Environment & Sustainability

Rideau Transit Group (RTG) is proud to provide maintenance and rehabilitation services on the Confederation Line to our customers and to our community. We understand that moving people on transit is one of the most important actions we can take to improve our local environment, connect communities, and reduce sprawl.

We recognize that environmental protection and stewardship are both critical and integral components of our business and an ongoing priority for us.

RTG’s goal is to achieve and maintain environmental excellence by incorporating strategies, policies, and standards that protect the environment as well as safeguard our personnel, contractors, and the public throughout all our activities.

RTG’s Environmental and Sustainability Policy is the driver for implementing and improving our environmental management program to maintain and improve our environmental performance. This policy states our commitment to the responsible management of the natural environment based on the principles of controlling risks associated with environmental issues.

We expect business partners as well as principal contractors and suppliers, to conform to equal environmental and sustainability management standards. RTG commits to informing business partners as well as contractors and suppliers of these standards, protocols, and policies, and works with them where appropriate to support their adoption of practices consistent with our own.

Our policy is reviewed annually, and we require all employees and stakeholders to share in the application of the policy.

Social Benefits

December 2020, Ottawa Mission – Ottawa Food Bank

With COVID-19 restrictions firmly in place throughout Ottawa social support programs this year, instead of volunteering in-person, Rideau Transit Group and Rideau Transit Maintenance pivoted and created new ways to support local charitable organizations.

We created five unique gift baskets which we raffled to raise donations. The proceeds from raffle ticket sales have been donated to the Ottawa Mission. Also, as long-time supporters of the region’s food banks, we held a non-perishable food drive for the Ottawa Food Bank.

With thanks to our generous staff and sub-contractor team from Alstom, Rideau Transit Group and Rideau Transit Maintenance have been able to fulfil our mission once again this year.

20th Annual Mayor’s Charity Golf Classic

Our philanthropic support of local charities and not-for-profits was extended this year (2020) to include the 20th Annual Mayor’s Charity Golf Classic, fundraising for YouthOTTAWA. We’re happy to have played a small role in raising $46,000 that will benefit annual programs and services for more than 8,000 youth.

Orleans/Cumberland Food Bank

We have run a food donation drive for the past 2 years. During that time, we have delivered over $2,000 in food items through staff donation to the Orleans/Cumberland Food Bank.

CN Cycle for CHEO

We support the CN Cycle for CHEO by raising money and participating in events. In the three years, we have volunteered, we have raised over $2,500 through staff donations. We look forward to our 4th year volunteering in 2020.

Ottawa Mission

We support the Ottawa Mission by volunteering our time during the Christmas Holidays. We spent our time assembling backpacks with essential items, helping in the kitchen and sorting the donated clothing in their closet. 2020 will be our 3rd year in a row volunteering.

CHEO Holiday Toy Drive

Over the past two years, we have collected toys and gift cards from staff to donate to the children at CHEO during the Christmas Holidays.

Economic Benefits

The Confederation Line is the largest and most important city infrastructure project in the history of the City of Ottawa. As of October 2018, over $1 billion in contracts were awarded to local suppliers for the building of Stage 1. Over 500 local vendors were involved throughout construction.

Over the five-year construction period, the Confederation Line generated more than 3,200 person-years of trades’ employment in Ottawa.

Expertise in mass transit control systems and communications has also required highly skilled technical staff resulting in an additional 700 person-years of employment in Ottawa.

Notably, various cross-sectional industries and numerous local suppliers have also been positively impacted by construction on the Confederation Line, including fleet, tunnel safety equipment, office suppliers, concrete and construction companies, to name a few. Approximately 100 people have been hired to assemble the vehicles at Belfast Yard in the east end of the city.

The Confederation Line has also helped invigorate Ottawa’s wider economy through the creation of many new spin-off jobs. More than 20,000 person-years of direct and indirect employment has been generated as a result of the LRT investment.

Today, we employ more than 200 people for the maintenance of the Confederation Line.

Environmental Protection

Materials recycled: during peak construction, an average of more than 250 tonnes of construction materials per month was diverted from landfill.

Replacing bus and car trips with the LRT’s zero emission electric trains, means reducing carbon dioxide by approximately 94,000 tonnes per year by 2031.

Light rail vehicles are significantly quieter than diesel-powered buses. Replacing buses with light rail, plus an underground downtown corridor, means a reduction in both air and noise pollution.