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STATISTICS OTTAWA

NUMBER

• 20 minutes

• – The average amount of time that Hydro Québec has been cutting power between 6:00 am and 8:00 am in the Pontiac region over the past week because ‘consumption risked exceeding the capacity of [the] local grid during peak periods amid several days of intense and sustained cold’.

• Dylan Dyson at CTV

• ↪ Hydro-Québec has suspended seven employees in the Pontiac regions in connection with ‘serious breaches’.

  ‘All employees of Hydro-Quebec are required to respect the company’s ethics code and we are taking necessary measures to make sure that it is respected,’ the utility said in a statement. 

• What the employees actually did has not been revealed. – KC Jordan in The Equity (🔐 Subscribers only)

•  

OTTAWAN OF THE DAY

• Lara McKendrick

• The founder of Lara McKendrick Architecture Inc has been elected as president of the Ontario Association of Architects.

• Daily Commercial News 

QUOTE

• [T]his is not going to be good for me

– Orléans East-Cumberland ward councillor Matt Luloff as captured on video by Ottawa Police during his breathalyzer test after being arrested for driving while impaired in July 2024.

Luloff is currently on trial for the charge and maintains that he is not guilty. No verdict has yet been reached.

• Katie Griffin at CTV
   

SPORTS

🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 2 – Philadelphia Flyers 1, yesterday

• 

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  WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL

  Ottawa Board of Health
  Monday, February 9 at 5:00 pm

  • 2026 Governance Review Report for the Ottawa Board of Health

  Agenda

  

  WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

  💣 Police say the Ottawa-based man and his three fellow alleged bomb builders in London, ON are not national security or terrorist threats. Details are still few and far between, aside from police statements that they have found firearms and bomb making materials in a house used by the four.

  However, a YouTube video from three months ago has come to light, in which the Ottawa man, Jerry Tong, presents a pitch for a drone company that can combat armed attack. The Department of National Defence has been in the market for such things, and downtown Ottawa was a test site for drone detectors last November.  – Kendra Seguin at CBC 

   

  🗓️ Regular Federal public employees will be required to return to the office four days per week, executives will be required to attend five days. This is the result of a new directive by the Treasury Board to the core departments and agencies under its mandate. Regular employees will be required to start four days per week in the summer, with managers starting by May. – Catherine Morrison in the Canadian Press

  ↪ The Public Service Alliance of Canada says nothing is off the table and the changes are ‘grounds for legal action’.

   

  🗓️ Capital ward councillor Shawn Menard wants a winter parking ban on Grove Avenue. Residents have been complaining that since street improvements were made, buses have had trouble navigating the narrowed street in the snow. – Natasha Baldin in the Ottawa Citizen

  ↪ Lincoln Station passengers have been forced to climb snowbanks as O Train construction has closed a sidewalk.

   

  🤬 The Ottawa Public Library has produced a document, ‘Intellectual Freedom Annual Report - 2025 Challenges’, for presentation to its board next week. The Library reports that it had six challenges to its collection items and five challenges to a single meeting room rental event in 2025, similar in number to 2024.

  The report notes:

  • One was for an item in the adult collection;
  • Four were for items in the children’s collection;
  • One was for an item in the teen collection;
  • Five were for a meeting room rental event in February; and,
  • No challenges were received for art exhibits, library programs, notice board postings, or library displays.

  It said that the basis for challenges, in their own words, were:

  • Material that ‘distorts history and encourages anti-Zionism’;
  • Material that provides ‘incitement to hatred against Israel’;
  • Age-inappropriate material;
  • Misrepresentative content;
  • An event that promotes ‘discrimination against and potentially libelous assertions regarding transgender people’; and,
  • An event that ‘promotes hate speech and / or rhetoric that could incite hate or violence’.

  The actions requested were:

  • For collection items, clients requested that items be removed or relocated;
  • For the meeting room rental event, clients requested a public apology by Ottawa Public Library, staff training, and / or a change to policies and practices.

  The Report notes that all items were retained in their existing collections and the meeting room rental event proceeded.

  The various books were not identified, but the meeting room rental was for a screening of the documentary Adult Human Female.

   – Ottawa Public Library (PDF)

  ↪ We didn’t mention it before but the Ottawa Public Library completely revised its branding and website last month. It’s quite well done.

  Old Logo

  New Logo

   

  

  THE DAILY POLL

  Who will win the Super Bowl on Sunday?

  🔘 Seattle Seahawks

  🔘 New England Patriots

  🔘 It doesn’t matter, as long as all the players have fun

  🔘 Sport is the opiate of the masses.

  🔘 Unless my football match has the words Grey, North Star, or FA in it, I’m not interested

  • 
    Previously in ottawan polls:

  • We asked, ‘Will you be watching the Winter Olympics?’

    • 8% Yes, it had valuable travel information

    • 27% No

    • 26% A few specific events

    • 21% Sport is the opiate of the masses

    • 18% Not until they reinstate dog sled racing, military patrolling, bandy, Bavarian curling, and horse-pulled skijoring. Then, maybe.

    •  
      Commentary

  ▪️ “Go Team Canada! 🇨🇦🥌”
  
  ▪️ “A never miss show! Top 10 after summer olympics.”
  
  ▪️ “I think it is important to support our Canadian team (s), so will watch quite a bit! GO CANADA GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
  
  ▪️ “Hockey specifically, everything else casually.”
  
  ▪️ “Won’t be glued to the TV coverage as I am for every Summer Olympic games.”
  
  ▪️ “Women’s hockey is a must.”
  
  ▪️ “Women’s hockey for sure then the odd random sport if women are competing.”
  
  ▪️ “Mainly curling.”
  
  ▪️ “I’m only interested in what Snoop Dog is doing.”​​​

  

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  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

   

  🏈 Where to watch Super Bowl LX

  • Southside Tap & Grill has the wings, chili dogs, fries and happy hour pricing you want for Super Bowl Sunday. They'll also have a tailgate party with musician Jimmy Cochrane from 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm. (Hunt Club) .  

  • Enjoy 14 wings, a medium Pepperoni pizza, and a 60ox pitcher of O'Brien's Draft for $44.95 at O’Brien’s Roadhouse (Trainyards)  

  • There is football swag to be won at the Hometown Sports Grill Super Bowl event. Rserve your space - it's limited. (Alta Vista) 

  • The wings are half price and the beers are $6, plus you’ll have the chance to win a recliner, all at the Barley Mow (Westboro) 

  • Tailgators is offering chances to win prizes, deals on wings, and free pool and ping pong. (Nepean) 

  • From 5:00 pm, the Legion Branch 632 in Orléans has snacks, cold drinks, and community.

  FRIDAY

  • ✳️ Spark Beer’s Spark Turns 6! party starts today and runs through Sunday with beer releases, excellent pizza, and dessert. Reserve a table for tonight or Saturday. 

  • 🆓 The 10th annual Indigenous film festival Unikkaaqtuarniq:Snowscreen invites you to experience indigenous films from the circumpolar North, outdoors in a theatre made of snow. Today through Sunday at Lansdowne Park, free but donations are welcome. (Lansdowne) 

  • The Born in the 70s, Raised in the 80s, and Got to Party in the 90s PARTY says it all, really. (Orléans) 

  • Get new spines for the bookshelf (plus video games, board games, puzzles and DVDs) at the Elmdale Public School BookFest, today through Sunday. (Fisher Park) 

  • Comedian Alex Mackenzie headlines Meridian Theatres Centrepointe.

  • Get ready for drama, excitement, and family fun at the Acclaim Pro Wrestling: Friday Night Fever show at Dom Polski Hall (Centretown) 

  Cinema

  • ByTowne Cinema: Father Mother Sister Brother, Staff Picks: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Arco 

  • Mayfair Theatre: The Secret Agent, The Choral, The Room 

  Gigs

  • Ed Lister Group with Petr Cancura. Night Oat

  • Laylit. Gridwrks

  • Murray Kinsley & Wicked Grin. Hard Rock Ottawa

  • Four Eyed Muscle Man Album Release. Avant-Garde Bar

  • Gowan. Bronson Centre Music Theatre

  • Happy Hour with Peter Hum. The Robo Lounge

  SATURDAY

  • ✳️ Road Trip: Bring a non-perishable food donation to watch the friendly hockey game between Junior A Carleton Place Canadians and Lanark County detachments of the OPP. ‘Hockey Day With Your OPP’ starts with a public skate from 11:00 am to noon, followed by the game from noon to 1:00 pm. Carleton Junction Community Pad (Carleton Place) 

  • ✳️ Rugby fans: Six Nations 2026 is underway and you can catch the action at the Italy vs Scotland (9:00 am) and England vs Wales (11:40 am) matches at High Fives Sports Pub (Bells Corners)  

  • Winterlude continues at sites around town  

  • If you remember the excitement of the Scholastic Book Fair, Dominion City Brewing has the event for you. The brewery is hosting the gang from The Spaniel's Tale bookstore, so you can sip a brew, buy some new titles, and enjoy eats from Chef T of The BBQ Joint. 

  • Take a crash course in Tetrapak Printmaking with the Ottawa School of Art (Orléans) 

  • The Ottawa Black Creatives Hub Showcase at the Shenkman Arts Centre is an evening of performance in the dance, poetry and storytelling, music, and film disciplines, alongside presentations by Ottawa's key arts organizations and figures. (Orléans)   

  • Catch the freestyle snowmobile performances of Barbegazi (Swiss-French for frozen beard) in the ByWard Market today through Sunday (ByWard Market)  

  • The always-intense Art Battle is even more powerful as it heads to the Canadian War Museum. Eight artists will engage in an Art Battle: Inspired by the Vault, during three fast-paced rounds. 

  • Nordic Folk Night with Lindy Vopnfjörd and Marthe Halvorsen. SAW Centre

  • Talk about a #heatedrivalry! This year the Stew Showdown’s seven competitors cook head to head at the Royal Canadian Legion - Westboro Branch 480 in support of Westboro Region Food Bank. Get your ticket, slurp your stew, and cast your vote in the People's Choice category. (Westboro) 

  • Road Trip: Gather your pals and head over to the Vodkow Galentine’s Social from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm in Almonte.  

  • Go to the ByTowne Cinema for the Valentine’s Day Craft Market (noon), stay for the screening of the 1957 Audrey Hepburn-Fred Astaire rom-com Funny Face 

  • Check out the creativity at Merivale Mall’s Art From the Heart Valentine’s Craft Show (Nepean) 

  Cinema

  • ByTowne Cinema: Funny Girl (with Valentine’s Craft Market), The Choral, Arco, No Other Choice (35mm) 

  • Mayfair Theatre: The Choral, The Secret Agent, Scarlet Warning 666  

  Gigs

  • Graham Lindsey Album Release. Red Bird

  • Emmanuel Simon and Nick Gummeson. The Robo Lounge

  • Steady Rain, Dunham Nights, Hot Jupiter & It Shines. Dominion Tavern

  • Les Ismore, Fantomez, Communicating Circus, Animal Places. Avant-Garde Bar

  • Gowan. Bronson Centre Music Theatre

  • Lives Like Skyscrapers with Pro Wrestling The Band, Push Come Show, & Dark Plains. House of TARG 

  SUNDAY

  • The Ottawa Humane Society invites kids and their adult to the Tails of Love Valentine’s Event at the adoption centre. Expect a Valentine’s Day Photo Booth, crafts, a scavenger hunt, and we have it on good authority that Cinderella and Princes Rapunzel will be there. $5 per child, accompanying adult gets in free. Please bring a donation from the most-needed list. (West Hunt Club)  

  • Get on stage at the Open Mic Night at Moose McGuire’s (Orléans) 

  • The National Gallery of Canada presents dance performances by Diana León and Paco Ziel in various spaces, included with your admission. (Sussex Drive) 

  • Sure, you could visit the Little Jo Berry’s 2SLGBTQIA+ Valentine’s day Market at Glebe Community Centre for all the cool vendors, but did you know there will be a fully operating kitchen creating fresh snacks to fill all your vegan desires? Now you know. (The Glebe) 

  • Artists, spend a fun afternoon in the company of other creatives at the Artawa Artist Meetup at Ottawa Art Gallery. Bring your own supplies and current project(s). (Sandy Hill) 

  • 🆓 The Unikkaatuarniq Snowscreen 2026 festival continues in the outdoor theatre made of snow.(Lansdowne Park)  

  • 🆓 Ukrainian activist and contemporary artist Ruslan Kurt's latest project aims to examine 25 damaged and destroyed doors, which symbolize the 25 Ukrainian regions, as evidence of the physical destruction of his country. The artist relocated to Canada in February 2022. The  Doors of War Fundraising Film Screening is free but donations will be gratefully accepted. Presented by Ukrainian National Federation (UNF) Ottawa-Gatineau branch (Downtown)  

  • It’s your final chance to visit Elmdale BookFest 2026 (Fisher Park) 

  Cinema

  • ByTowne Cinema: Arco, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight 

  • Mayfair Theatre: Oh, Mom, Waiting For Huffman, Tank Girl 

  Gigs

  • Femininomenon. The Laff

  • Wicked Grin. Atomic Rooster

  • Meredith Moon. Red Bird

  • Merkules, Em Ayex, KONG. The 27 Club

  MONDAY

  • 🆓 Be there as Ottawa’s next generation of jazz musicians take to the Robo Lounge stage. 

  • Damn Fine Improv presents: Power Team Takeover, an edge-of-your-seat night of improv comedy. Go early participate in the improv jam. LIVE On Elgin (Downtown) 

  • 🆓 Experience new voices in Ottawa’s filmmaking community at Love in All Depictions: A Screening Event at the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage (Downtown) 

  • Transform a blah Monday into a culinary adventure with the Soca Kitchen Blind Tasting. (Vanier) 

  Cinema

  • ByTowne Cinema: The Choral, Arco, No Other Choice 

  • Mayfair Theatre: The Secret Agent, Waiting for Huffman, Scarlet Warning 666 

  Gigs

  • The 5-Star Monday Band. The Laff

  • Karaoke. Atomic Rooster

  JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING

  • Skip the hearts and flowers and book an afternoon of family fun at Farm Gate Cider’s Wassailing 2026 event (Saturday February 14). You’ll sample warm cider, bang a pot (it wards away evil spirits, FYI), explore the trails by XC ski or toboggan, do some crafting, nibble on some snacks by the bonfire, and lots more pagan-inspired winter fun. $10 per person or $25 for a family.  

  • Ottawa Pops Orchestra presents the second instalment of its Studio Ghibli series, Ghibli Symphony: Part II, which celebrates the symphonic world of composer Joe Hisaishi. Guests include the Melody of Japan Singers and soloist Noriko Hashimoto. Friday February 20, Saturday February 21, and Sunday February 22 at Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre. (Centretown)  

  • Registration is now open for Ottawa Circus School’s 2026 March Break Day Camp (March 16 to 20) for kids aged 8 to 14. Depending on age and ability, kids learn floor gymnastics, circus prop manipulation (i.e., juggling) aerial skills, and more.

  

  MADE IN CANADA DEALS OF THE DAY

  Save 15% site wide at Hides in Hand. Check out the extremely limited Vintage Flora Leather series, or grab a pair of mittens that are warm to -35 degrees Celsius. Use the code POLARVORTEX to save.

  

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  BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

  • Zepplin, an 8-year-old mixed breed dog, has entered the PAWS competition for the honour of being the face of Modern Dog magazine.

  • He is currently in second place in his group and could use your vote. The deadline for group finals voting is February 12. 

  

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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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