Monday November 8, 2021
What Ottawa is Talking About – 8 October 2021
▪️Annie Pootoogook Park is officialy open. The Sandy Hill park has been renamed in honour of the Inuit artist who was a prominent resident of the neighbourhood. Pootoogook drowned in the Ottawa River in 2016 at age 47. [CBC]
▪️France Bélisle is the new mayor of Gatineau after Saturday's election, the first woman to hold the job. Bélisle says that Gatineau needs to work closer with the City of Ottawa and hopes to meet with Mayor Jim Watson soon. The election of the former president of Tourisme Outaouais ends eight years of the Action Gatineau party in power. [CBC]
▪️Faulty software is endangering cyclists across Ottawa. What the software was trying be more reactive to cyclists at red lights via sensors embedded in the pavement. However, in some cases when a cyclist triggered a green light, then moved off the sensor, the light would go red again, leaving the cyclist in the centre of the crossing and vulnerable to traffic. Thirty-three intersections have the new software. [CBC]
▪️Now that 450 days have passed councillor Rick Chiarelli will get his paycheque back. Chiarelli had his pay suspended as punishment after a devasting City report found that he had harassed staff and job applicants. As of today, his punishment is considered complete. (Chiarelli denies all the allegations) [CBC]
▪️Earlier in the year, we wrote about someone posing as a psychologist to the police using the name of a real health professional. That health professional has now been arrested for lying about posing as himself. Dr. Ron Frey has been charged with public mischief after reporting to the Ottawa police that he had been impersonated. The doctor deniers any wrongdoing. [CBC]
▪️The City is looking for the public's opinion on the e-scooter programme. November 30 will be the end of the second season of e-scooter rentals in Ottawa, a project that is entirely run by private companies. It's a form, so you know the City is serious about feedback. [CTV] [The Survey] [City page about Scooters]
