PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS

Thursday, February 3, 2022

The Ottawan

 

HELLO OTTAWA  

We watched the entire Ottawa Police/City of Ottawa information briefing yesterday about the Convoy protest and, to be honest, it seemed to create more questions than it answered.

(We wrote yesterday that the media would not be allowed questions. The powers-that-be changed their mind and media were allowed questions after the initial briefing.)

The most shocking discovery was that the Ottawa Police had negotiated a staging station with the protestors to bring in food and fuel. The parking lot of the City-owned baseball stadium on Coventry Road is being used as a logistics camp for the protest.

Ottawa Police have also been escorting fuel runs into the downtown, as seen in this video.

Councillors and media asked Police Chief Peter Sloly why the truckers were permitted downtown and allowed to park. His answer was that the Ottawa Police had no power to close the streets, although the City seems to have no problem closing the downtown area for Canada Day celebrations or for visits by high profile dignitaries.

Chief Sloly considered the Service's response as adequate as there were no serious injuries, deaths, or riots.

Chief Sloly also said that they did not have many complaints reported to them. When councillors and media pointed out the many incidents posted to social media, Sloly reiterated that posting on social media does not count as a complaint. Residents can report hate crimes to 613 236 1222 ext. 5015. Other crimes can be reported to 613-236-1222 ext. 7300.

What will happen next? 

Chief Sloly says everything is on the the table, including court injunctions and calling in the military. Although, as the editor of Ottawa Lookout warns, asking for a harsh reaction to the Convoy protestors may only open the door to harsh treatment to every other protest in the city.

Counter-protests have begun: a group protested in front of Ottawa Police Headquarters on Elgin Street for a second night last night. A counter protest aimed at the City and Police is being planned for Saturday. And over 27,000 people have signed the petition, ‘Ottawa Police must evict Freedom Convoy’.

Horizon Ottawa has started preparing for a post-protest clean-up, and is taking names of volunteers

It has been well-reported that the Convoy protest had a Go Fund Me, which had raised over $10 million. That fund has now been frozen by Go Fund Me over questions on whether the money is going to the individuals identified on the account and if it meets Go Fund Me's terms and conditions.

In international news, Reuters ran a fact check over a Twitter video that purported to show Canadians destroying a quarantine camp outside Ottawa. The clip actually shows contruction of a COVID-19 quarantine camp in China. The Associated Press ran a fact check correcting an impression that 100,000 trucks and millions of peopleare involved in the protest. There were about 8,000 people on Parliament Hill last weekend, about 200 today. As for honking trucks, there are a few hundred.

We'll 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.

VALENTINE’S DAY

▪️The three takeaway Valentine’s Day menus from Parlour are available for one, two or four people, and range in price from $55 to $275. You can also - gasp! - book a table to eat your lovely feast in the actual restaurant on the 14th. 

▪️Well crafted homewares by Quebec makers are always a joy to behold at Chic & Basta but until Monday February 7th at midnight they’re also 15% off. Find pieces for all corners of your home, or something for your person in honour of Valentine’s Day. Use the code VALENTINE15. 

▪️Three Tarts honours the season of love with the Valentine Cookie Box (a selection of four shortbreads decorated in the pinks and reds of the season) for $16, perfect-for-one Vanilla Cheesecake covered in a dark chocolate ganache glaze ($8 each), a stunning Valentine’s Opera Cake for $16, mini pies ($16 for four), and lots of other treats. 

▪️For (food) lovers: The very elegant Valentine’s Gift Box from Aurelius Fine Olive Oils & Balsamic Vinegars includes Chocolate Orange Balsamic, California Blend EVOO, two premium pour spouts (to lmake your bottles look extra professional on the kitchen counter), pink Himalyayan salt, and Stubbe Chocolate. It’s all tied up with a thick black bow. $86. 

▪️The creative folks at Dunrobin Distilleries have put together a collection of Valentine’s Day gift boxes that will please even the most curmudgeonly of lovers. The Valentine’s Day Gift Box features a full size bottle of Earl Grey Gin, but it doesn’t stop there. The recipient will also enjoy a Traveller’s Pack (three x 100ml glass bottles of Vodka, Gin, and Whisky), a 50ml bottle of Dunrobin Lemon Bitters, three Neighbourhood Delights Chocolate Bombs, and a selection of handy cocktail recipe cards. $99.95 plus delivery.
 

Something for the weekend

Those missing the in-person vibes of the TD Ottawa Winter Jazz Fest can buy passes to the From the Vault series, running February 4th through 13th, and support the artists who’ve had their livelihoods curtailed by COVID. Throughout the pandemic the organization has been producing intimate gigs of local and Canadian musicians playing to multiple cameras and to each other, and this series makes all of those gigs available once again. A full pass costs $49 plus taxes and fees, and allows the buyer to view the performances as many times as they like.

STATS

Weather: ❄️ 40% chance of flurries. High of -6°, low of -12°. 

Number: 36. The number of lists in the 2022 edition of Ottawa's Book of Lists, which ranges from largest ad agencies to craft brewers to animation studios to photonics companies. (Fibre optics and stuff. There are 22 of them in Ottawa.) Always a facinating read. [Ottawa Business Journal] [The Book of Lists]

Ottawans of the Day:  Jay Dearborn, Valerie Grenier, Mike Evelyn, Cody Sorensen, Antoine Cyr, Laura Leclair, Katherine Stewart-Jones, Rachel Homan, John Morris, Lisa Weagle, Paul Poirier, Brittany Phelan, Hannah Schmidt, Jared Schmidt, Mason McTavish, Eric O'Dell, Jamie Lee Rattray, Ivanie Blondi, Isabelle Weidemann, and Mirela Rahneva. All these athletes are representing Ottawa (and area) for Team Canada at the Olympics. [CTV

Quote: ‘There may not be a policing solution to this demonstration’ – Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly [Global]
 

    ""    ""   

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Information is as of this morning. Changes are relative to yesterday.
 

ONTARIO

hospitalizationschangein icuchange
2,797? -142551? -14
caseschangedeaths
1,043,923?4,09811,651 ? 74
  
? Eligible people vaccinated with one dose (5+)90% 
? Eligible people vaccinated with two doses (5+)83.4%


Ontario COVID Page    Ontario Vaccine Rates 

QUEBEC

hospitalizationschangein icuchange
2,637? -93193? -13
caseschangedeaths
872,029?3,59213,378 ? 42
? Eligible people vaccinated with one dose (5+)90.8%
? Eligible people vaccinated with two doses (5+)84.6%


Quebec COVID Page     Quebec Vaccine Rates



OTTAWA

hospitalizationschangein icuchange
75? -412? -3
cases changedeaths
58,792?309

706 ? 6

? Eligible people vaccinated with one dose (5+)

909,069 (92%)
? Eligible people vaccinated with two doses (5+)853,379 (86%)
? Eligible people vaccinated with three doses (18+)516,119 (61%)


Ottawa Public Health     Ottawa Vaccination Rates.    Ottawa Wastewater 
 

OUTAOUAIS 

hospitalizationschangein icuchange
59? -510?1
caseschangedeaths
33,370?115266 ? 3
  


As of February 1, 2022 Updated Weekly

? Eligible people vaccinated with one dose (12+) 89%
? Eligible people vaccinated with two doses (12+)86.4%


Outaouais Public Health    Quebec Vaccination Rates
 

EASTERN ONTARIO HEALTH UNIT

The Health Unit is changing the way they report. In the meantime, they are reporting only selected information. 

hospitalizationschangein icuchange
39? -119? -4
active caseschangedeaths
-? -170 ? 0
? Eligible people with one dose (5+)180,025 (87.7%)
? Eligible people with two doses (5+)168,394 (82.1%)
? Eligible people with three doses (5+)97,831 (55.9%)


Eastern Ontario Health Unit.   Daily Stats  

 

COVID-19 NEWS

⭕ The Canadian Medical Association says that Canada should give more vaccine to the world. Half of the world is not fully vaccinated, and two-thirds of all vaccines have gone to middle and high income countries.  [CTV]
 

    ""    ""    

Historic Logo t-shirts
Ottawan T-shirt

Support the ottawan

Buy one of our Ottawa Historic Logo t-shirts or an ottawan logo t-shirt (which is sure to be historic one day).

Historic the ottawan

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

▪️City committee took the time yesterday to vote against the little robots delivering food downtown. The Transportation committee voted to direct staff to tell any restaurant that is using the pink robots that they do not have permission to be on any street or sidewalk. The full council needs to approve the vote. The City Manager for Traffic Services says provincial law bans them and the City won't consider allowing them unless the Province acts. The company making them is Tiny Mile, but it is individual restaurants who use them. [CBC


    ""    ""    

⏩ Do you find the ottawan worth reading? 

PLEASE FORWARD US TO A FRIEND