Final bids are in for the Ottawa Senators

Good morning,

If you missed it, a deer took quite a swim up the Canal on Monday, swimming several kilometres of the waterway to the Experimental Farm. The deer was getting a bit tired, but Ottawa Fire Service was on hand in case the deer needed rescue, but it made the swim on its own, CTV reported. You can check out the video below, for highlights of its swim:

Today we’ve got the latest on the sale of the Sens (we’re nearly there!) and lots of other stories from around the region.

A bit of housekeeping before we get going. Next Monday is a holiday, so there will be no Lookout newsletter that day. Everything else should be pretty well normal.

Also, two corrections: In Monday’s issue we inadvertently referred to OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller by the town he was shot and killed in. And in Tuesday’s Insider, we incorrectly said who was hosting the consultation on Lansdowne 2.0 tonight, which is being run by the City of Ottawa. (You can register for that event here.) The Lookout regrets the errors.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Wednesday: 10 🌡️ -2 | 🌤

Thursday: 16 🌡️ 3 | ☀️

Friday: 22 🌡️ 11 | ☀️

SENATORS

Final bids are in to buy the Sens

What happened: Eight months after the process started, the final bids are in to buy the Ottawa Senators. Of the seven bidders who made up the final round, four submitted final bids, with one topping out at $1 billion US, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

The conditions: Whoever ultimately buys the team will be required to keep the team in the city. Former owner Eugene Melnyk’s children, Anna and Olivia, will retain a minority stake in the team, up to 10 percent.

According to the Citizen, these are the heads of the final four bidding groups:

• Michael Andlauer, who owns a minority stake of the Montreal Canadiens (which he’ll have to sell) and member of the NHL Board of Governors;

• Jeffery and Michael Kimel, operate Toronto’s Harlo Financial Group and are former minority owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Abel Tesfaye (formerly known as The Weeknd) is a part of this bid;

• Steve Apostolopoulous, recently bid $6 billion for the NFL’s Washington Commanders and manages the Toronto real estate firm Triple Group of Companies. Former NHL player and commentator Nick Kypreos is advising this group.

• Neko Sparks, a producer based in Los Angeles, Snoop Dogg is a part of this bidding group. He has the backing of British businessmen David and Simon Reuben.

Next steps: It could be a week or more until we know who ultimately has won the bidding process. It’s possible ownership groups could come together now that the bids are in. Before now, the Citizen reported, they weren’t permitted to speak with each other before the bidding. That could change now that Galatioto Sports Partners, who are running the sale, has bids in hand and could bring similar groups together.

Bringing in First Nations: At least two bidding groups have reached out to Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg about possible partnerships, CBC reported. Chief Dylan Whiteduck met with the Sparks group this week and expects to meet with another bidder this week.

Snoop Dogg posted a message to Instagram, saying their group was looking to bring First Nations into the fold in some capacity if their bid wins:

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

💰 $1 million: A very excited (great photo!) Akwesasne man won this much at the Bigger Spin lottery game. [CTV]

🔺 4.4%: Inflation in April was this high year over year, a slight increase from March, when it was 4.3 percent. [CTV]

👶 100,000: The number of additional women who could enter the Ontario workforce because of lower childcare fees thanks to a federal program. [The Canadian Press]

OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

🏥 The Coast Guard had to respond to a medical emergency on Wolfe Island because the ferry to Kingston, the only way to get an ambulance across the water, was down for maintenance. [CBC]

🏳️‍🌈 The town of Petawawa will fly the Pride Flag after it overturned a 1998 policy banning the use of flags and other statements on city property. [CBC]

🔥 Several homes under construction near Half Moon Bay in Barrhaven were gutted by fire Monday night. The cause of the blaze is under investigation. [CTV]

💥 Police are looking for witnesses to a collision in Blackburn Hamlet on Sunday where a 61-year-old pedestrian was struck by a driver. [CTV]

🏥 The Queensway Carleton Hospital in Nepean has reduced the waiting list for orthopedic surgeries by partnering with a hospital in Arnprior, using their underbooked operating rooms. [Ottawa Citizen]

🔥 A gas station in Gloucester went up in flames Monday on Cyrville near St. Laurent. Firefighters beat back the flames before reaching the station’s gas tanks. [CTV]

HOUSE OF THE WEEK

For this week’s house of the week, we decided to go a little less flashy, and a little more average. This house in Blackburn Hamlet is as close as we could find to the average sale price of a single-family home we could find in the city (within $123, in fact). It’s got four bedrooms, a wood fireplace, and a nice big lot on a quiet crescent.

See for yourself what you get for $747,000.

THE AGENDA

🪧 A scab hunt is on in the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The union is looking for workers who crossed the picket line during last month's strike against PSAC’s constitution. About 96 percent of workers took part in the job action. [CBC]

🏛️ CHEO CEO and former city councillor Alex Munter has been approached to be the city’s next permanent city manager. No interviews have taken place in the search for a replacement for the disgraced Steve Kanellakos, who abruptly quit before he was raked across the coals by the LRT inquiry report. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏥 The Ottawa Hospital received 298 so-called “birth alerts” from Quebec child welfare agencies since 2020, when the practice was banned in Ontario. The alerts are used to threaten mothers with taking away their newborn children. The hospital said it did not act on the alerts. [CBC]

🚨 The opioid crisis in the city appears to be getting worse. OC Transpo special constables responded to 48 overdoses along the transit system last year. It’s the first year they have reported the figures. [CBC]

📚 After much political pressure, including from Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board backed off its policy of forbidding uniformed officers from addressing students. The board will review each request separately. [CTV]

🛬 WestJet pilots gave notice they could strike early Friday morning if a new agreement between their union and the airliner is not reached. In response, WestJet issued a lockout notice. The two sides have been negotiating for nine months. [CTV]

💐 The official funeral for Sgt. Eric Mueller will be held Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre. The funeral will not be open to the public. [CBC]

📸 The OPP is looking for any photos or videos witnesses may have from the night of the fatal shooting in Bourget. [CBC]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• It’s probably just your imagination, the LRT doesn’t seem to be running any faster lately. [Reddit]

• Iggy Pop, Arkells, and The Tallest Man On Earth will all be part of the lineup at this year’s CityFolk festival at Lansdowne Park. [CityNews]

• Eight Ottawa restaurants made the list of the country’s Top 100, including Alice and Gitanes. [CTV]

• Here’s some of the arts and culture jobs from around the city that are open right now. [Apt613]

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

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INSIDER CITY HALL

Insider: OC Transpo faces a deep hole

This story is available for Insider City Hall members. Consider becoming a member today and support independent journalism that investigates and explores the issues happening at city hall and across Ottawa

What happened: OC Transpo is looking at a financial black hole. The transit agency released its first quarter results last week. As of March 31, it was running an $11.6-million deficit, despite spending being $2.7 million lower than projected, according to its first quarter report.

The problem: The issue the agency is facing is self-made — the city built $39 million into the budget that they expected both the province and federal governments to cover. Neither have come through with that money, or made any sign it is coming soon.

• “The [first quarter] share of the $39 million budgeted to be received from senior levels of government, and not yet confirmed, is $10.433 million,” the agency said.

The transit agency is also seeing fare revenues $3.9 million less than projected.

Read the rest of the article.

SPORTS

🏀 The Ottawa BlackJacks launched their 2023 training camp this week, hoping a core of veterans will lead the team going into the season that starts next week. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏈 The Redblacks released Patrick Levels in a shock move on the third day of training camp. “I ripped my heart out (of) my chest and gave it to y’all … now they saying it wasn’t good enough,” the 2019 all-star Levels said of the move on Instagram. [Ottawa Sun]

⚾️ The Ottawa Titans won their first series of the season 13-11 over the Empire State Greys. THe team heads out on a six-game road trip, returning next Tuesday to town. [Ottawa Titans]

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to Mary-Martha, Gord, Michele, Adam, Susan, Beverly, and so many other who know that the answer to this week’s Ottawa Quiz was that it’s the Netherlands who provide all the tulips for the Tulip Festival.

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

LATEST COVID STATS

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