CHEO pleads for more mask use amid crisis

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Good morning!

The other day I ended up taking OC Transpo quite late at night. It was a pleasant surprise to find that yes, indeed, the LRT was still up and running. Foolishly, I thought this would mean even some basic bus service would be as well when I stepped off the train. My mistake!

Turns out from there the fastest way home was to walk. So, I did. Fortunately, it was warm out, as it’s not really the kind of walk you want to be doing in inclement weather.

This wasn’t really a new phenomenon to me, having grown up in Barrhaven getting stranded at a station was part of the experience, but it had been a while since I’d needed to use transit at a less-that-optimal time. A good reminder that it’s nice the train works, but there is way more to the system than what’s on track.

Anyway, onto the newsletter.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Wednesday: 9 🌡️ 3 |☀️

Thursday: 16 🌡️ 9 | ☀️

Friday: 18 🌡️ 12 | ☁️

HEALTHCARE

Top CHEO doctor pleads for help as the hospital is overwhelmed

What happened: CHEO’s chief of staff is asking the community to mask up as the hospital faces an unprecedented crisis. Three overlapping viruses — RSV, the flu, and COVID — are leaving the hospital with a packed ICU and long ER wait times, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

• Dr. Lindy Samson told the Ottawa Board of Health that CHEO has medical wards at double capacity, the ICU at 184 percent capacity, and has had to cancel surgeries and other treatments.

Lack of beds: CHEO has half as many beds as when it opened, CEO Alex Munter said. When it first happened, this was good news because the hospital was needed less because of advances in medical technology. But once beds were reduced, they have never been readded, despite the emergence of more complicated illnesses and a huge increase of the number of kids in town.

OPH response: Dr. Vera Etches said the public wasn’t ready for the return of a mask mandate, and the first step was to re-educate people why it would be necessary. The board of health will send a letter to the province asking for the release of modelling and other data so the public can better understand the risks, the Citizen reported.

• “Pre-pandemic, the children's health system was already too small. Too many kids waited too long if they could wait. But some couldn't. Critically-ill kids were shipped around Ontario like Amazon packages because there were so few pediatric ICU beds,” Munter said.

Medication shortage: The surge in RSV — the acronym for respiratory syncytial virus — has started earlier in the year than it usually does, and combined with other respiratory viruses going around has led to a shortage of Tylenol, Advil, and Amoxicillin, CTV reported. There are no shortages earlier in the supply chain, the shortage is strictly being caused by a surge in demand.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

☕️ 18%: Bridgehead saw its revenues jump this much, to $3.37 million, up from $2.86 million a year ago. [OBJ]

🥫 $125,000: The amount the annual SHARE Party by the Malhotra Family Foundation was able to raise for the Ottawa Food Bank. [OBJ]

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La technologie du magnétoscope est plus récente que nos lois sur la radiodiffusion.

Ça semble fou, non ?

Eh bien, c'est ce qui s'est passé avec la Loi canadienne sur la radiodiffusion. L'Internet et la diffusion continue ont changé notre façon de consommer du contenu. Mais les lois régissant la diffusion des médias n'ont pas été mises à jour depuis 30 ans.

Le projet de loi C-11 traite des changements survenus sur Internet et de l'avènement des services de diffusion en continu. Il mettra les entreprises canadiennes sur un pied d'égalité avec les géants mondiaux du web et les diffuseurs... Vive le Canada !

Apprenez-en davantage sur le projet de loi C-11 aujourd'hui et découvrez comment il contribuera à investir dans nos histoires canadiennes et à en raconter davantage.

Renseignez-vous sur le projet de loi C-11 dès aujourd'hui.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

CONVOY

Province didn’t make Ottawa convoy occupation a priority

What happened: Three weekends into the convoy protests, Premier Doug Ford told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau his focus was on the blockade of Windsor’s Ambassador Bridge and not on Ottawa, CBC reported. In a transcript of the call, Ford blamed Ottawa police and Mayor Jim Watson for letting protestors take over the city.

• “The bigger one for us and the country is the Ambassador Bridge and the state [on the] ground there. What I think is we gotta stop the spread of these protests and we protect Niagara and Sarnia and others,” Ford said.

We likely won’t hear from Ford himself at the inquiry, after a judge ruled Parliamentary privilege applied, and Ford couldn’t be compelled to testify. The judge did say it was within the commission’s right to ask the premier to testify, but he could not be forced to speak, CBC reported.

OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

📖 Getting a new high school is a top priority for the re-elected Catholic school trustee in Barrhaven where schools are often at capacity as soon as they open. [Barrhaven Independent]

🏥 Francophones in Orléans are upset the name of their community was removed from the name of the Health Hub, now renamed the Aline-Chrétien Health Hub. [Orléans Star]

🏛️ The Goulbourn Museum in Stittsville is honouring veterans this year with a poppy display that stretches over the building’s exterior. [Stittsville Central]

🚨Three people were charged in the December shooting death of Nepean’s John Ndayishimiye. [CTV]

🎭 The new production by the Kanata Theatre Company started this week, with the first showing of Doubt, A Parable. [CityNews]

🎄 In Manotick, the community is rallying behind the Gingerbread Man, which suffered a catastrophic fire to the store. [Manotick Messenger]

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CAPITAL EATS

Mexican delights in the city

Our food editor has compiled some of the best spots to grab a taco, a tamale, or a bowl of tortilla soup throughout town. Here are a few of his picks.

Mexigo Cabana

From the start Mexigo at 1217 Walkley Rd. has had a carefree authenticity to it. That, and the food, have made it a well loved institution along South Bank St. When the weather allows you can have your lunch at the picnic tables next to the parking, otherwise it really is a take away spot.

Tacos here come in the hard shell variety made with either shredded chicken or minced beef. It’s all very classic with enchiladas, burritos, taco salads, quesadillas and even deep fried ice cream for dessert. All meats are halal and all dishes can be made gluten free and vegetarian.

Read more

El Taco de Oro

When I last spoke with the manager of one of the places I reviewed in the Ottawa Mexican guide in our Insider newsletter she suggested I try the tacos at El Taco de Oro. Good call.

I ordered soup and tacos. The tortilla soup arrived and I hadn’t expected this depth of colour to the broth. Could it be beef? I’ve always been a soup guy and I pride myself on being adept in this department but what I’m learning from the Mexican kitchen is that there are some recipes that require no animal protein at all for the stock.

This tomato-based soup was a knockout. A substantial concentration of flavour and very fresh toppings of avocado, fried tortilla and queso had me chasing spoonful after spoonful.

Read more

Want more? Capital Eats Insiders have access to a guide with another restaurant and a grocer you won’t want to miss.

QUICK HITS

🏒 It’s happening! Ryan Reynolds confirmed on The Tonight Show he’s interested in buying the Sens, and is looking to get a consortium together to buy the team. Reynolds was in town yesterday night to watch the team play, and fans were pretty excited to see him, according to the Sun's Bruce Garrioch. [CTV]

📚 The education workers’ union and the province are back at the bargaining table, after the provincial government promised to withdraw Bill 28. [CBC]

🛣️ A new name recommendation for the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway will be announced in January. [Kitchissippi Times]

🚔 A camera was discovered in a staff area of one of the Perth and Smith Falls Hospital campuses, and the OPP are investigating. [CBC]

🏢 In a blow to tenants and small landlords alike, the provincial Landlord and Tenant Board is prioritizing hearings for above-guideline rent increases, which is mostly to the benefit of corporate landlords. [CBC]

🚨 Four people were arrested at the Ottawa Technical Secondary School after police received a call for someone having a gun. It’s not clear if the people arrested were students. [CTV]

💨 Many people whose homes were damaged by the spring derecho are still waiting for insurance repairs as the cold approaches. [CBC]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• A bear cub in a Gatineau neighbourhood is adept at running from wildlife workers as it snacks its way through backyards. [CBC]

• If you’re missing a turkey, Ottawa bylaw have found it in the city’s rural east end. [CTV]

• Many city services will be closed for Remembrance Day, and most business won’t open until the afternoon. [CBC]

• Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski is one of several Canadian women competing in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Scotland. [CityNews]

• It’s amazing how much of the downtown used to be parking lot, as you can see in this photo from 1980. [Reddit]

• The city is honouring the late Stittsville veteran Roger Griffiths by naming a street after him in the ward. [CityNews]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Contact our partnership team for more info.

TOP PHOTO

Local Reddit user geom0nster captured this great shot of the lunar eclipse overnight Tuesday, the last one we’ll see for about a year.

Have you got great shots of our city you’d like to share? Send them in! We love showing off reader photos to the Lookout community.

OTTAWAGUESSER

Congrats to Adam, Chantal, and Beverly, who all knew that the federal government started buying up Greenbelt land in 1956.

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

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