Ottawa news

• Spring load truck restrictions start March 18

  07-03-2019 22:50 via ottawacitizen.com
  There’s no sign of spring yet but in a bid to protect local roads during the eventual thaw the city is implementing seasonal load restrictions starting Mar. 18.
  Commercial vehicles or trailers with a gross vehicle weight of more than five tonnes or 11,000 pounds per axle are banned on roads with restriction signage is posted and on all truck routes identified as restricted on the urban and rural truck routes.
  These restrictions also apply to all non-truck routes, the city warns, and heavy
  
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• Update: NCC to roll out LeBreton Flats redevelopment in stages — with door open for an NHL arena

  07-03-2019 22:40 via ottawacitizen.com
  The National Capital Commission is proceeding with development of a small corner of LeBreton Flats, but leaving unsettled an anchor use like an NHL arena or new national museum.
  In the wake of the collapse of the $4.1-billion plan to move the Ottawa Senators downtown, the NCC has decided on a baby step instead of a bold reimagining of the entire 56 acres.
  It intends to invite proposals for the newly-named “library district,” a three-acre piece on the southeast corner of the site near
  
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• 'A beacon of hope': How local MPPs are walking a fine line in the autism debate

  07-03-2019 22:36 via ottawacitizen.com
  When rookie politician Jeremy Roberts was elected to represent the provincial riding of Ottawa West-Nepean last June, his brother, Dillon, was there, wearing sound-cancelling headphones to protect him from the noisy crowd.
  Twenty-five-year-old Dillon, who is on the autism spectrum, “has shaped who I am today,” the newly elected Progressive Conservative MPP, who is just a year older than his brother, told cheering supporters. His brother was the reason he wanted to get into politics,
  
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• SNC-Lavalin wins $660-million transit contract from Ottawa (the city, not the feds) as bidding future remains uncertain - Financial Post

  07-03-2019 22:31
  SNC-Lavalin wins $660-million transit contract from Ottawa (the city, not the feds) as bidding future remains uncertain  Financial PostEmbattled construction and engineering company SNC-Lavalin has won a $660-million contract from Ottawa — the city, not the federal government — to extend ...
  
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• SNC-Lavalin wins $660-million transit contract from Ottawa (the city, not the feds) as bidding future remains uncertain - Calgary Herald

  07-03-2019 22:22
  SNC-Lavalin wins $660-million transit contract from Ottawa (the city, not the feds) as bidding future remains uncertain  Calgary HeraldSNC's competitors may use the fact that it's embroiled in a political scandal as a 'competitive weapon,' says one analyst.
  
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• Editorial: Trudeau's dodging and weaving on the Wilson-Raybould affair

  07-03-2019 22:15 via ottawacitizen.com
  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s half-hour press conference Thursday was an exercise in obfuscation and deflection, when it should have been about clarify and, perhaps – just perhaps – apology. 
  What occurred in the SNC-Lavalin/Jody Wilson-Raybould affair, Trudeau told Canadians, was “a difference of perspective,” an internal “erosion of trust,” and a “lack of communications,” prompting “lessons to be learned.” The debacle sim
  
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• Ottawa Police officer suffers minor injuries in rear-end crash - CTV News

  07-03-2019 22:06
  Ottawa Police officer suffers minor injuries in rear-end crash  CTV NewsOttawa Police say a traffic officer suffered minor injuries when their cruiser was rear-ended Wednesday during a traffic stop.
  
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• 12 things to do in the Ottawa Valley this weekend: March 8 - 10 - www.insideottawavalley.com/

  07-03-2019 21:45
  12 things to do in the Ottawa Valley this weekend: March 8 - 10  www.insideottawavalley.com/From International Women's Day events to an early St. Patrick's Day parade, there's plenty of fun to be had in the Valley this weekend. 1) Healthy Women's Day ...
  
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• It's been one heckuva week in Ottawa LRT news. Here's your cheat sheet:

  07-03-2019 21:43 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa’s rollercoaster LRT story closed another chapter this week with council’s go-ahead to spend $4.6 billion on Stage 2 rail extensions on the O-Train network, even though the crosstown spine route isn’t finished yet.
  There’s fresh, albeit guarded, optimism for Stage 2, since Stage 1 has been a saga involving three missed deadlines and one giant sinkhole.
  There was so much going on with the LRT project this week it might have been hard to keep up.
  We’re here to k
  
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• It's been one heckuva week in Ottawa LRT news. Here's your cheat sheet: - Ottawa Citizen

  07-03-2019 20:51
  It's been one heckuva week in Ottawa LRT news. Here's your cheat sheet:  Ottawa CitizenOttawa's rollercoaster LRT story closed another chapter this week with council's go-ahead to spend $4.6 billion on Stage 2 rail extensions on the O-Train ...
  
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• ‘Un-Canadian’: Big cannabis slams Ottawa's taxation of medical marijuana - Yahoo Canada Finance

  07-03-2019 20:45
  ‘Un-Canadian’: Big cannabis slams Ottawa's taxation of medical marijuana  Yahoo Canada FinanceUn-Canadian, inappropriate, simply wrong, and insulting. When it comes to the taxation of medical cannabis, Canada's pot producers and patient advocates are ...
  
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• Four teens arrested after 'vicious' assault on Bayshore Drive

  07-03-2019 19:43 via ottawacitizen.com
  A 14-year-old boy was among four youths arrested after a teen was mugged and “viciously” assaulted on Bayshore Drive Wednesday night.
  Despite being hurt, the 19-year-old victim was able to defend himself, sending two of his attackers to the hospital after the 9:30 p.m. attack.
  Three people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries although the victim was most seriously hurt, police said.
  Original reports had characterized the incident as a stabbing, but police said Wednesday no
  
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• Review: NAC Orchestra joins forces with Tanya Tagaq in powerful, emotional collab

  07-03-2019 19:21 via ottawacitizen.com
  KINGSTON — In a collaboration that seemed to embody the spirit of reconciliation, the heart-wrenching words of the late poet Rita Joe and the improvisational vocal anguish of singer Tanya Tagaq gained a few more volts of emotional power with the accompaniment of the National Arts Centre Orchestra and its forward-thinking musical director, Alexander Shelley.Wednesday evening marked the launch of Kingston’s inaugural Ka’tarohkwi Festival of Indigenous Arts, which takes place this
  
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• Ottawa area men buy winning lottery ticket in Stittsville - OttawaMatters.com

  07-03-2019 19:14
  Ottawa area men buy winning lottery ticket in Stittsville  OttawaMatters.comTwo of the winners are from Carp, while the other lives in Woodlawn.
  
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• Update: Woman, 65, missing since Monday found safe and sound

  07-03-2019 18:57 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa police say Erlinda Santiago (Williams), a 65-year-old woman who was last seen in Kanata Monday has been found safe and sound.
   ALSO IN THE NEWS:
  Airport lines up extra parking lot for deluge of sunseekers
  City council approves 2019 municipal budget with three-per-cent property tax increase
  ‘It’s women who have to incur the cost’” City to review fee to change name through ‘gender lens’ 
  
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• Uncle Tetsu's, the popular Japan-based bakery, seems poised to open an Ottawa location

  07-03-2019 18:51 via ottawacitizen.com
  Uncle Tetsu’s, the popular Japanese bakery, is headed to Elgin Street, a photo posted on Twitter suggests.
  Established in Japan more than two decades ago, Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese Cheesecake opened in 2015 in Toronto and developed a cult following that was willing to line up for hours for its light, fluffy flagshop product. The Uncle Tetsu Canada business has grown to open eight locations in the Greater Toronto Area, one in Vancouver and one in Montreal.
  In addition to the company&rsqu
  
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• Lots of snow could spell spring flooding, Rideau Valley officials warn

  07-03-2019 18:25 via ottawacitizen.com
  After an “old-fashioned winter with lots of snow” totalling more than 250 cm — and no real thaws — be ready for the risk of heavy spring flooding, stewards of the Rideau River watershed warn.
  “Current conditions at several (Rideau Valley Conservation Authority) snow course sites are indicating near-record water content amounts in the snow for this time of year, generally not seen since the late 1970s,” the authority said in a release Wednesday.
  The conservatio
  
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• SNC selected for $660M light-rail transit contract in Ottawa - BNNBloomberg.ca

  07-03-2019 18:12
  SNC selected for $660M light-rail transit contract in Ottawa  BNNBloomberg.caMONTREAL -- SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. says it has won the contract for a $660-million light-rail extension project in Ottawa. The Montreal-based engineering and ...
  
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• NCC to roll out LeBreton Flats redevelopment in stages — with door open for an NHL arena

  07-03-2019 18:01 via ottawacitizen.com
  The National Capital Commission is proceeding with the development of LeBreton Flats but is doing so in stages, starting with a three-acre site near the new main branch of the Ottawa Public Library.
  As to a possible NHL arena on the 55-acre site, chief executive Tobi Nussbaum said: “That is a question to which we are very, very open.”
  The NCC has broken the site into five large chunks instead of proceeding with a single vision for the area. The Crown corporation hopes to launch a req
  
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• Coroner recommends special pursuit training for police following 2015 death

  07-03-2019 16:57 via ottawacitizen.com
  QUEBEC CITY— A coroner has concluded that, while a 2015 police operation that ended in the shooting death of a 17-year-old youth near Maniwaki was lawful, certain actions by police officers are open to criticism.
  In his report, coroner Luc Malouin noted that during the night of Nov. 16, 2015, in the Messines area, about 90 kilometres north of Ottawa, a car driven by victim Brandon Maurice and a passenger attempted to flee Sûreté du Québec officers.
  Testimony at the inqu
  
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• Officer hurt when five-ton hits cruiser during Hunt Club traffic stop

  07-03-2019 16:55 via ottawacitizen.com
  An Ottawa police officer was conducting a traffic stop Wednesday morning when their unmarked cruiser was rammed from behind by a five-ton truck.
  The officer, whose identity was not released, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and later released after the crash on West Hunt Club Road at Cleopatra Drive at about 10 a.m.
  The officer had just gotten back in the cruiser, which was stopped in the right turning lane with emergency lights flashing, to write a report when the truck struck it a
  
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• Holy Toledo, llama's on the loose

  07-03-2019 16:31 via ottawacitizen.com
  When St. Joseph Catholic School in Toledo, a hamlet near Smiths Falls, posted a picture of a llama that’s on the loose on nearby Baker’s Road, Facebook got funny.
  “Llama drama!” quipped one user.
  There’s definitely been some drama but “Brownie” is just fine, explained owner Ed Cavanagh.
  Tragedy struck the Cavanagh family farm last summer, destroying a barn and killing more than 60 animals including dairy goats, horses and Brownie’s daughter.
  Dubbed
  
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• Cop’s manslaughter trial told victim showed signs of mental health issues

  07-03-2019 16:30 via ottawacitizen.com
  Abdirahman Abdi was speaking “incomprehensibly,” his mouth agape in a blank stare when he followed Caolan Cullum into his Sunday morning shift at the Hintonburg Community Centre on July 24, 2016, about 20 minutes before Abdi would encounter Const. Daniel Montsion.
  Montsion is accused of using excessive force in the arrest that prosecutors say led to Abdi’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon charges laid in March 2017 f
  
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• Used Australian F-18s will fly 160 hours annually for RCAF

  07-03-2019 16:21 via ottawacitizen.com
  The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s recent report provides more details about the used Australian F-18s that Canada is purchasing. Eighteen of the 25 will eventually be flying, while the other seven will be used for spare parts and testing.
  Here are details taken from the PBO report:
  According to PBO calculations, the Canadian fleet is both slightly older and has experienced more usage than the Australian fleet. The average Canadian F-18 had accrued over 6,000 flying hours by the end of the
  
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• Police seek help locating woman, 65, missing since Monday

  07-03-2019 15:53 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa police missing persons investigators are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a 65-year-old woman missing since Monday.
  Erlinda Santiago (Williams), who usually uses a wheelchair, was least seen in the area of Leggett Drive in Kanata, where she had had an appointment.
  She is described as having light brown skin with long black hair, five feet one inch (152cm) tall, weighing about 120 pounds (54kg).
  The woman was last seen wearing a black jacket, light grey pants, light grey s
  
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• Airport lines up extra parking lot for deluge of sunseekers

  07-03-2019 14:00 via ottawacitizen.com
  Headed to the airport on the way to some March Break fun?
  Lucky! But the airport is deluged with so many sunseekers it’s had to find extra parking.
  “For the first time in the history of the Ottawa International Airport, the parking facilities are approaching capacity,” according to a news release Wednesday.
  “Rest assured,” if the parkade (P1) and long-term and overheight (P4) lots are full, a temporary overflow parking area will be available at the nearby Hylands Go
  
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• Tips from residents lead to Vanier drug raid, arrest

  07-03-2019 13:57 via ottawacitizen.com
  Police are crediting tips to Vanier’s community police officer for a raid at a “problem address” on Shakespeare Street Wednesday.
  One person is facing charges after a search warrant was executed by the street crime and tactical units. It turned up a small quantity of codeine, cocaine residue, what police call the “products and tools” used in drug trafficking and many discarded needles.
  It’s a location where there had been reports of drug trafficking and use an
  
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• Traffic: Quiet start, but Queensway maintenance closures ahead

  07-03-2019 13:53 via ottawacitizen.com
  Not to jinx it but there’s nothing major to report. At least in the early going.
  The city’s traffic centre was silent as the commute got underway in earnest.
  Do check your bus: OC Transpo was reporting more than a dozen cancelled trips.
  After the morning rush, watch for lane closures for maintenance on the westbound Queensway from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday. The left lane will be closed between St. Laurent Blvd. and the Vanier Parkway, the right lane will be closed at the Aviation Pa
  
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• Cold front heading out (-22 C tonight), weekend flurries headed in

  07-03-2019 13:52 via ottawacitizen.com
  Thursday dawned in the middle of a deep freeze, but it will be getting warmer.
  Unfortunately, it looks like it may be getting a bit snowier, too.
  The temperatures are expected to rise to a high of -8 C under mainly sunny skies. (Hold your applause until the end, because westerly winds could make it feel like -20ish until about noon.)
  Skies should clear overnight, with the thermometer sliding back to real -22 C, with a windchill of -27, if you’re out at 2 a.m.
  2 hats, 2 sweaters, 2 pants, 2
  
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• Today's letters: On labelling female politicians

  07-03-2019 12:40 via ottawacitizen.com
  Save the childish adjectives for children
  Re: MPP Amanda Simard parked Ford, now starts bumpy ride as independent, March 4.
  Kelly Egan, in his column on Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MPP Amanda Simard, thought it appropriate to describe her as “waiflike,” “might weigh 100 pounds in army boots,” “turned 30 last week” with perhaps a “naïve outlook.” Can Egan and the Citizen please stop infantilizing grown women?
  Simard, a lawyer with an impressive
  
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• Cannabis companies sponsored children's charity event days after law passed banning promotional sponsorships

  07-03-2019 12:00 via ottawacitizen.com
  A children’s charity championed by Bill Blair, the federal minister who stickhandled the legalization of marijuana, allowed two cannabis companies to sponsor a major fundraising event.
  The event by the Merry Go Round Children’s Foundation was held a few days after Oct. 17, when federal legislation came into effect that prohibits cannabis companies from promoting themselves through event sponsorship.
  The “Inspiration Night” event was sponsored by Canopy Growth Corp. in Smi
  
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• Bridge construction in Ottawa expected to snarl traffic for years - OttawaMatters.com

  07-03-2019 11:48
  Bridge construction in Ottawa expected to snarl traffic for years  OttawaMatters.comInterprovincial travel will worsen, starting in the spring.
  
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• Police investigating stabbing at Bayshore

  07-03-2019 04:32 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa police are investigating what appears to have been a swarming at Bayshore Shopping Centre that resulted in stab wounds to two males.
  Police were called to the mall at about 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Two victims, both male, were taken to hospital with minor injuries and a male suspect was taken into custody. Police believe there were others involved in the incident.
  A knife was recovered at the scene.ALSO IN THE NEWS:
  ‘It’s women who have to incur the cost’” City to r
  
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• Police investigating stabbing at Bayshore - Ottawa Citizen

  07-03-2019 03:50
  Police investigating stabbing at Bayshore  Ottawa CitizenOttawa police are investigating what appears to have been a swarming at Bayshore Shopping Centre that resulted in stab wounds to two males.Police were ...
  
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• Ontario autism budget numbers to be examined; MacLeod says she has received threats

  07-03-2019 03:50 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ontario’s budget watchdog has agreed to investigate claims by the Progressive Conservative government about the size of the autism program budget.
  The financial accountability office’s probe was requested by a Liberal, with the party saying the Tories’ numbers don’t add up.
  Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod announced last month that in order to clear a waiting list of 23,000 children, all kids diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum would rec
  
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• City council approves 2019 municipal budget with three-per-cent property tax increase

  07-03-2019 03:12 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa families will pay more for drinking water, transit, recreation programs, garbage pickup and other city services now that council has approved the 2019 municipal budget.
  Council on Wednesday locked in the $3.6-billion operating budget and $767-million capital program with a unanimous vote, confirming in a three-per-cent property tax increase and hiking several user fees.
  The transit tax on property tax bills, which helps pay for LRT and OC Transpo, will increase by 3.5 per cent. The Transp
  
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• Legislature resumes with premier attacking NDP and Ottawa - Winnipeg Free Press

  07-03-2019 02:00
  Legislature resumes with premier attacking NDP and Ottawa  Winnipeg Free PressThe 41st session of the Manitoba legislature resumed Wednesday with the introduction of a new bill, a war of words on procurement practices and some unusual ...
  
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• Ex-boyfriend of homicide victim charged with sex crimes

  07-03-2019 01:33 via ottawacitizen.com
  A man who remains on trial for his alleged role in an armed confrontation that led to the fatal shooting of Christina Voelzing in 2016 has been charged with sex crimes against another woman.
  Hassan Khalid, 32, the one-time boyfriend of Voelzing, has been charged with three counts of assaulting, three counts of sexually assaulting and forcibly confining a woman whose identity is shielded by a publication ban.
  Police also allege that he sexually assaulted the woman with a hairbrush and used scisso
  
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• Daphne Bramham: Times Up! There is no 'business as usual' in Ottawa - Vancouver Sun

  07-03-2019 01:03
  Daphne Bramham: Times Up! There is no 'business as usual' in Ottawa  Vancouver SunThe whole point of empowering women is to disrupt the status quo. So why are the Trudeau Liberals so stunned that it has happened? Daphne Bramham.
  
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• What they said: Councillors on LRT Phase 2 contract

  07-03-2019 00:36 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa City Council voted 19-3 Wednesday to go ahead with Phase 2 of the city’s LRT project, the largest infrastructure investment in the city’s history.
  The vote wasn’t close, but it doesn’t mean that the five-hour debate wasn’t heated. An early motion to delay the vote by two weeks was defeated, but not before a number of councillors blasted the city for what they said was a rushed vote that didn’t give them enough time to ask questions about the $4.7-billio
  
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• 'I had no option:' Officer who shot dog during attack speaks out - CTV News

  07-03-2019 00:27
  'I had no option:' Officer who shot dog during attack speaks out  CTV NewsAn Ottawa Police officer says she had no choice but to shoot a dog after it viciously attacked her last Friday. “I felt hot breath and he was just ferociously barking ...
  
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