Skaters enjoy good conditions in canal’s opening weeks despite tightened COVID-19 rules
Ottawa residents have enjoyed more than two weeks of good skating since the National Capital Commission opened the Rideau Canal Skateway on Jan. 31 under modified rules because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCC opened a section of the skateway for the 51st skating season on the last day of January despite concerns caused by the coronavirus emergency. The skateway...
Lookahead ’21: Lebanese arts hub hopes to offer in-person, digital classes with fall relaunch
Tony Yazbek, the driving force in promoting Lebanese arts and culture in Ottawa, said he’s hoping for a fall re-launch of programming in updated studio spaces equipped for both in-person and virtual classes. In 1976, at the height of his career as a professional dancer and choreographer, Yazbek left Lebanon because of a civil war that was raging. After settling...
Lookahead ’21: Ottawa Curling Club waiting for word the season can resume
The Ottawa Curling Club decided to melt its ice in mid-January after a province-wide stay-at-home order meant the playing season would be indefinitely delayed. The O’Connor Street club typically hosts about 500 members between the months of September and April. This year, however, club membership is down 40 per cent as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. While 60 per...
Pandemic pressures have added to the struggle for newcomers and refugees in Ottawa
Data shows that refugee communities in Ottawa are being harder hit by the COVID-19 pandemic
Lookahead ’21: Community group prepares for another virtual Great Glebe Garage Sale
The event is still at least three months away, but organizers are gearing up for another virtual Great Glebe Garage Sale in 2021. The massive neighbourhood yard sale is one of the main events co-ordinated every year by the Glebe Community Association. It has taken place every spring since 1986, typically on the fourth Saturday in May. Participating vendors donate...
Canada’s child welfare system needs to be torn down and rebuilt to end its anti-Indigenous racism, critics say
The overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the Canadian welfare system accelerated throughout the 1960s, as a result of the Sixties Scoop. This is where Indigenous children were ripped away from their homes and placed into the child welfare system. The goal was to assimilate Indigenous children by placing them into white homes.
Women’s support services in Ottawa struggling to keep up with rising domestic abuse cases
Domestic abuse cases continue to rise across the country. Ottawa services face a challenge in delivering the support women need.
Watson has ‘burned a bridge’ after Council votes to move controversial development forward, Algonquin Elder says
Ottawa City Council voted in favour of including Tewin into new urban boundary, this Wednesday, with a vote of 16 to 8, creating further controversy with Algonquin Nation.
Lookahead ’21: Council on Aging aims to keep Ottawa seniors connected through the pandemic
The Council on Aging is working hard to help seniors navigate the changes caused by COVID-19.
Tracking COVID-19: Feb. 8
Ontario has reported it has now seen 278,207 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,489 infections today. The death toll rose by 22 to 6,505. There are 926 people in hospital, down 95, with 335 in intensive care, up 10, 233 on a ventilator, up five. There are 517 new cases in Toronto, 261 in Peel and 121 in York Region....
Lookahead ’21: An Ottawa organization is seeding change by helping farmers around the globe
SeedChange is continuing to help farmers grow crops and preserve farmland
Ottawa’s people of colour grapple with mental health toll of COVID-19
Mental health disparities in Ottawa are inspiring BIPOC-led initiatives to provide an empathetic path to well-being.