Ottawa news

• Where's the tallest tree in Ottawa? It's not an easy question to answer

  16-03-2018 23:39 via ottawacitizen.com
  The towering giant of Rochester Street — a 115-foot cottonwood tree — will meet its demise sometime in the near future, brought down amid a roar of chainsaws.Given its age, 115 years, and fears that branches as large as telephone poles may at some point fall onto houses below, the tree’s owner decided it was time to cut the cottonwood down.When that happens, a community landmark will disappear — the tree is already being mourned in the area, with an Irish-style wake plann
  
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• Rochester Street's cottonwood, 1901-2018: 'It’s really a love story: woman and tree, and tree and neighbourhood'

  16-03-2018 23:39 via ottawacitizen.com
  There was the time Lynn Griffiths found four small boys in her backyard tree, near the north end of Rochester Street. The tree was a towering old eastern cottonwood. The boys were bad boys.
  “I had just bought the house. I was single and I came home one day and there were a bunch of kids in the tree,” she recalled this week. She didn’t know any of them.
  They had taken apart her clothes-drying rack and ripped some pickets off her fence and nailed the pieces on the tree to build s
  
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• Bylaw officers to issue tickets, not warnings, this St. Patrick's Day. ottawamatters.com/local-news/byl… https://t.co/SSyx7SLnsB

  16-03-2018 23:30 via twitter.com
  
  Bylaw officers to issue tickets, not warnings, this St. Patrick's Day.ottawamatters.com/local-news/byl… https://t.co/SSyx7SLnsB
  
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• City records spike in homeless families as it assesses midpoint of 10-year plan

  16-03-2018 23:07 via ottawacitizen.com
  A huge spike in the number of chronically homeless families last year has forced the city to rent more motel rooms, giving parents and children emergency shelter.
  The city is preparing to launch a review of its 10-year housing and homelessness plan at the midpoint of the program, which started in 2014. A report to council’s community and protective services committee sets the stage for the review, with updated statistics on the number of homeless people in Ottawa.
  One of the glaring statis
  
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• 'Promising' decline in Phoenix pay backlog comes as unions negotiate damages. ottawamatters.com/around-ontario… https://t.co/P4tkiM9cye

  16-03-2018 23:04 via twitter.com
  
  'Promising' decline in Phoenix pay backlog comes as unions negotiate damages.ottawamatters.com/around-ontario… https://t.co/P4tkiM9cye
  
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• Gatineau Police Chief defends decision to arrest journalist. #ottnews #Gatineau ottawamatters.com/local-news/gat… https://t.co/WuxXqHij6p

  16-03-2018 22:39 via twitter.com
  
  Gatineau Police Chief defends decision to arrest journalist. #ottnews #Gatineauottawamatters.com/local-news/gat… https://t.co/WuxXqHij6p
  
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• After Canada 150 celebrations, city 'protocol' spending hits seven-year high

  16-03-2018 22:30 via ottawacitizen.com
  City hall’s protocol office spent more than $250,000 on hosting official events last year, exceeding the amounts spent in each of the six previous years, partly because of the importance placed on Canada’s 150th birthday.
  “The types of events hosted, rather than the number of events hosted, will impact the total cost,” protocol chief Cathy Bowles said in an email. “2017 marked the nation’s sesquicentennial year which resulted in some unique opportunities.&rdqu
  
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• Sexual assault suspect turns himself in to police

  16-03-2018 22:10 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa police said a suspect involved in an alleged sexual assault on a 36-year-old woman has turned himself in to officials.
  Police said the alleged assault occurred on March 4, a Sunday, when a man approached a woman at the main entrance of her residence in south Ottawa and began a conversation.
  When he followed the woman to her apartment door, she told him he could not come in, said police.
  But the suspect forced himself into the apartment and then allegedly sexually assaulted the woman insid
  
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• 'We just can't keep up with demand': New funding addresses growing need for sexual violence support

  16-03-2018 21:49 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ontario is considering introducing restorative justice for sexual violence and harassment cases, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi said Friday.
  As part of its gender-based violence strategy, the Ontario government said it will study restorative justice — which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims — as an alternative to the court process in some sexual violence cases.
  “What we have heard is that the traditional justice system may not be the m
  
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• Ottawa man, 29, to face charge of carrying firearm in vehicle

  16-03-2018 21:48 via ottawacitizen.com
  A 29-year-old Ottawa was arrested Friday and will face charges for carrying a firearm in his vehicle. 
  The Ottawa police Direct Action Response Team (DART) received information that the suspect, Abdulaziz Muffareh, was in possession of a loaded firearm. 
  The suspect was arrested while driving in the area of Woodroffe Avenue and Strandherd Drive, after which a loaded handgun and ammunition was found in the vehicle, police said. 
  Muffareh will be charged with several firearm-re
  
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• Freedom of press important — but so are rights of victims, Gatineau police chief says

  16-03-2018 21:41 via ottawacitizen.com
  Gatineau’s police chief led off a news conference about the arrest of a reporter for harassment by saying he wouldn’t discuss any details of the case.
  What followed instead on Friday afternoon was 40 minutes in which Mario Harel went back and forth on press freedoms and promises to let reporters work freely, followed by the word “but.”
  “In no circumstance do we wish to interfere with a journalist doing his work or to restrict the freedom of the press,” Ha
  
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• ICYMI: Gatineau reporter arrested after interview requests ottawamatters.com/local-news/gat…

  16-03-2018 21:30 via twitter.com
  ICYMI: Gatineau reporter arrested after interview requestsottawamatters.com/local-news/gat…
  
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• Police look to ID suspect in luxury SUV-buying fraud case

  16-03-2018 21:12 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa police are asking for the public’s help to identify a woman suspected in the alleged fraudulent purchase of high-end autos.
  In January and February, police said several SUVs were allegedly purchased from local Ottawa dealers with the use of fake ID and forged documents. These documents were used to get financing for the vehicles, said police.
  A female suspect is wanted for multiple counts of fraud over $5,000, theft of a motor vehicle and several other fraud-related offences in conn
  
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• STORY: Wynne defends throne speech decision as opponents accuse her of trying to hit reset button… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 21:00 via twitter.com
  STORY: Wynne defends throne speech decision as opponents accuse her of trying to hit reset button… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• NCC still repairing Voyageurs Pathway after flood damage

  16-03-2018 20:50 via ottawacitizen.com
  While the National Capital Commission has repaired and re-opened most of its pathways damaged in last spring’s great flood, the Voyageurs Pathway in Gatineau isn’t expected to be ready until the summer.
  A number of NCC pathways along the Ottawa River — including those behind Parliament Hill — were closed last year after being eroded by floodwaters. The NCC had said it would rebuild the pathways by spring 2018 to “higher standards” to prevent further damage nex
  
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• St. Pat's teacher charged with sexually assaulting girl

  16-03-2018 20:31 via ottawacitizen.com
  A 55-year-old teacher is facing sexual assault and exploitation charges against a young girl at a local Catholic school for incidents that allegedly took place between 2014 and 2016.
  Robert Lavergne was teaching at St. Patrick’s High School in Alta Vista at the time.
  Police said they are concerned there could be other alleged victims. 
  Lavergne was charged Friday with sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a female under 18. He appears in court April 25.
  The Ottawa Catholic Sc
  
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• FYI: Cold, sunny weekend for the nation's capital ottawamatters.com/local-news/col… https://t.co/DLeMuu0Gin

  16-03-2018 20:30 via twitter.com
  
  FYI: Cold, sunny weekend for the nation's capital ottawamatters.com/local-news/col… https://t.co/DLeMuu0Gin
  
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• Editorial: Jagmeet Singh's political dilemma

  16-03-2018 20:27 via ottawacitizen.com
  Whether Jagmeet Singh endorses Sikh separatism – or any other kind – isn’t a major scandal. Politicians the world over have their views of sovereignty movements, and voters react accordingly. Whether, however, Singh endorses terrorism, is. So this week he clarified himself, telling Postmedia he accepts the conclusion of the Air India inquiry, which said Talwinder Singh Parmar masterminded the 1985 terrorist attack that killed 329 people. 
  Singh had been reluctant to condem
  
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• Police ask for help ID'ing sexual assault suspect

  16-03-2018 19:28 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa police are asking for the public’s help to identify a suspect involved in an alleged sexual assault on a 36-year-old woman.
  Police said the alleged assault occurred on March 4, a Sunday, when a man approached a woman at the main entrance of her residence in south Ottawa and began a conversation.
  When he followed the woman to her apartment door, she told him he could not come in, said police.
  But the suspect forced himself into the apartment and then allegedly sexually assaulted the
  
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• Carleton University, striking staff to resume 'confidential' talks

  16-03-2018 19:01 via ottawacitizen.com
  Carleton University and its striking support staff are headed back to the bargaining table in a bid to end an increasingly bitter strike, but neither side will be talking publicly about negotiations.
  “In the best interest of the Carleton community, the university and CUPE Local 2424 have agreed to meet to continue discussions in an attempt find a resolution and put an end to the labour dispute,” according to a statement posted on Carleton’s website Friday.   
  “F
  
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• Man, 24, charged after allegedly urinating in bottle while driving

  16-03-2018 17:23 via ottawacitizen.com
  A man has been charged with careless driving after he was caught allegedly urinating in a bottle while driving a tractor trailer on Highway 401.
  Ontario Provincial Police arrived at the scene on Thursday around 3:45 p.m. in Leeds and the Thousand Islands Township, after reports of a tractor-trailer dangerously swerving in and out of lanes.
  The Greater Toronto Area-man, 24, was located and charged with careless driving. He was not identified by the OPP. 
  The OPP said they are cracking down o
  
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• From Italy, with love: New Tafelmusik director Elisa Citterio leads ensemble to Ottawa

  16-03-2018 17:00 via ottawacitizen.com
  Tafelmusik Baroque Music Orchestra When: Thursday, March 22, 7:30 p.m.Where: Dominion-Chalmers United ChurchTickets: starting at $30 at chamberfest.com
  When Toronto’s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra was seeking a new music director, it travelled almost 7,000 kilometres.
  Imported from Milan, Italy, last fall, violinist Elisa Citterio joined the renowned early music ensemble, taking the helm from Jeanne Lamon, who had lead Tafelmusik for more than three decades.
  Ottawa will have it fi
  
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• Coming up 11:50: @BarryDavis_ joins @_MarkSutcliffe to talk @BlueJays: 📻: 1310 💻: bit.ly/2oQd8u1 📞… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 16:45 via twitter.com
  Coming up 11:50:@BarryDavis_ joins @_MarkSutcliffe to talk @BlueJays:📻: 1310 💻: bit.ly/2oQd8u1 📞… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Sajjan’s advisor James Cudmore leaving Department of National Defence

  16-03-2018 16:41 via ottawacitizen.com
  In January 2016, Defence Watch reported that James Cudmore, then a well-known CBC TV journalist who covered defence and government, had gone to work for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. His job was as a “senior policy advisor.”
  Now Cudmore is moving on.
  Although he is still on the job in Sajjan’s office, he will be moving to the Office of the Minister of Democratic Institutions. Sajjan’s former press secretary, Jordan Owens, is already at that office as director of communi
  
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• The @rick_gibbons Show for Friday, March 16th: 1:17: @Shawn_Jeffords 1:30: @robcolin 1:45: @townofinnisfil 2:05:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 16:37 via twitter.com
  The @rick_gibbons Show for Friday, March 16th: 1:17: @Shawn_Jeffords 1:30: @robcolin 1:45: @townofinnisfil 2:05:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Coming up on the Power Lunch at 12: @Ottawaathomemag & @UW_Michael join @_marksutcliffe in studio: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 16:35 via twitter.com
  Coming up on the Power Lunch at 12:@Ottawaathomemag & @UW_Michael join @_marksutcliffe in studio: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Strickland and Kuzmyk: Why #MeToo is EXACTLY what we need

  16-03-2018 16:30 via ottawacitizen.com
  The following is in rebuttal to a March 10 article entitled “Why #MeToo is Not For Me”:
  In her article on the #MeToo movement, Iris Winston wrote that “truly courageous women would speak out at the time of an incident” and that they should be responsible enough to bring forward civil action, “allowing the man in question the opportunity to face his accuser in court and defend himself.”
  These statements, in our opinion, are written from a place of ignorance of
  
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• Boil water advisory in Pontiac after breakdown in water treatment plant

  16-03-2018 16:17 via ottawacitizen.com
  Pontiac in western Quebec is advising residents using the municipal aqueduct network to boil their water for at least a week and a half.
  A critical piece of electronic equipment broke down and the municipal treatment plant could not operate without it, Pontiac said in a bulletin on Thursday.
  As a result, water from the municipal system is untreated and must be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute before consumption.
  For any consumption of water — including drinking, brush
  
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• Gormley: Confronting Russia means protecting ourselves

  16-03-2018 16:14 via ottawacitizen.com
  To a crime that could only have been committed by Russia, democratic governments can respond in any number of ways. Many responses would be justified. Few can be counted on to inspire better behaviour. A few more might inspire it to behave even worse.
  Countries can issue statements that unequivocally condemn Russia’s unacceptable attack on British soil; Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent and his daughter Yulia, were poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent, on March 4. Europe, Cana
  
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• NAC Preview: 'I didn't expect to be the guy who wrote about the tsunami,' says David Yee

  16-03-2018 16:07 via ottawacitizen.com
  carried away on the crest of a waveBy David YeeNAC English Theatre production, directed by Kim CollierMarch 21-April 1, Babs Asper Theatre, NACTickets and times: nac-cna.ca
  Get this: David Yee, the Toronto playwright who wrote an award-winning play about the 2004 tsunami, is afraid of water.Although he can swim and doesn’t mind being in the general vicinity of Lake Ontario, his nerves are rattled when he gets too close.“I have this crippling fear of water,” he revealed in an in
  
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• Coming up on the Ethics Lab: -tracking students to reduce drop-out rates -plastic straw bans @dk_munro joins… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 15:55 via twitter.com
  Coming up on the Ethics Lab:-tracking students to reduce drop-out rates -plastic straw bans@dk_munro joins… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• What are you doing for St. Patrick's Day? twitter.com/OttawaMatters/…

  16-03-2018 15:49 via twitter.com
  What are you doing for St. Patrick's Day? twitter.com/OttawaMatters/…
  
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• 'Russia is a mess but it’s still playing the West' @Scott_Gilmore joins @_marksutcliffe coming up at 10:45: 📻: 1… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 15:40 via twitter.com
  'Russia is a mess but it’s still playing the West'@Scott_Gilmore joins @_marksutcliffe coming up at 10:45: 📻: 1… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Today at 11:30 a.m. @AndreaHorwath joins @_marksutcliffe live: 📻: 1310 💻: bit.ly/2oQd8u1 📞: 613-7… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 15:35 via twitter.com
  Today at 11:30 a.m.@AndreaHorwath joins @_marksutcliffe live: 📻: 1310 💻: bit.ly/2oQd8u1 📞: 613-7… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Past perfect: Cloverdale Cottage has traditional charm with all the modern conveniences

  16-03-2018 15:34 via ottawacitizen.com
  Cloverdale Cottage is steeped in charm and rich in character – much like its owners of 25 years – architects Sarah Murray and her husband, Nicholas Caragianis.
  “There is so much history wrapped up in this house. It’s become a part of me,” says Murray, who runs the couple’s architectural firm Nicholas Caragianis Architects Inc. in Little Italy.
  Exterior detail of Cloverdale Cottage, the home of architects Sarah Murray and Nicholas Caragianis
  
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• Coming up at 10:30: @krushowy joins @_MarkSutcliffe with the latest on Patrick Brown: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 15:25 via twitter.com
  Coming up at 10:30: @krushowy joins @_MarkSutcliffe with the latest on Patrick Brown: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• Cappies Review: Colonel By Secondary School's Footloose a toe-tapping good time

  16-03-2018 15:00 via ottawacitizen.com
  Show #7: FootlooseWhere: Colonel By Secondary SchoolDirector: Greg Crossett
  ————————————————————————
  Anna DevlinCritic, St. Mother Teresa High School
  Anna Devlin
  Kick off your Sunday shoes! Colonel By Secondary School’s upbeat rendition of Footloose resounded with the message of finding joy in life.
  Footloose the Musical follows the same story as t
  
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• Coming up at 9:45 @SandraKiss1053 of @kissottawa joins @_MarkSutcliffe in studio with the latest entertainment new… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 14:40 via twitter.com
  Coming up at 9:45@SandraKiss1053 of @kissottawa joins @_MarkSutcliffe in studio with the latest entertainment new… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• More sun this weekend but it's going to get very, very cold

  16-03-2018 14:13 via ottawacitizen.com
  The last weekend of winter will be bitterly cold for mid-March but at least you’ll need your sunglasses.
  Ottawa awoke to -9 C that felt more like -18 C.  Friday’s forecast is for mainly-cloudy skies, a 40 per cent chance of flurries, northwest winds at 30 km/h gusting to 50 and a high of -2 C.
  Winds drop off overnight as the mercury dips to -11 C.
  For Saturday, expect mixed skies, northwest winds at 20 km/h gusting to 40 in the morning, a high of -6 C and a low of -15 C.
  Sunday&
  
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• Spotlight: 'It’s such an easy formula: Take off clothes, room of people cheers'

  16-03-2018 14:00 via ottawacitizen.com
  Spotlight is a weekly look at some of the people who are part of the Ottawa area’s arts community. This week, Bruce Deachman talks with burlesque performer and promoter “Helvetica Bold.” She will be hosting and performing in La Maison Derrière: A Burlesque Tribute to The Simpsons on March 24 at Café Nostalgica. Info: www.facebook.com/Misshelveticab/
  “I got into burlesque about 12 years ago. There was no burlesque happening at the time in Ottawa, and a friend
  
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• Keith Urban kicking off Canadian dates in Ottawa

  16-03-2018 13:23 via ottawacitizen.com
  Country superstar Keith Urban will be in town Sept. 14, kicking off a string of Canadian dates.
  And for once, it’s a Friday night!
  The four-time Grammy winner’s opening act at Canadian Tire Centre will be Lindsay Ell, a multiple Canadian Country Music Association award nominee.
  After Ottawa, Urban’s 58-city Graffiti U World Tour 2018 heads to London, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
  “I’ve been full-on writing, recording, collaborating and c
  
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• Egan: Busted wheelchair after flight puts brakes on man's Cuban getaway

  16-03-2018 13:08 via ottawacitizen.com
  Darrel Scott had a serious stroke 12 years ago — collapsed outside on a frigid winter night — and had to relearn the basics, like write and hold things with his wrong hand, at age 53.
  To this day, his right side is compromised, making his electric wheelchair a lifeline.
  In this week of March break, when half the world is on the go, he is retelling his travel misadventure from last fall, a saga not yet over.
  After research about the resort, he booked a one-week trip to Varadero,
  
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• Take in Sens practice for free (with food donation) Friday

  16-03-2018 13:02 via ottawacitizen.com
  The Sens are throwing open the doors to fans who can take in Friday morning’s practice for free with the donation of a non-perishable food item for the Ottawa Food Bank.
  “Ever wondered what it takes to make it to the NHL and stay there?” the teams said as it touted its Sens Game-day Experience.  “Here’s your chance to find out.
  “Esso and the Ottawa Senators are teaming up to provide fans the unique opportunity to attend a Senators practice or game-day ska
  
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• Frigid Friday and double-digit lows are in the forecast

  16-03-2018 13:02 via ottawacitizen.com
  The last weekend of winter will be bitterly cold for mid-March but at least you’ll need your sunglasses.
  Ottawa awoke to -9 C that felt more like -18 C.  Friday’s forecast is for mainly-cloudy skies, a 40 per cent chance of flurries, northwest winds at 30 km/h gusting to 50 and a high of -2 C.
  Winds drop off overnight as the mercury dips to -11 C.
  For Saturday, expect mixed skies, northwest winds at 20 km/h gusting to 40 in the morning, a high of -6 C and a low of -15 C.
  Sunday&
  
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• MacDougall: Trudeau is spending your money like you don't care. He may be right

  16-03-2018 13:00 via ottawacitizen.com
  If you think spending is easy and saving is hard, you should try doing it with other people’s money.
  Justin Trudeau is firing the federal spending cannon with scant regard for the nation’s finances. The Liberals are betting heavily that taxpayers won’t care how much federal dosh is being spent, or when their government plans on stopping.
  Sadly, they’re probably right. Even this week’s bizarre revelation that a 2017 spending review failed to turn up a single, solitar
  
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• Deachman: The end times? N'yet. Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the Kremlin.

  16-03-2018 13:00 via ottawacitizen.com
  Only weeks ago, scientists reluctantly moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock forward 30 seconds, to two minutes before midnight, a proximity to mankind’s annihilation unmatched since 1953, when the U.S. and Soviet Union set off thermonuclear devices in their respective test kitchens.
  We’ve never been closer to the figurative end of the world than this, although it should be noted that these same scientists, or at least ones just like them, have been known to bend the hands of time ba
  
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• Polar bears damage snowmobiles, hot tub as they get early start on trek north: bit.ly/2IwbxlY https://t.co/SKs7gXwiYy

  16-03-2018 12:51 via twitter.com
  
  Polar bears damage snowmobiles, hot tub as they get early start on trek north: bit.ly/2IwbxlY https://t.co/SKs7gXwiYy
  
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• POLL: Should the Ontario PCs have allowed Patrick Brown to represent them as a candidate in the provincial election… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 12:00 via twitter.com
  POLL: Should the Ontario PCs have allowed Patrick Brown to represent them as a candidate in the provincial election… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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• #Gatineau reporter arrested after interview requests ottawamatters.com/local-news/gat… #gatnews #ottnews https://t.co/oNOJy7uYjn

  16-03-2018 11:51 via twitter.com
  
  #Gatineau reporter arrested after interview requestsottawamatters.com/local-news/gat…#gatnews #ottnews https://t.co/oNOJy7uYjn
  
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• Some screaming & gunshots will be heard coming from the old Pearson building on Sussex Drive this weekend --- but h… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  16-03-2018 11:45 via twitter.com
  Some screaming & gunshots will be heard coming from the old Pearson building on Sussex Drive this weekend --- but h… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
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