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Updated COVID vaccines available in some Ottawa pharmacies

ottawacitizen.com

>New COVID-19 vaccines designed to target current variants are now available at many pharmacies in Ottawa. ... >Several Ottawa pharmacies contacted by the Ottawa Citizen said they were now administering COVID-19 vaccines, which they received earlier this week. At least one said they were still waiting for supply. >The updated vaccines were approved by Health Canada in September. In Ontario and some other provinces, previous versions of COVID vaccines, targeting older variants, were destroyed before the new ones would be made available. That meant no vaccines have been available in the province for weeks of a significant COVID wave. ... >A spokesperson for Ottawa Public Health said it was awaiting shipment of the COVID vaccines so it could begin administering in its clinics, but it expected to have more information next week.

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Ontario plans to raise speed limit on 400-series highways, premier says

ottawacitizen.com

>TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is planning to increase speed limits on 400-series highways across the province. >The government increased speed limits from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on six sections of provincial highways in 2022 after several successful pilot programs that first began in 2019. >Earlier this year, the province raised the speed limit on 10 more sections of highways across the province, including a 70-kilometre stretch of Highway 416 from Highway 401 to Ottawa. >Ford said Wednesday that he had directed Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria to raise the speed limit to 110 km/h on all 400-series highways “where it is safe to do so.”

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Record number of photo radar tickets in Ottawa so far in 2024: Here are the 10 busiest cameras

ottawa.ctvnews.ca

>Ottawa's photo radar cameras have issued a record number of speeding tickets to drivers this year, as the city of Ottawa continues to expand the automated speed enforcement program in community safety zones, school zones and "high speed locations." >New data shows the 40 photo radar cameras have issued 229,105 tickets in the first seven months of 2024. The automated speed enforcement camera program resulted in 220,789 speeding tickets in 2023, 127,939 tickets in 2022 and 80,944 tickets in 2021. >Twelve new cameras have been activated so far in 2024, and work is underway to install 20 new photo radar cameras(opens in a new tab) across the city by the end of the year. Staff have estimated the city will issue one million tickets a year through the photo radar and red light camera programs. >The busiest photo radar camera is on King Edward Avenue, the busy road for motorists travelling between Ottawa and Gatineau over the Ottawa River. The camera issued 36,210 tickets in the February to July period. The 10 busiest photo radar cameras in Ottawa in July - King Edward Avenue southbound, between Bolton Street and St. Patrick Street: 7,096 tickets - Walkley Road, between Halifax Drive and Harding Road: 2,873 tickets - Bronson Avenue, between Raven Road and Sunnyside Avenue: 2,220 tickets - St. Laurent Boulevard, between Noranda Avenue and Clarke Avenue: 1,838 tickets - Cedarview Road, between Fallowfield Road and Jockvale Road: 1,772 tickets - Katimavik Road, between Castlefrank Road and McGibbon Drive: 1,602 tickets - First Avenue, between Chrysler Street and Percy Street: 1,504 tickets - Hunt Club Road, between Pike Street and Lorry Greenberg Drive: 1,495 tickets - Bayshore Drive, near Woodridge Crescent: 1,474 tickets - Fisher Avenue, between Kintyre Private and Deer Park Road: 1,323 tickets ...

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Coun. Matt Luloff faces impaired driving charges, with a broad range of potential outcomes

ottawacitizen.com

>Orléans East-Cumberland Coun. Matt Luloff was charged with impaired driving earlier in July. How will the legal process unfold and what does it mean for Luloff’s future as a city councillor? >Luloff, a second-term councillor, also serves as Ottawa Public Library Board chair and was the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for Orléans riding in the next federal election until he stepped down from that candidacy on July 10, citing personal reasons. >According to the charges filed in court, Luloff, 40, was arrested and charged on Saturday, July 6. >He was charged with two counts related to impaired driving, the filing shows. The first charge alleges Luloff was operating a motor vehicle while impaired. The second charge alleges that Luloff, “within two hours after ceasing to operate a (vehicle) had a blood-alcohol concentration that was equal to or exceeded 80 mg of alcohol in 100 mL of blood.” >The allegations have not been tested in court. >Luloff’s defence lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, signed an “enhanced designation of counsel” on July 9. That means a defence lawyer can appear in court on Luloff’s behalf.

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As provincial funding ends, Ottawa's wastewater surveillance will continue for now

ottawacitizen.com

>Ottawa’s wastewater surveillance program will continue after the Ontario government ends funding on July 31, a memo from Board of Health chair Catherine Kitts says. >In a memo sent to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and council members Wednesday, Kitts said the surveillance initiative, operated and managed under Robert Delatolla’s team at the University of Ottawa, will remain as it is while discussions about longer-term solutions continue. >The province announced earlier this year that it would stop funding for the highly regarded program as of the end of July — at a savings of around $15 million. >Provincial officials said then that the federal government was expanding its own wastewater surveillance initiative and they wanted to avoid overlap. The federal government currently has four wastewater surveillance sites in the Toronto area and has said it wants to add four or five more. Ontario’s program, one of the world’s most extensive, gathers information at more than 50 locations. >In the memo, Kitts said the city “has been assured that, although provincial funding sunsets on July 31, the University of Ottawa has secured funding to continue this program as-is for the coming months.” >Meanwhile, she said, Ottawa Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches had sent letters to federal and provincial public health officials “seeking to collaborate to ensure the uninterrupted continuation of high-quality wastewater surveillance in Ottawa.” ...

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Vacant unit tax brings in way more than forecast, but still irks some homeowners

>Ottawa's vacant unit tax (VUT) is raking in millions more than expected, leaving some residents and one city councillor wondering whether it's a fix for the housing crisis or simply a cash grab. >The tax charges one per cent of the assessed value of homes left unoccupied for six months or more within one year. It's meant to push property owners to either put those units up for sale or rent them to address the city's housing shortage. >When council approved the tax two years ago, it was expected to bring in about $6.6 million per year. But city staff now say last year's revenue haul came to $11.5 million. >Orléans East-Cumberland Coun. Matt Luloff, a longstanding critic of the tax, asked staff for that information through a formal inquiry. He didn't like what he heard. >"I don't think that this program is truly doing what it was meant to do, which is to free up rental units — not to become a new income source for the City of Ottawa," said Luloff. >Luloff said he hasn't seen a clear measure of whether the tax is actually getting vacant homes back on the market. He also asked staff for more detailed information about how the revenue is being spent. >**Staff responded that all of the money goes to fund affordable housing initiatives, minus about $2.3 million spent to administer the program, though they promised to get Luloff additional details.**

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Ontario pulls plug on COVID-19 wastewater surveillance

>Premier Doug Ford's government is scrapping Ontario's program for sampling wastewater to monitor the level of COVID-19 in the population. >The program measures how much of the virus that causes COVID-19 is circulating around the province and is run by a dozen universities and research sites, through funding from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. >In a statement, a provincial official said the move will "avoid duplication" with a federal program. >"The federal government conducts wastewater surveillance across Canada and is moving to expand its sampling to additional sites in Ontario," said Environment Ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler in an email to CBC News. >"Ontario is working to support this expansion while winding down the provincial wastewater surveillance initiative," he said. >Public health officials are criticizing the move as short-sighted.

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Anaplasmosis: the lesser-known tick-borne disease on the rise in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario

>At a time when tick populations are increasing, the Ottawa area is becoming a hotspot for one of the lesser-known illnesses spread by black-legged ticks. >Anaplasmosis can cause fever, headache, muscle aches, chills and severe respiratory illness, among other symptoms. If not treated, it can be life-threatening, especially in people with compromised immune systems. It is less common than Lyme disease, also spread by black-legged ticks. Both are treated with antibiotics. >Those are two of the potentially severe illnesses spread by ticks that are now being closely monitored by public health officials in Ontario as disease-carrying ticks spread through the province. They also include babesiosis, a bacterial infection, and Powassan virus, a rare disease that causes encephalitis and severe illness. >The increased scrutiny comes as health officials are warning that Canadians are at increased risk of tick-borne diseases because of climate change. This week an Ottawa woman succumbed to complications from Powassan virus she has struggled with since she was infected by a tick near her home in Alta Vista in 2021. >Ottawa Public Health spokesperson Emily Morrison says people should take precautions to avoid being bitten by ticks. There are many health benefits from being active and outdoors during warm weather, said Morrison, who is program manager of environmental health at Ottawa Public Health, “however, if you will be in outdoor areas suitable for black-legged ticks, it is important to be aware of the risks of ticks and tick-related diseases, and how to protect oneself.” Tick habitats include wooded areas and areas with tall grasses.

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Ottawa paramedics keep pushing for taxi pilot after province's rejection

>A "frustrating" refusal by the province has not weakened the city's resolve to launch a taxis-as-ambulances pilot project, Ottawa's paramedic chief told reporters on Wednesday, explaining that an opportunity may be hiding in what the ministry didn't say. >The City of Ottawa proposed the pilot last autumn as a way to offset the hours paramedics are waiting at overcrowded emergency rooms. These delays lead to "code zero" events where no ambulance is available for calls. >The trial would have allowed paramedics to send patients with non-serious injuries to hospital in a taxi instead. >"That kind of creative solution is exactly what we need," said Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. "So, I was a little bit surprised by the fact that the province wasn't in agreement."

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LRT disruption at St-Laurent station to continue into work week

>Ottawa's light rail trains will continue to skip St-Laurent station on Tuesday, as engineers complete repairs on delaminated ceiling tiles above the platform. >A memo to council sent Monday afternoon said trains will continue to run through the station, but will not stop. >The station has been closed to commuters since Friday morning after routine inspection found "a few of the suspended ceiling tiles above the platform were disrupted," according to Richard Holder, director of engineering services at OC Transpo. ... >This is not the first time damage to the concrete has been found at the station. A freedom of information request obtained by CBC earlier this year showed inspectors found "severe" and in some cases, "very severe" damage to the concrete tiles in 2020. >CBC reported the city did not patch up some problem areas for years after the issues were observed in 2020. ...

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Auroras could light up the sky Friday night

>Northern lights are expected to illuminate Ottawa's sky Friday evening as a powerful geomagnetic storm ushers in the weekend. >On Thursday, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a geomagnetic storm alert in anticipation of this rare event. >Geomagnetic storms are classed by severity from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). The upcoming storm is classified as a "severe" G4, according to the SWPC. It's the first G4-level alert declared by the agency since January 2005. >Robyn Fiori, a scientist with Natural Resources Canada, said the storm actually arrived in Ottawa around 1:30 p.m. Friday. >"I definitely think there's a chance that we'll still see some Aurora tonight, and it's also possible that activity will reduce during parts of the day and then maybe start up again [Saturday] night," Fiori said. >The sky over Ottawa is expected to start clearing around 7 p.m. and clear completely by 11 p.m., according to Environment Canada. >Fiori advises Ottawa residents interested in viewing the northern lights to get out of the city and find an area of clear sky with minimal light pollution. >"The Aurora is something you can actually see from quite far away. In some cases, you can see it when it's up to 3,000 kilometres away from you, so your exact location isn't quite as important as the sky just being clear and the light pollution being reduced," Fiori said. >Fiori said geomagnetic storms typically last from one to six hours, but based on observations, this particular storm is predicted to last longer. ...

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Should parking fines depend on how much your car costs? One councillor is asking

>As the City of Ottawa looks to take over responsibility for parking ticket disputes next year, one councillor wants to look at a sliding scale of penalties that would give low-income drivers a break. >Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard is asking city staff to examine options, like gearing fines to the driver's income or the value of their vehicle. >"The person that drives the Ferrari and parks at Lansdowne, they may be much more able to afford a parking ticket or may even take that on just knowing they might get a parking ticket there, than someone who's going to a protest for basic income," he said. >"We've had people in our office very upset and crying about going to a basic income protest and getting a ticket there. Their ability to pay was much less than that person in the Ferrari." >He made the proposal just after council's finance and corporate services committee voted in favour of a new penalty system that would take parking ticket challenges out of the courts. >City staff said the current system is "jammed up," and replacing justices of the peace with council-appointed adjudicators will mean faster disputes for residents. Menard also saw it as a chance to experiment. >He said the sliding-scale model is already used for speeding infractions in Finland. While basing fines on income could require co-operation with federal bodies, like the Canada Revenue Agency, Menard thinks there might be alternatives. >"There's other proxies, the blue book values of vehicles for example, that could be looked into," he said. "That's why we're asking staff to explore the options." ...

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'We smashed it': CN Cycle for CHEO breaks record with over $2.1 million raised for childhood cancer research

ottawacitizen.com

>A bit of Sunday rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of thousands of walkers and bikers who turned out for the CN Cycle for CHEO, raising a record-breaking $2.175 million for childhood cancer research and care. >“We didn’t just break the record, we smashed it,” Steven Read, president and CEO of the CHEO Foundation, said in an interview. >Now in its 17th year, the CN Cycle for CHEO features 15 km, 35 km or 70 km cycling routes, along with two km and five km walking routes for people of all ages. >Tamy Bell was the top individual fundraiser, raising more than $61,000. She’s the mother of Griffin Bell, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2018 at just 16 months old. He died in March, at the age of six, after a lengthy battle with the aggressive childhood cancer. >Bell was also part of Griff’s Gang, a 613-person team that raised a record-smashing $323,469. >“Last year, he was with us,” Bell said, her voice cracking with emotion as she addressed the large crowd, who stuck around for the speeches despite the rain that returned after a short pause during the event. >“He ran the whole five K.” ...

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Federal government planning three-day work from office mandate

www.ottawalookout.com

>What happened: The federal government is set to mandate workers back in the office three days per week, Le Droit reported. The increase by one day per week to the current hybrid work schedule has come as a surprise to the federal unions, who said they were not consulted. >While it wouldn’t confirm that an announcement was imminent, the federal Treasury Board told CTV that it was “committed to hybrid work” and “continue to assess how hybrid work is implemented and optimized across the public service, adapting as necessary.” >Labour strife? The recent public service strike was largely fought over hybrid working policies for public servants. The Public Service Alliance of Canada said it had heard nothing from the government, and said any changes without consultation would be a betrayal of the agreement made just last year. >“If the Treasury Board does decide to move in this direction, then it completely flies in the face and goes against all the commitments they made at the bargaining table to work with the union to achieve flexible hybrid work arrangements for public service workers,” a PSAC spokesperson said to CTV. >Local reaction: Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said the move by the federal government to adopt widespread hybrid working arrangements since the start of the pandemic has had a detrimental effect on the downtown. But, perhaps hoping not to anger a significant bloc of voters in the city, he has stopped short of calling outright for workers to return to the office five days a week. >“We need to work with the federal government on a solution, and many solutions to make sure that we have economic prosperity in the downtown core, that small businesses and restaurants and shop owners are protected, that our finances as a city are protected,” Sutcliffe said according to CTV. ...

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'Tsunami' coming: Ottawa's massive zoning bylaw overhaul shown to public for first time

ottawacitizen.com

>The public got its first look at Ottawa’s comprehensive zoning bylaw amendment Monday, a massive overhaul of building and development regulations that one councillor likened to a tsunami of change. >It is the largest overhaul of Ottawa’s zoning bylaws since amalgamation in 2001, and will forever change the way the city grows and develops. An early draft was delivered Monday to a joint meeting of the planning and housing committee and the agricultural and rural affairs committee. >Inside the 96-page draft are the answers to questions such as, how many units can a developer build on a single lot? How close can a building be to the property line — how high can it be? How much park space is required? How will the city’s tree canopy be protected in the face of a housing building boom? How many parking spaces must be provided at a new apartment? (The draft agreement recommends none. Doing away with parking minimums is seen as a way to use land more efficiently and encourage residents to use public transit or other methods of getting around instead of private cars.) ...

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Ottawa's scenic parkways to close to traffic again this year

Oh to see Sutcliffe's face when he gets the news!

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Motion coming to planning committee to crack down on bad-faith renovictions in Ottawa

ottawa.ctvnews.ca

>As the number of tenants being forced out of their homes soars, an Ottawa city councilor wants the city to do more to prevent bad-faith evictions. >The city has seen a significant increase in the number of N13 forms being used for evictions – which require a tenant to move out so a landlord can do major renovations and charge a higher rent. >According to a renoviction report by ACORN, the number of N13’s filed in Ottawa from 2021 to 2022 jumped 545 per cent. >Coun. Ariel Troster now wants the city to explore an anti-renoviction bylaw. Looking to Hamilton, the first city in the province who is requiring a renovation licence for landlords and allowing tenants to return to their units at the same rent. >"Our office has been absolutely inundated with calls," said Troster, who is putting forward a similar motion to the city's planning comittee. >“We have no provincial tenancy control right now, which means, in between tenants, a property owner can raise the rent as much as they want. Citywide, this is leading to a massive problem that's driving people into homelessness.” ...

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No reports of eye injuries due to eclipse at Ottawa hospitals

ottawacitizen.com

>By the end of the day after the solar eclipse, there were no signs of residents rushing to get treatment for eye damage, say spokespeople for Ottawa hospitals. >After Monday’s eclipse, “my eyes hurt” was trending on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, suggesting some people had damaged their eyes. But, if that was the case, there was no sign of it in Ottawa. >Spokespeople for CHEO, The Ottawa Hospital, Montfort Hospital and Queensway Carleton all said they had not seen cases of people with eye damage coming to the hospital as of Tuesday evening....

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Gas prices to increase on Monday in Ottawa due to carbon tax hike

ottawa.ctvnews.ca

>Ottawa motorists will be paying three cents a litre more to fill up the gas tank on Monday, when the federal carbon tax hike kicks in. >As of April 1, the federal government is increasing the price on carbon pollution by $15 per tonne to $80. The federal carbon tax will be 17.71 cents a litre on gas in Ontario. >Canadians for Affordable Energy President Dan McTeague says the average price of regular gasoline in Ottawa will increase three cents from 159.9 cents a litre to 162.9 cents a litre on Monday. >Motorists will also see a 3 cent a litre hike in Kingston and across eastern Ontario. ...

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Doug Ford calls on federal workers in Ottawa to return to office

>Ontario's premier called on the federal government to require public servants to work in the office more frequently to revitalize the city's downtown — but neither the government department responsible for public servants nor one of its main unions appeared moved by the request. >"They have to get people back to work," Premier Doug Ford said during a press conference on Thursday in Ottawa, standing next to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. >"It sounds crazy. I'm begging people to go to work for three days — not that they aren't working at home, but it really affects the downtown." >Ford popped by Sutcliffe's monthly city hall breakfast Thursday where he served up a wide-ranging funding plan for the capital over the next decade — one that would also require significant federal investment. The "new deal for Ottawa" offers up to $543 million over 10 years from the province for housing, travel, public safety and other areas. >Up to $20 million is on offer for economic recovery and downtown revitalization.