Thursday, 11 December 2025
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☁️ High -10° Low -12° and mostly cloudy ☀️7:33 am 🌛 4:19 pm

 

If you are a believer in the prognostications of  the Old Farmers’ Almanac, the venerable publication is predicting three days of ‘bitter cold’ December 17 to 20 and temperatures similar to last week from December 21 to 26. 

Hello Ottawa

In Today’s Edition

→ Under 18s ride free on weekends and commuters get an extra 15 minutes as City Budget passes

→  Honestly, if you see The Storyville Mosquito by Montréal's Kid Koala tomorrow at the NAC please tell us how it was. We’re fascinated.

→  Today‘s Deal of the Day is on womenswear at Mélissa Nepton

 

🍾 Can and Bottle Returns

Starting January 2, residents of Ottawa will no longer be allowed to place beer cans and wine bottles in the recycle bin – they must be returned to ... where?

In Darren’s salad days, he worked in the British Columbia government liquor stores where one of his tasks was to staff the can and bottle return. He was astonished to learn from yesterday’s OTTAWAN poll comments that the LCBO does not accept returns at most locations. Darren’s poll question had assumed residents could return recyclables to the LCBO.

The LCBO website doesn’t help much in finding where to return recyclables. It advises taking them to the Beer Store (which will accept both cans and wine bottles) but as we know, Beer Store locations are closing at a rapid pace.

The LCBO also says that some grocery stores that sell booze will accept returns but there is no list of those that do.

If you live rurally, you can take them to the nearest general store that has an LCBO Agency concession. That’s a condition of their licence.

The biggest beneficiary locally will probably be the social enterprise Bottleworks. If you meet their minimums – 50 items for central Ottawa, 200 for rural Ottawa – they will come and pick up your recyclables for free.

– Martha and Darren

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

  • 2%

  • – The average that Ottawa property prices will increase in 2026, according to Royal LePage in a new report. 

  • Royal LePage figures that the average detatched home price will increase 3.5 per cent to $907,488, while the average condo price will increase 1 per cent to $408,646.

  • Sammy Hudes in the Canadian Press

  •  

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

  • Michelle Weger

  • Weger was awarded ‘Inspirational Speaker of the Year’ at the Speaker Slam’s Grand Slam finals in Toronto. The title comes with a $5,000 cash prize and a book deal with Lucky Book Publishing.

  • You can view her winning speech here, delving into how her service dog, Quinn, revealed her narcolepsy to everyone at a business event.

  • Adam Beauchemin at CTV
     

QUOTE

  • “

  • We have confirmed that a crucial breakdown occurred within our internal process, and key steps for community and official notification were missed

  • – The very human and compassionate words from a Hydro Ottawa spokesperson after the City-owned utility made a planned power cut in the Convent Glen neighbourhood for 11 hours without telling anyone.

  • Hydro Ottawa also did not explain why it had scheduled a maintenance cut of the power supply for a December day.

  • Natasha Baldin in the Ottawa Citizen

  • PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN

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    Please consider joining the many other readers with a monthly, annual, or one-time donation to keep the ottawan on its mission.

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    WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

    No more meetings this week

    Meetings and Agendas

    WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

    💰 City Council has approved the 2026 Ottawa budget. Property tax will increase 3.75 per cent, for an increase of $166 for the average home owner.

    We love charticles. Aedan Helmer in the Ottawa Citizen has taken the time to make charts of the City’s expenses.
     

    ◼️ Ottawa residents will see increased charges for water, sewage, recreation centre fees, parking permits, first aid courses, business licenses, fees for police checks and reports, restaurant patio permits, and marriage licenses. Tourists will see an increased hotel tax. – Josh Pringle at CTV 

     

    There were some changes for transit:

    ◼️ Rather than every 10 minutes, the O Train will run ‘every six minutes on weekdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, and every 7.5 minutes on weekday evenings from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm’.

    ◼️ Starting July 1, Youth 18 and under will ride free on weekends, holidays, and the entirety of July and August.

     ◼️ Also starting July first, the transfer window for commuters rises 15 minutes between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm to help compensate for longer routes instituted this year. (In real time, that’s 105 minutes instead of 90) – Arthur White-Crummey at CBC  

     

    🛒 Every week, @stromanker reads all the grocery flyers and posts the deals on Ottawa Reddit. This week, he highlights deals on bacon ($2.99/375g at FoodBasics), egg nog ($2/946mL at Independent and Loblaws), and frozen turkeys ($1.44/lb at Super C and $1.49/lb at Metro Ontario). – /Ottawa 

     

    🚨 Court Circular

    ◼️ Ottawa Police are now investigating the 2019 disappearance of a Greely man as a homicide. Corey Baldwin was last seen in Montréal in 2019, but may have been in British Columbia before that. Ottawa Police are now offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The Service says that ‘for investigative reasons’, it will not disclose how a conclusion of homicide was reached.  – Ottawa Police Service

    ◼️ The Mounties have arrested four Ottawa residents who used Canada Post to send ‘methamphetamine, cocaine, and other controlled substances to more than a dozen countries’.   – Lucas Casaletto at CityNews

    ◼️ Ottawa Police will be launching new traffic units to combat speeding but the Chief warns that they will not be able to replace speed cameras.  – Arthur White-Crummey at CBC

    THE DAILY POLL

    How satisfied are you with the city budget?

    🔘 I think it is well balanced

    🔘 I think it was poorly considered

    🔘 Why have City councillors? No imaginative decisions were made

    🔘 Not enough was cut from the budget

    🔘 If the City collected beer cans and wine bottles, it would bring in some money


    • Previously in ottawan polls:

    • We asked, ‘Do you return your beer cans and wine bottles to the LCBO?’

      • 14% At 10¢ each? I’d be crazy not to

      • 24% At 10¢ each? I can’t be bothered

      • 7% I assumed that the City fetched them from the recycling bin and collected the money

      • 14% To be honest, it never occurred to me until now

      • 41% I’m a teetotaler


    • Commentary

    ▪️ “I’m more than happy for the person who collects them from my blue bin to return them as they need the money more than I do.”

    ▪️ “We should be like BC and have a deposit on all beverage containers, not just alcoholic ones.”

    ▪️ “We return bottles, but the the Beer Store. Didn’t know you could return them to the LCBO.” [Sorry, I was wrong about that – Darren]

    ▪️ “I thought only the Beer Store took them back? See, I have no idea. Often, they get sent with kids sports teams for bottle drives. Some go in our recycle. My in-laws take some and dispose of them somewhere. It varies.” [Ibid – Darren]

    ▪️ “Never finished a beer in my life. Don't drink any kind of alcohol now. Sober as a judge!!”

    ▪️ “My empties go into the BottleWorks bin in my condominium's garbage/recycling room. BottleWorks is a social enterprise operated by Operation Come Home. They pick up the bottles regularly and the money supports OCH. Easy way to support a great charity!”

    ▪️ “I return my empties to the Beer Store and I ask them to donate the money to whatever charity they are collecting for.”

    ▪️ “I return them to the Beer Store.”

    ▪️ “Is the glass special in a beer bottle? Do they use different metal for beer cans, than say pop or energy drink cans? No reason they shouldn't in the recycling bin.”

    ▪️ “We don’t drink often so unless we're going to bring 2 cans back at a time or stockpile for months, into the recycling they go.”

    ▪️ “Our condo has a collection point that generates money for charities; the charity changes every few months.”

    ▪️ “We live centrally, and separate them out on garbage day for whoever wants to pick them up. We don't drink enough to save them up ourselves.”

    ▪️ “I’m lucky to have generous neighbours organize a weekly beer and wine bottle pickup from our building with Bottleworks. They have a youth employment program and funds raised support Operation Come Home.”

    ▪️ “A beer can is a can and a wine bottle is a bottle. No difference. The city should be happy people are recycling instead of putting these items in the garbage – which will happen if they make things more complicated than it needs to be.”

    ▪️ “I put my empties on top of the bin and people come collect them overnight for the money usually.”

    ▪️ “I even pick any up that I find on my dog walks which sadly is many much to the chagrin of my children when they are with me!”

    ▪️ “Great service and we should all take advantage of it so we have spare cash that we can give to those who are less fortunate than us (eg Panhandlers).”

    ▪️ “I usually donate them to a local kids hockey team or whatever.”

    ▪️ “I have no interest in getting my cents back. I never understood why they shouldn’t be in the recycle bin before, and certainly don’t get why not now either.”​​​

    HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

    If you are thinking of one of our t-shirts as a Christmas gift, it’s too late for delivery.

    T-shirt example

    Ogilvy’s Department Store T-Shirt

    Charles Ogilvy Limited began as dry goods shop on Rideau Street in 1897, and ended its reign as Ottawa's greatest department store in 1992.

    Help support the ottawan by buying one of our historic logo t-shirts.

    Shop for t-shirts

    THE ROLLING THREE DAY CALENDAR

    Is there an event we should know about?
    Please use our easy event submission form

    ✳️ Means change from previous edition

    THURSDAY

    Cinema

    • ByTowne Cinema: Sentimental Value, Ciné-Club d'Ottawa: En Fanfare, Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind. 

    • Mayfair Theatre: The Baltimoreans, Tangerine 

    Gigs

    • Mulch, Carences, The Dark Plains. House of TARG

    • Virginia to Vegas, The New Hires. SAW Centre

    • Aversed, Ghost of a King. Avant-Garde Bar

    • Think you know a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun from ZuZu's petals? Prove it at Christmas Trivia on Broadway (Fisher Glen). 

    • Experience a winter wonderland blending sparkling lights with vibrant Indigenous traditions at Mādahòkì Farm. You’ll find family-friendly festivities such as the Trail of Lights & Traditions, an Indigenous Craft Market, interactive beaded earring and ornament workshops, and cozy Indigenous Christmas feasts all waiting for you. Thursdays through Sundays until December 28 (Green Belt).

FRIDAY

Cinema

  • Bytowne Cinema: Peter Hujar’s Day, Bugonia, The Secret Agent, Drunken Cinema: Die Hard  

  • Mayfair Theatre: Sentimental Value, The Librarians, Eyes Wide Shut 

Gigs

  • The Dreadnoughts, The Creepshow, The Filthy Radicals. Overflow Brewing

  • Rockin' With the Docs. Rainbow Bistro

  • Bat Sabbath, Sliptomb, Pissfits. The 27 Club

  • Boreal. Red Bird

  • Lynn Miles - Winter. Irene’s Pub

  • Kallisto, Quite Alright. Avant-Garde Bar

SATURDAY

Cinema

  • Bytowne Cinema: Sing Along! White Christmas, The Secret Agent, Peter Hujar’s Day, Fargo 

  • Mayfair Theatre:  Comedy & Christmas Chaos, Sentimental Value, The Room, Saturday Night Sinema  

Gigs

  • Prog Rock Evening. Avant-Garde Bar

  • Jazzin’ The Holidays. GigSpace

  • Operatic Revelry. Rainbow Bistro

  • Dumai Dunai, Raphael Weinroth-Browne, the Reverb Syndicate. House of TARG

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

  • Adults can learn the ancient art of painting with pigmented, melted beeswax in the Intro to Encaustic Workshop at Goulbourn Museum. December 18, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm (Stittsville)   

MADE IN CANADA DEALS OF THE DAY

Best sellers are up to 60% off at Mélissa Nepton. 

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BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

The Ottawa Business Journal has found ‘six Ottawa startups that are conquering the B2C market’. B2C is entrepreneur speak for ‘Business-to-Consumer’, which the rest of us would probably call a ‘store’.

Making the list are:

  • Fuzz Bomb Collages, which turns ‘100 of your favourite cat, dog or human photos into a custom collage in minutes’.
  • Gift Better Co., which ‘delivers custom-branded gifts at scale’.
  • My Velo Fit, which delivers ‘reliable, personalized bike-fit recommendations from any mobile device without sensors, markers or in-person appointments’.
  • Notary Pro, an online notary public.
  • Smart Cocoon, whose ‘booster fan fixes rooms that are too hot or too cold. It syncs with your HVAC, works with any thermostat, integrates with Nest and Ecobee’.
  • Sleep Efficiency, which offers ‘home-based sleep testing with nationwide home delivery. Results reviewed by a respirologist in as soon as 48 hours’.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

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THE END

the ottawan is written and edited every working weekday by Martha and Darren.

Is there something that Ottawa should know about? Email to us at hello@theottawan.com. We read every single comment.

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