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HELLO, OTTAWA

Remember last year’s scandal on tow trucks? Some Ottawa Police officers were taking kickbacks from tow truck companies at accident scenes and some tow truck companies were charging ridiculous rates.

In fact, it's against the law for a tow truck to be within 100 metres of a collision unless called by the motorist, the police, or the insurance company.

Ottawa Police are trying to make up for it by publicizing the rules:

  1. Never accept services from a tow truck driver arriving on the scene of your collision unless they have been called by yourself, your insurance company or by the police.
     
  2. Do not allow a tow truck to hook up your vehicle until you specifically say so.
     
  3. Always ask "How much will this cost?" and better-yet, get a written estimate.
     
  4. Do not assume your insurance company will cover the tow unless you consult them.
     
  5. Do not accept any tow company's claim that they are under "police contract". Any such contracts only relate to impounded vehicles and not the public.
     
  6. If you are uncomfortable dealing with the towing firm - call someone else.
     
  7. Do not assume that "everything will be OK and taken care of." The concept of "Buyer Beware" still applies when dealing with tow trucks.

Easier said than done on much of this but there you go. Drive safely.

We'll see you tomorrow – Martha and Darren


#STATS

Weather: ?️ 30 per cent chance of flurries. High of 6° 

Number: 35. The number of songs by local musicians that the City hopes to license for ‘broadcast’ as the on-hold music. This is up from 25 songs last year. The City will pay $200 for the rights to play each song. Deadline to apply is March 29. [Apartment 613] [Application Form

Ottawans of the Day: Marcie Murray, Brittany Forsyth, Konval Matin, Erin Zipes, Solmaz Shahalizadeh, Anna Lambert, Atlee Clark, Alexandra Clark, Lynsey Thornton, and Arati Sharm. These executives at local mom and pop business Shopify have banded together to create Backbone Angels, a fund to invest in startups helmed by women and non-binary founders. [Ottawa Business Journal] [Backbone Angels]

Quote: “Don't ruin your future with this silly situation” – An email that a former staffer for the National Collaboration for Youth Mental Health said she received from the organization. The charity, which focuses on Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ youth, is accused by former staffers of being led by a woman famous for suing enemies and using aliases. [CBC]

Sports: Edmonton Oilers 3 – Ottawa Senators 2, last night. The Sens meet  Edmonton again tomorrow.


CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Vaccination tracker by Andrew Lam (@socialvizcanada)

912,486 doses have been administered in Ontario (84% of the doses available)

? At this rate, it would take 66.5 weeks to administer one dose to each person in Ontario. 

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines delivery tracker
Federal Goverment database listing predicted future deliveries


? Public Health Reports

OTTAWA

Ottawa Public Health Dashboard

Ottawa Wastewater Dashboard

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board

Ottawa Catholic School Board

Conseil des ecoles catholiques du Centre-Est

Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario
 

There have been 15,167 confirmed cases of COVID‌-19, an increase of 57 since yesterday, and 443 deaths, one new report.

? 63,576 doses of vaccine have been administered in Ottawa.

OUTAOUAIS

Outaouais Public Health dashboard

There have been 6,476 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of seven since yesterday, and 163 deaths, no new reports.

? 13,306 doses of vaccine have been administered in the Outaouais
This has been unchanged since last Friday.
 

EASTERN ONTARIO

Eastern Ontario Health Unit dashboard

There have been 2897 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 27 since yesterday, and 68 deaths, no new reports.

? 9,617 doses of vaccine have been administered in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit.
This has been unchanged since last yesterday.
 

Sometimes the number of cases or deaths are lower from one day to the next. This is usually because the powers-that-be have reassigned a case to a different health authority.


⭕ Quebec will administer the AstraZeneca to people 65 and up, despite some nations' reluctance to do so. [CBC]

⭕ Pregnant women will be prioritized in the next phase of vaccinations. [Huffington Post]


 ? The Canada COVID Alert App

Be alerted if you have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. 

How It Works       [Apple App Store]      [Google Play Store]

Historic Logo T-shirts

We’ve made t-shirts of iconic Ottawa logos. 

Printed in Canada.

BUY

 

And don’t forget: you can also buy official ottawan t-shirts

#WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

▪️ Councillor Carol Anne Meehan wants buses on demand. Inspired by Belleville's evening Let's Go service, Meehan says it’s like Uber pool – but with buses. Riders call the bus on their app, it comes and picks them up, and reroutes on the fly as other passengers request rides.  [CBC]

▪️ Ottawa's second homicide of the year was found on a snowmobile trail. The man, who has now been identified, was found off Dobson Lane in Richmond. Police have not said how he died. [Ottawa Citizen]

▪️ Driver of the 2019 double-decker bus crash has pleaded not guilty. The OC Transpo bus crashed into the overhang at the Westboro Transitway station, killing three and injuring dozens. The driver is charged with three counts of dangerous driving causing death and 35 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. [CBC

▪️ The planning committee is pleased with itself that a facade of a 65 year-old two storey building will be incorporated into a new 10 storey apartment building. The building, across the street from the Museum of Nature, was built as an office building for the Canadian Labour Congress. [Capital Current]

▪️ The University Centre, Residence Commons, and Robertson Hall at Carleton University will be getting new names. The change is a recognition that the 37 building names on campus do not reflect the diversity of the student body, with only one building named after a person of colour. The University Centre will be named in consultation with the Algonquin First Nation, Residence Commons will be in consultation with the Black community, and Robertson Hall in consultation with the Inuit community. [Capital Current]

▪️ The Ottawa Public Library has, so far, survived the pandemic. All laid off staff have returned to work and it ended the year with a surplus, meaning it can pay $5 million towards the new Super Library with the Library of Canada. [Ottawa Citizen]

▪️ Giant Tiger has launched its new, redesigned concept store on Walkley Road. One new concept? ‘Fitting rooms with empowering messages on the doors encouraging customers to feel good trying on their purchases.’ Giant Tiger is a Ottawa-based company. [Franchise Info Magazine]

#WORK HERE

▪️ The Multifaith Housing Initiative is a coalition of faith groups, federal and provincial governments, and private businesses who work together to build and affordable housing for at-risk people. The charitable organization is searching for a bilingual Communications & Marketing Assistant to interview stakeholders for newsletters and articles. Among other duties, the successful candidate will interact with design and videography firms to create multimedia products.

▪️ The Digital Marketing Strategist at Pivot + Edge will help startups to recruit and engage the best talent using marketing strategies. To succeed in this role you’ll need at least two years’ experience as a Digital Marketing Coordinator or Strategist, be able to manage campaigns and be comfortable utilizing Google, Facebook (instagram), LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter.

▪️ Ottawa’s Euro Tile & Stone specializes in luxury tiles, porcelain slabs, mosaics and countertop products for residential and commercial spaces. With showrooms in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal, the company is searching for a Marketing Manager to drive the marketing activities company wide. The job requires at least two to three year’s marketing experience, and the ability to lead with confidence. Experience with SEO, marketing calendar development and implementation, content marketing, and both B2B and B2C experience are expected. 

▪️ Closing today: The Social Media Marketing Specialist at the Canadian Cancer Society will manage paid campaigns for the Digital Team as well as the back end of the organization’s social media platforms. Other duties will include providing strategic support for smaller event-based campaigns, purchase and optimize ads, track and analyze data, and more. 

THE OTTAWAN

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