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Monday, August 18 August 2025 |  | View Online | Sign Up | Shop |
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Hello Ottawa
In Today’s Edition
→ The ghost of the City of Kanata is building a tunnel under Terry Fox Drive
→ Celebrate Pride and household solvency with the Capital Pride Financial Literacy Clinic tomorrow
→ Canadian Made Deals of the Day on womenswear at Miik, frozen bread by Nat’s, and clothing at Message Factory
– Martha and Darren
STATISTICS OTTAWA
NUMBER
20
The number of months that the Heron Road Community Centre has been closed to the public and used as an emergency shelter.
The Centre will start reopening ‘on a staggered basis’, with the senior’s centre expected in mid September.
All residents who needed a roof over their heads have been transferred to other shelters, including the YMCA and the Queen Street transitional facility, and will ‘no longer have to sleep in bunk beds in a gym’.
Gabrielle Huston at CBC
OTTAWAN OF THE DAY
Bill Leonard
For reasons that we cannot possibly fathom, the National Capital Commission’s director of real estate has set a record for a debut swim across Lake Ontario of 14 hours, 45 minutes and 24 seconds.
The record time for swimming Queen’s Royal Park in Niagara on the Lake to Marilyn Bell Park in Toronto is 14 hours, 42 minutes set in 1994 on a second try.
Martin Cleary in Ottawa Sports Pages
QUOTE
- “
Every time I’m denied access it’s like a dagger in the heart to be honest. It’s a reminder that you’re not normal and you’re not one of us.
– Dismayed rider Salome Solomon on having Uber drivers cancel her trip when they see her service dog. Solomon, who is visually impaired, says that the drivers sometimes ask her to rebook using the premium Uber Pets animal transport service.
Uber itself says that drivers are required to transport service animals.
SPORTS
⚽ NSL Ottawa Rapid 2 – Montréal Roses 0, last Saturday
⚽ CPL Atlético Ottawa 0 – Hamilton Forge 2, yesterday
🏀 CEBL Ottawa BlackJacks 81 – Scarborough Shooting Stars 114, last Saturday
And that’s a wrap on the BlackJacks for the season.
⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans 12 – New York Boulders 10, yesterday
⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans 2 – New York Boulders 10, last Saturday
⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans 4 – New York Boulders 2, last Friday
the ottawan was launched in 2020 as the daily answer to the questions: What’s going on? What should I do? Where is somewhere good to eat? Please consider joining the many other readers with a monthly, annual, or one-time donation to keep the ottawan on its mission. All annual or one-time donations over $60 include an ottawan or historic logo t-shirt of their choice. | Membership levels ✅ $5 mo / Technically Beautiful ✅ $10 mo / ByTowner ✅ $20 mo / City that Fun Remembered ✅ $25 mo / Truly ott ✅ Or make a one-time donation Join Us |
WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL
No meetings tomorrow
WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT
🍃 After 30 years, and an amalgamation into the City of Ottawa, a tunnel connecting Kanata’s Centrum shopping centre to the Canadian Tire/Staples complex across the street, has been approved. The 140 metre long tunnel will go under Terry Fox Drive, resulting in traffic disruption for two years. Most of the cost will be paid by development charges authorized by the now-defunct Kanata City Council, who voted for the plan decades ago, and are still waiting to be spent. The point is to improve traffic flow. – Sannah Choi at CBC
The CBC says there was a public meeting last year about this – but THE OTTAWAN can’t find any mention of it at Engage Ottawa. If you, constant reader, do find it, please email a link to us at hello@theottawan.com
🛹 The City has a few pop-up visits organized for its ‘Skateboard and Roller Sports Strategy’. Currently, the City assumes one skatepark for every 50,000 residents but it wants to hear from people about new locations and the quality of the existing ones.
The pop-ups are:
- Tuesday, August 19
- Constance Bay Skateboard Park – 262 Len Purcell Drive 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
- Wednesday, August 20
- Blackburn Park, 190 Glen Park Drive – 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
- Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex – Stefan Wenek Park, 1490 Youville Drive 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- Thursday, August 21
- Lansdowne Park, 450 Queen Elizabeth Drive – 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm
- McNabb Park – Charlie Bowins Skateboard Park, 435 Bronson Avenue 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- Wednesday, August 27
- Bridlewood Core Park, 65 Stonehaven Drive 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
- Richcraft Recreation Complex — Blair Aiken Skateboard Park, 4101 Innovation Drive 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
- Thursday, August 28
- Berrigan Park — Treehouse Mike Memorial Skatepark, 51 Berrigan Drive 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
- Manotick Arena – Centennial Park, 5572 Doctor Leach Drive 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Or, one can fill out the online survey.
🍃 The Carp Barrens trail reopened over the weekend. The 3 km trail had been closed since May to protect at risk ground-nesting birds and turtles. Now that the pesky wildlife has birthed their rotten kids, humans can once again enjoy ‘one of the most ecologically significant areas in the region. Outcrops of exposed one billion year old Canadian Shield bedrock are folded into glacial-scraped ridges and troughs of provincially significant wetlands and ponds’. – Friends of Carp Hills Facebook (h/t West Carleton Online)
🚴 Professional cyclist Michael Woods has announced his retirement. At 38 years-old, and after 11 years as a professional, Woods plans to retire in October, the end of the season. Woods represented Canada in two Olympic Games, and was the third Canadian to win a stage in the Tour de France. Woods currently races for Israel-Premier Tech. – Ted Raymond at CTV
↪ Gabriela Dabrowski and her New Zealand partner Erin Routliffe won the Cincinnati Open women’s double title yesterday.
THE DAILY POLL
Do we need a tunnel to connect Centrum Shopping Centre with the Canadian Tire?
Yes, Terry Fox drive can get very congested
No, it’s not worth the hassle
I’m intrigued that a decision by no-longer-existing city is being implemented
I'm surprised that it has already been (mostly) paid for
Previously in ottawan polls:We asked, ‘Will the Air Canada flight attendant lock out affect you?’
6% Yes, I have already bought my ticket
1% Yes, only Air Canada flies to where I need to go
43% No, there are many other choices
50% No, who can afford to fly anywhere these days
Commentary
▪️ “Actually it's more a case of I don't know yet. Depends how long it lasts.”
▪️ “We stopped flying AC back in 2023 when our Ottawa - Montreal - Rome - Montreal - Ottawa flight connections WERE ALL DELAYED! They didn’t even serve coffee before arriving. IN ROME! That’s considered a crime in Italy.”
▪️ “Give me Porter every day of the week – far superior!”
▪️ “Currently in Germany and unsure what my trip home will look like.”
▪️ “I just returned from holidays, flying with Air Canada.”
▪️ “Took a Holiday earlier this Summer ... so I’m good till February. Everything should be solved by then. 😂”
▪️ “My daughter just flew to PEI with Porter and they were excellent and she will make it back to Ottawa next week because we didn’t book with Air Canada!”
▪️ “Air Scamada has failed me miserably in the past with constant delays (always for mechanical or other BS reasons) and even a cancellation which was rescheduled and resulted in the loss of a day of sightseeing. I avoid them like the plague.”
HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS
 | Ogilvy’s Department Store T-Shirt Charles Ogilvy Limited began as dry goods shop on Rideau Street in 1897, and ended its reign as Ottawa's greatest department store in 1992. Help support the ottawan by buying one of our historic logo t-shirts. Shop for t-shirts |
THE ROLLING THREE DAY CALENDAR
Is there an event we should know about?
Please use our easy event submission form
✳️ Means change from previous edition
MONDAY
The Barley Mow on Merivale is hosting a Stand-Up Comedy open mic. Are you brave enough to get up on that stage?
Wayward Improvised Theatre’s Wheel of Whatever improv eventgets underway this evening in the group's new home, Southmister United Church.
ByTowne Cinema: Sorry, Baby, Detour: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Eddington
Mayfair Theatre: My Mother’s Wedding, Funny Face, Breathless
Gigs
Karaoke Mondaze. Atomic Rooster
TUESDAY
Cirquonscient brings its enchanting Faerie Picnic to Strathcona Park. Bring your own picnic and blanket and settle in for aerial performances and acts of whimsy all around you. Free but donations are welcome.
Pull together your brainy squad and register for Overflow Brewing’s Trivia Tuesday.
🆓 The party that is Capital Pride is underway but in addition to the fun and celebratiions you'll find events like tonight’s Capital Pride Financial Literacy Clinic. Whether you’re planning a business or you just want to feel more confident in your money dealings, this session is a safe place to ask all the awkward questions.
Overflow Brewing hosts this month’s Queers & Beers: Pride Edition, featuring live music from BLK PRL and OK Naledi.
ByTowne Cinema: Souleyman’s Story, Casques Bleus (A War Movie) Director Q & A, Boys Go To Jupiter
Mayfair Theatre: Shook, My Mother’s Wedding, Punch-Drunk Love
Gigs
Chris & Kat. Night Oat
Lex 13 and the 13s. Avant-Garde Bar
Trivia Tuesday. Irene's Pub
Kiesza. Club SAW
WEDNESDAY
Check out the jazz vibes at Night Oat (Jazz Jam) and Bar Robo(Jazz Nite with Sam Cousineau).
Capital Pride nightlights: Irene’s Pub welcomes Fruit Cake: A Gay Ass Variety Show. The 2025 Capital Pride Human Rights Panel will discuss queer community building and human rights, with perspectives from around the world. The 2025 Capital Pride Advocacy in Action panel will explore the history of blood donation and the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Ottawa.
ByTowne Cinema: Folktales, Restoration: High and Low, Boys Go To Jupiter
Mayfair Theatre: Shook, My Mother’s Wedding, Breathless
Gigs
The Extensions, GRFN. LIVE on Elgin
JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING
Ottawa Urbanism Book Club will meet at Sunnyside Public Library next Monday August 25 to discuss James Wilt's Do Androids Dream of Electric Cars: Public Transit in the Age of Google, Uber, and Elon Musk.
On Friday September 19, Strong Towns Ottawa will transform the east side of Bank Street between 1st and 5th Ave in the Glebe for PARK(ing) Day. The global initiative temporarily turns on-street parking into vibrant people-centric spaces for an entire day (11:00 am to 7:00 pm).
MADE IN CANADA DEALS OF THE DAY
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 | Save up to 25% in the Miik End of Season Sale. Everything is made in Toronto.
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BUT, ONE MORE THING ...
The Bells Corners blog has an elegy for the old Bel Air Motel on Robertson Road. The longtime owner has sold it – it was listed for $5,250,000 – and the new owner will continue to lease rooms to the City for emergency and temporary housing.
RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL
What did you think of today’s ottawan? |
THE END
the ottawan is written and edited every working weekday by 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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