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HELLO OTTAWA

The great pickleball vs tennis debate is hotting up.

Across the city, nay across the world, tennis players are feeling dismayed as they find courts being taken up by pickleballers.

Pickleballers, for their part, find themselves fighting for the right to play their sport in a world that gives tennis priority.

The City has now launched a public survey to thread the needle and develop an outdoor tennis and pickleball strategy, although they are requiring people to register, which is always a sign that the survey takers may not be looking for the widest range of opinions.

Tell the City your opinion here.

– Martha and Darren

TODAY’S LINE UP

•  Ottawa Stats
•  City Hall Agenda
•  What Ottawa is Talking About
•  Events
•  Deals of the Day

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OTTAWA STATS

Sports

• 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 5 – Pittsburgh Penguins 2 last Saturday
• 🏈 CFL Ottawa RedBlacks 22 – Toronto Argonauts 27 last Saturday
  
  And that’s it for the RedBlacks this year, ending the season with 4 win - 14 loss record.

CITY HALL AGENDA

What’s going on at City Hall.
 

No meetings tomorrow.

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

🔥 Ottawa Hospital General Campus

•  A transformer fire plunged parts of the Ottawa Hospital General Campus into darkness and forced at least 96 patients to be moved. No one was hurt in the incident Friday but people are encouraged to use a different emergency room. Emergency and elective surgeries have been transferred to the Civic and the Riverside campuses. (CBC) 

🍸 Alcohol in Parks

•  Debate has begun over permitting alcohol in Ottawa parks. Capital ward councillor Shawn Menard (Not Mendez! Not Mendez!) says he will bring up a proposal to allow drinking in City parks in the new year. Toronto has just extended its trial which had resulted in a total of two complaints. Martha and Darren have lived in Vancouver as well as London, UK, both of which allow people to enjoy a bottle of wine or a beer at a picnic, and think it's about time Ottawans were given the same privilege. City staff plan to have a report on the issue for council by the end of 2024. Québec does allow alcohol in most public places, however, a bylaw by the city prohibits it in Gatineau. (Arthur White-Crummey at CBC) 

🚆 O Train 

•  O Train anticipates a spring 2024 opening for the new north-south O Train line. OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar told the City’s Light Rail subcommittee on Friday that the agency does not want to launch during the winter. (Josh Pringle at CTV)
  
  ➕ Related OC Transpo is asking for an additional $152 million in  contingency funding for O Train construction after spending almost all of the previous $177.6 million in contingency funding.

🏢 Brutalism

•   Brutalist buildings in Ottawa are the best candidates for conversion to residential says the Canadian Urban Institute. Brutalism, the sometimes controversial style popular in the 60s and 70s, uses bare concrete as its palette and are often built as stark rectangles or very unusual shapes – think of the National Defence building or the National Arts Centre. Brutalist buildings tend to have lots of windows, central infrastructure, and are all due for modernization anyway. The Institute says two buildings in Ottawa are perfect candidates for residential use but does not name them. (Ben Andrews at CBC)

📋 Federal Public Employees

Catherine Morrison at the Ottawa Citizen has a round-up of news of interest to Federal public employees.

•  Auditor General Karen Hogan says the number of errors in the Phoenix pay system has actually increased from the previous year.
•  Daniel Quan-Watson, deputy minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, is leaving for other opportunities November 25.
•  Canada has two new ambassadors: Isabelle Valois to the Kingdom of Morocco and Jess Dutton to the Republic of Indonesia.
•  The Public Service Alliance of Canada is getting involved in the Israel – Gaza crisis, calling for ‘an immediate ceasefire, an end to the blockade of Gaza and for the restoration of humanitarian aid and access to the basic necessities of life’.
•  Jimi Onalik will become the new president of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency November 20. He is currently deputy minister of executive and intergovernmental affairs and secretary to cabinet with the Government of Nunavut.
•  The Union of Taxation Employees will get their $2,500 signing bonus November 8. There had been some question as to when this would happen.
•   Public Service Alliance of Canada members have ratified a new collective agreement with the Royal Canadian Mint. Essentially the same deal as the other departments but no taking your work home with you.*
  
  * Because it’s the mint and it creates coins and employees shouldn’t take those home with them. It’s harder to make jokes like that in a world of remote working. The actual remote working rule in the new collective agreement is the same as the others – agree to talk about it later.

⚕️ Breast Cancer Screening

•  Ontario has lowered the age for regular breast cancer screenings in to 40. This is province-wide, not just Ottawa, but we thought we’d mention it. Women can self-refer for the screening every two years starting autumn 2024. (Canadian Press)

🛻 Convoy Trial

Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are on trial for their actions in the Convoy siege.

• Ottawa Police Service sergeant Jordan Blonde testified Friday that he encountered hostile crowds during the Convoy. He also said that he tried to tell protestors to vacate the area but could not be heard because of the truck horns blaring. For safety reasons, he stopped warning people about getting arrested.
  
  (David Fraser at CBC)

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MORE FROM THE OTTAWAN

• 🍺 Our Ottawa-Gatineau Craft Brewery Map

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• 🏆 The Best Of Ottawa Awards 2022

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• 🎧 Best Podcasts from Ottawa

EVENTS

Send us your event listings for consideration in the newsletter

Today

•  As independent farms become a thing of the past and industrialised agriculture takes over, documentation about the former becomes more important. Romanian photographer Vlad Dumitrescu’s The Life I love – The Life I Choose shows how farmers in his country continue to the vanishing traditional ways of farming. The exhibition ends tomorrow (October 31) so you’ll need to act fast to catch it. At the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.
•  View the Poppy Drop, a projection of poppies representing Canadian veterans, on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. Watch the display from 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm each evening until November 11, except November 5, 10, and 11 when the display runs until midnight. You can also view and search the names of fallen soldiers in the Books of Remembrance.
•  Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s exhibit Pressure: James Cameron into the Abyss includes the submersible Deepsea Challenger, which the filmmaker and submariner used to visit the Mariana Trench, is free to view until November 17. Monday to Friday 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Alex Trebek Theatre, 50 Sussex Drive.
•  It’s a Halloween drag event at the Heart & Crown Barrhaven. Wear your costume and you might win a prize.
•  Queer Tribes presents the Halloween Supernatural Masquerade Ball Party at SAW. In addition to ballroom dancing, the event promises drag, burlesque, and palm and tarot readings.

  
  Music

•  Scary-oke Karaoke. Atomic Rooster
•  The Gladsome Gentlemen (Bluegrass Mondays). Red Bird Live
•  The Telegrams (Country Swing band). Irene’s Pub & Restaurant

Tomorrow

•  It’s Halloween, and the final night to take in the Saunders Farm’s spooky Sawmill experience at Lansdowne. Meanwhile, down on the (Saunders) farm, there are only two days left to check out FrightFest.
•  Pumpkins After Dark concludes its run at Wesley Clover Parks. Get inspiration for this year’s Jack O’Lantern as you view more than 10,000 carved pumpkins, watch pumpkins being carved in real time, and enjoy the tastes of the season.
•  If you're feeling brave and you're in a party mood, spend your evening at House of TARG’s BlockbusTARG: Video Store from Hell – Grand Opening / Halloween Party. Cover $13 includes your BlockbusTARG (dis)membership card. The costumes will be epic, the prizes and fun even more so.
•  Thr33s Company Snack Bar is throwing a little Halloween Party with a DJ and drinks specials. Don’t forget your costume - you could win a prize. 582 Bank in the Glebe.
•  As independent farms become a thing of the past and industrialised agriculture takes over, documentation about the former becomes more important. Romanian photographer Vlad Dumitrescu’s The Life I love – The Life I Choose shows how farmers in his country continue to the vanishing traditional ways of farming. The exhibition ends today (October 31) so you’ll need to act fast to catch it. At the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.
•  View the Poppy Drop, a projection of poppies representing Canadian veterans, on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. Watch the display from 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm each evening until November 11, except November 5, 10, and 11 when the display runs until midnight. You can also view and search the names of fallen soldiers in the Books of Remembrance.
  
  
  Music

•  Scratch Bastid plus Illo & Techtwelve, Iggy Smalls, and So Durant b2b Sacha Foster. 56 Byward Market Square

•  Half-cocked Trivia. Atomic Rooster

•  Release the Bats: Bloodbath! Café Dekcuf
   

Wednesday

•  The NAC Gala with soprano Renée Fleming and the NAC Orchestra supports the NAC Foundation and its mandate to “enrich the lives of Canadians through the performing arts and championships our country’s artists, students and educators.” From $85 per person.
   
•  Creatorland’s Storywell: Autobiographies will encourage attendees to consider their own life stories. The evening will include a surprise screening of a BAFTA qualifying short film (the title to be announced at the event), a presentation about Bruce Lee, and a group dialogue about “Self-Storytelling”. Prepare to engage your creativity. At Artengine, 67 Nicholas St.
   
•  The WelliWednesdays concert series returns to Parkdale Park, coinciding with the Parkdale Night Market. Enjoy live music by Dec Lopez and The Keystrings (bring your own blanket or chair), shop with over 55 vendors,  and buy a snack.
   

•  View the Poppy Drop, a projection of poppies representing Canadian veterans, on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. Watch the display from 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm each evening until November 11, except November 5, 10, and 11 when the display runs until midnight. You can also view and search the names of fallen soldiers in the Books of Remembrance.

Music

•  TARG Monthly Pinball Tournament. House of TARG

•  Country for a Cause. National Arts Centre

   

Just Announced / Now Booking

•  Take a rare peek into some truly fabulous homes and raise funds for Hospice Care Ottawa. Homes for the Holidays offers tours of six gracious homes, all of which have been decorated for the holidays by local florists and designers. November 17 – 19.
   
• Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations follows the legendary Motown band from their start in Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. December 26 through 31 at the NAC
   
•  It’s been 80 years since Glenn Miller founded his eponymous band, and the music is still playing. The 18 musicians and singers bring the songs to National Arts Centre on May 2, 2024. General ticket sales start November 3, or use promo code MOONLIGHT to take part in the pre-sale now.

DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

It seems unbelievable but someone wants to demolish a kitten mill in Lanark County.

Wait, apparently it is textiles not moggies. The building involved is the former Glenayr Kitten Mill, once the home of the Glenayr Kitten textile company, makers of Glenayr Kitten brand sweaters (here’s someone selling a vintage sweater from the 70s).

The building is beautiful, built in the mid-1800s, and is slated to be demolished by a private owner who really needs to visit Almonte to see what can be done with old textile mills. 

The Lanark Heritage Preservation Society is fighting the demolition and have launched a petition against it.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL

THE END

the ottawan is written and edited every work day by Martha and Darren.

Is there something that Ottawa should know about? Email to us at hello@theottawan.com. We read every single comment. 

We’ll see you tomorrow.

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