HELLO OTTAWA | → The Trillium line will open, in part, January 6 | → Ottawa events - Christmas and otherwise - now ‘til Monday | → Police charge towing company over scheme to hold car in storage, then sell it | → ☁️ High -3° Low -7° and partly cloudy | – Martha and Darren | | STATISTICS OTTAWA | | $8 million | The amount of money being provided to the Bronson Centre by the Federal government for upgrades. Coupled with $1.6 million from the Centre itself, the upgrades include ‘plumbing, fire safety system, two accessible washrooms and the centre’s roof’. | | | | Toula Mazloum at CTV |
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| OTTAWAN OF THE DAY | Laura Blanchette | Publisher and sole reporter Blanchette has created MidCity, a zine – on paper, no less – that aims to make Ottawa’s municipal politics more accessible and engaging. Intended to be monthly, the first edition hit the streets November 23. | | | | Charlotte Lepage in The Charlatan |
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| QUOTE | | ❝ | | | They weren’t carrying any ID and refused to provide their names |
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| – Ontario Provincial Police East Region spokesperson Bill Dickson regarding three suspects who disrupted yesterday’s morning rush hour in Kempville . The two rogue cows and a lone sheep had escaped from a nearby farm and were returned. | | | | Ottawa Citizen |
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| SPORTS | 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 2 – Detroit Red Wings 1, last night | | PLEASE SUPPORT THE OTTAWAN | 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 get a free OTTAWAN or historic logo t-shirt of their choice. |
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| | WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL | No meetings Monday | Agenda | | WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT | 🚊 O Train | ▪️The Trillium Line will start to open Monday, January 6 in bits and pieces. OC Transpo general manager Renée Amilcar said the line will operate weekdays only for the first two weeks, followed by two weeks of Monday to Saturday service. Sunday trains may be added sometime in February. Amilcar says this is the way Montréal, Paris, and Riyadh have launched their systems. Officially, the 11 station line will be called Line 2, and the two station spur from South Keys will be called Line 4. | | | | CBC |
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| 🚨 Police | ▪️Ottawa Police have opened an investigation into alleged kickbacks from landlords to two City housing officers. The City’s Auditor General contacted the Police with her suspicion that two City employees, related to one another, were arranging to artificially increase rent paid to certain landlords providing social housing. The kickbacks paid to the employees was estimated to be $22,000. | | | | Blair Crawford in the Ottawa Citizen |
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| ▪️The Ontario Provincial Police has charged two Ottawa towing companies under the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act. One company is alleged to have towed a car without consent after a collision and charged $5,000 in storage fees. The other company is alleged to have overcharged and refused to release the vehicle. Police says that is an indication that the company wished to claim the vehicle and resell it. | | | | Natasha O’Neill at CityNews |
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| ⛺ Sprung Structures | ▪️The contracts for sprung structures planned by the City were sole sources, says The Bulldog. The City wants to build the tent-like sprung structures due to the need for refugees and other newcomers to be sheltered. In Wednesday’s public session, The Bulldog’s Ron Benn says a City housing staff member told him that the structures were not put out to tender but were sole sourced. | | | | Ron Benn in The Bulldog |
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| | OTTAWA HISTORIC LOGO T-SHIRTS | 🎄 MAKES A GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT | 🎄 SENT BY COURIER | 🕎 MAKES A GREAT HANUKKAH GIFT TOO. ONE FOR EACH DAY. | 🎄 TODAY IS THE FINAL DAY WE’LL ACCEPT ORDERS FOR GIFT DELIVERY | We’ll accept orders after today but there is no guarantee that they will arrive in time |  | Newbridge Networks |
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| | THE ROLLING 3 DAY CALENDAR | Is there an event we should know about?
Please use our easy event submission form | TODAY | ▪️ The Originals Christmas Craft Fair turns 50 this year. Check it out at the EY Centre all weekend. 🆓 613 Holiday Night Market is back for more Friday night fun. ▪️ The Beechwood Market presents the Holiday Night Market, offering seasonal fun for adults and kids alike. 🆓 Road Trip: Visit the town of Prescott, which turns into a Winter Wonderland this weekend. It all starts tonight with the tree lighting ceremony, and continues from noon to 5:00 pm tomorrow. ▪️ Exercise your right to vote with a visit to the Château Laurier, where you’ll be tasked with nominating the People’s Choice Award in the 2024 Trees of Hope for CHEO display. ▪️ There are generous prizes to be won at the Glebe Spree. ▪️ The culinary students take over with Le Cordon Bleu's Plant-Based Soirée. ▪️ Almonte Ontario’s Hallmark Christmas movie road, aka Mill Street, is the setting for another tree lighting ceremony tonight. If this spectacle doesn’t put you in the holiday mood, nothing will. ▪️ All Voices Community Choir sings a Christmas program in When Sweet Winter Comes Again. ▪️ There’s not much time left to bag a ticket to the 2024 Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival, tonight through Sunday at various locations. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Conclave, Obsessed with Light, Small Things Like These, Showsoppers: Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back Mayfair Theatre: Porcelain War, The Return, Silent Night, Deadly Night Gigs ▪️ Danny Rebel, The KGB, CJ Bjorn Late, and others. House of TARG ▪️ Sophie Lukacs. Red Bird ▪️ Tango Golf Tango. LIVE on Elgin ▪️ Texas King. The 27 Club ▪️ The Docs. Rainbow Bistro ▪️ Siaka Diabate. Irene’s Pub ▪️ Permanent Waves. Overflow Brewing |
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| TOMORROW | ▪️ You’ll find more than than 40 craftspeople and vendors at the Orléans Holiday Arts Market at the Shenkman Arts Centre. ▪️ On Saturdays the Piggy Market loads up with fresh baked goods like donuts, cranberry sticky buns, apple turnovers, and other yummy treats. ▪️ Bask in the warm glow of nostalgia at Nepean Museum’s A Very Retro Christmas (today and December 14). You’ll see toys and decorations from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and the kids of six to 12 years can try their hands at the crafts and scavenger hunt. ▪️ See your town in a new light: The Holiday Lights tour by Ottawa Walking Tours this evening will visit landmarks like Parliament Hill, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Bear Catching Fish statue. It’s free, but a tip to your host is appreciated. ▪️ Meet local artisans at the Fisher Park School Pop-Up Christmas Market. 🆓 Urban Art Collective invites you to Not Your Typical Holiday Market at 28 Booth St., Zibi Albert Island. ▪️ This weekend’s your final chance to visit Watson’s Mill & Dickinson House Christmas Market in Manotick. ▪️ Road Trip: Perth’s glittering Crystal Palace becomes even more magical as it welcomes the Nick of Time Annual Christmas Artisan Show. ▪️ Shop for unique gifts and art priced under $1500 at Ottawa Art Gallery’s Art + Parcel: A Holiday Sale 🆓 Bring your WIP (works in progress) or something new to Happiness Habits 613’s final event of 2024. ▪️ Stittsville Parade of Lights starts at 6:00 pm (with Main Street closing to traffic at 5:45 pm), and it’s going to be lit. ▪️ Santa’s paying a visit to Papa Jack Popcorn today. 🆓 Bicycle Craft Brewery’s 11th Annual Holiday Toast features seasonal beers, live music, local food, and more. Plus: it’s dog and family friendly. ▪️ Treat yourself like the VIP that you are and book a ticket to the Russell Peters Relax Tour Official Old School After Party. ▪️ If you don’t feel like doing your own festive baking this year, head to the St. James Elementary School Christmas Market. They’re having a bake sale alongside the gifts vendors. ▪️ The 2024 Annual Christmas Market @ Cumberland Farmers Market is too big for one location; you’ll visit four different markets in Cumberland Village after starting at 861 Apple Lane. ▪️ There’s not much time left to bag a ticket to the 2024 Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival, through Sunday at various locations. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Showstoppers: Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back, Small Things Like These, Conclave, Restoration: Wages of Fear ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: The Return, North by Northwest Gigs ▪️ Mothership. Overflow Brewing ▪️ Ocean Men. House of TARG ▪️ Josh & the Dirty Rags. Avant-Garde Bar ▪️ The Flatliners. Bronson Centre ▪️ Roddy Ellias Trio. Montgomery Scotch Lounge |
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| SUNDAY | ▪️ Don’t miss the live mochi pounding, Japanese vendors from Ottawa and Montréal, and live performances at Ottawa Japanese Community Association and Community Centre’s Mochitsuki 2024. ▪️ Guitar master Pavlo and tenor John McDermott bring Celtic and Mediterranean holiday traditions to the Shenkman Arts Centre stage. 🆓 If you find yourself stuck for Christmas gift ideas try the Last Minute 1 Day Craft Show by National Capital Artisans. Please bring a donation for the Kanata Food Cupboard. ▪️ Join in as the Cantata Singers of Ottawa present their Christmas Singalong. Tickets $20 (those 12 and under get in free). 🆓 In celebration of the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris after a five-year restoration process, as well as the holiday season, The Choirs of Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica on Sussex Drive present their Christmas Choral Celebration. ▪️ Road Trip: The man in red arrives in Metcalfe for the Santa Parade Food and Toy Drive, starting at 2:00 pm. ▪️ Road Trip The Almonte Christmas Parade hits the streets at 5:00 pm today (and yes, there’s plenty of time for Santa to get from Metcalfe to Almonte). ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: High Tea Cinema: A Room With a View, Obsessed with Light, Conclave, Restoration: Wages of Fear ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Porcelain War, Invasion U.S.A. Gigs ▪️ Chantal Celine Acoustic Christmas Show. LIVE on Elgin ▪️ (Matinée) Kristine St. Pierre. Irene's Pub ▪️ Bonecat Pre-Alien Abduction Tour. Atomic Rooster |
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| MONDAY | ▪️ Musica Viva Singers start the week off with a seasonal concert and feast. Cakes and Ale will feature wassail and wine, tourtière and other Christmas-y delights. Meanwhile, the music will include English, Scottish, Irish, and French Canadian folksongs and some contemporary tunes. Tickets from $25. ▪️ ByTowne Cinema: Reinas (Queens), Conclave, Small Things Like These ▪️ Mayfair Theatre: Porcelain War, North By Northwest, Invasion U.S.A. Gigs ▪️ Jazz Jam with the Beeched Wailers. Irene’s Pub ▪️ Karaoke Mondaze. Atomic Rooster |
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| NOW BOOKING / JUST ANNOUNCED | ▪️ The Indigenous interpretation of the musical Grease is back with a version that nods to the festive season. Bear Grease runs next Tuesday December 10 through Saturday December 14 at the National Arts Centre. ▪️ Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival (January 30 - February 1, 2025) tickets are now on sale. ▪️ For the second year, Robert Plante Greenhouses is offering a truly romantic experience for Valentine’s Day: a Romantic Dinner for Two in Tropical Greenhouses. |
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| | BUT, ONE MORE THING … | Former Ottawa Senators Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson, and Jason Spezza were greeted with cheers at a special recognition of the Pizza Line at last night’s match in the Canadian Tire Centre. The name came from a 2010 promotion by Pizza Pizza which awarded anyone with a ticket a free slice if the Sens scored five goals or more, at the start. ‘(Pizza Pizza) had to go from five to six goals because it was costing them too much money’, says Heatley. |
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| ➕ Related Fans of the video game NHL 25 can now play as Ottawa’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team, the Charge. Publisher EA Sports has added all six teams to the game via a patch. | | DAILY QUALITY CONTROL | What did you think of today’s OTTAWAN? | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great ⭐⭐⭐ Satisfactory ⭐ Needs Improvement |
| Comment of the week: ‘As always, a fine collection of interesting bits and bobs. Thanks!’ |
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