Hello Ottawa

STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

• $2.6 million

• – The value of outstanding photo radar tickets owed to the City by drivers in other provinces and in the United States. In all, that’s 16,388 tickets at large.

• Josh Pringle at CTV

OTTAWANS OF THE DAY

• Ivanie Blondin, Tyrone Henry, Fabienne Blizzard, and Glenroy Gilbert

• – The four have been honoured in the 2025 Ottawa Sports Awards as Female Athlete of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year, Female Coach of the Year, and Male Coach of the Year.

• Ottawa Sports Awards

QUOTE

• Is it the chicken or the egg, right? Like, are the venues not there because [Ottawa] gets skipped, or are they getting skipped because the venues aren’t there

– Singer-songwriter Liam Simpson-Russell on the lack of mid-sized venues in Ottawa.

• Maggie Solomon in RootsMusic.ca

• 
  SPORTS

• 🥍 NLL Ottawa Black Bears 10 – Rochester Knighthawks 8, last Saturday

• 🏒 OHL Ottawa 67s 5 – Barrie Colts 8, yesterday

• 🏒 OHL Ottawa 67s 0 – Kitchener Rangers 7, last Saturday

• 

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  WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

  Planning and Housing Committee
  Wednesday, February 18 at 9:30 am

  • Official Plan Amendment – Leitrim East Urban Expansion Area
  • Zoning By-law Amendment - 2510 and 2502 Saint-Laurent Boulevard, 1900 and 1920 Walkley Road, 2990 and 3000 Conroy Road, and 2425 Don Reid Drive
  • Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendments – 550 Wanaki Road
  • Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment – 110 and 116 York Street and Part of 137 George Street
  • Heritage Permit for Alterations at 110-116 York Street
  • Zoning By-law Amendment - 1146 Snow Street
  • Zoning By-law Amendment – 1670 Tenth Line Road

  Agenda

  
   

  Joint Planning and Housing Committee and the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
  Wednesday, February 18 at 1:00 pm

  • Official Plan Update – Growth Projections

   

  Agenda

  
  Plus the Committee of Adjustment meets at 1:00 pm.

  

  WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

  🚨 The 13 year-old girl seriously injured by a chairlift at a ski hill near Wakefield has died. The girl was on a school ski trip to Centre Vorlage last week when her clothes got tangled as she disembarked at the top. She was taken to CHEO but passed away over the weekend.  – Trevor Pritchard and Jodie Applewaithe at CBC 

  
  ⛸️ The Rideau Canal Skateway will close this evening, hopefully temporarily. The National Capital Commission has made the decision as a precautionary measure. Over 785,000 people have used the Skateway so far this year.  – CBC

  
  ⛸️ A developer wants to increase Ottawa’s urban sprawl by 276 acres west of Stittsville. The plan, which has been submitted to the City of Ottawa, would modify the official plan and include 2,391 new homes to support more than 6,800 people. Stittsville ward councillor Glen Gower, who opposes it, says the idea flies in the face of walkable neighbourhoods and has ‘poor access to transit, no connections to schools, and far from neighbourhood retail’.  – Josh Pringle at CTV

  
  ⚖️ Ottawa law firms say they are receiving an ‘influx’ of phone calls from Federal public employees over job cuts. ‘They are really stressed out and trying to understand what their options are,’ said one lawyer.  – Catherine Morrison in the Canadian Press

  

  THE DAILY POLL

  Have you skated on the Skateway this year?

  🔘 Yes

  🔘 No

  🔘 I went down there and ate a Beavertail, that counts

  🔘 In my imagination, I have done it – and was extremely graceful

  🔘 I watched the Winter Olympics – that counts

  • 
    Previously in ottawan polls:

  • We asked, ‘Is Ottawa really Canada’s #6 sexiest city?’

    • 5% Yes, if you rank it out of 100

    • 16% Yes, if you rank it out of six

    • 45% There is nothing sexier than a city that goes to bed at a decent hour, gets up early, and keeps a steady pace

    • 34% We should have some sort of Heated Rivalry with Oslo to spice things up

    •  
      Commentary

  ▪️ “Government Town being Sexy – nah!”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Slow and steady gets the job done ;)”​​​
  
  ▪️ “2026 is the year we became HOTtawa.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Fit, healthy, and responsible is sexy.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “We’re proud that fun has forgotten us, and moved on to Dawson City and Moncton.”​​​
  
  ▪️ “Ottawa doesn’t have enough of a vibrant night life to be sexy. Maybe the night mayor that we hired could help with this?”​​​

  

  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

  TUESDAY

  • 🆓 Visit the Heritage Day celebration at Jean Pigott Place, City Hall. ‘Voices of a City: Celebrating Two Centuries of Collective Histories and Local Heroes in Ottawa’ marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bytown and the beginning of the Rideau Canal construction. Look for other events over the coming days as Heritage Week continues. From 12:00 pm. (Downtown)  

  • Create a Vision Board with Daisy & Doodle at Stray Dog Brewing (Orléans)  

  Cinema

  • ByTowne Cinema:  Sirat, Hamnet, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie   

  • Mayfair Theatre: All That’s Left of You, The Choral, Blades of the Guardians 

  Gigs

  • Trivia. Broadhead Brewery

  • Spring Birds. Night Oat

  • Tuesday Trivia. Irene's Pub

  • Roddy Ellias plays jazz. Working Title Kitchen

  • Friends Trivia. The Prescott

  WEDNESDAY

  • 🆓 Doors Open for Music: Swingin’ With Cupid by the Mike Manny Trio. Noon a Southminster United Church (Old Ottawa South)

  • 🆓 As Heritage Week continues, Heritage Ottawa presents the Bob & Mary Anne Phillips Memorial Lecture Presentation on Demolition by Neglect: Preserving the Past Before It's Too Late, a panel discussion exploring one of the key problems of built heritage conservation. 

  • In MELLOWING, Greek choreographer Christos Papadopoulos explores how the body’s energy creates a permanent vibration. The Dance On Ensemble is an initiative aimed at championing the value of age by showcasing the artistry, embodied knowledge, and emotional depth of dancers over 40. At the National Arts Centre tonight and tomorrow only. (Downtown)   

  • Road Trip: Gardening enthusiasts who've daydreamed about using their passion as a bit of side income will be interested in the Pakenham Horticultural Society’s next event. Exploring Gardening as a Side Income will feature speakers who are all local growers. (Pakenham) 

  Cinema

  • ByTowne Cinema: The Secret Agent, Hamnet, Sirat

  • Mayfair Theatre: The Choral, All That's Left of You, Blades of the Guardians 

  Gigs

  • Classic Simpsons Trivia. The Gilmour

  • Jazz Jam with the Peter Hum Trio. Night Oat

  • Akoul. Red Bird

THURSDAY

• Troupe Vertigo: Cirque Magique brings gravity-defying aerial moves Southam Hall stage, while the National Arts Centre Orchestra plays a live soundtrack of popular symphonic movie scores. Through Saturday (Downtown) 

• Get ready for the warmer months with the 50th Anniversary Ottawa Boat & Outdoors Show. 

• 🆓 National Gallery is free from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm every Thursday. 

Cinema

• ByTowne Cinema: Hamnet, Sirat, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 

• Mayfair Theatre: All That’s Left of You, Blades of the Guardians

Gigs

• Arkona, Malphas, Serene Dark. Overflow Brewing

• Friends Trivia. The Prescott

• The Offspring ‘Supercharged Worldwide in ’26’ tour. Canadian Tire Centre

• Erika Lashbrook. Night Oat

JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

• Hintonburg Pottery has youth programs for kids  and teens  this March Break but spots are going fast. 

MADE IN CANADA DEALS OF THE DAY

The Sleep Shirt will keep you cosy with 25% off all flannels and brushed cottons when you use code FLANNEL25 at checkout.

 

You’ll also save 25% on This is J bamboo jammies in the Valentine's Day Sale. Use the code HEARTS25.

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BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

The Ottawa Citizen has a banger of an Ottawa history quiz on its website today. Darren did very poorly on it, we are sad to report.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

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.