Canal reopens…but for how long?

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Good morning!

I hope everyone had a lovely Family Day long weekend. I know our little family certainly did! Hard to believe the long weekend in February is such a recent invention.

We’ve got plenty to get through today, including on the reopening of the Canal, and how the NCC is doing their best to extend the short season. 

So let’s get right to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

PS - Did someone forward you the Lookout? Sign-up for free and get smarter about Ottawa.

WEATHER

Wednesday: +4 🌡️ 0 | ☀️

Thursday: +5 🌡️ +3 | 🌧/❄️

Friday: +4 🌡️ -19 | 🌧/❄️

CLIMATE

Canal open for now, but sugar bushes readying for early spring

What happened: The NCC expanded the open section of the Rideau Canal skateway to include the run from the Petoria Bridge to Waverly, the agency said in a tweet. About 3.3 kilometres of the skating surface is now open.

• While it’s open, the ice isn’t in the greatest of shape. The NCC said conditions across the ice are poor, and tend to be the worst under bridges, especially the 417 and Pretoria bridges. For the latest on the skateways status and conditions, check out the NCC’s interactive map.

But for how long? The commission said while the Canal is open now, it may not last. A spokesperson told the Ottawa Citizen the variable weather over the coming days, with some highs above zero, but lows in the minus teens, they’re doing everything they can to keep the ice open. Crews are working overnight to flood the ice in the hopes of keeping as much of it open as possible.

The salt problem: The major reason ice conditions are worse under bridges is thanks to road salt. Snow and ice melted by the ice on the bridge above leaks down onto the Canal below, softening the ice in the process.

• Salt use in the city is a broader problem, leading to conditions that can be harmful and even toxic to wildlife along the watersheds of the Rideau and Ottawa rivers, CBC reported in December.

Changing climate: The likely short season is just another data point on a long trend of the declining viability of the world’s longest skating rink. After 2023 was confirmed as the warmest year on record by NASA, there is a real possibility winter may never be cold enough for a long skating season again. 

• The NCC said it was working on ways to extend the season — flooding the ice overnight, for example — but many skaters told CTV they were worried about the future of the rink.

Prepping for spring: It’s not just the Canal with a shorter winter season. Not wanting to be caught out like last year, some maple syrup producers are already setting their taps though the region. Typically, sugar bush season kicks off in March, but one producer told CFRA they expect sap to start flowing this week.

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OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

📉 2.9%: The annual inflation rate dropped to this number, compared to 3.4 percent in January. Grocery inflation slowed to 3.4 percent, compared to 4.7 percent the month previous. [The Canadian Press]

📈 9.1%: The increase in rents compared to the year before. In January, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $2,219. [CTV]

🏎️ 231 km/h: The speed a driver was caught doing on the 417 by police early Tuesday morning. [CTV]

OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

🚨 Police are looking for any witnesses of a crash west of Barrhaven that left two people with life-threatening injuries. The crash happened at Fallowfield and Steeple Hill. [CTV]

🏥 Unable to count on the province for help, the city of Belleville is looking to build its own health hub to deal with the opioid crisis. The city recently declared a state of emergency after a wave of overdoses. The mayor said the provincial government is dragging its feet on providing money to build and operate the new site. [CBC]

💐 A 29-year-old woman died over the weekend in a snowmobile crash in Renfrew, which sent another man to hospital. Elsewhere in the region several other people were injured as snowmobilers took advantage of the fresh snow. [CTV]

🥃 A man who allegedly stole a car and broke into several other vehicles, was arrested after a Chelsea resident found the man in his kitchen pouring himself a glass of rum at four in the morning. [CBC]

⛸️ In Beckwith Township the outdoor skating loop is open again after fits and starts because of the warm weather. [CBC]

💥 A driver in Arnprior mistook the gas for the brake and crashed through the front window of a gas station convenience store. No one was seriously injured, though a child was bruised, and no charges were laid. [CTV]

💉 The park near the Civic Hospital where a two-year-old found a discarded needle she put in her mouth wasn’t on the city’s needle collection teams’ typical route. Residents and officials say there is a patchwork of programs to deal with the opioid crisis, leaving serious gaps from treatment to needle collection to housing. [Ottawa Citizen]

HOUSE OF THE WEEK

So, technically this isn’t one house, it’s a lot of several of them. But what makes it interesting is it’s a lot of homes on the northside of the 417 along Bell Street that you’ll know instantly as the block of homes that have been burnt out. The sale is for the land as-is, and it is not in great shape. But it is 2.6 acres not far from downtown.

How much is the land worth? Check the listing to find out.

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labelled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team. 

UPCOMING GIGS

Listings are provided by OttawaGigs.ca, the best place to discover live music in Ottawa. Check out Ottawagigs.ca for full listings across the city.

Greathunter, Thursday 7 pm: Anthemic orchestral rock meshed with ambient dream pop. At Live! on Elgin, 220 Elgin St. Tickets $12 adv, $15 on door.

Harmony on Mars, Thursday 8 pm: Chaos and harmony from psychedelic punk duo Maxwell & Jackson White. At House of Targ, 1077 Bank St. Tickets $10.

Kimya, Friday 8 pm: Award-winning Francophone hip-hop derived from a passion for slam poetry and rap. At the National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin St. Tickets $15. 

Bia Ferreira, Friday 8 pm: Brazilian singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and artivist.  At Bar Robo, Queen St Fare, 170 Queen St. Tickets $10.

Primary Colours feat. Edra Silva, Saturday 7:30 pm: Four masterful musicians blend new and old jazz themes. AtGigSpace, 953 Gladstone Ave. Tickets $25.

THE AGENDA

💥 Despite loud disruptions and the setting off of fireworks, the city’s bylaw officers did not hand out a single ticket during the weekend’s convoy anniversary protests. Some councillors have asked police and bylaw to explain the apparent disparity when compared to trans rights and Palestinian peace protests, where the use of a megaphone is enough to warrant a ticket. [CTV]

🔘 Since the first convoy protest, senators (the parliamentary kind) have been issued panic buttons because of security threats, CBC reported. Security costs for senators and members of Parliament have increased a great deal in the last decade.

🏘️ Mayor Mark Sutcliffe wants the federal government to provide additional funding for shelters because of the number of asylum seekers in need of housing. Where once newcomers made up about 20 percent of people in the shelter system, they now make up at least 40 percent and perhaps more. [CBC]

⚖️ The province seems happy to let problems at the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board “fester” according to a new report. There’s an enormous backlog of tens of thousands of cases, affecting nearly a million Ontarians. [CBC]

💸 It would take five months of a person earning the average household income in the city (about $50,000) saving all of their earnings to afford the downpayment on a condo in the city. The minimum down payment on the average price of a condo is about $21,000. [CTV]

🛣️ The provincial government is putting forward an omnibus piece of legislation that includes provisions that weaken environmental assessment requirements for new roads, and allows the government to expedite expropriation of property along proposed road routes before those assessments are even complete. [CBC]

📱 The Ottawa company that owns the world’s biggest porn site has teamed up with Crime Stoppers International in the hopes of better rooting out illegal and abusive content from the site. [Ottawa Citizen]

🥍 The city is getting a new professional lacrosse team. TSN reporter John Rodenburg said the National Lacrosse League New York Riptide will be moving to Ottawa on a five-year deal. Ottawa hasn’t had a professional team since the Rebel, who played in the early 2000s. [TSN/Twitter]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• An Ottawa woman received a letter on the 10th anniversary of her husband’s death from the person who received his lungs in a double lung transplant. Her husband’s donated organs have given multiple people a new lease on life. [CBC]

• Curious about AI? Ai for normal people is the newsletter for you, whether you're a complete newcomer or a seasoned pro, they've got you covered. Sign up for free today. [Sponsored]

• How well do you know Ottawa’s history? The Citizen has put together a quiz that is harder than you might think… [Ottawa Citizen]

• NHL commissioner Gary Bettman upheld a five-game suspension of the Leafs’ Morgan Rielly for a cross-check to the head of Sens player Ridly Greig. [The Canadian Press]

• Ottawa’s PWHL team snapped a five-game losing streak over the long weekend with a 4-2 win against Boston. Gabbie Huges scored twice in the winning effort. [The Associated Press]

• Just across the river from Chateau Montebello is…a smaller replica of the famous log resort built by the son of a lumber baron spurned by the exclusive club at the chateau. [CBC]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

CAPITAL EATS

This week in food

Capital Eats is written by our food editor Ralf Joneikies.

The talented Cordon Bleu graduate Sanaz Homa opened Tartelette eight months ago and I’m happy to share the news.  

Located in a slowly blossoming new development along Main Street, Tartelette has already made a name for itself by setting a new and very high bar for patisserie and viennoiserie (a French term for “things from Vienna” such as brioche and croissants).

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to everyone who got last week’s Ottawa Wordle, the answer was ALERT as in the road last week's Ottawa Guesser was on.

Do you know where today’s Ottawa Guesser is? The first five people to respond get their names mentioned in the newsletter.