Family laid to rest after Barrhaven attack

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Good morning!

Hopefully everyone had a restful March Break! As the boy is not nearly at March Breaking age, it’s not something that really affected us. Though it was nice to have a few extra events on for kids during the week. 

Anyway, there’s so, so much to get to today, including the latest on two memorial services for the six people killed in Barrhaven this month and plenty more.

So let’s get right to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor.

WEATHER

Monday: +3 🌡️ -6 | 🌧/❄️

Tuesday: +2 🌡️ -6 | ❄️

Wednesday: +1 🌡️ -13 | ❄️

TRAGEDY

Family laid to rest in emotional memorial service

What happened: It was an emotional Sunday, as the victims of the horrific knife attack were laid to rest. A mother, her four children, and a family friend were all killed in a Barrhaven home earlier this month. Sunday, some 200 people came out to the memorial service organized by the Buddhist Congress of Canada to pay their respects.

The father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, attended the ceremony, still bearing the marks of the horrible attack, his hand bandaged, his eye blackened, the Ottawa Citizen reported. 

In a statement released after the ceremony, he paid tribute to his family and friend, and thanked the many people who have shown him support:

“This tragedy has shaken me and my family deeply. I am devastated and torn by the loss of my beloved wife Dharshini and my beautiful angels Inuka, Ranaya, Ashvini and Kelly and my dear friend Gamini.

“I would like to thank the Ottawa First Responders, Ottawa Police, Victim Services, Ottawa Hospitals for your quick response which helped me navigate through the initial shock and chaos that followed because of this tragedy. I would also like to thank the Buddhist Congress of Canada, Ottawa Sri Lankan Community, and people of Sri Lanka for being a pillar of support during this unimaginably difficult time.

“Lastly, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the public for their thoughts and prayers as I navigate through the aftermath of this tragedy.”

The victims: Wickramasinghe’s wife, Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake, and four children, Inuka, Ashwini,  Ranaya, and Kelly were all killed in the attack. The children ranged from seven years old to just two and a half months.

Gamini Amarakoon Amarakoon Mudiyanselage, a family friend, was also killed. His wife and daughter sent audio messages from Sri Lanka, as they were unable to make it to Canada to attend the service. 

“The memories we collected together will always be in our hearts and I’m sure it will help us to live the rest of our life,” his wife Dishani Asangika Fernando said, according to CityNews. “You were there hoping to give a good future to our kids, but all of our dreams just faded in a way that we never thought of.”

Local support: The multi-faith ceremony had many dignitaries including Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, MPPs Chandra Arya and Lisa MacLeod, and MPs Gary Anandasangaree, and others were all in attendance, according to CBC.

“I want you to know your community is with you.… We must pull together as a community in a time like this,” Sutcliffe said. “There are more difficult days ahead. This will be an unimaginable time for these families in the days and weeks and months ahead.”

Community morning: Saturday, there was another memorial service, where about 100 people attended hosted by the Ottawa Sri Lankan Catholic Prayer Group, held in honour of the victims, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

“We just wanted to do what we could as fellow Barrhaven community members, fellow Sri Lankans, just to be able to do our part. We all identify with coming to Canada to make your life better. They had that taken away from them,” Damithri Silva told the paper.

Donate: You can still give money to support the families of the victims at this GoFundMe.

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OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

⚖️ $6 billion: The amount of money the provincial government has had to give out in retroactive pay increases, after being forced to abandon its unconstitutional attempt to impose one percent wage increases on public sector workers through legislation. [CBC]

🏝️ 180: This many people were stranded in Cancun for several days, after Flair Airlines cancelled multiple flights over maintenance issues. After several days of waiting, they finally arrived home to Ottawa on Sunday. [CTV]

📈 72%: The year-over-year increase a Carleton Place homeowner is seeing in home insurance rates, as their provider bumps up monthly payments because of climate change-related risk. Their payments are going from $180 per month to $310. [CTV]

NEW LOCAL JOBS

Check out the new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Digital project coordinator at Centretown Community Health Centre

2. ​​Project estimation and management at HMRS Limited

3. Environmental public health officer at Indigenous Services Canada

4. Construction health and safety coordinator at GDB Constructeurs

5. Labour relations advisor at Transport Canada

Local jobs are selected by the Lookout team and are not paid ads, unless specifically noted. 

THE AGENDA

⚖️ The province announced a coroner’s inquest into the death of Abdirahman Abdi, who died after a police officer repeatedly punched him in the head with plated gloves. Const. Daniel Montsion was found not guilty of manslaughter, aggravated assault, and assault with a weapon in Abdi’s death. [CTV]

🥟 Yangtze, one of the cornerstone restaurants of Chinatown, and the building housing it is up for sale. The restaurant has been open for four decades, and the owners are asking $3.3 million. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚒 A child in Orléans had his hand rescued from a bathtub drain by firefighters, after he got several fingers stuck inside. The rescue crew needed to cut free part of the tub and drain to get the boy free. [CTV] 

💉 The Somerset West Community Health Centre opened up an outdoor supervised injection clinic while it awaits a provincial investigation of its interior clinic. The indoor clinic had to be closed when staff reported feeling dizzy, headaches, and other symptoms. [CBC]

🏛️ The French-language University of Sudbury signed a partnership agreement with uOttawa. The UofS had previously been affiliated with Laurentian University, which it shares a campus with, but was cut loose when Laurentian went through insolvency. [CBC]

📝 Adult students are scrambling to book a GED test before the end of the month, the deadline when a nationwide high school equivalency program runs out. The province said there would be a “seamless” transition to a new program, but with only weeks left, nothing has been announced. [CBC] 

👨‍🚒 Firefighters needed to rescue a person who was adrift on the Ottawa River on a makeshift raft and no life vest. [CTV]

🐔 Joe Hudson, who co-founded Burnbrae Farms outside of Brockville, died last week at the age of 94. [CTV]

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EVENTS

What to do this week

🎨 Chickadee Watercolour Workshop, Wednesday 6 pm: This evening for adults will get you learning how to paint watercolours. For all skill levels, take home what you paint. At Art Haven Ceramic Cafe, 150 Katimavik Road, Unit 124. Tickets $71.

🤼‍♂️ C*4 Wrestling presents TREMORS, Friday 7:30 pm: A night of high drama and athleticism, featuring the debut of lucha sensation Aero Boy. At Preston Event Centre, 523 St. Anthony’s Street. Tickets start at $33.

📸 Fundamentals of Lighting, Saturday 10 am: Led by Jen Bernard, this session on how to light your photos will help you elevate your shots. At Midnight Hour Studios, 174 Colonnade Rd. Tickets $161.

🥚 Pysanka Workshop, Saturday 1 pm: Learn how to paint traditional Pysanka. Materials provided, and you can take home your painted egg. In support of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. At 1000 Byron Ave. Tickets $44.

🥣 Great Bowls of Fire, Saturday 4 pm: Raising money for the Ottawa Food Bank, the Ottawa Guild of Potters is hosting their annual fundraiser. Pick a handmade bowl and have it filled by one of the local restaurants and bakeries with soup and bread. At Glebe Community Centre, 175 Third Ave. Tickets $55.

🎻 Expect the Unexpected - A Musical Surprise, Saturday 7:30 pm: The Ottawa Pops Orchestra is putting on a surprise season finale. What is it? They won’t say, you’ll just have to go to find out. At Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St. Tickets start at $17.

🎪 Carnival for a Cause, Sunday 11 am: A whole host of fun activities for the whole family, with painting activities for the kids and a silent auction and more for the adults. Part of the Audrey’s Star campaign to raise money for Roger Neilson House. At Walter Baker Sports Centre, 100 Malvern Dr. Tickets start at $12.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• PWHL Ottawa lost 2-1 to Boston in a shootout, in front of a record crowd of 13,736. [The Associated Press]

• Our food editor wrote about Yangtze just last month, where he found that after all these years it’s still delivering great food without compromise. [Capital Eats]

• Golfers rejoice, courses in the region have started opening up after a warm March. [CBC]

• Braised rib pot pies sold under the brand The Pie Commission are being recalled because they contain anchovies, which aren’t listed in the ingredients. [CTV]

• Sens’ captain Brady Tkachuk scored a hat trick to lead the team to a 4-3 overtime victory against the Islanders. Things went much worse on Sunday when the team lost 7-2 to the Hurricanes. [The Associated Press/Twitter]

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

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to everyone who got last week’s Ottawa Wordle, the answer was SCORE, as in the credit scores a debt collector is affecting while trying to recoup years-old fines.

For this week’s quiz, we want to know…