The Ottawan : Newsletters : 🪧 Civil service strike day one + Food and drink update

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HELLO OTTAWA

So, strike it is.

155,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada have hit the picket lines.

The Federal government has published a list of the 28 departments which are affected. And if you work at one of them, the same page advises employees on how your pay if affected, which positions are excluded from striking, and how your contact info is shared with your union.

The Ottawa Citizen explains the specifics here, as does the CBC. But, long story short as is our wont, it’s about how much of a raise and how much one can work from home.

– Martha and Darren

On Friday May 5th, Beckta celebrates 20 years as an Ottawa hotspot for fine dining with a tasting menu dinner in the Wine Bar. Tables of two to 10 people are available at $200 per person (plus gratuity and HST). Call 613 238 7064 to book.
Those who celebrate Mother’s Day might be considering gift options right about now. Chris Deraiche, Chef of Cornerstone Housing for Women, has created a take home dinner for two of Braised Beef Short Ribs, sides, and Tarte Tatin. $75 includes a $50 tax receipt. Meals will be ready for pickup between 9:00am and 8:00pm on May 12. 314 Booth Street.
Visit the Parkdale location of Morning Owl to enter the raffle in support of Parkdale Food Bank’s Mino’Weesini grocery program. You can enter as many times as you wish at $5 a pop, for a chance to win Morning Owl gift cards and other prizes. April 21 is the deadline to enter. 229 Armstrong St.
The Farm Fresh CSA Accessibility Fund matches donations to offer discounted CSA shares to community members in need.
Spark Beer’s summer cocktail collection includes Pimm’s, a gin-based spirit that is served with cucumber slices, orange sections, apple pieces, and strawberries, and it’s finished off with sprigs of fresh mint. It’s refreshing as heck, and It’s what Darren and Martha enjoyed each summer when they lived in the UK, during that magic hour between skipping off the tennis court and dressing for dinner. (Not really, but they definitely drank the stuff. )
Peter Hum at the Ottawa Citizen loved the pasta at Cantina Gia but on a brunch visit complained the ‘porchetta eggs benedict took too long to arrive’.
Canadian gourmet cinnamon roll company Cinnaholic* opens in Kanata Saturday with $2 rolls from 10 am to 2 pm and a free-cinnamon-rolls-for-a-year competition. Cinnaholic is opening at 145 Roland Michener Dr, in the Centrum shopping centre.

* Names like this always brings to mind the old Onion story: ‘I'm like a chocoholic but for booze.’

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Weather

🌧️ 40 per cent chance of rain or flurries. High of 7°, low of -3°

Number

244
– The number of active transportation projects approved by the Transportation Committee. In City parlance, ‘active transportation projects’ are the grab bag of things that are not specifically funded, such as bike routes and walkways. (Taylor Blewett in the Ottawa Citizen) (The full list [PDF])

Gatinois of the Day

Simon Fortier
Rising from constable to detective sergeant to acting lieutenant, Fortier is the new police chief for the Ville de Gatineau. (Ottawa Citizen)

Quote

“
Off track
– The label on five out of eight of the City’s climate change priorities. The City’s climate change priority list was created in 2020 to help reduce the City’s emissions. (Laurą Głowacki at CBC)

🛬 Ottawa Airport

Ottawa International Airport loses another route – before it even got off the ground. The Ottawa – Charlottetown service, operated by Flair Airlines, was to begin thrice-weekly flights in June. But don't despair Anne with an "E" fans and potato aficionados, Porter Airlines begins service to the PEI capital in May. (Thinh Nguyen ất CBC)

🐻 Bells Corners Bear

A bear was spotted in Bells Corners this morning. Ottawa ByLaw, in a tweet, recommends that if you see a Bear, ‘Don't run, climb a tree or swim’. As the only public pool in Bells Corners is the Entrance Outdoor Pool, which is closed until summer, the Bear returned to the woods. (CTV)

🛻 Convoy book club

Vancouver’s The Tyee has a review of An Emergency in Ottawa: The Story of the Convoy Commission, the book/essay by Paul Wells. The reviewer notes the ‘absence of any kind of independent inquiry into the pandemic and the response to it by Canadians and their institutions’. (Crawford Killian in The Tyee)

🌊 Ottawa River Rising

City Council was advised last night that Ottawa River flooding this year may be higher than normal but damage is still expected to be low. (Jake Davies in West Carleton Online)

The City has updated info and sandbag locations on its webpage.

Anyone concerned can join the Spring Flood 2023 Facebook group.

Volunteers can register to bag sand, sandbag walls, or provide food and drink at West Carleton Disaster Relief.

Click here to feature your event

Today

It’s National Canadian Film Day, which the ByTowne Cinema is marking with free screenings of Strange Brew and John and the Missus, the latter starring the late, great Gordon Pinsent.
Today is the deadline to submit your candidacy to the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition Board of Directors. Elections are to take place at the annual general meeting on April 26th. Make sure you follow the instructions on the nomination form.
World renowned cellist Bryan Cheng plays two concerts with the NAC Orchestra. The program includes pieces by Farrenc, Saint-Saëns, and Franck.
Six of Ottawa’s top mixologists compete for the Best Cocktail of SOPA (South of Parliament). Your ticket will give you access to all cocktails in the running, and you’ll be able to vote for the winter of the People’s Choice. Queen St. Fare, 170 Queen St.

Tomorrow

Ottawa Grassroots Festival brings its lineup of paid and free musical performances to St. Andrew’s Church (82 Kent St.) and Irene’s Pub (885 Bank St). Until Sunday.
Long & McQuade sponsor the Open Mic Night at Stray Dog Brewing. 12 acts will perform two songs or 10 minutes. 501 Lacolle Way, Unit 4, Orléans. info@straydogbrewing.ca.
Single tickets go on sale today for the Volleyball Nations League(June 6-11) at TD Place Arena. Tickets will be available for games featuring Canada, USA, Argentina, Italy, Cuba, Germany, Netherlands, and Brazil.

Friday

The SPAO College Diploma Exhibition show opens with a reception from 5:00pm to 10:00pm.
TACTICS Mainstage season continues with the world premiere of Existing Cause by Laurie Fyffe. A historian steals into a derelict asylum to find out what happened to her great-great grandmother in 1901. With choreography by Allison Burns. Tickets $17.31 - $81.21. Until May 5 at Arts Court Theatre, 2 Daly Ave.

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Save 30% site wide at Strut Jewelry, until midnight on April 20th. The discount will be applied at checkout.

If you are a supporter of the Federal civil servants’ strike, the Public Service Alliance of Canada has created the ‘Workers Can’t Wait’ website which will allow you to find a picket line to support or deliver a pizza.

We will see you tomorrow – 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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