Ottawa news

• One year ago, the city of Ottawa was recovering from an invasion

  31-07-2018 23:55
  A robotic invasion that is.
  As the old saying goes, parting with your robotic overlords really is such sweet sorrow.
  La Machine was an astounding marriage of engineering and artistry – poetically violent – live orchestral music punctuated by blazing flame throwers, mechanical monsters both ferocious and endearing.
  While the Canada150 spectacle is a year in the rearview mirror, one question remains: Are you Team Kumo or Long Ma Forever?
  Please watch this thorough video round-up from o
  
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• OC Transpo's rocky relationship with its hybrid buses coming to an end

  31-07-2018 23:44
  OC Transpo’s hybrid buses are hitting the auction block, ending a failed attempt to save taxpayer money while reducing air pollution.
  The city published a notice Monday letting potential buyers know its fleet of 175 hybrid buses is for sale.
  The Orion VII electric-diesel buses haven’t lived up to their hype from 10 years ago when Transpo introduced the technology to its fleet at a cost of about $200,000 more per bus, compared with a diesel-only bus. The goal was to have the diesel-el
  
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• A memo to the federal finance minister raises questions about business battle between hotels and Airbnb. ottawamatters.com/national-news/…

  31-07-2018 23:30 via twitter.com
  A memo to the federal finance minister raises questions about business battle between hotels and Airbnb.ottawamatters.com/national-news/…
  
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• MoneySense rates Russell a top place to live behind Ottawa

  31-07-2018 23:23
  After being ranked the best place to live in Canada for two years running, Ottawa has slipped to second place, pushing Oakville to the top spot and Russell Township trailing at a solid third.
  MoneySense magazine has published its annual top 25 Best Places to Live in Canada list based on indicators such as housing prices, household incomes, commute times, crime and weather, and health care.
  Ottawa snagged the top spot in 2016 and 2017 because of its economic stability, buoyed by the fed
  
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• Fatal motorcycle crash east of Gatineau ottawamatters.com/police-beat/fa… https://t.co/Fo4xyjBHFG

  31-07-2018 23:00 via twitter.com
  
  Fatal motorcycle crash east of Gatineauottawamatters.com/police-beat/fa… https://t.co/Fo4xyjBHFG
  
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• Phoenix 'disaster' due to government culture of avoiding responsibility: Senate ottawamatters.com/national-news/… https://t.co/ngrZLC1OgW

  31-07-2018 22:30 via twitter.com
  
  Phoenix 'disaster' due to government culture of avoiding responsibility: Senateottawamatters.com/national-news/… https://t.co/ngrZLC1OgW
  
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• City launches another ByWard Market study, this time on public spaces

  31-07-2018 22:20
  The ByWard Market is the subject of another city study, this time focusing on the public spaces.
  The city announced the 18-month project Tuesday after launching a similar exercise for Sparks Street last fall. There’s a new appetite to improve those high-traffic tourist areas of the city.
  The city said finding a consultant for the ByWard Market study is in the procurement phase, so the costs haven’t been finalized.
  ByWard Market seems to be perpetually under study. The 2013 study on t
  
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• Phoenix ’disaster’ due to government culture of avoiding responsibility: Senate

  31-07-2018 22:07
  The pay “fiasco” affecting federal government employees was largely the result of a bureaucratic culture of avoiding responsibility that will require closer political oversight before launching similarly complex projects in the future, says a Senate study of the Phoenix pay system.
  The system, brought online more than two years ago under the intention of streamlining pay for the government’s nearly 300,000 workers and saving taxpayers $70 million per year, has instead cost near
  
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• Heads up for drivers in the #SmithsFalls are Thursday. #ottnews #ottraffic twitter.com/townsmithsfall…

  31-07-2018 22:01 via twitter.com
  Heads up for drivers in the #SmithsFalls are Thursday. #ottnews #ottraffic twitter.com/townsmithsfall…
  
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• Seth Rogen lends voice to TTC public service announcements ottawamatters.com/national-news/… https://t.co/xAQ6DVMh35

  31-07-2018 22:00 via twitter.com
  
  Seth Rogen lends voice to TTC public service announcementsottawamatters.com/national-news/… https://t.co/xAQ6DVMh35
  
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• Ottawa pilot dies in North Bay plane crash

  31-07-2018 21:38
  A 57-year-old old Ottawa man is dead after the ultralight plane he was flying crashed Monday morning near North Bay.
  Ontario Provincial Police in North Bay confirmed the small plane went down and caught fire in a brush area of Rutherglen Township, near Talon Lake, 36 kilometres east of North Bay, shortly before 10 a.m.
  As officers, the Bonfield Fire Department and the Bonfield Ambulance Service responded to the call, a group of around 25 nearby cottagers reacted quickly by passing buckets a
  
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• Reevely: Five weeks not long enough for proper audit of Ontario spending, potential bidders warn

  31-07-2018 21:00
  Five weeks might not be enough time to examine all the Ontario government’s spending, compare it to other places’, and recommend how it might save money, potential bidders on the province’s “line-by-line audit” of operations have warned.
  Tough, the government says, we’re in a hurry. No extensions, no boost to the $500,000 budget, and don’t expect detailed help from the public service. Bids close Wednesday.
  The Progressive Conservatives promised the line-
  
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• Philanthropic couple with roots in Ottawa die alongside daughter in Maine plane crash

  31-07-2018 20:25
  Ottawa was a foundational place in the lives of Joseph and Anita Robertson, the philanthropic couple who died alongside their adult daughter, Laura, on Monday when the small plane they were flying in crashed into a field in Maine.
  Joe and Anita, both 58 years old, were originally from the national capital, according to a longtime friend. They met here, beginning a relationship that over the years gave rise to considerable success, three children and a reputation for generosity.
  “They were
  
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• North Bay OPP confirm the pilot killed in the Monday crash of an ultralight aircraft near Bonfield, ON is Michael M… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 19:18 via twitter.com
  North Bay OPP confirm the pilot killed in the Monday crash of an ultralight aircraft near Bonfield, ON is Michael M… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Victim of ByWard Market serial rapist remains unknown to Ottawa police

  31-07-2018 18:40
  In the disturbing video, the severely drugged woman is seen lying on the couch, her eyes half-closed, as she raises her arms and covers her face and says, “Stop, don’t do this,” just before her head slumps back.
  Serial rapist Philip Wilson is then seen taking his underwear off, and the defenceless woman is heard slurring, “No.”
  The woman likely has no memory of the attack, and despite an exhaustive Ottawa police investigation that identified 14 other women who were
  
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• UPDATE Nepean/Bank Sts call: @OttFire Workers cutting concrete, creating dust mistaken for smoke. No emergency.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 18:34 via twitter.com
  UPDATE Nepean/Bank Sts call: @OttFire Workers cutting concrete, creating dust mistaken for smoke. No emergency.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• McInturff: Love and spreadsheets (or how a woman with a calculator can show them the money)

  31-07-2018 18:20
  Feminist scholar Kate McInturff, a senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, is remembered by many in Ottawa as a trailblazer in gender analysis. She passed away July 27. Here is her last column, posted by the CCPA on its website: 
  One of the most important revelations of my life came to me not when I was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. (From this I have learned one thing: cancer sucks.) No, revelation came to me in a moment, two decades ago, when I had back
  
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• The ties that bind? How some Ottawa municipal candidates are linked to political parties

  31-07-2018 18:14
  Party influence is strong in Ottawa’s municipal election, even if incumbents and council hopefuls don’t represent provincial or national political groups.
  City councillors aren’t agents of political parties when they’re around the council horseshoe, one of the refreshing hallmarks of municipal politics in Ontario. Everyone’s an independent. No one is beholden to a party.
  Still, there are obvious political threads woven through municipal politics and the Oct. 22 coun
  
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• Niagara-on-the-Lake family identified as victims in Monday plane crash in Greenville, Maine. ottawamatters.com/national-news/…

  31-07-2018 18:10 via twitter.com
  Niagara-on-the-Lake family identified as victims in Monday plane crash in Greenville, Maine.ottawamatters.com/national-news/…
  
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• The @rick_gibbons Show for Tuesday, July 31st: 1:05: @RyanKennery & @emiliercoyle 1:30: @TerryLake16 1:45: @apratte… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 18:07 via twitter.com
  The @rick_gibbons Show for Tuesday, July 31st: 1:05: @RyanKennery & @emiliercoyle 1:30: @TerryLake16 1:45: @apratte… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• NEXT on the POWER LUNCH: @ChelbyDaigle & @markblevis join fill-in host @MarkDayNews in-studio: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 17:55 via twitter.com
  NEXT on the POWER LUNCH:@ChelbyDaigle & @markblevis join fill-in host @MarkDayNews in-studio: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Coming up at 11:45: @SiddallJoe joins @MarkDayNews on the Roberto Osuna trade: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 17:40 via twitter.com
  Coming up at 11:45: @SiddallJoe joins @MarkDayNews on the Roberto Osuna trade: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Denley: A smaller Ottawa council might actually serve us all better

  31-07-2018 17:35
  How many municipal politicians does a city need? A week ago in Toronto, the number was 47. Now, Premier Doug Ford says 25 are enough and he’s going to pass legislation to make that a reality.
  People running for city council are understandably outraged. Some have spent months campaigning for seats that will no longer exist. Incumbents’ jobs will disappear as the size of council shrinks. One can certainly argue that the timing is not ideal, since the election is in October.
  The general
  
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• Cohen: Doug Ford must aspire to do more than just break things

  31-07-2018 17:35
  Only weeks in office, Doug Ford has withdrawn from cap-and-trade, cancelled the sex education curriculum, replaced the board of Ontario Hydro and blown up Toronto city council.
  He has moved quickly, resolutely and spitefully. Some measures he promised in the campaign and one he plainly did not, which makes it all the more cynical. No matter; when you’re premier of Canada’s most populous province, endowed with a majority government, much like the president of the United States who con
  
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• Coming up at 11:30: @Pammerhockey joins @MarkDayNews on Cody Ceci asking for $6 million ahead of arbitration: 📻… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 17:25 via twitter.com
  Coming up at 11:30: @Pammerhockey joins @MarkDayNews on Cody Ceci asking for $6 million ahead of arbitration: 📻… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Bagnall: Shopify keeps eye on the future, amid share-price volatility

  31-07-2018 17:13
  There’s something fairly impressive about the way Shopify’s top executives have kept their eye on opportunities that exist years away — allowing them to pay much less attention to the short-term gyrations that drive investors nuts.
  Tuesday morning, even as the company’s share price was sliding five per cent in pre-market trading, Shopify’s top guns were patiently explaining to impatient analysts why they weren’t rolling out new international products and servi
  
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• Ottawa polar explorer adjusting to new normal after 2011 concussion

  31-07-2018 17:10
  Natalia Rybczynski has stood on top of the world and the bottom of it, in the high Canadian Arctic and Antarctica.
  Today she picks up the pieces from those paleobiology visits — fascinating fossils of prehistoric camels, bears, sloths — that also represent pieces of her own recent past, when she was able to venture far afield, toting a massive pack.
  Rybczynski, 46, named one of Canada’s top explorers by Canadian Geographic magazine in 2015, hasn’t been to one of the polar
  
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• Coming up at 11: @StephanieCarvin joins @MarkDayNews: 📻: 1310 💻: bit.ly/2oQd8u1 📞: 613-750-13… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 16:55 via twitter.com
  Coming up at 11: @StephanieCarvin joins @MarkDayNews: 📻: 1310 💻: bit.ly/2oQd8u1📞: 613-750-13… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Afghan government refusing to deal with corruption, U.S. watchdog warns- Back to "business as usual"

  31-07-2018 16:53
  The U.S. government’s Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has released his latest report on the situation in that country.
  Here are the key points from the watchdog agency:
  — SIGAR shares donor concerns that the Afghan government may be going back to “business as usual” and simply “checking the box” when it comes to fighting corruption.
  — As of March, DOJ views the situation in Afghanistan as “consistent with a lar
  
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• New concussion guidelines are patient-friendly for the first time

  31-07-2018 16:40
  Patients enduring ongoing concussion symptoms have tools and guidelines they couldn’t have thought possible just a few years ago.
  The Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation’s third edition of guidelines for concussion and mild traumatic brain injury includes a patient version that is chock full of practical advice for adults who receive concussions.
  It’s especially helpful for family members to understand what their loved ones are experiencing and how to help them.
  Dr. Shawn Marshall,
  
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• Coming up at 10:45: @K_O_Sundberg joins @MarkDayNews to discuss the ‘tug of war’ between RCMP and Canada Border Se… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 16:40 via twitter.com
  Coming up at 10:45:@K_O_Sundberg joins @MarkDayNews to discuss the ‘tug of war’ between RCMP and Canada Border Se… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Denley: A smaller Ottawa council might actually serve us all better - Ottawa Citizen

  31-07-2018 16:36 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa Citizen
  Denley: A smaller Ottawa council might actually serve us all better
  Ottawa Citizen
  How many municipal politicians does a city need? A week ago in Toronto, the number was 47. Now, Premier Doug Ford says 25 are enough and he's going to pass legislation to make that a reality. People running for city council are understandably outraged.
  Gibbons: Doug Ford's axe may find Ottawa city council nextOttawa Sun
  Ottawa won't start constitutional fight over Toronto council cutsTheSpec.comall
  
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• Coming up 10:30: @Kyle_Duggan of @ipoliticsca joins @MarkDayNews: 📻: 1310 💻: bit.ly/2oQd8u1 📞: 61… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 16:25 via twitter.com
  Coming up 10:30:@Kyle_Duggan of @ipoliticsca joins @MarkDayNews: 📻: 1310 💻: bit.ly/2oQd8u1 📞: 61… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Firefighters extinguish flames in Overbrook, smoke prompts evacuations

  31-07-2018 15:48
  Ottawa fire fighters battled flames in Overbrook Tuesday morning, with smoke forcing the evacuation of floors of people.
  At 9:30 a.m., Ottawa Fire Services reported that crews were on scene at the 190 block of Presland Road near Renouf Avenue and Whitton Crescent. Small fires had been extinguished, according to the a tweet, and firefighters were ventilating the premises.
  “Some floors evacuated because of smoke conditions,” fire services said.
  
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• "Doug Ford’s energy shake-up could wind up costing Ontario" @EnvironmentYork Prof Mark Winfield joins… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 15:40 via twitter.com
  "Doug Ford’s energy shake-up could wind up costing Ontario" @EnvironmentYork Prof Mark Winfield joins… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• On today's Power Lunch: @ChelbyDaigle & @markblevis join fill-in host @MarkDayNews in-studio: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 15:27 via twitter.com
  On today's Power Lunch: @ChelbyDaigle & @markblevis join fill-in host @MarkDayNews in-studio: 📻: 1310 💻:… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Should Toronto go to court over Ford’s proposal to truncate democracy? Lawyer David Butt joins @markdaynews at 9:1… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

  31-07-2018 15:12 via twitter.com
  Should Toronto go to court over Ford’s proposal to truncate democracy?Lawyer David Butt joins @markdaynews at 9:1… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
  
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• Pembroke: Stolen vehicle stop leads to drug and weapons charges

  31-07-2018 15:12
  A Sunday night OPP traffic stop in Pembroke led to the recovery of a stolen vehicle, and a slew of charges against two women travelling in it.
  The Upper Ottawa Valley Detachment of the OPP said Monday that the passenger vehicle, reported stolen from the Hamilton area, was stopped on Lea Street in Pembroke. Police had previously received a driving complaint about the vehicle.
  Two occupants were arrested and taken into custody.
  Stephanie Burgess, 39, of Pembroke, was charged with possession o
  
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• Veterans Ombudsman says government still has to act on death benefits, other issues but progress has been made

  31-07-2018 14:33
  Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent says the federal government has now acted on most of the recommendations his office has made over the last decade but still has to deal with reimbursing former military personnel for some expenses as well as changing how death benefits can be applied.
  Parent released his 2018 report card on the government’s response to 10 years of recommendations made by the office of the Veteran’s Ombudsman. “Since my 2017 status update, some progress has been mad
  
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• Weather: Sun and cloud mix it up, as July heat wave continues

  31-07-2018 14:29
  Environment Canada is calling for a warm but pleasant Tuesday, with a mix of sun and cloud and high of 29 C.
  The day is forecast to start mainly cloudy, but the sun is slated to take over by 9 a.m and it should remain mainly sunny until about 6 p.m. Then, clouds are forecast to move back in for a partly cloudy evening.
  While the day’s temperatures should drop no lower than 20 C and cap out in the high 20s, the humidex is forecast for a balmy 34 C, and the UV index at eight or very high.
  Th
  
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• Suspect in custody following alleged assault against Parliamentary Protective Service member

  31-07-2018 14:13
  A member of the RCMP who had been assigned to the Parliamentary Protective Service was the victim of an alleged assault on Parliament Hill Monday night.
  The suspect had been arrested and taken into RCMP custody, and an investigation is currently underway, Joseph Law, chief of staff to the director of the PPS, said Tuesday morning.
  “At this time, this situation appears to be an isolated incident and there is no threat to the Parliamentary Precinct,” he wrote in an email.
  Accordin
  
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• Lawsuit over injuries from broken Rideau Canal monument muddled by mystery alterations

  31-07-2018 13:47
  A lawsuit has partially solved a mystery surrounding the collapse of a monument along the Rideau Canal.
  It’s also deepening a labour group’s curiosity about unsanctioned alterations that may have been made to the stone before it broke last year.
  The Ottawa and District Labour Council installed the Rideau Canal Celtic Cross in 2004 to honour those workers who died building the canal between 1826 and 1832.
  The monument, located along a path where the canal meets the Ottawa River, was f
  
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• Ottawa the 2nd best city to live in Canada: MoneySense - CTV News

  31-07-2018 13:35 via ottawa.ctvnews.ca
  CTV News
  Ottawa the 2nd best city to live in Canada: MoneySense
  CTV News
  Ottawa is no longer the best city to live in Canada. MoneySense ranks Ottawa as the second best city to live in its 2018 rankings of Canada's Best Places to Live. The capital receives high marks for its transit, amenities and health accessibility ...
  Ottawa drops to number two on the MoneySense 'Best Places to Live' listOttawaMatters.comall 28 news articles »
  
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• 130 overdoses in one day has B.C. premier, addiction expert sounding alarm: bit.ly/2mUxOR0 https://t.co/SjojFdv6Ow

  31-07-2018 12:46 via twitter.com
  
  130 overdoses in one day has B.C. premier, addiction expert sounding alarm: bit.ly/2mUxOR0 https://t.co/SjojFdv6Ow
  
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• Osuna sent to Astros by Blue Jays for Giles in closer swap: bit.ly/2LRSfMu

  31-07-2018 12:37 via twitter.com
  Osuna sent to Astros by Blue Jays for Giles in closer swap: bit.ly/2LRSfMu
  
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• Today's letters: Getting help downtown

  31-07-2018 12:30
  Where does one get help downtown?
  A few days ago I was downtown, crossing Rideau Street, when I came across a woman sitting outside the entrance to The Bay. She was clearly in distress, calling loudly out for help and sobbing. I stopped and asked if she needed some food or drink. She told me she did not. I continued to speak with her and told her I would see if I could find someone to help her.
  First, I approached a security guard in the Rideau Centre. As soon as he heard she was on the Bay side
  
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• Moneo: A cautionary tale about rescuing animals from abroad

  31-07-2018 12:30
  A few months ago, I was party to very disturbing events involving a “rescue” dog from a California high-kill shelter. Cali was a pit-bull cross and had been saved from her pending fate. She was young, untrained and exceptionally strong and nimble, and it quickly became apparent she should not have made the long, expensive and ultimately tragic voyage to Canada – and to Vancouver Island, where we had hoped to give her a new home.
  On the ferry over from Vancouver, after being flo
  
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• McInturff: Love and spreadsheets

  31-07-2018 12:30
  Feminist scholar Kate McInturff, a senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, is remembered by many in Ottawa as a trailblazer in gender analysis. She passed away July 27. Here is her last column, posted by the CCPA on its website: 
  One of the most important revelations of my life came to me not when I was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. (From this I have learned one thing: cancer sucks.) No, revelation came to me in a moment, two decades ago, when I had back
  
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• ARMCHAIR MAYOR: 'Rent-a-gramp' – a way to learn outside class

  31-07-2018 12:30
  This fall, citizens of Ottawa elect a new city council. To help local candidates as they campaign, the Citizen asked people for ONE idea that would make the city a better place – without necessarily breaking the bank. Today, Charlie Lowthian-Rickert shares a simple idea for better learning.
  —
  My name is Charlie, I live in Stittsville, and I am going into grade 7 this fall. I love the Ottawa Valley; it has just about everything a kid could want. Except one thing.
  I have always been re
  
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• Twin wildfires threatening 10,000 California homes: bit.ly/2NXIJEV https://t.co/zmSqZ0L6dw

  31-07-2018 12:10 via twitter.com
  
  Twin wildfires threatening 10,000 California homes: bit.ly/2NXIJEV https://t.co/zmSqZ0L6dw
  
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