Ottawa news

• Province provides $8.95M to finish francophone centre project at old Grant School

  15-12-2017 23:57 via ottawacitizen.com
  The province has come to the rescue of a problem-plagued project to turn an old school in Ottawa’s west end into a francophone community service centre, promising $8.95 million in funding.
  That’s enough to finish construction at the former Grant School. The heritage building on Richmond Road has become a target for both vandals and irate neighbours upset that the school still sits empty seven years after it was turned over to the non-profit group Centre Multiservices Francophone de l
  
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• After complaints from school bus industry, province offers $60 million in 'bonuses'

  15-12-2017 23:51 via ottawacitizen.com
  The Ontario government’s controversial Bill 148, which will see the minimum wage rise to $15 per hour by 2019, may impact the ability of Ontario students to get to and from school.
  The impact has the potential to be so severe that the Ministry of Education announced $60 million in new funding for school bus operators late on Friday afternoon to try and amend the issue before Jan. 1.
  According to Frank Healey, a spokesman for the Independent School Bus Operators Association and owner of Hea
  
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• Denying Delilah Saunders a liver transplant violates international law: Amnesty International

  15-12-2017 23:39 via ottawacitizen.com
  As a young Indigenous advocate was being assessed by medical experts in Toronto on Friday, Amnesty International stepped forward to publicly condemn an initial decision to deny her a potentially life-saving liver transplant.
  The prominent human rights group raised its concerns in an open letter to the head of the Trillium Gift of Life Network and to Health Minister Eric Hoskins.
  It said the treatment of Delilah Saunders contravenes Canada’s obligations under international law, sa
  
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• Ontario wants to extend PTSD coverage to frontline nurses

  15-12-2017 23:08 via ottawacitizen.com
  The Ontario Ministry of Labour wants to extend “presumptive” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) legislation to include up to 140,000 frontline nurses.
  If the proposal becomes law, it will cover the nurses for “stress and impairment to functioning,” including painful flashbacks, nightmares, outbursts and thoughts of suicide and guilt or sadness following a traumatic event.
  “With the new proposed presumption, once a frontline nurse is diagnosed with PTSD by either
  
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• Baby Jesus and Mary have gone missing in Bancroft

  15-12-2017 22:53 via ottawacitizen.com
  Mary and Baby Jesus have been missing for six days, reports the Bancroft OPP.
  Someone took the pair from the front lawn of a Hastings Street South Church on the evening of Dec. 9 and they haven’t been seen since.
  The theft was reported the following day, a Sunday.
  Tipsters are asked to call the Bancroft OPP at 1-888-310-1122, report online at opp.ca or by cellphone *677 or, if they wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or tipsubmit.com.
  
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• Ottawa police seek help to locate missing teen

  15-12-2017 22:49 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa police have asked for the public’s help in locating Tyler Vanderlee, a 15-year-old who was last seen on Dec. 8 in the Place d’Orléans area. 
  Police described Vanderlee as a white male with longer brown hair and brown eyes. He stands five-feet six-inches tall and weighs around 140 pounds.
  He was last seen wearing a bandana, black tuque, black Adidas hoodie and burgundy pants. Police have reason to believe he may be trying to get to the Niagara region. 
  
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• Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation invests in cancer-fighting vaccine

  15-12-2017 22:45 via ottawacitizen.com
  The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation has invested $100,000 in local research aimed at treating leukemia and abdominal tumours with a cancer-fighting vaccine. 
  The money will go toward two Ottawa research projects being sponsored by BioCanRx, a federally-funded, not-for-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the development of cancer immunotherapies in Canada. 
  One study, led by Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) scientist Dr. Natasha Kekre, is working toward the developm
  
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• Boswell: NHL100 Classic taps into the magic, if not the real history, of our game

  15-12-2017 22:44 via ottawacitizen.com
  I still remember the tuque stretched tight over the top of José Théodore’s mask, the billowing clouds of Ryan Smyth’s breath, the puck leaving tracks across the snowy ice.
  When the National Hockey League held its first regulation game outdoors — the 2003 Heritage Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers — it was billed as the NHL returning to its roots.
  But it wasn’t true. Before that landmark match 14 years ago at Edmonton’s Co
  
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• How to stay warm watching hockey this weekend, from Ottawans who fight the cold every day

  15-12-2017 22:38 via ottawacitizen.com
  Hockey may be Canada’s national pastime, but if you’re watching outdoors in the -15 C cold, it can seem like time is passing very slowly. With three major outdoor hockey games being played this weekend in Ottawa, there will be plenty of opportunity to experience the greatest game in the land the way it was meant to be played. Just make sure you’re bundled up.
  On Friday, Senators alumni are lacing up for a free-to-watch game on the Canada 150 rink on Parliament Hill. The NHL100
  
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• Reevely: Provincial funding to help Somerset West health centre open injection site in new year

  15-12-2017 22:27 via ottawacitizen.com
  The Somerset West Community Health Centre now has everything it needs to open a supervised drug-injection site in the new year, with money from the provincial government to prepare the space and pay staff to operate it.
  Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi and Ottawa South’s John Fraser went to the centre on Eccles Street on Friday afternoon and promised $220,000 immediately to pay for renovations to a room on the first floor. Somerset West will get an additional $1 million a year to run the inje
  
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• After appendix surgery, Mayor Watson will miss Saturday's NHL100 Classic game

  15-12-2017 22:19 via ottawacitizen.com
  Mayor Jim Watson will have to watch Saturday’s NHL100 Classic from the comforts of his hospital bed.
  After chairing a lengthy council meeting on Wednesday, with the highlight being the passage of the 2018 budget, Watson was admitted to the Queensway Carleton Hospital after experiencing “significant pain.”
  He had his appendix removed later that evening and remains in hospital. 
  On Friday, his office announced the mayor will not return to Ottawa City Hall until 2018. &l
  
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• Mayor Watson to return to City Hall in 2018 ow.ly/bhpM30hg2VW https://t.co/1pfuUfK1CQ

  15-12-2017 21:56 via twitter.com
  
  Mayor Watson to return to City Hall in 2018 ow.ly/bhpM30hg2VW https://t.co/1pfuUfK1CQ
  
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• JUST IN: Ottawa Police are asking the public to help find missing 15-year-old Tyler Vanderlee. Tyler is described a… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  15-12-2017 21:26 via twitter.com
  JUST IN: Ottawa Police are asking the public to help find missing 15-year-old Tyler Vanderlee. Tyler is described a… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Hydro One grounds helicopter crews after crash, holds vigils for workers killed ow.ly/z2BF30hfYXY https://t.co/3FYIFsrSWf

  15-12-2017 21:06 via twitter.com
  
  Hydro One grounds helicopter crews after crash, holds vigils for workers killed ow.ly/z2BF30hfYXY https://t.co/3FYIFsrSWf
  
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• School resource officer arrests boy, 15, in gunpoint robbery case

  15-12-2017 20:13 via ottawacitizen.com
  A 15-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday at a school the day after a gunpoint robbery that led to a manhunt that sent tactical officers to a Heatherington Park-area home for hours.
  Police have since laid a string of charges and seized guns from his family home, the robbery unit reported Friday.
  At about 10:25 a.m. Tuesday, police were called to a Tim Hortons near the intersection of Heatherington and Walkley roads. A suspect, his face disguised, had walked in armed with a handgun and demanded ca
  
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• 'Being missing is not a crime': Ottawa Missing Person unit gets hundreds and hundreds of reports

  15-12-2017 20:04 via ottawacitizen.com
  Last year, 2,600 missing person reports come across Sgt. Reno Rushford’s desk — 50 cases a week for Rushford and his team of two officers in the Ottawa police Missing Person unit to investigate.
  Each one is assessed individually and prioritized to determine how best to respond. It may be an elderly man with dementia who needs medication, a toddler who wandered away from the park or a teenager in a group home who is a chronic runaway.
  “Being missing is not a crime,” Rushfo
  
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• Editorial: Don't discriminate against Delilah

  15-12-2017 19:37 via ottawacitizen.com
  This week, Delilah Saunders was admitted to hospital hoping for a liver transplant to save her life. But the rules of our health care system appeared to prevent her getting one – because she has consumed alcohol in the past half-year.
  Family members say transplant teams at major centres initially rejected Saunders as a candidate. The young Indigenous activist has fought addiction, and in our triage-based health system, where organs are in short supply and specialists must make hard de
  
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• Have you found Jesus? Christ child, Mary stolen from Bancroft church nativity scene

  15-12-2017 19:14 via ottawacitizen.com
  Mary and Baby Jesus have been missing for six days, reports the Bancroft OPP.
  Someone took the pair from the front lawn of a Hastings Street South Church on the evening of Dec. 9 and they haven’t been seen since.
  The theft was reported the following day, a Sunday.
  Tipsters are asked to call the Bancroft OPP at 1-888-310-1122, report online at opp.ca or by cellphone *677 or, if they wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or tipsubmit.com.
  
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• Winter weather advisory issued along Highway 401

  15-12-2017 18:50 via ottawacitizen.com
  Southbound motorists take caution: Environment Canada issued a weather advisory Friday, warning of tricky winter conditions along Highway 401 from east of Kingston to Picton. 
  Motorists braving the highway for visits through these areas Friday should be wary of periods of heavy snowfall and significantly reduced visibility due to blowing snow.
  Up to 10 cm of snow is expected across that region by early this evening.
  “Travel is expected to be hazardous at times today due to reduced vis
  
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• How do kids end up in state care?

  15-12-2017 18:45 via ottawacitizen.com
  How is it that a child comes to be taken away from his or her parent?
  Broadly speaking, there are a myriad of official reasons, but the most obvious, as laid out in Ontario’s Child and Family Services Act, is for the child’s protection.
  The child may have suffered physical harm from the person in charge of them, that person may have failed to provide adequate care or supervision, or the investigator may have detected “a pattern of neglect in caring for, providing for, supervisi
  
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• Ontario's child advocate and looking for answers amid the 'Millennium Scoop'

  15-12-2017 18:40 via ottawacitizen.com
  Irwin Elman is Ontario’s Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth. He spoke to us about how Ontario cares for Indigenous children who have been placed into group homes, often hundreds, even thousands of kilometres away from their families and home communities. 
  Last spring, after several fatal fires at group homes, you urged the provincial government to count the number of First Nations children living in group homes in southern Ontario. Have you received answers?
  I know they s
  
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• Boswell: NHL 100 Classic taps into the magic, if not the real history, of our game

  15-12-2017 18:26 via ottawacitizen.com
  I still remember the tuque stretched tight over the top of José Théodore’s mask, the billowing clouds of Ryan Smyth’s breath, the puck leaving tracks across the snowy ice.
  When the National Hockey League held its first-ever regulation game outdoors — the 2003 Heritage Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers — it was billed as the NHL returning to its roots.
  But it wasn’t true. Before that landmark match 14 years ago at Edmonton&rsquo
  
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• The @rick_gibbons Show for Friday, December 15th w/ @cmaconthehill: 1:10: @Andre_Brisebois 1:15: @floschaub 1:30:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  15-12-2017 18:22 via twitter.com
  The @rick_gibbons Show for Friday, December 15th w/ @cmaconthehill: 1:10: @Andre_Brisebois 1:15: @floschaub 1:30:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Six-month 'Project Sabotage' results in 16 charged, drugs and guns seized

  15-12-2017 18:13 via ottawacitizen.com
  A total of 13 people were arrested and a string of addresses across the region raided starting Thursday morning after a six-month probe into gun and drug trafficking in Ottawa, police revealed Friday.
  Three others are still wanted by police in connection with Project Sabotage, a “covert and undercover” operation led by the guns and gangs unit. Officers seized two dozen guns of all kinds –  including both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols – ammunition, cocaine
  
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• Church comes to the rescue for Almonte's freezing bats

  15-12-2017 18:01 via ottawacitizen.com
  To the long list of rescue dogs and rescue cats, a congregation in Almonte can now add 46 rescue bats.
  These are big brown bats, not the little brown bats that are in danger from a new disease. But the Almonte colony of 46 was in trouble.
  The colony had been roosting up inside the roof of Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church for probably 30 years, says biologist Carolyn Callaghan of the Canadian Widlife Federation.
  This summer, the congregation got a pest control company to remove them once the you
  
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• A user's guide to holiday events across the capital

  15-12-2017 17:52 via ottawacitizen.com
  The next several weeks are alight with festive events in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Get crafty and learn about holiday traditions at the city’s museums, enjoy some seasonal local music and theatre or take the family to meet Santa at a community event near you.
  Here’s what you need to know to take advantage of holiday cheer across the capital.
  Museums
  The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum.
  Cumberland Heritage Village Museum – Dec. 16, 17
  2940 Old Montreal Rd., 3 p.m. – 8
  
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• Gormley: Here's the other reason to fear North Korea

  15-12-2017 17:48 via ottawacitizen.com
  Little is certain in this world — save, perhaps, for the fact that we have never, in modern times, been so close to destroying it by way of nuclear war. But as long as we’re worrying about threats to all of humanity, we may as well reserve a bit of our mortal terror for those attacks already perpetrated by one of the same menaces waving nuclear weapons around.
  In recent years, North Korea has attacked financial services, government websites, movie studios and vital infrastructure. It
  
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• Coming up on the Power Lunch at 12 p.m. @hollyanndoan & @Baileymariereid join @_MarkSutcliffe in studio: Listen:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  15-12-2017 17:30 via twitter.com
  Coming up on the Power Lunch at 12 p.m.@hollyanndoan & @Baileymariereid join @_MarkSutcliffe in studio: Listen:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Today's letters: Vimy experiences, ER experiences

  15-12-2017 17:12 via ottawacitizen.com
  Readers share their experiences at the Vimy centennial celebrations, and in the Ottawa Hospital’s ER. You can write to us to, at: [email protected]
  And please see our Canada 150 callout at the end of this article.
  —
  Vimy debacle a shameful display
  Re: Vimy 100 – Veterans Affairs apologizes, Dec. 13.
  It is absolutely inconceivable that Veterans Affairs senior management was blissfully unaware until now of what a catastrophe Vimy 100 was for the people who paid thousands
  
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• Ottawa Mission preparing for annual Christmas Dinner: bit.ly/2kyhfZx @OttawaMission https://t.co/JPOVCw3gRW

  15-12-2017 17:05 via twitter.com
  
  Ottawa Mission preparing for annual Christmas Dinner: bit.ly/2kyhfZx @OttawaMission https://t.co/JPOVCw3gRW
  
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• ‘The magic that happens’ — Star violinist Joshua Bell brings his talents and story to the NAC

  15-12-2017 17:01 via ottawacitizen.com
  When famed U.S. violinist Joshua Bell busked anonymously at a Washington D.C. Metro stop a decade ago as a kind of musical experiment, more than 1,000 people rushed past him, most without a second look.
  But the multimedia concert based on Bell’s experience that day as seen through the eyes of a child – kids were among the few who turned to look – sold out Washington’s Kennedy Centre and had a crowd of 2,200 cheering.
  That show — called The Man With the Violin &mdash
  
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• Police seize guns and drugs, charge 16 people in Project Sabotage: bit.ly/2Ch6wKq https://t.co/zzZl19hTgy

  15-12-2017 16:58 via twitter.com
  
  Police seize guns and drugs, charge 16 people in Project Sabotage: bit.ly/2Ch6wKq https://t.co/zzZl19hTgy
  
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• Coming up on Ethics Lab at 11 with @dk_munro -Is it unethical to leave an inheritance for your children? -Is ther… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  15-12-2017 16:50 via twitter.com
  Coming up on Ethics Lab at 11 with @dk_munro-Is it unethical to leave an inheritance for your children?-Is ther… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Indigenous advocate seeking liver transplant airlifted to Toronto for assessment

  15-12-2017 16:44 via ottawacitizen.com
  Delilah Saunders has been airlifted from Ottawa General hospital to Toronto where she will be assessed at one of the largest liver transplant centres in North America.
  The young Indigenous advocate is at the centre of a fight by her family and friends to get her a potentially life-saving liver transplant. Earlier, her family was told Saunders, who is in critical condition with acute liver failure, did not qualify for a transplant because of her use of alcohol during the past six months.
  But Thur
  
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• Trucker run over by own rig in Kingston

  15-12-2017 16:32 via ottawacitizen.com
  The driver of a tractor trailer was seriously hurt Friday morning when he was inspecting the underside of the rig and it rolled over him.
  It happened at about 8:50 a.m. as he was parked on the shoulder of the Sydenham Road exit ramp of westbound Highway 401 in Kingston.
  The ramp is closed as Frontenac OPP officers investigate.
  The Ministry of Labour has also been notified.
  
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• Coming up at 10:45: @RonMacLeanHTH joins @_MarkSutcliffe on the NHL 100 Classic: Listen: bit.ly/1uwtdOs https://t.co/y85gG1DDbt

  15-12-2017 16:30 via twitter.com
  
  Coming up at 10:45: @RonMacLeanHTH joins @_MarkSutcliffe on the NHL 100 Classic:Listen: bit.ly/1uwtdOs https://t.co/y85gG1DDbt
  
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• From humble beginnings to prestigious winnings: Meet Amsted's Steve Barkhouse

  15-12-2017 16:28 via ottawacitizen.com
  With a bucket of nails in one hand and a hammer in the other, a determined four-year-old waddled across his “Grammies” yard in pyjamas and socks. The house next door was under construction and the young boy thought he’d get an early start as morning light stretched across the Nova Scotia sky.
  “It’s just always been in my blood,” explains Steve Barkhouse, the now 53-year-old veteran renovator. The story of his younger self has been told time and again by his mo
  
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• Coming up 10:30: @cmaconthehill joins @_marksutcliffe live in studio with a look back at the week in Canadian pol… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  15-12-2017 16:25 via twitter.com
  Coming up 10:30: @cmaconthehill joins @_marksutcliffe live in studio with a look back at the week in Canadian pol… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• A frostbite advisory has been lifted by public health. twitter.com/ottawahealth/s…

  15-12-2017 16:14 via twitter.com
  A frostbite advisory has been lifted by public health. twitter.com/ottawahealth/s…
  
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• Our reporter Jason White is at police headquarters, where police are about to hold a news conference. twitter.com/1310JasonWhite…

  15-12-2017 16:05 via twitter.com
  Our reporter Jason White is at police headquarters, where police are about to hold a news conference. twitter.com/1310JasonWhite…
  
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• Coming up on the 10 O'Clock Talk: @jonathanmcleod, @WendyBoomer & @catherinejclark join @_MarkSutcliffe live: Li… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  15-12-2017 15:50 via twitter.com
  Coming up on the 10 O'Clock Talk:@jonathanmcleod, @WendyBoomer & @catherinejclark join @_MarkSutcliffe live: Li… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Coming up 9:45 The hilarious @SandraKiss1053 in studio with @_MarkSutcliffe: bit.ly/1uwtdOs… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  15-12-2017 15:38 via twitter.com
  Coming up 9:45The hilarious @SandraKiss1053 in studio with @_MarkSutcliffe: bit.ly/1uwtdOs… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Heading to the NHL100 Classic tomorrow? Bundle up – it's going to be COLD

  15-12-2017 15:30 via ottawacitizen.com
  The city woke to a frigid -19 C Friday morning, so the forecast high of -9 C may feel pretty comfortable after this week’s icy blast.
  The outlook includes cloudy skies and likely a few flakes. There’s a 70 per chance of afternoon flurries and a forecast of light snow Friday night as the mercury dips to -13 C.
  Senators alumni playing an outdoor game on Parliament Hill are in for the full winter experience.
  Periods of light snow end Saturday morning, Environment Canada predicts, then t
  
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• Update on defence industry news and contracts

  15-12-2017 15:27 via ottawacitizen.com
  Here is a roundup of recent defence industry news that I compiled for Esprit de Corps magazine:
  The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada named the operations team led by Benoit Beaudoin at Pratt & Whitney Canada as the winner of the 2017 James C. Floyd Award for Aerospace Achievement. The award is in recognition of the important contributions to Canadian aerospace success, both domestically and in the global marketplace.
  Jim Quick, president of the AIAC, said the creation of the Mirabe
  
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• Family fears for woman missing without her medication

  15-12-2017 14:13 via ottawacitizen.com
  Police say an Ottawa woman’s family is “greatly concerned” for her safety after the woman disappeared without the daily medication she takes.
  Angela Banks (Bourdeau), 37, was reported missing Thursday but police said Friday morning that it’s not known how long she had been gone.
  She is described as Caucasian, five feet two inches tall and 130 pounds, with mid-length hair with red highlights and hazel eyes. She wears glasses.
  She was driving a black 2013 Vol
  
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• Bisette: It's not sex workers' job to tolerate predatory men

  15-12-2017 13:00 via ottawacitizen.com
  The recent outpouring of allegations against male celebrities accused of sexually harassing and assaulting women has led to an increasingly popular, yet highly problematic suggestion: Why don’t men like these simply hire sex workers to get their needs met?
  Proponents of the idea argue that many sex workers would be willing to fulfill the desires of men such as Louis C.K. or Harvey Weinstein. Why don’t these men simply hire sex workers to watch them masturbate or participate in a sexy
  
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• Ottawa man found not criminally responsible in beating death of mother: bit.ly/2CqMxtB https://t.co/pVvz87DLPR

  15-12-2017 12:48 via twitter.com
  
  Ottawa man found not criminally responsible in beating death of mother: bit.ly/2CqMxtB https://t.co/pVvz87DLPR
  
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• Four dead after Hydro One helicopter crashes near Tweed: ttp://bit.ly/2Bq0bzs https://t.co/3xONnnshqt

  15-12-2017 12:38 via twitter.com
  
  Four dead after Hydro One helicopter crashes near Tweed: ttp://bit.ly/2Bq0bzs https://t.co/3xONnnshqt
  
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• Pellerin: Meet a conservative-leaning Canadian who didn't vote Tory

  15-12-2017 12:30 via ottawacitizen.com
  Can we build bridges between the political Right and Left? In a series we’re calling “Politics for the rest of us,” Brigitte Pellerin interviews ordinary but politically interested Canadians to explore whether it’s possible to escape the extremism that has seeped into public debate and find common ground. Today, meet a conservative who doesn’t fit the stereotype:
  When you think of the typical right-winger, your mind might see a middle-aged Bible-thumper from ru
  
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• Brrr! Ottawa remains under frostbite advisory: bit.ly/2BsgsUk https://t.co/yzna2KfC3Q

  15-12-2017 12:28 via twitter.com
  
  Brrr! Ottawa remains under frostbite advisory: bit.ly/2BsgsUk https://t.co/yzna2KfC3Q
  
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