Heritage relief at city hall

Good morning!

We’ve got a bunch of city hall news today, including some good news for the way we assign heritage designation to city buildings. There’s also a bit of an odd story where police were called about a dispute between a city councillor and a daycare. Not ideal stuff.

We’ve also got plenty of events for you to enjoy the weekend.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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WEATHER

Friday: 29 🌡️ 19 | 🌦/⛈️

Saturday: 26 🌡️ 18 | 🌦

Sunday: 27 🌡️ 18 | 🌦

Monday: 29 🌡️ 20 | ☀️

CITY HALL

City gets relief from heritage deadline, and other news from city hall

What happened: A provincial law will give the city’s heritage committee a break from an imminent deadline to approve heritage properties before the end of the year, according to a staff memo. The provincial Bill 200 gives cities an extra two years to approve heritage properties.

• Before the change, Ottawa and other cities had until January next year to approve buildings for heritage designation. If they weren’t approved, they would have to be removed from the city’s heritage register — essentially just a listing of properties up for full consideration and protection — and could not return to the register for another five years.

The heritage committee had been considering and approving properties quickly, hoping to get as many critical properties designated before the clock ran out.

• According to a staff memo, the change “provides more time for meaningful conversations with community groups and property owners on the review of the city’s heritage register and the subsequent designation of priority properties under…the Ontario Heritage Act.”

Project at former bus terminal approved

Got the go-ahead: A new three-tower development for the former site of the city’s Greyhound terminal was approved by the city’s planning committee, CBC reported. The towers will be between 32 and 36 storeys, and have 1,134 units.

Limited parking: The development will have only 360 parking spots, and will instead put an emphasis on tenants who want to use active transportation and transit.

The problem: There is limited cycling infrastructure, and city staff said there are few concrete plans to build any. There is little north-south cycling infrastructure (with only a southbound lane on Lyon) and no plans for any on Kent. The hope is that the Catherine Street renewal will bring east-west lanes in the coming years.

• City staff said the development could spur a conversation about possibly building lanes on Kent, but wouldn’t commit beyond that.

If given final approval, the developer Brigil said it could begin construction in the fall, and expected to take between five and seven years to complete.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🚨 2,412: The number of tickets the OPP issued in eastern Ontario during a blitz leading up to Canada Day. More than half of the tickets, 1,309, were issued for speeding. [CTV]

🚔 20%: This percentage of fatal collisions in OPP jurisdictions involving transport trucks, claiming the lives of 31 people. The police said 14% of those collisions were the fault of commercial drivers. [CTV]

CITY HALL

Councillor admits swearing at daycare owner, denies cursing in front of children

What happened: West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly admitted to swearing at the owner of a daycare that neighbours his ward office, but denied using profanity in front of children, he wrote in a statement. Kelly was upset by distractions at his office by the children while he was attending a planning committee meeting remotely.

• “I should have taken time to collect myself before going to speak with the owner. My failure to do so does not excuse my use of profanities when speaking with her,” Kelly wrote.

Note to parents: The West Carleton Kids Korner, located in the West Carleton Community Centre alongside Kelly’s ward office, sent a note to parents alleging Kelly entered the daycare and swore in front of children, according to CTV, which quoted the email at length:

• “This morning [Wednesday], councillor Kelly took it upon himself to enter chambers where a small summer camp group was doing crafts and started yelling profanities at staff, threatening that camps has to go and using vulgar language and names towards staff and children,” the email said according to the broadcaster. “He then proceeded to confront another staff outdoors to have toddlers (who were walking past a window outside) to have them remove their hands and get out of the area, in an aggressive manner trying to cause an escalated confrontation.”

Kelly’s response: Kelly said in his statement he has spoken to his lawyer who “will be addressing the libelous statement made my [sic] Ms. [Karen] Boulton.”

Explanation: Kelly said his office had repeated problems with the daycare, but did not want to see it shut down. He said in his statement: “We make every effort to exist in harmony with all the occupants of the building, which is always easy with the exception of one tenant, (the WCKC). While it is often a challenge trying to balance the needs of an office building and childcare center, today marked the beginning of their summer camp.”

• “During the meeting, there were children banging on the window of my office four feet from me, bouncing basketballs, hitting metal poles with lacrosse sticks, screaming, all of which made it impossible to do the job I was elected to do on your behalf,” Kelly wrote.

Cops called: Police confirmed to the Ottawa Citizen that they had been called to the location for a disturbance on Wednesday, but said officers left after determining nothing criminal had taken place.

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THE AGENDA

⚖️ Dr. Brian Nadler, who was acquitted of murder and negligence charges this week, is suing the hospital he worked at for defamation. Nadler and his family members are seeking a total of $20 million. The family of one of the people who Nadler was accused of killing is suing the doctor for $1.4 million. None of the allegations have been tested in court. [Ottawa Citizen]

🍸 LCBO stores across the province are closed starting today for at least two weeks after a midnight strike deadline passed without a deal. Negotiations between the union and the government broke down Thursday. The union wants more full-time jobs and pay raises for their nearly 10,000 members. They say about 70% of LCBO retail jobs are part-time. [CityNews]

🏢 Hundreds of people have been renovicted from a Richmond Road apartment building, after a new owner took over. The new owners evicted the whole building to redo the units, which will be offered at higher rents once the construction is complete. [CTV]

🗳️ After being kicked out of the Progressive Conservative caucus, local MPP Goldie Ghamari will have much less influence in the province on behalf of her constituents. [Ottawa Citizen]

⚖️ Lawyers for the owner of Eastway Tank, where an explosion killed six people on the job, are looking to have warrants thrown out after they say police picked up material potentially covered by attorney-client privilege. The dispute, which is delaying a potential criminal investigation of the explosion, goes to court later this month. [CBC]

🚒 Building owners will now be subject to fines for false alarms caused by fire alarm systems that malfunction or are in poor repair. About one-third of all fire calls are false alarms. A first offence will be a warning, followed by fines of $500, $1,000, and $1,500 (the maximum) for subsequent false alarms. [CTV]

🥒 No Frills grocery stores have ended multi-buy deals that required shoppers to purchase more than one of an item to receive a discount. [CTV]

🐀 The city has asked permission from Health Canada to use birth control to deal with increasing complaints of rats. The rodents are able to multiply very quickly, and large developments and the LRT expansion have pushed populations into residential areas. [CBC]

🚑 A pedestrian was struck by a driver at Vanier Parkway and McArthur and taken to hospital in life-threatening condition. [CTV]

EVENTS

What to do this weekend

🎸 Bluesfest, until July 14: This weekend’s headliners include Nickelback, 50 Cent, and Maroon 5. At LeBreton Flats. Ticket prices vary.

🎭 International Ottawa Puppet Festival, until Saturday: A mini festival featuring performances from three troupes from Canada, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. At University of Ottawa’s Academic Hall, 135 Séraphin-Marion Pvt. Ticket prices vary.

🎙️ Festival d’humour de Gatineau, until Saturday: A francophone comedy festival including performances by Fabien Cloutier, Cathy Gauthier, and Marina Mazza. At Place de la cité, Gatineau. Single-day tickets $60.

👗 613Flea, Saturday 10 am: Dozens of vendors selling all sorts of goods from vinyl records to clothes to food to jewelry. At the Aberdeen Pavilion, Lansdowne Park. Free admission.

🇯🇵 Natsu Matsuri, Saturday 11 am: Celebrate local Japanese culture with food, performers, vendors, and more. At the Sandy Hill Community Centre, 250 Somerset St. E. Free.

🥊 Bushido 3 - Live Amateur Muay Thai Fights, Saturday 4 pm: A night of amateur Muay Thai fights including junior and adult cards. Live DJ, food and drink. At North Grenville Municipal Centre, 285 Leeds and Grenville 44, Kemptville. Tickets $38.

🏃‍♀️ Canadian Track and Field League Finals, Saturday 6 pm: Canada’s top athletes compete for a prize of $26,000. At Terry Fox Athletic Facility, 2960 Riverside Dr. Tickets $10.

🖼️ Just Between Us - An Artist Roundtable, Saturday 7 pm: An evening of discussion between artists for artists on inspiration and how to navigate being an entrepreneur artist. At The Gift Shop, a popup in the centre of the ByWard Market. Free.

🇹🇭 Thai Street Food Festival, Sunday 11 am: Experience plenty of Thai street food and culture. At the Horticulture Building, Lansdowne Park. Free admission.

CAPITAL EATS

This week in food

🏆 Ottawa’s best restaurants, drinks, and dishes from the last three months. (Insiders)

🍻 Looking to grab a great local beer this summer? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our guide to local breweries.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Do you have a Daikin, Amana, or Goodman heat pump? Several models are being recalled by Health Canada for creating excessive heat. [Health Canada]

• Congrats to Patricia Boal, who was named the anchor of CTV News at Six! She’ll replace Graham Richardson, whose final broadcast will be tonight at 6 pm. [CTV]

• OC Transpo service will be more frequent during Bluesfest, and there are now road closures near LeBreton Flats during the festival. [City of Ottawa]

• Prepping for the city’s biggest music festival? The Ottawa Citizen has a Bluesfest guide for you. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Former Spice Girl Melanie C will perform a DJ set in September at the Bronson Centre. [Twitter]

• Gatineau’s Audrey Leduc, the country’s fastest woman, is heading to the Summer Olympics in Paris. [Ottawa Citizen]

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

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to Adam, Michelle, and Jeff who all knew this week’s Ottawa Guesser was of Kichi Zibi Mikan adjacent to the Canadian War Museum.

Think you can solve this week’s Ottawa Wordle? Play now.