Part of Bank Street closes to vehicles to boost business, ensure social distancing
A section of Bank Street will join the growing list of Ottawa streets opting to close to motor vehicles to ensure safer social distancing this summer.
Special event for frontline health workers kicks off Ottawa Art Gallery reopening to public
The Ottawa Art Gallery is reopening the the public on July 9, with new safety measures in place to protect visitors and staff.
Super Felix Brothers: Gatineau author — and mom — addresses sickle cell anemia, diversity in her storytelling
GATINEAU — When Nahomie Acelin and Ronald Felix discovered two of their three sons had sickle cell anemia it would have been natural for them to focus on the negative. But they chose a different way of coping with the diagnosis. “We made a family decision last summer that, instead of complaining, we will talk about (the diagnosis) and turn...
Remote rituals: The Jewish community is sustaining faith, upholding sacred traditions during the pandemic
In a pre-pandemic world, eight-day-old Theo Rapkin would have had his bris ceremony in a Montreal synagogue, surrounded by friends and family, his parents and a rabbi. There would have been prayers and a brunch. The bris — formally known as the brit malah, or the “covenant of circumcision” — is a ceremony performed on the eighth day of a...
Four Ottawa-area public health units issue mandatory-mask directive for enclosed public spaces
Ottawa Public Health has shifted its approach to reducing the spread of COVID-19, and is now officially requiring that city residents wear face masks in indoor public spaces. In a statement issued jointly on Monday by four regional public health units in Eastern Ontario, including Ottawa Public Health, the agencies stated that they were “invoking a directive under the province’s...
Drive-in film series just one of the initiatives aiming to give Canadian culture a boost
The Summer Blockbuster Series will be popping up in cities across several provinces, and the event will give Canadians a chance to enjoy free movies while maintaining physical distance at a drive-in. It will also be a celebration of Canadian film, an industry that has been hit hard by pandemic restrictions.
Liberal MP Francis Drouin open to renaming federal riding that honours 19th-century slave owner Peter Russell
Liberal MP Francis Drouin, who represents the Ottawa-area constituency of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, says he’s open to renaming his riding to erase its association with 19th-century slave owner Peter Russell. Russell, a top-level administrator in Upper Canada in the late 1700s and early 1800s, fought for special exemptions for slave owners, including himself, when the British colony passed the Anti-Slavery Act in...
Canada Day, your way: How these patriots are celebrating their Maple Leaf pride during the pandemic
With major celebrations cancelled across the country, Canadians are finding different ways to celebrate Canada Day during the current pandemic.
‘My Ottawa’ includes a new saving pass for residents to boost local businesses
Ottawa Tourism launches #MyOttawa pass to incite local residents to explore the city in efforts to revitalize the visitor economy.
Ottawa artists keep creative in a time of COVID-19
These local artists took their time in quarantine and created inspired art.
Climate change creating unpredictable future of ‘extremes’ for people living in Ontario floodplains
Climate change is fuelling extreme weather events such as flooding and governments are acting slowly in helping people adapt to this new reality.
Waiting for Stage 2: Toronto and Peel to move on, Windsor-Essex fails to meet reopening criteria
With Ottawa and other Ontario regions wrapping up their first week in Stage 2 of Ontario’s COVID-19 reopening plan, three regions in the province — as of Monday, June 22 — remained stuck in Stage 1 because of concerns about continued transmissions of the virus. The regions initially left out of the second stage were Toronto, Peel, and Windsor-Essex. That...