FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Ottawa, Nov. 27, 2020) — Nature Canada welcomes the City of Ottawa’s bird-safe design guidelines as a major step and calls for mandatory measures to save even more bird lives.

“Ottawa took a significant step towards reducing bird deaths caused by collisions with glass when Council adopted bird-safe guidelines on Nov. 25,” said Ted Cheskey, Naturalist Director at Nature Canada, a national non-profit conservation organization.

“Windows account for an estimated 25 million bird deaths annually in Canada. While we would have preferred a mandatory standard, guidelines are still a positive step towards addressing this significant issue in Ottawa. Kudos to Safe Wings Ottawa, staff in the City of Ottawa and the city councillors for making this long-needed important change in policy to save bird lives.”

The guidelines are the culmination of seven years of advocacy by Safe Wings Ottawa, which estimates that building collisions account for 250,000 bird deaths each year in Ottawa alone.

Nature Canada supports Safe Wings Ottawa’s call for mandatory standards in the Ontario building code and for the city to use its authority, meantime, to require certain projects to adhere to the guidelines, and to specify bird-friendly design for its own properties.

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Nature Canada has been a voice for nature for more than 80 years. We are a charitable organization advocating the conservation of land and the protection of waterways, and oceans to help stop the loss of species. We facilitate mobilization among more than 900 nature organizations and 100,000 nature-lovers while helping Canadians connect to nature. Learn more at naturecanada.ca.

Please contact:

Lara Falkiner

lfalkiner@naturecanada.ca

Mobile 250-240-2804