Ottawa news

• City asks province to rethink funding cut to drug consumption site as overdose crisis continues

  01-04-2019 23:56 via ottawacitizen.com
  In the face of a deadly overdose crisis, the province should be expanding, not reducing, drug consumption and treatment services offered by Ottawa Public Health, say Mayor Jim Watson and health board chair Keith Egli.
  Three days after the province announced it was defunding the site at 179 Clarence St. in the ByWard Market, Watson and Egli asked the Ford government to reconsider its decision, expressing “great concern” at the implications of closing the site that has handled 132 drug
  
  Read more

• Parents hopeful as story spreads of Trinity Poil's disappearance

  01-04-2019 22:51 via ottawacitizen.com
  The video image is blurry — just an indistinct black line really, caught on the security camera at the front gate of Garrison Petawawa around 5 a.m. on Feb. 13.
  The figure seems to walk along Festubert Boulevard in the heavy snow that fell that night, then lingers for a while beside the Royal Canadian Legion before disappearing from view.
  Was it Trinity Poil?
  “It’s just a black line moving with no distinguishing features, so it could be anyone,” said Trinity’s mothe
  
  Read more

• Ottawa mayor fighting for funding at Clarence Street safe drug consumption site - OttawaMatters.com

  01-04-2019 22:46
  Ottawa mayor fighting for funding at Clarence Street safe drug consumption site  OttawaMatters.comThe site, run by Ottawa Public Health, has seen almost 15000 visits as it's been operating at capacity since September of 2017.
  
  Read more

• Doug Ford slams 'Trudeau Liberal carbon tax,' casts doubt on Ottawa's money promises - National Post

  01-04-2019 22:02
  Doug Ford slams 'Trudeau Liberal carbon tax,' casts doubt on Ottawa's money promises  National PostTORONTO — Canada's most populous province and the federal government engaged in a pitched battle for public opinion over the carbon tax as it launched ...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Looking to donate medical equipment? These uOttawa students will take it off your hands for a charitable cause

  01-04-2019 21:46 via ottawacitizen.com
  When Emma Grigor worked with the Easter Seals as a lifeguard, she began to learn just how difficult it was to obtain affordable medical equipment for families.
  “As children grow, they need to grow with their equipment,” she said. “Families would often tell me that they pay quite a significant expense to get equipment, so it was something that was in the back of my mind.”
  Grigor, a medical student at the University of Ottawa, used her connections with students in 2016 to s
  
  Read more

• Aurrigo to test autonomous pods at L5 track in Ottawa - Ottawa Business Journal

  01-04-2019 21:45
  Aurrigo to test autonomous pods at L5 track in Ottawa  Ottawa Business JournalAn autonomous shuttle-maker will be among the first companies to put its vehicles through the paces at Ottawa's custom-made test facilities this spring. United ...
  
  Read more

• Ottawa's office vacancy rate drops to 7.5% in first quarter of 2019 - Ottawa Business Journal

  01-04-2019 21:31
  Ottawa's office vacancy rate drops to 7.5% in first quarter of 2019  Ottawa Business JournalSpace-hungry tenants snapped up a net total of more than 200,000 square feet of real estate in Ottawa's red-hot office market in the first quarter of 2019, driving ...
  
  Read more

• Four men in one family charged in decades-old sex offences

  01-04-2019 21:22 via ottawacitizen.com
  Four men who are members of the same family have been arrested to face sex charges.
  The men were arrested between Jan. 31 and March 13 in connection with incidents that happened in Rockland between 1974 and 1991, the Russell County OPP crime unit reported Monday.
  The men, who were charged under the laws as they existed at the time, are not being named to protect the identities of the multiple victims in an ongoing investigation, police said. Some of the accused were also minors at the time.
  A 58
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Four men in one family charged in decades-old sex offences - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 21:17
  Four men in one family charged in decades-old sex offences  Ottawa CitizenFour men who are members of the same family have been arrested to face sex charges.The men were arrested between Jan. 31 and March 13 in connection ...
  
  Read more

• Lineups for opening day at Ottawa's 3 retail cannabis shops - CBC.ca

  01-04-2019 20:58
  Lineups for opening day at Ottawa's 3 retail cannabis shops  CBC.caAll three private retail cannabis shops permitted to open in Ottawa as of today did so on time, while elsewhere in Ontario, some stores aren't yet ready for ...
  
  Read more

• Ottawa auto show 'bursting at the seams' with automakers, attendance - Automotive News Canada

  01-04-2019 20:40
  Ottawa auto show 'bursting at the seams' with automakers, attendance  Automotive News CanadaIt was a full house at the Ottawa Gatineau International Auto Show, and not just in terms of attendance for the longstanding regional show. Automakers showed ...
  
  Read more

• Bryn Roberts and Lage Lund CD reviewed

  01-04-2019 20:36 via ottawacitizen.com
  Bryn Roberts and Lage Lund (BMR Music)Hide The Moon and the Stars
  If you want to know what compatibility sounds like, give a listen to the very enjoyable album Hide The Moon and the Stars, from pianist Bryn Roberts and guitarist Lage Lund.
  Released last fall, the duo’s second album revisits the special simpatico between the Portland-based Roberts and New York-based Lund, who forged their enviable musical bond more than a decade ago when Roberts was based in Brooklyn and the pair ran with t
  
  Read more

• Trial: Caitlan Coleman recounts violence on night of Joshua Boyle’s arrest

  01-04-2019 20:23 via ottawacitizen.com
  Former Afghanistan hostage Caitlan Coleman says she fled from her abusive husband, Joshua Boyle, after he assaulted her and threatened to keep her confined to their bedroom.
  In her third day of testimony, Coleman, 33, recounted the night of Joshua Boyle’s arrest after what she said were years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
  That abuse, she said, started while they were held hostage in Afghanistan and continued when they returned to Ottawa in October 2017.
  On the night of Dec. 30,
  
  Read more

• Police hunt for suspects in Hunt Club mugging

  01-04-2019 19:57 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa police are asking the public to help them identify two of the men suspected of robbing three victims, then using their financial cards.
  A group of suspects approached the victims on Hunt Club Road near Conroy Road at about 12:10 a.m. on Feb. 16, then fled with their belongings, the robbery unit reports.
  Both suspects are described as black men in their 20s. The first wore jeans, a grey or blue parka with a fur-trimmed hood and a black tuque. The second wore black track pants with a white
  
  Read more

• Coun. Riley Brockington invites OCH tenants to report harassment to him

  01-04-2019 19:46 via ottawacitizen.com
  A city councillor whose ward includes large number of Ottawa Community Housing buildings has taken to Twitter to ask tenants to write him confidentially if they’ve suffered harassment from OCH staff.
  Riley Brockington, of River ward, said Monday morning he has already had at least one such report. He would not say how many people have contacted him.
  He first tweeted: “If you are a former or current tenant of an Ottawa Community Housing complex and have experienced harassment of any k
  
  Read more

• Hometown Hearts broken after theft at Almonte charity event

  01-04-2019 19:43 via ottawacitizen.com
  A thief stole more than $1,000 raised in Almonte at a Saturday night dance party to get first responders help for post-traumatic stress disorder.
  Hometown Hearts discovered the money gone during the event at the Almonte arena.
  “It is with a heavy heart and feelings of hurt and betrayal we must announce that between 11:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. well over $1,000 was stolen from a cash box at our event,” organizers said Sunday on social media. “We are still in shock this morning that
  
  Read more

• Israeli president travels to Niagara, Ottawa, Toronto on state visit - CTV News

  01-04-2019 19:30
  Israeli president travels to Niagara, Ottawa, Toronto on state visit  CTV NewsThe president of Israel is in Ottawa on Monday, meeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before laying a wreath at the new National Holocaust Monument.
  
  Read more

• Advocates urge Ottawa to create a national autism strategy - TheSpec.com

  01-04-2019 19:26
  Advocates urge Ottawa to create a national autism strategy  TheSpec.comOntario is not the only province where children and adults with autism are struggling for support, says a national alliance that is calling for a federal strategy to ...
  
  Read more

• Steer: Space needs more Canada – but Canada needs a better approach to space

  01-04-2019 19:21 via ottawacitizen.com
  Recently, Canada announced a New Space Strategy, under the title “Exploration, Imagination, Innovation,” and the audience the government chose for the official launch was a group of kindergarten to grade six school children: our future astronauts and space engineers. A wonderful, creative move.
  However, the attention given to the Junior Astronaut program may have been a distraction from the gaping holes in the strategy, which require more attention.
  Space security is an important pie
  
  Read more

• Photos: Open for business—Pot shops welcome customers in Ottawa - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 19:19
  Photos: Open for business—Pot shops welcome customers in Ottawa  Ottawa CitizenWe encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask ...
  
  Read more

• 'I’m here to buy pot': First cannabis stores in Ottawa already drawing lineups - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 18:35
  'I’m here to buy pot': First cannabis stores in Ottawa already drawing lineups  Ottawa CitizenThe first three legal cannabis stores in Ottawa opened Monday to a steady buzz of customers but no 'round-the-block lineups. They were among a handful ...
  
  Read more

• Warning issued as Rideau River floods low-lying areas

  01-04-2019 18:32 via ottawacitizen.com
  The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority issued a flood warning Sunday after weekend rain combined with the runoff from melting snow increased Rideau River water levels and flows enough to flood some low-lying areas.
  The areas that are experiencing flooding — “or will be very soon” — include:The smaller creeks and streams in the lower Rideau Valley watershed, including the low-lying roads and waterfront properties adjacent to the Jock River (near Richmond) and Stevens Cre
  
  Read more

• 'I’m here to buy pot': First cannabis stores in Ottawa already drawing lineups

  01-04-2019 18:30 via ottawacitizen.com
  Cindy Pokey was first in line at Hobo Recreational Cannabis Store Monday morning.
  “I’m here to buy pot,” said Pokey, 59. “It’s so clean, no garbage in it, no fentanyl. It’s absolutely wonderful.”
  Half a dozen people were lined up outside to wait for the 10 a.m opening.
  It’s one of three legal pot stores opening in Ottawa Monday morning and only a handful across the province.
  In fact, Ottawa is now the cannabis-shop hotspot of Ontario — for a
  
  Read more

• Ottawa gets in on April Fool’s Day - CTV News

  01-04-2019 18:08
  Ottawa gets in on April Fool’s Day  CTV NewsSome local pranks may have tricked some Ottawa residents on April Fool's Day.
  
  Read more

• 911 caller hurt in Orléans garage blaze

  01-04-2019 18:01 via ottawacitizen.com
  Firefighters were called in to tackle a fire in an attached garage on Richer Drive in Orléans Monday morning after the 911 caller reportedly suffered burns trying to douse the flames with an extinguisher.
  Ottawa Fire Services got the call reporting ever-thicker smoke at 9:54 a.m.
  The first Ottawa Fire Services crew at found heavy, black smoke coming from the garage which had a vehicle parked inside.
  They launched a “rapid-fire attack” and searched the home for signs the flames
  
  Read more

• Pellerin: What do the kids want? In Ottawa, a sense of community

  01-04-2019 17:47 via ottawacitizen.com
  How youthful do you think Ottawa is? I have the answer. It’s 760.91. I trust that makes you proud.
  That number is the result of the 2018 Index survey done by Youthful Cities. A city’s score is measured according to how it does on six criteria: openness, dynamicity (it’s like dynamism but for cities, I guess), inventiveness, playfulness, connectivity and curiosity. Ottawa is fourth in the country, right behind Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal but ahead of Edmonton, Calgary and Qu
  
  Read more

• Pellerin: What do the kids want? In Ottawa, a sense of community and personal connection - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 17:41
  Pellerin: What do the kids want? In Ottawa, a sense of community and personal connection  Ottawa CitizenHow youthful do you think Ottawa is? I have the answer. It's 760.91. I trust that makes you proud.That number is the result of the 2018 Index survey done by ...
  
  Read more

• Manitoba signs on to Ottawa health accord for more mental health, home care funding - CBC.ca

  01-04-2019 17:40
  Manitoba signs on to Ottawa health accord for more mental health, home care funding  CBC.caThe Manitoba government has finally signed on to a 2016 health-care deal that will bring millions in funding for mental health and home care.
  
  Read more

• New pot shop on Wellington apparent victim of weekend break-in

  01-04-2019 17:38 via ottawacitizen.com
  There was a boarded up window when the Superette cannabis shop opened Monday after the store was the victim of an apparent break-and-enter over the weekend.
  Drummond Munro, Superette co-founder, would only say there was an “incident” over the weekend, that it was “minor” and that operators are dealing with the police, Ontario Cannabis Store and Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
  He had no comment on whether any products were stolen from the store at 1306 Wellington
  
  Read more

• Ottawa, N.L. reach deal on Atlantic Accord - CBC News

  01-04-2019 17:03
  Ottawa, N.L. reach deal on Atlantic Accord  CBC NewsThe provincial government and Ottawa have reached an agreement on a renewed Atlantic Accord with the details set to be unveiled at 6 p.m. NT at the Sheraton ...
  
  Read more

• U.K. Parliament gets new chance to offer options on Brexit - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 16:53
  U.K. Parliament gets new chance to offer options on Brexit  Ottawa CitizenLONDON — Britain's Parliament gets another chance Monday to offer a way forward on Britain's stalled divorce from the European Union, holding a series of ...
  
  Read more

• OPP nab wrong-way driver on the Queensway

  01-04-2019 16:52 via ottawacitizen.com
  A motorist “safely intercepted” while heading east on the westbound Queensway early Sunday morning was charged with both dangerous and drunk driving, Ottawa OPP reports.
  After the traffic stop shortly after 2 a.m. near Terry Fox Drive, the 56-year-old Peterborough man was charged with dangerous driving, operating a motor vehicle with over 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol.
  Todd McLarty was released on a promise to appear i
  
  Read more

• N.L. to receive $2.5B from Ottawa over 38 years in renewed Atlantic Accord - CBC News

  01-04-2019 16:45
  N.L. to receive $2.5B from Ottawa over 38 years in renewed Atlantic Accord  CBC NewsThe provincial government and Ottawa have reached an agreement on a renewed Atlantic Accord with the details set to be unveiled at 6 p.m. NT at the Sheraton ...
  
  Read more

• Israeli president travels to Niagara, Ottawa, Toronto on state visit - National Post

  01-04-2019 16:39
  Israeli president travels to Niagara, Ottawa, Toronto on state visit  National PostOTTAWA — The president of Israel is in Ottawa on Monday, meeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before laying a wreath at the new National Holocaust ...
  
  Read more

• OPP nab wrong-way driver on the Queensway - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 16:25
  OPP nab wrong-way driver on the Queensway  Ottawa CitizenA motorist “safely intercepted” while heading east on the westbound Queensway early Sunday morning was charged with both dangerous and drunk driving, ...
  
  Read more

• Don't smoke in bed! Firefighters give oxygen to rescued puppy

  01-04-2019 16:24 via ottawacitizen.com
  Firefighters had to give a puppy a shot of oxygen Sunday morning after its owner apparently didn’t butt out after smoking in bed.
  Crews were called to douse a flaming mattress on Downpatrick Road in the South Keys area.
  No one was hurt but firefighters had a sternly-worded warning for smokers:  “if you smoke, smoke outside. Never smoke in bed. Wherever you smoke, use deep, sturdy ashtrays.”
   
  Firefighters provided breath of fresh air to puppy Sunday morning after a ma
  
  Read more

• Ottawa condo gets two bids despite holiday-season listing - The Globe and Mail

  01-04-2019 16:00
  Ottawa condo gets two bids despite holiday-season listing  The Globe and MailThe 965-square-foot unit has a balcony, two bedrooms and two bathrooms (one is an ensuite) and a walk-in closet.
  
  Read more

• Firefighters help puppy recover after south Ottawa house fire - OttawaMatters.com

  01-04-2019 15:52
  Firefighters help puppy recover after south Ottawa house fire  OttawaMatters.comOttawa firefighters helped to breathe a bit of *fresh* air into a puppy after a blaze on Downpatrick Road, near Hunt Club Road. The dog was given some oxygen, ...
  
  Read more

• Meehan: Let's pump Ottawa's gas-tax money into road repair - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 15:32
  Meehan: Let's pump Ottawa's gas-tax money into road repair  Ottawa CitizenOttawa is a car city.For all the talk of getting more people onto the bus and soon the train, the fact is the majority of us, for a number of reasons, use our own ...
  
  Read more

• Meehan: Let's pump Ottawa's gas-tax money into road repair

  01-04-2019 15:31 via ottawacitizen.com
  Ottawa is a car city.
  For all the talk of getting more people onto the bus and soon the train, the fact is the majority of us, for a number of reasons, use our own vehicles to get around the city. That is unlikely to change, at least in the near future.
  Having all those vehicles on our roads is not ideal, but it isn’t all bad, either. Here’s why: Cars and trucks need gas. When we fill up, we’re not only buying gas, we’re paying a hefty chunk in gas tax to the federal and
  
  Read more

• Cook this: Flatbreads with za'atar from Zaitoun - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 15:29
  Cook this: Flatbreads with za'atar from Zaitoun  Ottawa Citizen'These are found on every street corner in Palestinian communities,' says Yasmin Khan.
  
  Read more

• Don't smoke in bed! Your canine companion will thank you

  01-04-2019 15:18 via ottawacitizen.com
  Firefighters had to give a puppy a shot of oxygen Sunday morning after its owner apparently didn’t butt out after smoking in bed.
  Crews were called to douse a flaming mattress on Downpatrick Road in the South Keys area.
  No one was hurt but firefighters had a sternly-worded warning for smokers:  “if you smoke, smoke outside. Never smoke in bed. Wherever you smoke, use deep, sturdy ashtrays.”
   
  Firefighters provided breath of fresh air to puppy Sunday morning after a ma
  
  Read more

• 'I’m here to buy pot': First cannabis stores in Ottawa already drawing lines

  01-04-2019 15:14 via ottawacitizen.com
  Cindy Pokey was first in line at Hobo Recreational Cannabis Store Monday morning.
  “I’m here to buy pot,” said Pokey, 59. “It’s so clean, no garbage in it, no fentanyl. It’s absolutely wonderful.”
  Half a dozen people were lined up outside to wait for the 10 a.m opening.
  It’s one of three stores opening in Ottawa Monday morning and only a handful across the province.
  In fact, Ottawa is now the cannabis-shop hotspot of Ontario – for a few days o
  
  Read more

• One-way canal skating, robot traffic stop, alien landing pad: Ottawa has a few April fools

  01-04-2019 15:09 via ottawacitizen.com
  Monday morning madness includes a self-driving car stopped at double the speed limit, plans for an alien landing pad and a switch to one-way skating on the Rideau Canal to make way for a “high-speed commute.”
  April Fools’ Day obviously, but amusing.
  Const. Jon Hall tweeted that he’d nailed the high-tech auto going 137 km/h in a 60 zone but the “passenger reading his paper didn’t feel a thing.”
  Self-driving car stopped for going 137 in the 60 this morning
  
  Read more

• Traffic: Crashes, downtown road closures and reefer madness?

  01-04-2019 15:05 via ottawacitizen.com
  A mad guess: expect busy traffic around the city’s three new legal cannabis shops Monday.
  If you hadn’t heard, they’re on Wellington Street West near Warren Avenue, on York Street and on Bank Street near Gladstone Avenue.
  All had planned to open at 10 a.m. but expect line-ups (and traffic) during rush hour.
  Three crashes, one on the westbound Queensway at Woodroffe Avenue, a second involving two vehicles on Highway 17 in the Renfrew area, and another on County Road 43 were all
  
  Read more

• 'I’m here to buy pot': First cannabis stores in Ottawa already drawing lines - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 14:56
  'I’m here to buy pot': First cannabis stores in Ottawa already drawing lines  Ottawa Citizen“I'm here to buy pot,” said Pokey, 59. “It's so clean, no garbage in it, no fentanyl. It's absolutely wonderful.” Half a dozen people were lined up outside to wait for ...
  
  Read more

• Building stronger associations in Ottawa - Ottawa Business Journal

  01-04-2019 14:27
  Building stronger associations in Ottawa  Ottawa Business JournalThe OTUS Group and Ottawa Business Journal – with the support of 10 of the city's leading professional *service* providers – recently launched the inaugural ...
  
  Read more

• One-way canal skating, robot traffic stop, alien landing pad: Ottawa has a few April fools - Ottawa Citizen

  01-04-2019 14:25
  One-way canal skating, robot traffic stop, alien landing pad: Ottawa has a few April fools  Ottawa CitizenMonday morning madness includes a self-driving car stopped at double the speed limit, plans for an alien landing pad and a switch to one-way skating on the ...
  
  Read more

• Johnstone: The Ford government is about to make things even harder for trans kids

  01-04-2019 14:17 via ottawacitizen.com
  The Ford PC government has, in its infinite wisdom, made significant alterations to the provincial health and physical education curriculum, a.k.a. sex-ed, in Ontario’s schools.
  Among other measures, they have postponed lessons on gender identities until Grade 8. This will negatively impact the health of trans students in our schools.
  Most children develop a sense of their gender identity between the ages of two and five, years before the new curriculum will provide education on gender ide
  
  Read more

• Mother Nature delivers wind chill of -14, obviously doesn't understand joke part of April Fools' Day

  01-04-2019 13:57 via ottawacitizen.com
  C’mon April, you’ve GOT to be foolin’ — it’s frigid!
  After March exited with a mess of snow and rain Sunday, Monday started out with a windchill of –14 with westerly winds at 20 km/h gusting to 40.
  We’re headed to a sunny high of 3 C (a typical high for April 1 is 8 C) but Monday night will be almost as chilly with a low of –4 C that will feel like –10.
  Tuesday will start to feel more spring-like with a high of 6 C and a low of 1 C but there&
  
  Read more

Follow @OttawaCA_News on Twitter!