Barrhaven! Longfields StationCheck out our IG for fabulous photos of our experience there! 

Greg spoke to Chandra Pasma, MPP for Ottawa west-Nepean about schools using unqualified teachers.

Greg spoke to Chandra Pasma, MPP for Ottawa west-Nepean about schools using unqualified teachers.

Interview with Brett MacNeilBorn in Nepean, Onterio, Brett is a true Canadian. After a college football career at Colgate University and then Boston University, he decided to go play in the CFL. One, it gave him a chance to start and two, he can be home and play where he lived and grew up. Win win. He was drafted in the first round by the Ottawa Rough Riders and ended his career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.In Brett's career he was a CFL All-Star, won the Ed Kotowich Award(Canada's version of the Walter Payton award), and is in the Winnipeg Football Club's Hall of Fame.Brett was known as one of the most intense players in Bomber history. After his CFL career, Brett tried a few things. He opened a martial art studio, while coaching at the University of Manitoba and running a security company. Though all of this, Brett took what he learned from football to help him move on.  He learned adversity, resilience, teamwork and most of all, the Will to Win.Now Brett a Senior Account Executive at 3M as well as a board member of the CFL Alumni association and board member of Winnipeg Blue Bomber Alumni Association.LinkedIn:(2) Brett MacNeil | LinkedInTwitter:Brett MacNeil (@brettmacneil1) / X (twitter.com)Eric Reyes: Host of Hey Coach! PodcastEmail:eric@heycoachreyes.comLinkedIn:Eric Reyes | LinkedInFacebook:(1) Hey Coach | FacebookFacebook Group:(2) Hey Coach! Sports,Life and Business | FacebookInstagram :Hey Coach Podcast (@theheycoachpodcast) • Instagram photos and videosTwitter:Hey Coach! Podcast (@HeyPodcas1) / Twitter

Your daily highlights of Toronto Today with Greg Brady. On today's episode: 1 - Lisa MacLeod, MPP for Nepean and former cabinet minister talks about protesting in Canada. (:15 - 7:06) 2 - Joey Salmingo, TV Presenter/Host and New Dad talked about the extreme wait time he endured to get his newborn son seen by a doctor. (7:12-14;28) 3- April Engelberg, former mayoral candidate talking about speed cameras, road closures & other city affairs. (14:34-21:42) 4 -Greg & caller Sunny had a discussion about media coverage over the Israel/Hamas war (21:48 - 30:11)

Your daily highlights of Toronto Today with Greg Brady. On today's episode: 1 - Lisa MacLeod, MPP for Nepean and former cabinet minister talks about protesting in Canada. (:15 - 7:06) 2 - Joey Salmingo, TV Presenter/Host and New Dad talked about the extreme wait time he endured to get his newborn son seen by a doctor. (7:12-14;28) 3- April Engelberg, former mayoral candidate talking about speed cameras, road closures & other city affairs. (14:34-21:42) 4 -Greg & caller Sunny had a discussion about media coverage over the Israel/Hamas war (21:48 - 30:11)

Are you prepared for a prolonged power outage? Extreme weather is more common due to climate change. Canada's experienced disastrous tornadoes, wildfires, and wind and ice storms over the past few years alone, leading to massive disruption to utilities and public safety. Be prepared, stay informed. Dive into the urgent discussion on emergency preparedness in episode 125 of thinkenergy, featuring insights from Hydro Ottawa's CEO, Bryce Conrad, and Canadian Red Cross Disaster Management Volunteer, Guy Lepage.   Related links   Bryce Conrad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryce-conrad-2ab1b352/  Guy Lepage, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-lepage-8568289/  The Canadian Red Cross: https://www.redcross.ca/how-we-help/emergencies-and-disasters-in-canada  Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en Hydro Ottawa safety resources: https://hydroottawa.com/en/outages-safety  Hydro Ottawa emergency preparedness: https://hydroottawa.com/en/outages-safety/emergency-preparedness To subscribe using Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl   To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa   Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa   Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod ---- Transcript: Dan Seguin  00:06 This is think energy, the podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, as I explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey, everyone, welcome back. We're going to take a different direction for today's show. For the first time, I don't have a guest lined up. Instead, on today's show, I'm going to talk about a topic that is close to my heart as a communicator in the electricity sector. And it's something that affects us all. prolonged power outages caused by major weather events. More specifically, I want to talk about what each of us can do to take personal responsibility during a crisis, and how we can all take steps to plan for prolonged outages due to an ice storm, a tornado, heat waves or major wind storms. Now, most of the time, power outages are over shortly after they begin. But with a major storm outages can last much longer. We've all experienced being without power for an extended period of time. And we know that extreme weather events have become more frequent and intense due to climate change. And wow, Canada has certainly experienced his share of national disasters recently, something that we all felt for the first time was the effect of forest fires this past summer. According to the Canadian interagency Forest Fire Center, there were approximately 6623 fires recorded across Canada in 2023, burning a total of 18 million hectares. These fires wiped out entire forest communities, and all infrastructure that supports those that live in these areas including their electricity. Here in Ottawa, we only experienced poor air quality, unlike anything I have ever seen in my lifetime living in the nation's capital. Also in Ottawa this year, there was an Easter ice storm in April, tornadoes that touched down in the south end of the city in the summer, and a number of lightning strikes in June, July and August that broke records and caused a number of outages in the region. It reminded me of a conversation I had with my boss, Bryce Conrad, President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa, back in February 2022. At that time, I asked him how concerned he was with climate change. Listen to his response. You'll think he just said this yesterday. Here's what he had to say then.   Bryce Conrad  03:03 So let's just state categorically that climate change is real. You know, as I sit here today, it's minus 27,000 degrees outside. People go "oh global warming, why is it so damn cold? And of course, you just want to smack people that say things like that. But God's honest truth is climate change is not about the day to day weather, it's about weather patterns. It's about  how, you know, in the past, we've had wind storms and ice storms, we've had eight tornadoes, including one in downtown Nepean. You know, we've had a one in 100 year flood, followed by a one in 1000 year flood. We've had heat waves that have stretched and taxed our system. And all of this is just like, quite frankly, within the past five years. So that's what climate change means. It means unpredictable, changing, dramatically changing weather patterns. And if you run a utility, like I do, or like we do, you don't like that. You know, our infrastructure is built to withstand X. It's not well not built to withstand x plus 30%, or x plus 50%. So, you know, when a wind storm comes through, the infrastructure is ready to sustain winds up to 90 miles an hour or something like that. Well, you know, we all saw what happened when tornadoes came through, you know, 130 miles or 160 miles an hour, right? Those poles snapped like twigs. That's what climate change means. So, you know, it's terrifying. It's absolutely terrifying. And, you know, it's something that we have to start to build into our plans as to how we build better in the future. Sure, so are we building our infrastructure to withstand 90 mile an hour winds? Are we building them to withstand 150 mile an hour winds? While there's a cost difference to that, obviously, but the answer is, yeah, we've got to do a better job of building stronger, more resilient infrastructure. If you're building you know, if you saw during the floods, the Chaudiere Facility, which is our new generating asset down at Chaudiere Falls. You know, you were seeing for the first time in history, all 50 of the gates of the ring dam were open. And there was more, I think it was two Olympic swimming pools were passing through the gates every second. The waterfall, the water, the speed in the waterfall was faster than the Niagara Falls. Like I mean, these are things that shouldn't be happening in downtown Ottawa, but have happened three times since I've been here, and that's 10 years. So if anyone wants to have a debate about whether or not climate change is real, call me up. Let's have that conversation. Because it's very real, and it's going to dramatically impact our future. In terms of the energy transition, I think I talked a bit about it. But you know, when we bottle out, and look at what our future looks like, 50 years from now, our infrastructure looks fundamentally different than it does today. It's in fundamentally different places than it is today. You know, we're going to rely upon artificial intelligence, machine learning. You know, each and every one of those, like, everything will be censored up. So, you know, the idea is that, as opposed to us rolling a track to fix something that's broken or down, we can sort of simply reroute it from the control center. So yes, we still have to get out there and fix what's broken. But for you, the customer of Hydro Ottawa, you actually won't notice the impact because the power will have switched over to another source instantaneously. That's the goal.   Dan Seguin  07:09 Some powerful words from Bryce Conrad, President, CEO of Hydro Ottawa, about climate change, and its effects on the electricity grid. I found his comments about how the advancement of artificial intelligence could result in a self healing grid. And the customer wouldn't even know that there was an outage because the system would be smart enough to know to reroute the power from another source. Sounds futuristic indeed, but something worthy to work towards. Since this is likely a couple of decades off, I want to spend a little bit of time sharing how utilities tackled power outages and restoration today. It's important to understand how it all works. You may be surprised to learn that utilities observe and monitor weather conditions, staying on top of changing weather patterns, so they can alert customers about possible outages in advance. Weather warnings are issued and Hydro Ottawa crews are put on standby to respond to emergencies. During the Ottawa ice storm back in April 2023. More than 225 internal and external field resources were called up to repair damage across the city of Ottawa. This was the second highest use of resources in hydraulic was historic, and it proves the point that utilities are taking these weather events seriously. To provide some perspective, I think it helps understand how utilities assess and restore power after a storm. It's important for us to know this so we can manage our expectations. In today's world we want it all now on demand. It's good to know what happens behind the scenes and the rationale that determines why some customers get restored before others. After a major storm causes widespread outages. The first job of the utility is to investigate the extent of the damage and determine the resources required to restore the power. Here's a general breakdown of how many utilities prioritize restoration after they've performed an assessment of the damage. Priority One: respond to public safety issues and emergencies. Priority two: fix critical electrical system infrastructure like substations and main power lines. Priority three: restore power to critical infrastructure and emergency services like hospitals, airports, water and sewage treatment plants. Priority four: repair power lines that will restore power to the largest number of customers. Priority five: we store smaller clusters of neighborhoods. And finally, priority six: respond to individual homes and businesses that may have sustained damage to their own electrical equipment. Public and personal safety are top of mind for restoration crews who must also deal with the aftermath of any storm, including falling trees, branches, windy conditions, heavy fog, thunder, lightning, and icy roads, all of which make restoring power difficult. And while restoring power is their main purpose, it's important that these brave women and men do not put their lives at risk. conditions have to be safe for them to work. So now, let's get to the part where we find out what we can do as individuals before, during and after a major storm that has caused widespread damage and a power outage. To kick off this section, I'm going to first play a clip from an interview I did earlier this year with Guy Lepage, a disaster management volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross. Guy has been deployed to some of the world's biggest disasters and relief operations here in Canada, and overseas. No matter the emergency, big or small. I asked Guy during our conversation how Canadians can better prepare for emergencies in general, and especially during prolonged outages, being self-sufficient for three days is still the golden rule. Here's what he had to say.   Guy Lepage  11:37 Yes, three days is the golden rule. You have to plan to sit around your kitchen table with your family, or do it yourself and sit and plan for 72 hours (three days) from the perspective that I can't get out of my house because of a snowstorm, ice storm, fire whatever the situation. Can I stay in my home for 72 hours to carry on a normal lifestyle and a sense that I need to eat, I need to bathe, I need medication for people who need medication in my house, you have to plan ahead because if you don't, and you figure, hey, first responders will come and take care of me well, they may not be able to because there'll be taking care of other people with greater needs. So as I said, You need to have enough water and we're talking three liters per person a day, one liter to drink and two liters. To wash and bathe. You need to have enough dry goods, you need to have enough food that won't go bad. If you are using an electric can opener. Have a manual one. If you depend on the internet and your cell phone, you need to have a crank operated radio or battery operated radio so you can listen to the local emergency newscast to find out hey, how long am I on my own here, okay. But most importantly, if anyone in your home needs medication, you need to have more than three days worth on hand. I'll give you an example in 2013. Here in the Greater Toronto Area, there was a major ice storm. And major portions of the area were without power for more than three days. We set up a shelter in Ajax where I live. And on Christmas morning I'm going around the different rooms in a community Senator we've set up where people stayed overnight. There was a elderly gentleman in a wheelchair, who said, You know last night when I arrived, I only had one pill left for my heart condition. I had to cut it in half. So I've taken half, I'm down to my last half. What am I going to do? So luckily, we had a nurse on hand who was able to find a pharmacy that was open and we replaced his medication. But if this is a scenario that you're in your home with someone who takes life saving medication, heart condition, insulin for diabetes, whatever. And then you can't leave for three days and you run out of medication that could have catastrophic consequences. So always plan ahead to have enough medication. Enough pet food and enough water enough dry goods to survive on your own for three days.   Dan Seguin  14:17 That was Guy Lepgage, disaster management volunteer with Canadian Red Cross, talking about his experience as a person who has had his boots on the ground during numerous disasters here in Canada and abroad. He mentioned something very interesting, and I'm going to leave it with you today. As probably the most important takeaway from this show, come up with a three day plan. A great place to start and I'm a little biased here is to go to hydro ottawa.com and visit the emergency preparedness section. There. You will find resources and information about what to consider when building that plan. I hope this episode has helped you consider having those necessary conversations around emergency preparedness. I know this is a departure from our usual podcast programming, but it's an important topic as winter weather approaches. Now, I hope you found this episode worthwhile and informative. Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you had a lot of fun. Cheers. Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the think energy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guests or previous episodes, visit thinkenergypodcast.com And I hope you'll join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.

#StayClassified with EP261 of the Lacrosse Classified podcast. The NLL season is now just 2 weeks away and training camps are in full swing! We have a ton to talk about so lets begin Lax Class! In the 1st the BIG Focus makes it's return. Nepean denied a JrA franchise. We ask why? In the 2nd frame we continue our Season Previews where we talk to the GM or HC of every NLL team leading up to Face Off Weekend. The last two teams are up this week. Up first this week it's the General Manager and Defensive Cordiantor of the the Champion Buffalo Bandits, Steve Dietrich. In the 3rd quarter, it's the Owner, President and General Manager of the Toronto Rock, Jamie Dawick. Two conversations you won't want to miss. In the 4th and final frame we try to put some cash in your pocket with our @CoolBetCanada Lax Class Lock of the week. Jumbo is awful at making picks so we turn the parlay over to Santino this week. We finish off with #QuickSticks and get you caught up with any news and notes from the world of Box Lacrosse. Make sure you follow @LaxClass on Twitter and @LacrosseClassified on IG to stay up to date with the show. All that and more comes at you every #Wednesday wherever you listen to your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe, give us a review! All brought to you buy our great partners in Stampede Tack, Rycor Construction, Cool Bet Canada, Mitch Jones Realty and Associated Labels and Packaging #MakeItStandOut #StayCool #PlayWithConfidence #WesternWear #Wrangler #AssociatedWithYourBrand #FamilyOwned #LabelsAndPackaging #RealEstate #Stonehaus #Realty #Listen #Lacrosse #Podcast #Boxla #StayClassified

Callers John and Jeff were eyewitnesses and informed Ross and Russ on the latest on the incident. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we explore the 1814-1816 Hawkesbury-Nepean War. Part of the ongoing frontier wars in Australia's colonial history, this war sees one of the biggest military actions up until this point, as well as the most controversial parts of Macquarie's time as governor.

Here’s my chat with Jack Briglio about his new YA book ThunderBoom from Kids Can Press. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. And the podcast is also available on YouTube. Please like and subscribe to that video channel. Currently residing in Nepean, Ontario, Jack is the writer of the Eisner-nominated fantasy adventure series Growing Up […] The post Jack Briglio throws down about his new YA book ‘ThunderBoom’ appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Friends - hello. I'm back in the Graventown basement again - stirring up the dust and making a fuss. What can be said about Oliver George? Oliver is a recent friend (and Nepean neighbour) and a fine who has become a mainstay in the burgeoning Ottawa comedy scene - but he's also been grinding away at his podcast called Just Chill With Oliver George for almost 100 episodes (follow him here) - and he's doing his 100th episode live in the Biagio's basement on Richmond Road as a Yuk Yuk's comedy event. on Tuesday July 11th. He's had some incredible A list guests and he's getting deep into the podcast power zone.  You can buy tickets here. We had a lovely lively chat and I hope you'll listen along as we chatted about music, comedy, fatherhood and just the general woes of existence. I love you. Thanks for being here. Catch me in a town near you by visting my website to see where I'm playing. If people can hate for no reason, I can love for no reason - and I love you. Thanks for stopping by Graventown. Yer always welcome here. As a full time artist, you can support me by buying me a coffee at http://buymeacoffee.com/gravencanadaCatch me in a town near you by visting my website to see where I'm playing. If people can hate for no reason, I can love for no reason - and I love you. Thanks for stopping by Graventown. Yer always welcome here. As a full time independent artist, you can support me by joining my SUPER RAD subscription service at https://ko-fi.com/gravencanada

Trees play an important role in carbon sequestration, slowing the rise of greenhouse gas emissions as they grow. But during extreme weather, trees can bring down power lines, damage equipment, ignite fires, and cause power outages. They add a layer of complexity to maintaining a resilient power grid. In thinkenergy episode 107, Hydro Ottawa's Nick Levac, Supervisor of Distribution Operations, and Greg Tipman, Forestry Inspector, discuss how to minimize power outages while preserving a healthy urban forest.   Related links   Nick Levac, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicklevac/  Greg Tipman, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-tipman-b5bb73a1/ Hydro Ottawa Tree Planting Advice [PDF]: https://static.hydroottawa.com/documents/publications/safety/tree_planting_advice-EN.pdf   To subscribe using Apple Podcasts   To subscribe using Spotify   To subscribe on Libsyn --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: YouTube   Check out our cool pics on Instagram   More to Learn on Faceboom   Keep up with the Tweets on Twitter   ----------------   Transcript: Dan Seguin  00:06 This is ThinkEnergy, the podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, as I explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey everyone, welcome back. While local and global efforts focus on achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through the electrification, or transformation of certain industries, it is also important to consider the significant role natural climate solutions can play in greening communities. Warren Buffett famously said, someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Trees make our world a beautiful place and provide us with many lasting benefits, such as shade, privacy, shelter, and food, and they contribute to our mental well being. Aside from those benefits, trees play an important role in carbon reduction, slowing the rise of GHG emissions as they grow. But if you know anything about electricity, you know that electricity and trees seldom mix. That doesn't mean they can't be good neighbors though. Across the City of Ottawa, there are an estimated 185,000 trees in proximity to Hydro Ottawa was 2800 kilometers of overhead high voltage power lines. When trees are close enough to potentially contact overhead power lines, public safety and the uninterrupted supply of electricity can be compromised. Utilities have a responsibility to ensure its electricity distribution system is safe, and that it operates reliably. Because of that, they must also ensure that their equipment can withstand extreme weather events such as high winds, and heavy snow falls and ice. broken tree branches can bring down power lines and create serious public safety concerns like damaged equipment fires and power outages. All of which can be a frustrating and costly experience for both the utility company and customers. In an urban area, the presence of trees adds an additional layer of complexity to the challenge of maintaining reliable and resilient power grids. Finding a way to minimize power outages while preserving a healthy urban tree canopy is an important goal for urban planners and utility companies. Through a combination of strategic tree planting, pruning and maintenance, as well as the use of technology and innovative solutions. It's possible to strike a balance between these two important priorities, ensuring that the city remains livable, and sustainable for years to come. Responsible tree trimming and maintenance has resulted in reducing power outages by 40%. In Ottawa alone, with extreme weather events we've witnessed in the past few years, and as the climate continues to change, the outcome will create more problems for utilities to provide reliable power to customers without extended outages. So here is today's big question. In the age of climate change and environmental responsibility, how can utility companies strike a balance between maintaining reliable service, minimizing outages and maintaining a healthy and vibrant urban forest? To help us better understand this balancing act? I've invited Nick Novak, who's the supervisor of distribution operations, and a forestry inspector Greg Tipmann. Welcome both. Greg, I'll start with you. Can you tell us a bit about your work? And what the biggest misconceptions are about tree trimming and vegetation control programs when it comes to electricity?   Greg Tipman  04:49 For sure, Dan, and just just again, thanks for having us on your podcast this morning. Getting the kind of meat potatoes my daily job encompasses: speaking with customers, addressing the vegetation concerns around power lines, auditing the contractor we use, which is Aspen tree service. There's also coordinating our jobs, our time and material jobs. So it's stuff that I look at and deal with the customer then gets delegated directly to a secondary crew to do that specific work for the customer. There's also writing of prescriptions for any work for other jobs for the customers. So specific work they want hydro Ottawa to do that's outside of our regular trim program. Some of the biggest misconceptions that I've run into is that a lot of the public thinks that our tree work is just a hack and slash that there's no thought or science put into the tree trimming that's actually going on, when, in actuality, we have a whole set of standards for proper pruning, and tree trimming of the species around the Hydra wires. And that kicks back to our working procedures or our lifeline clearing techniques. And then there's another misconception that I've run into quite a bit is that a lot of people think that for us, or for our contractor to do the tree trimming, the power has to be shut off every single time. And that's, that's not the case. We like to keep it as a very rare scenario when we do have to shut the power off. And that's usually just for a safety issue for the tree trimmers.   Dan Seguin  06:38 Okay, cool, Nick. We often say that trees and electrical wires don't mix. What types of dangerous situations can occur if they come in contact with one another? Is there a recent example you can share with us?   Nick Levac  06:58 Yeah, so I mean, first first, and mine is obviously power outages. That's kind of the first thing that we hear about when a tree comes down on our conductors. But, you know, the power outages can vary from, you know, a whole circuit right back to a substation to just localized outages in your community or along your streets. The other thing, if the tree does come down on the line, and they're in our system doesn't doesn't experience an outage, oftentimes, trees can catch on fire. So we've had, we've had examples over the years where trees are resting on a line, nobody notices it, and then eventually it'll catch on fire, which obviously can cause other issues. And especially in the summertime with dry conditions. If that does come down to the ground, it could, you know, start forest fires, which, unfortunately, our neighbors in the south and us have experienced in California and stuff. So but there was there was one larger outage and I think it was a start in November November 2, whereas a spruce tree that was quite a bit away from the line did fail, and it came down and took down to two conductors out at the end of my road, I believe it was and it caused a large outage. We were in a sense, those are almost better to have, because it's easier to find that tree and where the problem is. And we can get crews out to fix it in a quick manner. But that's probably the most recent one that we've had that had a major outage and a big impact to our system.   Dan Seguin  08:32 So we're clear, Nick, what are the guidelines that determine if tree trimming or vegetation management near powerlines is required? What does sufficient clearance from an electrical equipment look like?   Nick Levac  08:46 Yeah, so like Greg mentioned in the first question there we have our rivers going through our system, and we're looking at at standards that we trim to the cities divided up into about 30 vegetation management zones. And they're divided into either a two or three year trim cycle, which means you'll see our versus your backyard, you're on the streets, trimming out to our guidelines, either every second year, third year. Our main goal, there's a couple of them. But our main goal when we're trimming to our standards that we have,  is when we come back and either in two or three years, the vegetation that we trimmed out is still three feet away. There's different zones that we have from 10 feet back to the conductor or the live overhead wire, and from the wire out to three feet is called the restricted zone. And as I mentioned that that's where we do not want the vegetation to get into because if we if it does get in there creates a bunch of different problems for our for our tree arborist to go in there. And as Greg mentioned, outages is the last thing we want to do when we're trimming trees. And if that veg does get into that restricted zone, increased outages for trimming sometimes An option that we have to look at what we're trying to avoid. So that's, that's kind of our main goal. We look at the species a tree, and how much it would grow in a year. And as the arborist comes through, they're going to trim back that many feet. So if we have a fast growing species that grows a three or four feet a year, and we're going to be back in two years, we're going to trim that back three feet times two, plus the additional three feet. So we're looking at about a 10 foot trim on that.   Dan Seguin  10:29 Nick, pruning, and especially removal of interfering trees often caused controversy. In an age of climate change and environmental responsibility. What do you tell folks that object to or have concerns about the important work you do to help keep the lights on entry safe?   Nick Levac  10:53 Yeah, that's a great question. We, you know, our I think you hit the last word there, and your question kind of hits on our main goal of everything that we do here at Hydro is safety. So, not only are we looking out for the publics safety, ensuring that trees are coming down on the line and staying energized. But we're also looking out for worker safety. So as we're going through, we tried to do preventative maintenance, so to speak. So very much like you get your oil changed in a car, or you put your winter tires on this time of year, we're trying to trim trees away from the lines to make sure they don't come in contact that avoids outages, unplanned outages, especially because, you know, it's one thing to get a phone call to say, Hey, your power is going to be out because we're doing preventative maintenance, whether it's tree trimming, or upgrading the electrical system. It's another thing to wake up at two o'clock in the morning after like, so the heat off and everything and it's unexpected, and you're trying to get your kids ready, you're at home or whatever. So preventative maintenance is the big thing. And we try to educate our customers that what we're doing out there is really just to make sure that we can decrease outages and especially those unplanned outages. The other thing that we look at when we're pruning trees is the tree health. And I know Greg's gonna get into this, I think a little bit later on. But just looking at the species of a tree and how we trimmed them to make sure that the health of the tree is also a huge interest for our births that are up there. They're all certified trained arborists, with some extra training on the electrical side, because obviously, we're trimming around live electrical lines. But when they get up into a tree, they're looking at the health of the tree. There's a lot of stuff once they get up into the canopy of the tree that they noticed that you can't see from the ground. So they're taking into account and they're taking out any Deadwood or anything in there and and try to not only like I mentioned before getting those clearances that we need for the electrical side, but also trying to enhance the tree growth away from our lines and lucky that the health of the tree, but take any dead wood or anything out of it.   Dan Seguin  12:55 So back to you, Greg, I know you trim trees on public property that are within three meters of an overhead line. But what about on private property? trees near utility lines inherently carry serious risk to property owners who may be injured or even killed when working near powerlines? What are homeowners responsible for? And when should they call the utility to arrange for their help? Like a planned outage? Basically, what do homeowners need to know?   Greg Tipman  13:33 Yeah, Dan, so when you're speaking about the kind of responsibilities on vegetation maintenance, Hydro Ottawa is responsible for the pole the pole wire vegetation maintenance. The area around the high voltage wire that Hydro trims is part of our responsibility is 10 feet for the primary which is usually the very top wire running pole, as well as about a three foot clearance around our low voltage or secondary wires. And again, that's the pole, the pole wires. Just I want to make that bold statement. That's Hydros responsibility as part of our maintenance package. Kind of like Nick was touching up on and that that happens pending what grid what year, you know, two to three years Central, within kind of the city core versus the outer rural areas. If a customer is looking to have work done on their tree which is growing out of their private property, and it's near our overhead wires, hydro comes in free charge we get it clear 10 feet 10 feet back, debris would stay on site, and then it would be the homeowners responsibility to either cut the tree down themselves hire private tree contractor or if they wanted, they could also hire hydro Ottawa, do our work for others program and we would write them out a full And we'll treat quote, and they would, they would pay an additional cost for that work that's outside of our regular maintenance scope. Now in regards to the, the wires running pole to house service wire, or if you're in a rural area, and it's a private primary wire, there's a couple options that they have for having those what those wires that vegetation trimmed out, they can either hire a private tree contractor, and hydro Ottawa, our service department provides one free disconnect a year for any tree work a little bit more legwork for the customer or the contractor to do, but it's an entirely viable option. The second option is they can again hire hydro, to trim out their service wire, to whatever specs we normally recommend. It's a low voltage secondary wire, to have about a three foot clearance on it, they want us to go with that option. I myself would write them out a formal tree, quote, and have all the details. proof of payment forehand would be had. And then we would schedule the customer an exact date. And they would essentially have the work done to what the quote was that they're paying for the work to be done and, and go from there. It's quite effective. We've gotten a lot of feedback from the customers about having their service wire trimmed down and there's been a lot of good things to have come from having us on site. And just doing it all, not having to worry about them having to organize an outage on their house. So it's, it's been a good go.   Dan Seguin  16:39 Here's another question for you, Greg. When planting a young sapling, it's often difficult to imagine that in a few years, like 10 years, it could have a significant impact on the landscape with an expanding canopy. As a homeowner, or a landscaper, if you are planting a new tree, how important is it to contact your utility service provider to discuss your plans? Do you have any tree planting advice? Or some good resources on what to plant and where?   Greg Tipman  17:18 Yes, yes. So basically, Hydro Ottawa has a really good source on our internet page. Basically, just type in Google out "Hydro Ottawa tree planting advice," and it'll take you right to a pamphlet that's been put on the internet. And it has everything for suggestions of where the tree should be planted, what type of species is it? How tall will it grow? How wide will the canopy grow? How many feet back from an overhead wire should be planted? It has a breakdown of species names. What soils are their best to be planted in? You know, like I said, they're their typical growth structure in relation to overhead wires. And there's also advice given on planting around underground wires, which a lot of people you know, you don't see them, you don't really think they're there. But most people just see the green box, the ground transformer, if you will. But where are the wires going? What? Which way? Can I plant and whatnot. So it's a really great resource that has a lot of information, a lot of diagrams. Definitely check it out. And then another great option would be just put a call in have myself or Nick show up. And, you know, we can tell you, you know, basically where the what, what's the lay of the land? What is your yard showing you? You know, are there other trees in the neighborhood or in your yard? You can get a very good look just from seeing what's out there, what to expect. And then and then go from there.   Dan Seguin  19:08 Okay, Nick, this next question might be in your wheelhouse. A power outage occurs when there's direct contact between two conducting lines face to face, or by providing a path for electricity to travel to the ground. There are several other ways that vegetation trees in particular, can cause power outages, wondering if you could expand on the causes and how utilities and folks in your profession mitigate that.   Nick Levac  19:40 Yeah, yeah, it's an interesting question. It's obviously something we look at all the time. And that's our biggest goal within our department is to mitigate those outages and I actually came from a background in the lines department as a power line maintainer for 10 years and then and swung over and got into working with the veg management program. And, you know, I'd say it's a really good partnership that we have right now, not only with Greg and our other utility forestry inspectors, but along with our contractor Aspen who's doing the work for us. And, you know, that's a constant conversation that we're having week in, week out. And not only are we reviewing any outages that might have occurred the week before and trying to follow up on those to see why those power outages occurred and how we can hopefully prevent them from reoccurring. But within the system itself, the electrical system, we have, it's very much like your house where it's set up where we have different circuits all the way through the city. And within each circuit, we have different fusing, the further you get away from the substation. So the fusion coordination can really help out if you have a tree that falls at the very end of that circuit. We have the fusion set up in a way that it's only going to go back to the next device downstream. And if everything is working properly, that fuse will open up and it'll really shrink the size of that outage rather than going all the way back to the substation. So if you can imagine if you have 1000 customers on a circuit, and you had 10, different fuses all the way down, and that last one blows, you're gonna only affect 100 people instead of 1000 people. Also, within our system, we have devices called reclosers. So I'm sure many, many, many listeners have had their lights flicker on and off two or three times. And then unfortunately, after that third flicker, the power does stay off permanently. That means that there's a bigger issue on the line and that reclosure could self clear. So those devices are there. For momentary outages, when they see a spike in amperage, they'll open up the circuit, and give time for that tree or whatever that foreign interference is to clear itself. And then close back in with the hopes that once it closes back in that that power will stay on. If it senses that it's still there, it'll open back up again. Hopefully allow it to clear a little bit longer closed back in again, and hopefully the second time's a charm. Unfortunately, sometimes that doesn't work. And then you experienced that outage, the last kind of protection in the whole stream protection devices is that circuit breaker back at the station. That's kind of the worst case if we see a circuit open up. That means that there's a major problem. Usually, like you mentioned there, there's a face to face kind of issue where two conductors have slapped together. And that's kind of what causes the biggest outage, that's when we know we have a large problem. And the other issue with that is because our circuits are so long, some of them are you know, in the downtown core where we have more substations, it's a little bit easier to find because you know, the circuit might only be say a kilometer or two long, but if you get out into the rural Orleans, Kanata, down south though Manotick, Nepean you can have, you know, 10-15-20 kilometers a line. So if your circuit breaker and your station opens up, that means that somewhere between your station at the end of the line is your problem. So their fault indicators and stuff on your line that can help pinpoint it. But it definitely can make it more challenging when you're starting back at your substation now having to patrol 2020 kilometers a line versus if that fuse opens at the very end of your line you okay, it's the last section within that line. The other thing that can really help us out is the customers in the field. So a lot of times we'll get calls in and it's great to get that information and Hyderabad was very active on social media and that that definitely helps if, if a customer sees a problem if they see a line down if they see a bright blue flash if they hear alert, loud bang, you know, first and foremost, let us know don't ever approach down wire stay away even trees that could be leaning up against a wire. And I mentioned this before just because the trees against the wire if that wire still energizes that could potentially energize that tree. So we want to make sure we stay back, you know, stay back 10 meters from that tree, stay back 10 meters from that electrical line because you don't know if it's on or if it's still alive. So your safety is first and foremost, call 911. If there's any you know, immediate hazard fire police can come in and assist, they will get a hold of our system offers right away and direct us to that. Or if it's something that's, you know, a little bit less than you think that Hydros should know, we have lots of different social media channels you can reach out on and let us know. And that really does help because that information does find its way down to the crews in the fields and it helps us get to the outage and find that problem that's causing the outage that much quicker.   Dan Seguin  24:57 In addition to being a qualified arborist Greg, you also have extensive knowledge about electricity. Can you talk about this dual role and special qualifications that you have? How dangerous is your job? And do you work around live electricity at high voltage?   Greg Tipman  25:17 Yeah, Dan. So just a little background on my schooling and qualifications. So I did my forestry technologist diploma at Algonquin, which is a two year program. And then from there, I moved out to BC to work on some really big trees and wildlife out there. I morphed into the utility side of tree work. And that's where I went and did my apprenticeship program. From there, you need approximately 4000 hours just to qualify, the program is a two year program, you accumulate about about 6000 hours around of live line clearing, working around the wires, you learn how electricity all the bases, electricity, how it works, how to identify the equipment, that coupled with your actual tree work in the tree, the the tools, special tools you'll be using, so dielectrically tools, how to operate bucket trucks, so on and so forth, rigging big chunks of wood down and trees how to do it safely. All the while in close proximity to these overhead high voltage wires. It's very, very dangerous. I mean, you couple your, you know, 3040 5060 feet up hanging by ropes, you're using a chainsaw to cut wood. Plus you have a live line that's, you know, five, six feet away from you. So it's definitely very dangerous. But the schooling, the on the job training that you get just, you know, old hands, showing you the techniques, the up to date, safety standards, and whatnot, it makes your comfort level something that you would never, you know, come natural to you become second nature. So it's definitely a process, it's definitely building confidence over time. And then, you know, taking classes, learning, whether it's through the International Society of Arboriculture on the tree side of things for tree health, you know, what are the tree species? Biology pests? You know, a lot of times customers will ask, you know, why is my tree dying? Why is it declining? A lot of times people will think, oh, it's Hydro, you trimmed the tree incorrectly? Well, no, it's, you know, a pest infestation or you did some landscaping or whatnot, the roots have been killed and whatnot. So it's learning all that, that, you know, information and coupling it and pairing it with the electrical side of things that it really makes for a harmonious job and, you know, a great aspect to keep learning, there's always new information, new research coming out on on trees and the electrical side of things. You know, and then just just basically, you know, having the resources also at hydro Ottawa, it makes that partnership that much better for getting the work done and done safely.   Dan Seguin  28:41 Okay, so, Greg, I've seen some amazing footage of folks in your profession climbing pretty high in trees. So besides not having a fear of heights. What's that, like? And what's the favorite thing about your job? Have you ever surprised some birds or even squirrels? Or have surprised you?   Greg Tipman  29:06 Yeah, so kind of, like I was touching on there. I mean, the fear of heights is not was never really the big, big deal. It was more trusting your gear. Knowing that, you know, a 10-12 millimeter diameter rope is going to hold you and your gear. You know, it's going to hold, you know, wood swinging around and whatnot, it's not going to break off, you know that your knots have been tied correctly. They're not going to come undone, you're gonna fall to your death and get injured or whatnot. Those were kind of the first fears to really get over. But once you get that , it's practice. The more you do it, the more you get comfortable doing it, the more you feel safe and secure. I've definitely had some weird, interesting animal encounters while working in the trees. I've had birds land on my head and stay there. Are while working. I've had raccoons, you know, climb out hollows. I've had bats, you know, fly out from underneath bark. But probably the scariest wasn't in the tree yet, but we're doing some ground slash BC and probably 10-12 feet away, a black bear just goes running right by. And yeah, it was exhilarating, but it was done in a flash and yeah, nothing more. But you know, it definitely, you know, could have been a different interesting situation had the bear been a, you know, an angry bear, if you will or whatnot. But, you know, if we're, yeah, for the most part, it's the job. You get to see nature all the time. And there's always something great to see. Animal wise.   Dan Seguin  30:50 Okay, both. Are you ready to tag team and close us off with some rapid fire questions? Greg, I'm going to start with you. What's your favorite tree?   Greg Tipman  31:01 Can I give you four Dan? So Eastern White Pine, the monkey puzzle tree, Giant Sequoia, and the Charlie Brown Christmas tree.   Dan Seguin  31:12 Nick, let's move on to you. What is one thing you can't live without?   Nick Levac  31:17 That's an easy one. It's got to be my family. My two girls at home, my lovely wife, and probably a good cup of coffee or a nice americano in the morning just to get things going.   Dan Seguin  31:28 Greg, what habit or hobby? Have you picked up during shelter in place?   Greg Tipman  31:37 Probably flying and crashing my drone, I need more practice.   Dan Seguin  31:48 Okay, next one is for you, Nick. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?   Nick Levac  31:56 You know what, I think never to age physically. Only in wisdom. The body's getting a little bit older. And every time I go out and try to play hockey or do something now I wake up a little bit sore in the morning so I would keep my physical health. Maybe back when I was in my 20s. That would be amazing.   Dan Seguin  32:16 What about you, Greg, what would your superpower be?   Greg Tipman  32:20 Maybe just unlimited superpowers.   Dan Seguin  32:25 Okay, back to you, Nick. If you could turn back time and talk to your 18 year old self? What would you tell him?   Nick Levac  32:33 You know, I probably try to let them in on a couple of neat world events that we're going to take place between then and then when they're my age now, and just tell him to go there and make sure he's present. And no matter what the cost is. Sometimes you only get what's a once in a lifetime chance to see things and make sure he gets there to experience that life.   Dan Seguin  32:58 And lastly, this one is for the both of you. What do you currently find most interesting in your sector? Greg?   Greg Tipman  33:08 It's really the day to day change, there's always a different challenge that's coming up, you're always in a different location dealing with different people. So it's never, you know, a month a monotonous job, it's always fluid, there's always something new.   Dan Seguin  33:26 What about you, Nick?   Nick Levac  33:28 What excites me the most coming down the pipe, I think it's the technology that hopefully we're going to be exposed to. I mean, Greg mentioned crashing his drone, but you know, just even stuff like that, and us being able to fly over headlines and really take a good snapshot of what that vegetation looks like within our city. And and what we can do to kind of have a good mix between you know, maintaining that Urban Canopy in Ottawa, and then also at the same time keeping the electricity on and if we can use different types of technology that's coming down the pipe to find a balance between the two that we can get out and and proactively trim trees because we know exactly where they are. And also keep that Urban Canopy for the customers here in Ottawa. I think there's an interesting mix coming down, how we can leverage that technology to our advantage.   Dan Seguin  34:17 Nick, and Greg, we reached the end of another episode of The think energy podcast. I hope you had a lot of fun. And again, thank you so much for joining me today. Cheers.   Greg Tipman  34:33 Thanks again for having us, Dan.   Nick Levac  34:35 Yes, thank you, Dan.   Dan Seguin  34:38 Thanks for tuning in for another episode of The thinkenergy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review where ever you're listening! And to find out more about today's guests or previous episodes, visit thinkenergypodcast.com. I hope you will join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.    

We're back for Season 4! Instead of our usual 2 minute teaser episode we are launching with a bang: just shy of 2 hours of mostly 18th century prose! In this episode Jed surprises Alistair with a dramatic reading of several passages  from Watkin Tench's 1793 publication 'A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson'. The stories we explore relate to some of the first journeys the colonisers made to Dyarubbin, the river that they had mistakenly identified as both the Hawkesbury and the Nepean. Tench's writing gives us access to life on the river in the first years of the colony and shows some of the earliest interactions between the British and the Dharug people in the brief period before their displacement began.

We've hit the Nepean and set up next to a loud fridge for a barnstormer of an episode with LAWRENCE MOONEY and SAM PANG! We hear all about Mooney's current mini tour of the Peninsula, his run-ins with various different fans, and the reviews of his latest book! Plus, Tommy's seen a very out-of-place character down the street in Mornington, Chandler's had an eventful Christmas day, and Pang's daring Mooney to keep out of the papers in 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Ep 160: The best Ottawa brewery you've never heard of This holiday season, Karp is going through Nita Beer Company's Holiday Craft Beer Calendar and thoroughly enjoying all the great festive flavors from the Ottawa and Ontario beer scene. As well, Andy has been busy promoting the breweries who participated in the Calendar on Nita Beer Company's social media. In this interview, he talks about how he used beer as a tool to teach students and someone who gets to travel the world with Justin Trudeau. All Beer Inside is a podcast by and for craft beer lovers. We travel near and far to sample the best brews and meet fellow aficionados. Drink craft, not crap! Please like, share, comment, subscribe and hit that notification bell! Meads tasted:- Sweet Thumbs- Ginger of Sussex- OPA Nita Beer Company190 Colonnade Rd #17, Nepean, OntarioWebsite, Instagram, Facebook All Beer Inside:Website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Untappd: @allbeerinside The video portion of this interview can be found here Search for All Beer Inside in all your favorite apps. #CraftBeer #CraftBeerLove #DrinkCraftNotCrap #interview #NitaBeerCompany

Charelle Ainslie is running at the upcoming election as an independent candidate in the seat of Nepean and flagged the issue with Neil Mitchell. She said "alarm bells went off" when her father received a letter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the last 6 weeks, we have covered all about dry skin conditions. From the definition, medical dry skin conditions, living with it, chapped lips and treatments. And to cap this 6-part series, we will be speaking with Mustafa Dhahir about the Dermal Therapy range. Mustafa Dhahir is a registered pharmacist and currently practising community pharmacist. With over 5 years of community experience, Mustafa uses his expertise in pharmacy to create content online on social media. Mustafa has accrued over 280k followers on TikTok and 10k followers on Instagram by creating informative and humorous video content that his audience can relate to. In addition to his pharmaceutical and social media career, Mustafa is currently training as a student doctor in the Nepean area at the University of Sydney. He is expected to finish his Doctor of Medicine Degree (MD) in 2024 and plans to practice both medicine and pharmacy as a career. Enjoy this episode! Learn more about Mustafa Dhahir: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pharmustafa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pharmustafa/ This episode is brought to you by Dermal Therapy. The Dermal Therapy Very Dry Skin Range is formulated to address the many symptoms of dry skin conditions, and boasts clinical results. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast! And follow us on Instagram @dermhealth.co or visit us online at https://www.dermhealth.co/ This podcast was published by Digital Health Co --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dermhealthco/message

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says it might be time to ditch the "one in-100-year flood" refrain as parts of the state flood for the 4th time in 18 months. Steph Cooke, NSW Minister for Flood Recovery, Emergency Services and Resilience says every time a flooding event occurs, the refrain seems more out of touch.

Sydney's western suburbs are among the hardest hit by the latest flooding disaster, with new evacuation orders coming into place overnight. The area also dominates the list of the 23 areas that will be given recovery support.

Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt says the flood crisis gripping Greater Sydney will likely get worse throughout the day, especially around the Nepean and Hawkesbury Rivers. With 6000 homes under evacuation orders, the Minister has announced a further 100 defence personnel will be deployed to help with sandbagging and water rescues.

Nepean Hospital will act to address the concerns of a husband prevented from seeing his ill wife. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An infectious disease outbreak at a Nepean Hospital ward is preventing families from visiting loved ones. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shadow health minister Ryan Park told Ben the situation is unacceptable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Williams reflects on the Andrew Ramsden Stakes win of Point Nepean, who booked a ticket into November's Melbourne Cup

Recording date, April 19, 2022 The Eager Beaver Pod asks its guests if they're willing to provide an extended interview, so that we may better get to know them/what makes them tick. When they agree, we package it together and present to you as part of this series. This week's guest, Tyler Watt, is a health care professional by training, a prolific Tweeter, and a man who decided that now was the time to roll up his sleeves and get more deeply involved as a candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party in the electoral district of Nepean. We enjoy an extensive discussion during which we touch upon how he came to politics, what he brings to the game, and the policies for which he advocates. It's time to vote; let's make sure it's an informed choice. _____ Of course, retweets, shares, gentle corrections, constructive criticism, compliments, tips, requests and positive reviews (if you think we deserve some stars, please rate us) are always welcome. You can do that via our show's Facebook blog page on via Twitter @TrueEager. Until then, be kind to, and gentle with, yourselves, Your Eager Beaver * * * Thank you to our podcast's founding sponsors: * The Peppermaster * The Miss Vee Mysteries from Corvid Moon Publishing * Canadian Tarot Dot Com _____ Follow Tyler via Twitter @TylerWatt90

Holy crow: was it ever lovely to converse and catch up with my old touring pal and JUNO nominated mega-talent Saskatchewanian music magician Megan Nash. Throughout their self-produced upcoming album Soft Focus Futures, Megan Nash mines the death of her marriage for clues that could decode its demise and set her on a path toward some sort of stability in self. In the process, they achieve a distillation of heartache and its attendant, all-consuming power that arrives like a 100-year flood in blossoming crescendos buoyed by precise poetry evoking unnatural disasters, the tyranny of silence, old dogs, and the isolation of life in the country. Megan and I chatted about the road, touring life, mental health, the shared trauma of the pandemic, relationships ending, pep 'n cheds (those dual pepperoni and cheddar sticks you get at most gas stations), and her new podcast which is actually called Pep 'N Ched. It was a lovely time. Find out more about Megan on her website at http://megannash.ca and check out her latest youtube video at https://youtu.be/xpwHzlpLtr0Catch me live on Rachel's driveway (in the west end of Nepean) on Saturday May 28 to kick off Yard Show Season! Email $20 to wurgin@gmail.com to RSVP (limited tickets available)For more shows and updates, stay tuned to all Graventown happenings at http://gravencanada.com - you are loved. Catch me in a town near you by visting my website to see where I'm playing. If people can hate for no reason, I can love for no reason - and I love you. Thanks for stopping by Graventown. Yer always welcome here. As a full time independent artist, you can support me by joining my SUPER RAD subscription service at https://ko-fi.com/gravencanada

If you thought yesterday's rainfall in Sydney was heavy, welcome to Thursday.By 9am, the city had reached its average total of rainfall for an entire year - a whole nine months ahead of schedule.More than 1214mm of rain has already fallen on the city, with even more set to come. Major Flood warnings Nepean and Georges rivers. Torrential rain and flash flooding today ##Sydney and #Illawarra. Sydney has now passed it's annual average rain with >1214mm. LIVE coverage all day on Sky News Weather. #SydneyStorm #NSWFloods @SkyNewsAust @SkyWeatherAUS pic.twitter.com/G3S6brqeuK— Thomas Saunders (@TomSaundersSNW) April 6, 2022 The inclement weather has led to warnings that major suburbs in the city's west, including Liverpool, could flood later in the day as swollen rivers burst their banks. Already, train services have been disrupted near Sydney.And it's not just Sydney – a vast swath of New South Wales is seeing large falls as far inland as Dubbo and Orange, as well as along much of the coast."The rain event has really only just begun," Sky News Weather meteorologist Rob Sharpe said."There's still a fair way to go with this event with a lot of rainfall charging into [Australia's east]."'Serious concern'The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall for the entire NSW coast between Newcastle and Bega, near the Victorian border, for Thursday.At least 100mm is possible in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and down the south coast over the next few days."But there's potential for totals of up to around 300mm. So that's why flash flooding is a serious concern," Sharpe said.The torrential conditions are due to a combination of factors. The La Nina climate driver continues to push warm moist air towards the continent. At the same time, cooler than usual air is high in the atmosphere and that's causing the warmer moisture to rise and then form clouds and rain – lots of it."That's our rainmaking event that is moving through the upper system and that's driving the whole thing," he said.Grim rain record could be beaten todayOn Wednesday, Sydney Airport record 111mm of rain, more than 15mm above its entire average monthly rainfall for April in a single day.Lucas Heights, in the city's south, topped out at 84mm while the CBD weather station, next to the Harbour Bridge, recorded 86mm.So far in 2022, Sydney's CBD has seen at least 1112mm of rain. The average annual rainfall in Sydney is 1164mm.That means if just another 52mm falls on Thursday – and double that is possible – the city will have equalled its usual rainfall for the entire year in just three months and one week. ⚠️ Minor to Major #Flood Warning issued for #Nepean and #Hawkesbury Rivers. #Menangle minor expected at 6:00 am, may reach major Thursday evening. Moderate for #Camden #Wallacia. See https://t.co/AdztI2rqg1 for details and updates; follow advice from @NSWSES #NSWFloods pic.twitter.com/gexASKbXgX— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) April 6, 2022 Thunderstorms are also possible but the intensity of the rain should lessen going into Thursday evening and Friday. It's likely the big wet will subside over the coming days – at least for now.It's much the same story throughout other parts of Sydney, with Penrith in the west also set to see 60-100mm and then between 20-30mm on Friday and spells of less heavy rain through the weekend.Minor to moderate flooding is possible on the Nepean, Hawkesbury, Colo, Georges and Woronora rivers in and around Sydney with flooding very possible in riverside suburbs such as Liverpool, Milperra and Menangle.At 6am on Thursday, buses were replacing trains between Thirroul and Waterfall on the NSW Train Link South Coast line due heavy rain at Helensburgh.Much of NSW set to be smashedWollongong could see 70-120mm on Thursday and up to 45mm on Friday; 60mm could find its way down to Bega; up to 170mm could fall on Katoomba over the next couple of...

رودخانه‌ های Nepean, Hawkesbury  و Georges  در سیدنی موجب ایجاد سیل عظیمی شده اند و به هزاران نفر دستور تخلیه منازل خود داده شده است.

The Nepean, Hawkesbury and Georges rivers are causing major flooding in Sydney, with thousands of people ordered to evacuate. - В четверг ожидается крупное наводнение вдоль рек Nepean, Hawkesbury и Georges.

Ottawa's energy ecosystem is unique, with long-standing localized and green generation. In fact, did you know Hydro Ottawa is the largest municipally-owned producer of clean, renewable energy in Canada? Bryce Conrad, Hydro Ottawa President and CEO, joins Dan and Rebecca to discuss the company's commitment to making its entire operations net zero by 2030. Related links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryce-conrad-2ab1b352/ https://hydroottawa.com Check out our new Think Energy Podcast website To subscribe using Apple Podcasts To subscribe using Spotify: To subscribe on Libsyn: --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: YouTube Podcast Library Keep up with the Tweets at Think Energy Twitter Check out our cool pics on Instagram More to Learn on Facebook Transcript:   Dan Seguin  00:06 This is the energy. The podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, and my co host, Rebecca Schwartz, as we explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry.   Dan Seguin  00:30 Hey, everyone, welcome back.   Rebecca Schwartz  00:32 To refresh our listeners, or in case they missed it in December, our organization Hydro Ottawa announced that it will make its entire operations net zero by the time 2030 rolls around. And by my calculations, that's only eight years away. In order to achieve net zero, you have to remove as much greenhouse gas emissions or more than you're currently putting into the atmosphere.   Dan Seguin  00:54 Now, to put it into further perspective, Ottawa's electricity grid stretches 1100 square kilometers. It's essentially Ottawa's largest machine. Add to that our fleet of bucket trucks and other vehicles, various work centers across the city and more than 700 employees, you start to realize that this is no small endeavor.   Rebecca Schwartz  01:23 Our President and CEO likes to call it our moonshot after the Apollo 11 mission where we sent a man to the moon in the 1960s.   Dan Seguin  01:31 Actually, the timeline to achieve both is pretty similar. President Kennedy announced his ambitious goal to Congress in 1961. By 1969, a man was on the surface of the moon. In those short, eight years, it must have seemed impossible to many.   Rebecca Schwartz  01:54 While Canada's putting as much pollution into the atmosphere, unfortunately, as it did a generation ago- 730 million tons to be exact. Canada's electricity industry is one of the cleanest in the world. In fact, 80% of the electricity in Canada comes from non emitting resources.   Dan Seguin  02:11 And Ontario's electricity sector is even more impressive. With 94% of its electricity we produce completely free of greenhouse gas emissions, some experts say that fully decarbonizing the electricity industry will be the key climate change solution for Canada.   Rebecca Schwartz  02:31 Here's today's big question. What will it take to get Hydro Ottawa to net zero by 2030? And what inspired the decision to be the first municipally owned utility in Canada to do it? We've been building an impressive resume here at Hydro Ottawa when it comes to environmental sustainability. Most recently, we even won the Canadian Electricity Association's Sustainability Electricity Company Designation in 2021. But we'll get into all of that with our special guest later today.   Dan Seguin  02:59 Bryce Conrad has been the President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa since 2011. Under his leadership, Hydro Ottawa has become one of the most innovative utilities in Canada, regularly winning awards and accolades for its customer oriented services and its commitment to environmental sustainability. It is the largest municipally owned producer of clean, renewable energy in Ontario. He's also my boss, Bryce, welcome to the show. Now Hydro Ottawa recently made a net zero by 2030 commitment, and there's a lot of momentum in that direction in corporate Canada. Generally, what's your view on its importance? What makes for truly credible and meaningful net zero commitment?   Bryce Conrad  03:53 Collectively, we, as a society, have been talking about this for, quite frankly, too long. I mean, when I did this presentation to the board, any reference back to Kyoto and the Kyoto protocols, and then Paris, Montreal, I mean, every four or five years, they get around to having another meeting and collectively agreed to do something, but never do anything. So there's a whole lot of talk and nothing else much. So, from our perspective, as a company, it's time to start taking responsibility for our own house, and the impact that we have collectively on our own environments. That we can and will do better, that we can be part of the solution. And, I'd say this, as someone who spent time in the federal government, who's worked 15 years working in federal provincial relations. I mean, the answer to climate change is not going to come from some magical central government telling us what to do or what not to do. It's not going to come from a provincial government. The solutions are going to be local, they're going to come from the ground up, and they're going to be you and me doing the right thing each and every day. Changing our own behavior, recognizing that the behavior, that the path that we're on today is unsustainable, and being willing to make those changes. I love the idea that there's still some expectation that there is going to be some sort of savior that's going to come in and fix everything for us. And if you look at Jeff Bezos, you look at Elon Musk, I mean, the two wealthiest men in the world and they're trying to get off the planet faster than they can stay on the planet. So, by building rocket ships and stuff, so the answer is not there. What I do like about this time, what I do think is different this time, is, for the first time, at least from my perception, the first time is that it's not simply going to be the government's making commitments. You're actually starting to see the private sector come to the table with money and solutions. When you see people like Larry Fink, and you see OMERS, in the big pension funds, and the big banks, the big insurance companies - When you start seeing these massive multibillion dollar business, stepping up to the table and saying, we're gonna put our money where our mouth is, and we're gonna start to change behavior. That's kind of special. That's the secret sauce, it's necessary to solve this problem. And the perfect example, and I've used this before, and I'll use it again, is the largest public sector pension fund in the world, is a Norwegian pension fund, which effectively is the Canada Pension Fund for Norwegians. And they've got 1.6 $1.8 trillion under management. And the source of that funds, the genesis of that fund was essentially selling the offshore oil rights for Norwegian oil development in the North Sea. And now they're saying we no longer will invest in companies that produce fossil fuel. So, isn't it ironic that a company that a pension fund, the largest in the world, that's sourced began via fossil fuel money is now turning their attention to green technologies? That's new. That's different. That's something we haven't seen before.   Dan Seguin  07:49 Okay, here's a follow up question. Can you maybe expand on what you mean, when you say net zero is our 'moonshot'? What is behind the comparison of the Apollo 11 mission that inspired you? So on YouTube, you can go back and dial up all these old speeches and watch them and watch them anew. But look, if you go back to JFK in 1961, so he does this speech before for the joint House and Senate. And, it's not a long speech. So I'd encourage everyone to go watch it. There's, it's about a minute long, the clip that that's relevant anyway. And in that speech, he says, we are going to go to the moon before the end of the decade. So he's doing this in '61. Obviously, they went to the moon 69. So as part of that, he does something that people don't do enough of these days, right, he literally says - We're going to go to the moon. So that's our objective. And I have no idea how we're going to get there. I'm paraphrasing, obviously, I have no idea how we're going to get there, the technology doesn't exist, the fuel doesn't exist, the booster rocket technology doesn't exist. And that kind of the capsule necessary to get someone to and from the moon doesn't exist today. So he's making this bold announcement without having,  and then acknowledging that he doesn't know how they're going to do it. And, and I thought that's just so, quite frankly, refreshing in this day and age where everything is kind of pre packaged, right. Like, we know what we're going to do this next two years, but we already know that we've got it in the bag, and here's how it's going to be done. I like the idea of setting the big, hairy, audacious goal for the company and saying, I've said this to the management team. I have no clue how we're gonna get there. I don't know. Like, I I know what we need to start doing. But I don't know what the answer is. But I work with some of the smartest people in the game and I know that if they're empowered to do this, and we put our minds to this, we will do this. Like, that's what Kennedy counted on '61. And that's lo and behold what happened. So, when I liken it to the moonshot, it's just that- it's the it's the big, hairy, audacious goal, without any real clear roadmap as to how to accomplish that goal. And I think quite frankly, that's what served us best is when we don't necessarily have the answers, we have to make up. We have to figure our way through this stuff. And I see that every day of the company, right? If you look back at what we how we handle the tornadoes, if you look back at the way we handle the floods, if you look at the way we handle our system. Yeah, there's a lot of prescriptive stuff. Yes, there's a lot of this is how we do things. But there are a lot of days we throw out the rulebook, you throw out the manual, and you have to figure your way forward. And that's when this company is at its best. So, that's the that's the moonshot.   Rebecca Schwartz  10:53 Now, how concerned are you about climate change and environmental damage? What does the energy transition mean for Hydro Ottawa as it exists today, and for you personally, as we look to the future?   Bryce Conrad  11:05  So let's just state categorically that climate change is real. As I sit here, today, it's like minus 27,000 degrees outside. People go 'oh if it is global warming why is it so damn cold', and of course, you just want to smack people that say things like that. But, God's honest truth is climate change is not about the day to day weather, it's about weather patterns. It's about how, in the past, we've had wind storms and ice storms, we've had eight tornadoes, including one in downtown to Nepean. We've had a one in 100 year flood, followed by a one in 1000 year flood. We've had heat waves that have stretched and taxed our system. And all of this is just like, quite frankly, within the past five years. So that's what climate change means. It means unpredictable, changing, dramatically changing weather patterns. And if you run a utility, like I do, or like we do,you don't like that. You know, our infrastructure is built to withstand X. It's not built to withstand x plus 30%, or x plus 50%. So, you know, when a windstorm comes through, you know, the infrastructure is ready to sustain winds up to 90 miles an hour or something like that? Well, you know, we all saw what happened when tornadoes came through, you know, 130 miles, or 160 miles an hour, right? Those poles snap like twigs. That's what climate change means. So, you know, it's terrifying. It's absolutely terrifying. And you know, it's something that we have to start to build into our plans as to how do we build better in the future? So are we building our infrastructure to withstand 90 mile an hour winds? Are we building them to withstand 150 mile an hour winds? Well, there's a cost difference to that. Obviously, the answer is, yeah, we've got to do a better job of building stronger, more resilient infrastructure. If you saw during the floods, our Chaudiere facility, our generating asset, Chaudiere Falls. You know, you were seeing for the first time in history, all 50 of the gates of the ring dam were open. I mean, and there was more, I think it was two Olympic swimming pools passing through the gates every second. The waterfall, the water, the speed, and the waterfall was faster than the Niagara Falls, like, I mean, these are things that shouldn't be happening in downtown Ottawa, but have happened, you know, three times since I've been here. And that's 10 years. So if anyone wants to have a debate about whether or not climate change is real, call me up. Let's have that conversation. Because it's, it's very real, and it's going to dramatically impact our future. In terms of the energy transition, I think I talked a bit about it. But, you know, when we bottomed out, and look at what our future looks like, 50 years from now, our infrastructure looks fundamentally different than it does today. It's in fundamentally different places than it is today. You know, we're gonna rely upon artificial intelligence, machine learning. You know, each and every one of those, like, everything will be censored up. So, you know, the idea is that, as opposed to us rolling a truck to fix something that's broken or down, we can sort of simply reroute it from the control center. So yes, we still have to get out there and fix what's broken but for you, the customer of Hydro Ottawa, you actually won't notice the impact because the power will have switched over to another source instantaneously. That's the goal. I think, you know, you'll see more and more people, and I've been telling people this for 10 years, right? The day in and the age of, you know, my grandmother who used to sort of wait patiently in the mailbox for the bill to come in so she could open it up that day, write a check, and put it back in the mailbox the next day. Those days are gone. And those people are gone. The people that are our customers today, they want to interact, they want more, they want to understand how they can measure utility, they want to understand how they can manage their energy consumption. Particularly if you start to put the onus on them with respect to climate change and what they're doing. So they're going to want to know, like, you know, do I plug my electric car in? If I plug it in? Now? You know, do I wait and charge it between two and 4am? Or do I charge it now? You know, can I charge my house with my car, you know, they're going to be part of this and will be part of the solution. But they're also gonna have expectations of us as a provider to be transparent, authentic, reliable, managing the costs. So that energy transition is going to be huge for us. And it's only going to get more complicated. And I haven't even talked about the downside, right? I mean, the more you open the kimono, and you allow the customers to sort of engage with you directly, the more opportunity you're giving for nefarious actors to sort of engage in the things that we don't want to be happening, things like cybersecurity.   Dan Seguin  16:54 Okay, let's talk energy now, Bryce. We've got an interesting energy ecosystem here in Ottawa with long standing localized and green generation. We had distributed energy resources before it was a thing. Is there a model here that can be applied more broadly?   Bryce Conrad  17:13 Yeah, you know what, so I always like to think that Hydro Ottawa was at the cutting edge of these sorts of things. So, we were doing distributed energy resources before for the term for it. We were cool before we knew it was cool. So short answer, yeah, we've got massive generating assets in our backyard, which theoretically, can be used as distributed energy resources. As we go forward, my expectation is that. And I'd be the first to admit that having Chaudiere and the big generating assets is a massive advantage for the company. But, where we haven't done so well with our customers is with respect to some of the other DER activity. Like, the local homeowner that wants to put up solar, solar panels and stuff like that. And the God's honest truth is, those little installations are a real pain. They're a pain to manage. They're all kind of one-offs. Every one of them is individualized, everyone requires a lot of time and attention. But that's not the right answer. The right answer is we should be treating these things as gifts. We should be doing everything in our power to support them and roll them out even further. So, my expectation is over the course of the next 5-10 years, you're going to see us serve as a catalyst role for further DERs in the community. So that's the first one I would say is if you're waiting to install solar panels, or you need to - you want t- - give us a call, we're here to help you support it. But one of the projects that I think stands out is kind of unique, certainly in Canada, and one that we're particularly proud of, just given the role we played, is down at the Zibi community. Which is, for those who don't know, sort of, well, it's on an island. No man's land between the two provinces. So half of it is in Quebec, the other half is in Ontario. Andthe developer down there, kudos to them. They are partners in dream properties, I guess, four or five years ago, six years ago with the idea of using these developments, which is 34 acres on the waterfront and turning it into a one planet, one world kind of community where it's zero carbon. You know, they could have just asked us to run pipe or run power lines, but we thought, here's an opportunity for us to get in on the ground and see how this actually works. So it's up, it's running, condos are being built for people living there today. There's the heat and cooling - the heat coming from effluent discharge under the Kruger paper plant over on the Gatineau side. So. essentially this is a waste product that's being pumped back into the pipes so we can heat the homes. Conversely, in the summer they're using the Ottawa River to sort of cool it. And again, it's it's a real, full scale model of what a zero carbon energy system would look like. And there's no reason you can't take that same model and apply it on a broader scale and even broader scale. Which is something that we're keen to replicate where, if and when we get the opportunity, but it's truly unique and we're quite proud of it. Again, we got in on the ground floor and said, this is something that we're interested in, so how can we help you. And full credit to the development team, they saw the opportunity to work with us and gave us an opportunity.   Dan Seguin  21:22 Now, a lot of focus is on national targets. But here in Ottawa, we see a central role for ourselves in working with the city, customers, and other stakeholders to help drive down emissions. How much of climate action needs to be local? How important do you see Hydro Ottawa's role being to affect change?   Bryce Conrad  21:46 Yeah, well, like I said earlier, I think if we're going to stand around waiting for the Federal government or the province, or some other larger national entity, to sort of tell us how to solve this problem, I think we'll still be standing around waiting for a few years. So, my perception is that all politics is local. And that the solution to this problem is local. And I just gave you an example of the Zibi community,  where that is a local project that has been done. It's been done locally, not because someone said at the Government of Canada," thou shalt build a zero carbon community". They did it because it was the right thing to do. And they felt they could do it in that environment. Again, no direction from the feds of the province. It was purely local. So the answer, as I said, is local. It's going to be local, it's going to be you and me and Rebecca, and everybody else coming up and making decisions on our own, that we want to leave this place in a better place for our kids. It's that little expression, ou Chair reminds me a lot on a daily basis. You know, leave the campsite in a better place than you found it kind of thing, right! So, that's our goal. That's, that's my goal coming to Hydro Ottawa was to leave the company in a better place that I found it. That should be our collective goals. So, the City of Ottawa has declared a climate emergency, they have announced their targets, they're ramping up a series of climate change initiatives to meet those targets. Our job is to support them, they're our shareholders. So, if we can bring our money, our expertise, to help support them deploying carbon free energy solutions, or just things that can help curb carbon, then that's what we'll do. I think we've got a pretty good track record, quite frankly, the fact that we've announced that we're going to be carbon neutral by 2030 is one thing to say, but we're doing it and we're on our way.  And that garnered the attention of other organizations in town who were saying, well, if Hydro Ottawa was going to do this, maybe they can help us do the same thing. Now, is 2030 an audacious goal for some of them? Yeah, it's probably unrealistic for some but, the point is, at least we're doing it and obviously it would be inconceivable for the City of Ottawa model to get there by 2030. But isn't it nice to know that they can count on a partner that is going to be carbon neutral by 2030 to help them achieve their objectives going forward? So look, we're an innovative company. We're the largest producer of green renewable energy in Canada. We've got a first rate utility, and we've got an energy solutions company that's there to support our customers, our businesses, and our shareholders. And we will deploy all three to that benefit. So, I think my expectation is that as we go into this next municipal election, climate change  will be -if it's not going to be number one or number two, on the agenda, I'll be shocked. Like, I honestly think it's risen to that level of importance for the citizens of Ottawa. So yeah, taxes are always there, but I think climate change is going to be right up there with it.   Rebecca Schwartz  25:33 So Bryce, as you know, we're in the distinctive position at Hydro Ottawa of having cross border assets in Ontario, Quebec and New York. How important is it that Canada's electricity system, as a whole, becomes more integrated across provincial boundaries? And what key steps can we expect will be taken in that direction?   Rebecca Schwartz  25:53 Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's a great question, Rebecca. And I think what people don't really appreciate is just how, how amazing the electricity grid actually is. It is a fully integrated machine that works from one side of the continent to the other side. I mean, it's just truly magical that you can sort of walk into your room and turn on a light 99.999% of the time and that lights are gonna come on. And that's a credit to the people that built the system in the first place. So, the good news is that it is a fully integrated grid, Canada - US. Unfortunately, it's a little too north-south for my liking at the moment. Most of the grid runs north-south. So, power gets bought and transferred between Quebec and Manitoba. But, if you look at sort of the large clean energy supplies coming out of Quebec, most of them are directed south, into the US for export markets. Going forward, that's obviously going to have to change. Canada is capable. If you look at the Ontario grid, we're 90%, clean and green. When you look at something like Saskatchewan, or Nova Scotia or Alberta, which still heavily reliant on coal or natural gas or other fossil fuels, the answer is we have to share amongst our brotherhood, so that we have to get that clean power from Quebec and Ontario and British Columbia going east- west. And I should say, Yukon, Northwest Territories the same way- but access to more difficult but still access to sort of clean, green renewable. The point, that system has to sort of be brought to bear on a national level, so that the inter ties between Ontario and Quebec are more plentiful. The power gets shifted into Nova Scotia, so that we can, so that our energy system can be truly clean and green. And it shouldn't take that long. Unfortunately, what's gonna get in the middle of that is your classic nimbyism, right. Where no one wants to build or  have these transmission lines running through their backyard kind of thing, for obvious reasons. But we built the railroad and the railboard built the country, St. Lawrence Seaway. We've done some,incredibly impressive things from an infrastructure perspective, and I just think that's the answer going forward. We need to sort of build that infrastructure at a national level. So that, again, the power from Churchill Falls is flowing to Regina. And in Edmonton and Calgary and, yeah, that's my answer.   Dan Seguin  28:49 Okay, let's talk capacity. Getting to net zero by 2050 will mean roughly doubling clean electricity production in Canada. By one estimate, that's clean energy Canada. What do we need to be doing today to make that achievable?   Bryce Conrad  29:08 Well, again, the first step in the 12 step program is admitting that you have a problem. So, we have a problem. If you just step back and look at the politics, we can't build a pipeline in this country to save our lives. Now, whether you think that's the right thing or not, it's, it's a proxy for what's necessary. So okay, we're not going to build a pipeline, but you need to build big transmission lines east to west or west east or vice versa. So yeah, if you're gonna double the electricity, the clean electrical energy, which  is eminently doable. We've got plenty of sources and we've got lots of supply, we've got more thatwe can tap. You just need to sort of start to work together, collectively. Province to province, federal government with the provinces, to sort of make this happen. And again, I have hopes, because at the end of the day we're one country, we built some amazing infrastructure - the St. Lawrence Seaway is a perfect example. And, you know, the rail lines, we've done this stuff before. There's no reason we can't do it again. Faced with a face of the future where the costs of climate change are real. And they're only getting higher on an annual basis. It's only a matter of time before the politicians wake up and realize that this is the solution, and they have to do something, and they have to act. And it's in our best interest to do so as a nation. So, I'm hopeful.   Dan Seguin  30:55 Now, Bryce, I'm curious, what are the three most innovative sustainability projects that you're most proud of right now? That maybe people don't know Hydro Ottawa is doing or involved with?   Bryce Conrad  31:10 Sure. I can probably give you four. And I know, yes, you asked for three. But I'll give you four! The first, that I don't think people fully appreciate, is how significant our generating assets actually are. We're not talking about small run of the mill, solar facilities, we're talking about large, 150 megawatts of clean green, renewable energy - on both sides of the border, capable of powering well over 100,000 homes. We've grown that production by 500% since 2012. So we are a real player in this business. And these are assets that are carbon free. So, talking about future proofing your generating fleet, right, these are the things that everybody's gonna want when they realize that there is no such thing as clean coal. Or when they realize that fossil fuels are not the answer going forward. So, we have these assets and they're spectacular. And I'd encourage anybody in Ottawa, if you want to see some of them in action, to go check out the ones at Chaudiere Falls, which are a dam. Rebecca, I'm not sure if you've seen it but Dan sure has. I mean, just breathtaking to watch, particularly in the summer  -wouldn't go there today when it's minus 12,000 degrees because the wind coming off would be horrifying -but lovely in the sun. If you wait for Bluesfest, there's no better place to listen to the music than Chaudiere Falls! You get all the benefits of Bluesfest without paying or dealing with crowds. Anyway, so that's number one, our generating fleet. Number two is the thing I spoke about earlier, the Zibi community funding. Again, 34 acres of prime development down there, carbon free, and we were part of that solution to make it happen. And hoping to replicate it making bigger, better elsewhere. But just taking something which was otherwise a science project or a concept and sort of bringing it to reality, something that we're immensely proud of. And I think Ottawans will be as well. The third, just because my kids love it, is we've got this, this new substation going out, or transformer station going out in south Ottawa in the Barrhaven area, which is growing like a weed, obviously. With 10 or 12% growth every year. So, we had to build the new station out there. And we bought the necessary land for the station. It's called Cambrian station. It's going online sometime between now and June, I think. In fact, it's being tested as I speak. But the point is, we bought enough land up there that we've been able to donate 15 acres for a pollinator meadow to bring back the butterflies and plant some trees. So again, no real cost to us other than the land that was used that we bought for the transformer station itself. But here's another opportunity for us to do the right thing. And last but not least, the fourth one, which I'm very proud of is the role that we played in the conversion of the streetlights. So, Ottawa had high pressure sodium street lights, like every other municipality. And over the course of four years, we were able to convert all 56,000 lights to LEDs, saving the city a massive amount of money somewhere in the range of $6 million a year. And those are continuous savings, right? So, that's right to the bottom line. So these are street lights that are better, they're all IP addressable so, if the Sens win the Stanley Cup, we can flash red and white, whatever we want. The point is, they're good for a long time. And those energy savings will pay for them. Well, they already paid for the project once over already! Now, all the savings go right through to the taxpayer, so I am very proud of us.   Rebecca Schwartz  35:42 Another thing we're doing is targeting an entirely non emitting grid by 2035. What sort of changes will that mean for electricity, utilities and customers?   Rebecca Schwartz  35:52 Yeah, this is going back to the moonshot, Rebecca. In the sense that we're talking about it. And obviously, we're committing to do these sorts of things, but we don't necessarily have a clear cut perspective on how it's going to be done. So look, as I said earlier, in Ontario, the grids 92%, clean and green right now. The other 8% is natural gas. So yeah, we need to turn the grid into an automated grid by 2035. utilities like ourselves are going to have to invest in trying to find ways of managing line losses and just transmission. You know, the transmission of electricity from point A to point B emits ghgs, and that needs to be curtailed. So how do you do that? Well, I mean, there's technology that hopefully we brought to bear. I mean, today's minds are better than the lions 10-15 years ago. So I mean, I think the answer there is going to be technological change. The good news is we have a lot of smart, smart, smart people. Both academically within utilities, within the association's working on trying to solve this problem. But yeah, it' a challenge for us. And I don't necessarily have the right answer. I don't have an answer for you right now. As I explained to my Board, the iPhone is 12 years old this year. So, imagine what life -think back to where we were in 2008. I can't even imagine what my life, what our lives would be like if we didn't have an iPhone in our pocket, right? So, that's a technological change. That's made a fundamental difference in our life and in our society. Some good, some bad. But surely, the hope is that technological change will help us get to an automated grid by 2035 in an affordable way.   Dan Seguin  38:05 Now back in 2019, Hydro Ottawa opened its new office building, centralizing your operations, while ensuring a new building with a greener footprint. Can you tell us about this decision to move and how you've incorporated sustainability into your building operations?   Bryce Conrad  38:24 I joined Hydro Ottawa on August 15 2011. On August 16th 2011, we had a Board meeting, where they authorized the company to move forward with what is called ubiquitously The Real Estate Strategy. Which was effectively:  Look, you know, as a result of amalgamation we had buildings all over the place. We inherited Gloucester Hydro, Ottawa Hydro, Nepean Hydro and Kanata Hydro. So, we had all these buildings all over the place that we inherited. Some of them were in pretty good shape, others were absolute pig. Thinking of the one at Albion road would be the prime example. The point was there, they were in all the wrong places from an operational perspective. They were just in the wrong place. So we developed a plan and a strategy to sort of recapitalize our buildings, and we knew that, quite frankly, for every dollar I spent on Albion road, it was $1. I lost, because the value is not in the building, the value is in the land. I use the term value loosely. We made that decision and the Board exported it, the Ontario Energy Board, as part of our applications, endorsed the idea that we needed new facilities.So we launched the plan in 2014 with a couple of stutter steps along the way, trying to find the right lands. Finally we landed on the right places for us as a company. If you look at our headquarters we built, we opened in 2019. All the new buildings are built to LEED Gold standards. Both facilities have significant on site renewable energy, they have solar facilities on sites. We didn't want them to be ostentatious or flashy, we wanted them to be functional. We want them to be low maintenance to the extent that we possibly could. We wanted to do what we could on our GHGs and also environmentalism. And that came directly from our employees. As we're doing the builds and designing, we're constantly reaching into our workforce to see what was important to them, what they want to see. One of the things everybody obviously wants to light. So, if you've been to the facilities, you know they're wide open, everybody has access to fresh, good quality air. Everyone has access to daylight for the most part. So they actually turned out fantastic. It's exactly what we want. So, we installed a whole bunch of different environmental things. Solar solar charging stations at our headquarters, we've got electrical charging stations at the headquarters, we've got a lot of reduction facilities in place. So I think we're using 55 or 60% less water than we otherwise used to. We use the gray water return that gets used back into the gardens and stuff like that. I think we're diverting 90-95% of our non hazardous waste. Our kitchen supplier has  access to a dehydrator which allows them to dehydrate the food waste, reduce, and to use it as compost. From the design perspective, health and wellness was factored into it from day one. So we've got a, I wouldn't say world class gym facility, but it's pretty damn good. Got lots of ergonomically designed workspaces, the meeting rooms are flexible, we've got collaboration spaces everywhere. So the whole point was, I think Steve Jobs used to refer to them as collision points, where an employee could walk would bump into another employee and an idea would germinate. That's kind of the way we built the place. So throughout the building, there's collaboration spaces, both inside and outside. We've even got a walking path on our property. So, all of those have been done because we're the right things to do. They were the right things to do now. Post pandemic, or in the middle of a pandemic, I will tell you, all these open spaces are not our friends. There are points where you'd like to put up some walls again and close the doors, but it is what it is. And we'll get past this and get back to normal. And we'll be happy with what we got.But, facilities are great!  We love them.  I honestly haven't heard anybody complain about facilities which if you work in the utility industry is shocking.   Rebecca Schwartz  43:47 It seems every couple of months, we're hearing about an innovative new example of electrification of other economic sectors. Here in Ottawa, we're seeing multiple modes of public transportation transitioning to electric, for example: e scooters - Which I have to say, I use a lot in our super fun - to everything else, such as chainsaws and lawn mowers seem to be up for grabs when it comes to electrification. What's the coolest example of electrification that you've come across Bryce?   Bryce Conrad  44:18 I got like 15 answers to this one. So I love those electric scooters. I used them for the first time when I was in San Diego, whipping along the waterfront in San Diego on an electric scooter was one of the coolest things in the world. Of course I didn't look so graceful I fell, but so be it. So those are really cool. I've seen electric surfboards, which I think are really cool, too. I'm terrified to even conceive of how to get on one, but it's this kind of a wakeboard that you get elevated up in the air. So, you're you're surfing on top of the water, and it's purely electric powered, but that looks pretty cool. My neighbor here has one. I'm jealous when I see him out there on it. But honestly, the coolest one, quite frankly, is still the cars. There used to be a car that came out of the US military, it was called a Hummer. And Arnold Schwarzenegger, when he was governor of California, had a Hummer and he made his electric. A great personal expense to him, I'm sure. But these are cars that have a massive big V 12 engine. When you turn on the gas, and you turn the car on, you could literally see the ozone layer deplete behind you, that's how much these things were. And they were just pigs on gas. I don't even know whether they would get up to a gallon, probably like three kilometers to a gallon of gas back in the day. But they were just enormous. And so much like everything else, they went the way in the dodo bird, they got sold off and then shut down. Well, then lo and behold, they're coming back. So 2022, is the first year of the electric Hummer. And it is 1000 horsepower, it weighs 10,000 pounds, or close to 10,000 pounds. Tt goes zero to 60 in 2.8 seconds. And again, it weighs 10,000 pounds!  Like it's amazing what they're capable of doing. It's going to have a range of 580 kilometers or whatever, whatever it will be. But just the sheer improvements in these electric vehicles is -  I mean, Dan knows he's got two of them! - But we're a long way from when these first electric cars came out. Hydro Ottawa I had one of the very first electric cars and I would tell you, you know, cuz I used to park next to it in the garage. There would be weeks that go by where I wouldn't see that car because it was in the garage being fixed or something was wrong. I drove it one day and my teenage daughter who's probably 13 at the time, was in the backseat thinking she's really cramped in the backseat, because the whole damn thing is a big battery. So you just think about where that car was relative to the cars that we're seeing out there today. And I'm not even talking about the Tesla's, I'm talking about, you know, the Hyundai's  and sort of the traditional car makers, and the efforts that they're making in the space. Like, it's truly exceptional what they're doing and full credit to them. Dan referenced the Audi electric e tron, I mean, it's the coolest car in the world! And all these cars are just incredible. So my answer is yeah, as I was saying with the e-scooters, at least I don't fall out of my car!   Dan Seguin  48:01 With Hydro Ottawa customers, making it very clear that climate change is important to them and they want you to continue being part of the solution and pushing the organization to do more. How are you planning to assist customers in reducing their carbon footprint?   Bryce Conrad  48:21 It's a great question. And it'spart of the moonshot, right. I don't actually know what they need until, until we start dialing this in and getting a workout. But what I know is that they want to interact with this differently. They want information, they want access to information in a way that nobody else has ever asked us, right? They are interactive. It used to be that the average Canadian thought of their electrical company, nine minutes a year, when they're paying the bills. That's not the case anymore. When they're making decisions with respect to appliances, they're thinking about their consumption, and they're making decisions with respect to their cars and they're calling us. One of our affiliates, Envari, one of the services we offer is electric vehicle readiness assessments for small commercial and condo buildings. Because for example for Dan to live in his house and install car chargers, no problem. But if you're living in a condo corporation with 400 units, how do you build out the electric car charging asset? Is a bill to the house to the person that owns the electric car? Or are they sort of shared resources? So I mean, these are some of the challenges that we're dealing with and our customers are dealing with firsthand. So, our job is to help. Our job is to try to help navigate those issues and concerns and provide them with the information. And sometimes they'll make the right decision. Sometimes they'll make the wrong decision, but at least they're making an informed decision if nothing else. So that's an example. The electric bus initiative here in Ottawa, is another one that we're quite proud of. We're gonna partner with the City of Ottawa to sort of deploy and roll out 400+ electric vehicle buses. So if you've ever seen these buses, I mean, they are sleek, they are noiseless. They are, quite frankly, enjoyable to ride. You don't have that diesel smell, that's everywhere. You're not on Slater street looking down a canyon of diesel spewing buses anymore. So, those are all the things that we're going to do to help our community and our customers. And quite frankly, they're probably 15,000 other things that we're going to be doing as we get into this fight.  As we get into this and start climbing this challenge or responding to this challenge, we're going to find other things that they're going to want. And what I do know is that we've got a good brand, we've got social license within our community. If they are going to turn to anybody, they are going to turn to us for solutions, and it's our job to help them.   Rebecca Schwartz  50:58 So Bryce, as a community asset, will Hydro Ottawa pursue netzero, outside the confines of its own operations? And if so, what's your plan in terms of playing such an instrumental role in the broader progress of Ottawa towards becoming netzero? And or any other sorts of electrification programs?   Bryce Conrad  51:20 Yeah, yeah, I mean, let's be clear, that's one of the reasons we're doing a netzero commitment.  We made a commitment and the Board was very clear, we're not just doing this so that we can feather our own cap, we're not doing the sit here and put a banner that says mission accomplished in 2030. We're going to do this because we want to support our community in our city in moving to being netzero, whether that by 2040, or 2050, we want to get there. Hydro Ottawa actually becomes a catalyst to helping them achieve these things. And that means, you know, partnering with the city on their energy evolution file, working with the city on the electric bus stuff I talked about. Helping them look at their municipal buildings and say, okay, you know, the Nepean sportsplex - is it time for this thing to go through a deep retrofit so that we can sort of make it more energy efficient? I mean, the city's got massive real estate holdings, and a lot of buildings that predate me and predate you and predate us, which are in dire need of retrofitting. It's the low hanging fruit, isn't it. We've swapped out the light bulbs already. Like for us to make a difference and to sort of hit those targets that the city has set for itself we got to start doing some real meaningful stuff. Like, we got to start doing some deep retrofits to buildings we got to start doing with the city on the bus, you gotta start doing some big bold things. And we're there to help them do that.  So the true answer to your question, Rebecca, is yeah, we're there. We're there. We'll be there. We'll be partnering with them. We'll use our technology. We'll use our budget if necessary.   Bryce Conrad  53:04 Okay mon ami. How about we close off with some rapid fire questions? Since you've already been a guest on our program? We've come up with some special new ones for you, Bryce, are you ready?   Bryce Conrad  53:17 I'm good.   Dan Seguin  53:19 What are you reading right now? Bryce?   Bryce Conrad  53:21 It's a book by Congressman Jamie Raskin. It's called Unthinkable but January 6, last year, I guess. So Jamie Raskin is a Congressman from Maryland whose son tragically committed suicidelike days before January six. And then he, Jamie Raskin, went on to serve as the the head of the impeachment proceedings against former President Trump as a result January 6, so it's a book about that. So that's really depressing, but it's a fantastic book and terrifying at the same time. But I just finished reading the book by Mark Carney which I recommend to anybody and everybody I thought was really really well done. So if you haven't read that should read that too. Little more cheery.   Dan Seguin  54:13 Now, what would you name your boat if you had one?   Bryce Conrad  54:18 So, the short answer is I think all boats should be called the Enterprise. But I actually saw a boat on the and the Rideau, it was parked in front of the convention center this year. It was just a massive boat. And the boat's name was Size Matters, which was pretty funny. I'll stick with Enterprise!   Dan Seguin  54:43 Wondering if you could share with us who is someone that you truly admire?   Bryce Conrad  54:49 I mean, look, how can you not admire somebody like Nelson Mandela or you know, I think Winston Churchill is probably the greatest leader the world has ever seen. So out I'll go with Winston Churchill on Nelson Mandela and leave it there.   Dan Seguin  55:03 Now, what is the closest thing to real magic that you've witnessed?   Bryce Conrad  55:09 I haven't a clue, pass.   Dan Seguin  55:12 What has been the biggest challenge to you personally, since the pandemic?   Bryce Conrad  55:17 Before the pandemic, I probably logged, I don't know, 75,000 miles a year on the plane flying from one place to another. A lot of it out of it for meetings and stuff, but the lack of travel, the lack of contact, from a professional perspective, Whether it was going to CS Week or Distribute Tech, or any of these other meetings, you go to them and you'd come back kind of rejuvenated on the one hand, but also kind of inspired by the things that we were doing relative to our peers. And then you'd always pick up one or two little things that you thought the answer was cool. I wish we could do something like that. And quite frankly, it's been two years since I've been able to do that. And, you know, Zoom calls are great, but they just don't capture the same, you don't get the same benefit. Right. So I would say that, obviously, and just just day to day social interaction, it'd be nice to actually be able to have people over without worrying about whether they've been vaccinated and boostered. And all that nonsense, but I'm hopeful.   Dan Seguin  56:30 We've all been watching a lot more Netflix and TV lately. What's your favorite movie or show?   Bryce Conrad  56:39 Well, the greatest movie of all time is the Godfather. So that's the one that no matter what time of day or night it's on, if I, if I flipped by and said it's on, I will watch whatever's left of it. So that's just it. And then my favorite TV show - sounds stereotypical -  I love the Sopranos. I re-watched every Sopranos over the holidays, because David Chase came out with that new movie, The Saints of Newark, which I want to refresh my memory on all things Tony Soprano before I watch that.   Dan Seguin  57:10 And lastly, Bryce. What's really exciting you about the electricity sector right now?   Bryce Conrad  57:16 What's not exciting, right? The biggest challenge facing our country are the people, this generation, this climate change and how we respond to climate change. And where else do you want to be in the middle of a fight then right in the middle of it, right? So climate change is the challenge and electricity as the answer. And the electrical sector is going to be front and center in that fight. So, I can't think of a better place to be. I, like lots of people, have had other opportunities presented to me over the last few years, but there's no place I'd rather be than at the head of Hydro Ottawa as we go into this climate change. In fact, I just think the opportunities are fantastic. I think the impact is fantastic if we can get it right. And I'm just bullish on the sector. I think our  sector is the answer. Whether it be electric, transportation, or heating and cooling. It's going to be electricity. That's the answer. And it's just a question trying to find how do you fit it all together in a formal way that people can understand?   Rebecca Schwartz  58:35 Well, Bryce, that's it. We've reached the end of another episode of the thinkenergy podcast. Thanks again, Boss for joining us today. We hope you had a good time!   Bryce Conrad  58:44 Had a great time thanks, guys.   Dan Seguin  58:46 Thanks for tuning in for another episode of The think energy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guests or previous episodes, visit think energy podcast.com I hope you'll join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.  

This week Stefania tells Laura the story of HIDE HYODO SHIMIZU: a Japanese-Canadian who became a leader within and outside of her community. She was a gifted teacher, educator, activist and an advocate for Japanese-Canadian rights and enfranchisement. She is most known for dedicating herself to the academic development of Japanese Canadians during World War II when she established and operated schools for Japanese-Canadian children in internment camps. Shimizu was later awarded the Order of Canada for her work in shaping Canada's history. Born: May 11, 1908, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Died, August 22, 1999, Nepean, Ontario.   EPISODE SOURCES:   The Canadian Encyclopedia: Hide Hyodo Shimizu  https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hide-hyodo-shimizu Wikipedia: Hide Hyodo Shimizu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hide_Hyodo_Shimizu Greater Toronto Chapter of the NAJC Hide Shimizu (née Hyodo) Memorial Scholarship http://www.torontonajc.ca/2014/02/16/hide-shimizu-memorial-scholarship/ Community Stories: Hide Hyodo Shimizu, By Audrey Matheson https://www.communitystories.ca/v1/CM_V2_Apps/ui/remWindow.php?remID=72508&remP=/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_memories/hdcn-cm/ADSW/0001/text/&remEx=School+Yard+Memories&lg=English Japanese Canadian Internment, Second World War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QILO0XT-0eo The Pre-World War II Years https://japanesecanadianhistory.net/historical-overview/reference-timeline/ War Measures Act http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-measures-act Japanese Canadian Internment: Prisoners in their own Country https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese-internment-banished-and-beyond-tears-feature Dominion Elections Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Elections_Act HIDE HYODO SHIMIZU: THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION http://nikkeivoice.ca/hide-hyodo-shimizu-the-right-to-education/