Hello Ottawa

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

• 91

• – The number in hectares of wetlands in rural Ottawa that are now being preserved by the National Conservancy of Canada. The land near Gower was bequeathed by the family of environmental advocate Doug Smith.

• Paula Tran in the Ottawa Citizen

•  

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

• Jason Sawision

• The chef at Stofa took home the bronze for Ottawa at the Canadian Culinary Championshops on Saturday.

• Jonathan Williams of the Park Hyatt Toronto took the silver and  Jaeyoung Park of Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar in Vancouver won gold.

• THE OTTAWAN was at the Canadian Culinary Championshops finale and will publish a full rundown in Wednesday’s Dining + Drinking Update, as the food coma should have passed by then.

• Canada’s Great Kitchen Party
   

QUOTE

• Let me assure you that the only benefit from dealing with the City of Ottawa bureaucracy is that you get less time in Purgatory

– Father Stephen Amesse, rector of St. Patrick’s Basilica on Nepean Street, in the church newsletter relating his frustration with ByLaw officers ticketing parishoners for exceeding one hour pay parking limits.

• Bruce Deachman in the Ottawa Citizen
   

SPORTS

🥍 NLL Ottawa Black Bears 10 – Toronto 17 Rock, last Saturday

🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 4 – New Jersey Devil 1, last Saturday

🏒 OHL Ottawa 67s 2 – Sudbury Wolves 5, last Saturday

🏒 OHL Ottawa 67s 4 – Peterborough Petes 1, last Friday

🏒 CHL Les Olympiques de Gatineau 2 – Les Foreurs de Val-d’Or  1, yesterday

🏒 CHL Les Olympiques de Gatineau 0 – Les Huskies de Rouyn-Noranda 1, last Saturday

• 

  PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN

  the ottawan was launched in 2020 as the daily answer to the questions: What’s going on? What should I do? Where is somewhere good to eat? Please consider joining the many other readers with a monthly, annual, or one-time donation to keep the ottawan on its mission. All annual or one-time donations over $60 include an ottawan or historic logo t-shirt of their choice.

  Membership levels ✅ $5 mo / Technically Beautiful ✅ $10 mo / ByTowner ✅ $20 mo / City that Fun Remembered ✅ $25 mo / Truly ott ✅ Or make a one-time donation Join Us

  

  WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

  Finance and Corporate Services Committee
  Tuesday, February 3 at 9:30 am

  • 2024 Business Improvement Area and Sparks Street Mall Authority –Annual Reports and Audited Financial Statements
  • 2026 ITS Update
  • Ottawa Paramedic Service West Deployment Facility
  • Affordable Housing Debt Funding Pilot Report

  Agenda
   

  Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee
  Tuesday, February 3 at 4:00 pm

  • Update – Evidence and Performance Measurement Framework Reporting on the Community Safety and Well-being Plan
  • Update – Youth Social Development

   

  Agenda
   

  Plus, it’s the funnest time of the Year: Winterlude and the 9:00 am and 1:00 pm meetings of the Committee of Adjustment.

  

  WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

  ✂️ The Federal government has created an online dashboard to track employee cuts in each department. As of today, 23,000 public employees at 24 departments and agencies have received notice that their job may be at risk. – Workforce Dashboard     CBC

   

  🚌 Three dozen kids were abandoned by a driver when he drove back to the depot, parked the bus, then drove away in his car. The Collège catholique Samuel-Genest students were heading home to Vanier after school when the driver noped out and went to the depot. The driver has been fired and Ottawa Police are investigating.  – CBC

   

  🚑 City Council will debate building a new paramedic service headquarters in Barrhaven. Staff reports have said the current one in the Heron Gate neighbourhood is too small. While there are 19 paramedic stations across the city, all shifts begin at headquarters.   – Rachel Morgan

  ↪ The Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus – which represents 103 municipalities in Ontario – is calling on the Province to create a regulatory college for paramedics. Five provinces have standardized guidance for paramedics, while Ontario does not.

  ↪ The paramedics union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, is not in favour of the idea, noting that the Province looked at it 10 years ago and found ‘it was clear that a college would not solve any real problems facing paramedic services’.

  

  THE DAILY POLL

  How do you feel about the City’s parking meters?

  🔘 Generally, they are fairly priced with the right time limits and help rotate visitors to the street

  🔘 They seem to be intended as a revenue grab rather than helping businesses or residents

  🔘 Time limits are weird: how can you enjoy an event or dinner if you are in a rush?

  🔘 If you walked, biked, or took transit you wouldn’t be complaining about parking meters, would you?

  🔘 Hear me out: if Ottawa ByLaw ran OC Transpo, it would constantly be adding more buses and trains, expanding its coverage area, and rarely ever have mechanical issues ...

  • 
    Previously in ottawan polls:

  • We asked, ‘Is staking out a grocery store a good use of police time?’

    • 17% Yes, stopping small crimes makes a difference in quality of life

    • 38% No, stealing food is bad but it’s probably being stolen by people who need it

    • 20% Policing a nice store on Bank Street is a lot easier than patrolling ByWard Market

    • 25% Maybe the police should embed themselves amongst those politicians at Queen’s Park, am I right? I’m here all week. Try the veal.

    •  
      Commentary

  ▪️ “Nab those small time crooks before they become big time crooks and graduate to much more serious crimes.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “There are no right answers here, but these stores pay their taxes and thus [have] a right to be protected from crimes/income loss. Food insecurity challenges do not make it their burden to just have to deal with.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Yeah maybe we need to focus resources on lowering grocery prices so you don’t have so many people stealing food. Those police efforts did absolutely nothing to solve the problem.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Arresting those that create havoc in the city is one of the best ways to build awareness of police presence and they are listening to the regular people on the streets ... think big picture here.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “If not policed, the thieves get bolder!​​​”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Maybe instead of wasting money on police catching people stealing a couple groceries we could use that money to give groceries to the folks who need them.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “If you’re stealing food, you are probably in desperate need. Why not have some charities set up shop in some stores with either coupons or ideas to actually help these people. Police should be watching the speeders in school areas etc instead!
  
  ▪️ “Food is essential, and the fact that some people may need to shoplift it is a shame on us as a society. It’s only further shame that we're arresting people for this. There are many far, far greater injustices.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “As the saying goes: ‘If you see someone shoplifting food, no you didn't.’”​​​
  
  ▪️ “It seems these resources could be better used elsewhere in the city.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “You gotta start somewhere to make it stop. Get the message out there to thieves that there is a crackdown on this crime.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Hopefully, our judges and legal system will make the punishment stick and get the message out there that you will be caught and properly punished. So sick and tired of the leniency on crime in today’s society.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Our police force really should patrol and focus on responding to calls in and from all parts of the city.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Stealing usually starts off in ‘little’ items then— if uncaught — progresses to bigger and more expensive items. Yes, all stealing is a crime.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Crime is crime and cannot be dismissed as ‘oh it’s just little shoplifting’ or ‘these people need food’ It would be as bad as ‘well they only broke into your house to only steal food they really needed’.”​​​

  

  HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS

  Ottawa Valley Ale T-Shirt Long forgotten, but Ottawa’s first craft brewery was Ottawa Valley Ale, incorporated in 1985. 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

  MONDAY

  Wiarton Willie in the Bruce Peninsula and Fred la marmotte in Val-d’Espoir  agree with each other, spring will come early this year. Neither critter saw his shadow this morning.

  • 🆓 It will be soon (okay, months from now) tic time, bringing with it the threat of Lyme disease. Clinician-researchers from across North America will discuss the latest information on diagnosis, treatment, and management of the disease. This is a public-facing event before the start of the TickNet Canada scientific symposium taking place today and tomorrow at the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau) Registration is required. 

  • Today your admission to Canadian Museum of History includes access to Musical Mornings with Monkey Rock. Get up and boogie with your toddler.  

  • Roll the golden dice and you could win up to 50% off your food bill, tonight and Tuesday in the fun new Dice & Dine Nights at The Soca Kitchen. 

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Vie Privée, Arco, The voice of Hind Rajab

• Mayfair Theatre: Sound of Falling, Misery, No Other Choice 

Gigs

• The Barr Brothers, Land of Talk. The Bronson Centre

• Karaoke. Atomic Rooster

TUESDAY

• 🆓 The Happiness Habits  613 crew invite you to meet on the Rideau Canal Skateway for a skate as the sun rises (Downtown) 

• Orléans Brewing doesn’t just do Music Bingo. They do Singing Music Bingo. (Orléans)

• High-tech folks meet at Brookstreet Hotel for Wesley Clover International’s Tech Tuesday gathering. (Kanata) 

• Know any whippersnapping entrepreneurs who deserve some recognition? Ottawa Business Journal and Ottawa Board of Trade are taking noms for the Forty Under 40 Awards. Book your place in the nomination session to find out more (Virtual)  

• 🆓 Littles from 18 months to five years can jam through a performing arts-centred play date at the National Arts Centre.  

• Bring your own supplies to the Life Drawing session at Art House (Centretown) 

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Arco, The Voice of Hind Rajab 

• Mayfair Theatre: No Other Choice, Sound of Falling, Misery

Gigs

• Open Mic. The Laff

• Lord of the Rings Trivia. The Prescott

• Half-cocked Triva. Atomic Rooster

WEDNESDAY

• Ottawa Fringe Festival’s undercurrent festival is back (today through February 14). See brave new theatre from Ottawa and beyond at Arts Court.(Downtown) 

• Drowning Girls opens at Kanata Theatre's Ron Maslin Playhouse, and runs until February 14. (Kanata)  

• Bring your current project for an evening of creativity and conversation (plus good food and drink) at the KNERDY Knit Night at the Hintonburg Public House. (Hintonburg) 

• East into the evening with The Robo Lounge’s Jazz at Five, featuring vocalist Michèle Castonguay and pianist Karl Nerenberg. (The Glebe) 

• How do Birds Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast Winter? Learn about the connection between TV's long running Survivor and the way real life feathered creatures make it through the cold months. (Kanata or virtual) 

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: The Voice of Hind Rajab, Arco, Vie Privée (A Private Life) 

• Mayfair Theatre: Sound of Falling, No Other Choice, Anything That Moves 

Gigs

• Rare Groove Wednesdays. Atomic Rooster

• Mars Aspen EP Release Party. Rainbow Bistro

• Jocelyne Baribeau. National Arts Centre

• Bluegrass Wednesdays with Maple Hill. Red Bird

• Sun Dried Flies, Sun Temple, Shirley. House of TARG

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

• Family Day 2026 will be here soon.  Book your squad into Robert Plante Greenhouse’s 45-minute Magic Show with Chris  Pilsworth on Sunday February 15. (Orléans). The next day (Monday February 16) be sure to dress up in 70s gear as Monkey Rock Music plays three performances at Overflow Brewing. 

SHARE THE OTTAWAN

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

• This is fun. The CBC put a mic on Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark and recorded whatever she said during the game against Montréal. And of course, Heated Rivalry came up.

• ↪ Because we asked, the Mayor’s office sent us the official Shane Hollander Day proclamation. The City really does not keep of list of these things on its website.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

What did you think of today’s ottawan?

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great ⭐⭐⭐ Satisfactory ⭐ Needs Improvement

 

 

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.