Owen Sound Criticized for Lack of Climate Action at Public Budget Meeting
Residents pressed City Council Monday for meaningful climate action, condemning Owen Sound's leadership for broken promises and ignoring ongoing community concerns.

The City of Owen Sound faced sharp criticism from residents during Monday’s Public Budget Meeting over its decision not to allocate funds for climate action in the 2025 budget.
Speakers expressed frustration over the lack of progress on commitments made by Council in previous years, urging immediate action to address climate change at the municipal level.
Sonja Ostertag, an Owen Sound resident and professor at the University of Waterloo who studies Inuit food systems in the Canadian Arctic, spoke passionately about the realities of climate change, both globally and locally.
“Before coming up here, I had to do some breathing exercises because I'm so incredibly frustrated with the lack of action,” Ostertag said. “Five years ago, I came here with a youth delegation... You made some big commitments. And I'm really disappointed in all of you, because your climate change initiatives have $0 attached to them, and that's not acceptable.”
Ostertag emphasized the urgency of the crisis, describing how climate change is already disrupting Arctic communities' access to food. She challenged council members to consider the absence of dedicated climate expertise within the city’s decision-making processes.
“Every action that you take must have that in consideration,” she said, questioning how the City could claim it applies a climate lens to all decisions when it lacks the specialized knowledge to do so.
“How is this going to impact our greenhouse gas emissions as a city? What can we do? Why are there no bike paths? It’s not safe to cross our city on a bicycle. That is unacceptable, and I need you to do better,” she told the panel of elected representatives and staff.
Further, Ostertag challenged council members on their commitment to public engagement and follow-through. Referencing the youth who presented to the City five years earlier, she said, “I don’t see them here, and do you know why? Because you didn’t act, you didn’t follow through. You broke their trust.”
“You haven’t seen me in five years, because I think it’s actually probably pointless to be here,” she added.
Her remarks were met with applause from the audience.
Joachim Ostertag, speaking on behalf of the Climate Action Team Owen Sound (CATOS), criticized the city's failure to implement its own climate action plan.
"Two years ago, the city developed a very comprehensive Climate Action Plan, but since then, we haven't heard anything yet on how this plan is being made into reality," he said. "Why does the city refuse to hire a climate action coordinator?"
He pointed to other municipalities, such as The Blue Mountains and Georgian Bluffs, which have sustainability coordinators to oversee climate initiatives, secure grants, and implement adaptation strategies. "Otherwise, these plans just collect dust, and it's a waste of money," he warned.
It may have felt like Groundhog Day for Mr. Ostertag, who brought the same concerns to last year’s Public Budget Meeting in January 2024.
Ostertag questioned last year, as well, why the city’s newly developed Climate Action Plan was not reflected in the budget, noting that hiring a Climate Coordinator could help secure external funding.
City officials responded at the time by listing staff efforts, including the adoption of a Climate Action Strategy and Climate Mitigation Plan, which were developed internally with CATOS input. Kate Allen, Director of Corporate Services, outlined several related projects funded for 2024, such as facility retrofits, fleet management planning, and tree canopy inventory. However, no dedicated climate staff position was included.
Mayor Ian Boddy stated in January 2024 that a staff report would be presented to Council "in a couple of weeks," but concerns about the city's long-term commitment to climate initiatives have persisted over the last year.
The third speaker this past Monday was Hilary Coburn, who echoed the call for dedicated climate staffing, suggesting the city explore cost-sharing options with neighbouring municipalities.
"A staff person could actually be shared between Georgian Bluffs and Owen Sound," she proposed, citing successful joint efforts in other municipal roles. Coburn also suggested hiring an environmental initiatives coordinator on a part-time basis to start, with a key responsibility of securing grants to fund climate programs.
"In the nature of our burning, flooded, climate-affected world, I think we would realize it has to become a permanent position," she said.
Coburn urged the council to be more transparent about the barriers preventing climate action funding, noting that the community is willing to support solutions if given the opportunity.
"You've got a lot of people in town that I know will put positive pressure to make sure that this doesn't go unnoticed, and that the next budget does include a climate staffer of some sort," she said.
Despite the passionate pleas, Council made no immediate commitments regarding climate funding, and did not discuss the issues. They are not required to respond to questions raised in public meetings and rarely choose to do so.
Mayor Ian Boddy’s only comment after the third speaker was, “Thank you. Is there anyone else with anything new?”
With that, the public meeting was closed.
However, Councilor Marion Koepke interjected to ask when might be the appropriate time to bring up information that the public had submitted before the meeting.
Boddy noted that some feedback had come “later” and was not included in the agenda package. One of those submissions was this letter from Leigh Greaves about the City getting into the professional fundraising arena, which she submitted to Council before The Owen Sound Current.
The Mayor chose not to have public comments from the agenda acknowledged or read into the record, instead promising that submissions would be considered. He asked staff when and how to deal with those items.
Staff noted that any further public input received would be included in the upcoming February 10 Council meeting package.
Koepke pointed out that a presentation from Summerfolk had been submitted for consideration. However, there was no discussion about it, and no decision was made. It will also be included on the February 10 agenda.
The Owen Sound Current submitted David McLeish’s letter to the editor, “We Need to Understand TOM Art Gallery Data & Curious Discrepancies,” for Council’s consideration in their budget deliberations.
The 2025 budget, as it stands, includes no funds allocated for climate initiatives or Summerfolk, and over $425,000 to the Tom Thomson Art Gallery. At just under $36.7 million, the City of Owen Sound’s total operating budget for 2025 is $3.5 million higher than in 2023 and up $1.4 million over last year.
The City’s total expenses budgeted for 2025 are +12.6% higher year-over-year, at $48.5 million.
In spite of rising costs, the City has committed $100,000 to its ‘Vision 2050’ strategic planning project for 25 years from now, even as it continues to delay the release of 2024’s survey results. The portion of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery’s budget supported by the City has grown from $285,000 in 2018 to over $425,000 for next year. City staff salaries and benefits are increasing 5.4% increase for 2025, following an 8.1% increase last year and a 3.3% increase in 2023.
Despite 2025 budget presentations focusing on the City delivering the lowest annual tax increase in the region, residents have expressed ongoing concerns about the City’s lack of preparedness for managing its aging infrastructure, disregard for and unwillingness to discuss the local housing crisis, and broken promises on fiscal responsibility.
See ‘City of Owen Sound 2025 Budget: By the Numbers’ to learn more.
Whether Council decides to fund climate action, support the Georgian Bay Folk Society’s request for a grant and rental fee relief, or reevaluate its art gallery (or any other) funding allocations at the February 10 meeting remains to be seen.
Owen Sound Council will pass a by-law to adopt the 2025 Budget on February 24, 2025.
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