The many factors fuelling the homelessness crisis

Good morning!

Well, that’s no fun. The Canal won’t open this year. It seemed like a long shot to open once that deep, deep freeze earlier this month didn’t improve the ice. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate next year. But there is something ominous about its closure. There might not be many seasons left of skating.

Big week here in the city, and at the newsletter, as tomorrow the first issue of the City Hall Insider is dropping. Our first issue will be focused on your questions about city hall, and a few other features we’re going to start trying out.

Not a member yet? Sign up here so you don’t miss out.

Why don’t we get to today’s newsletter?

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

Consider forwarding this to your friends so they can discover the Lookout. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

Weather Report

Monday: -6 🌡️ -6 | ☀️

Tuesday: +4 🌡️ -6 | ❄️ (5 cm)

Wednesday: +2 🌡️ -2 | ☁️

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

Budget week: The $4.5-billon service budget and $1.1-billion capital budget will get a final vote on Wednesday. Councillors will go through each of the sub-budgets — transit, environmental, etc. — and (most likely) pass this new council’s first budget document. Things kick off at 10 am Wednesday, and you can watch live on the city’s YouTube channel.

HOMELESSNESS

Cold snap means further hardship for the city’s vulnerable

What happened: The recent temperature drip had the Ottawa Mission putting sleeping mats out in the chapel for people to stay out of the cold. The head of the shelter told CTV they were at capacity for several nights, doing everything they could to keep up with demand.

• “Without this frontline mission and all the other shelters around here, people would be dying in the streets,” another man, Andrew John Spears, told CTV.

Wider problem: Housing prices have risen at alarming rates for several years. While home sale prices have begun to drop, rents are rising at double-digit rates. Subsidized housing in the city has a 10,000 household and a five-year waitlist, according to the city.

Opioid crisis: Overdoses are at all-time highs. A decade ago, there would be about 36 overdose deaths a year. In 2021 there were 130 deaths, and in the first half of 2022 (the most up-to-date figures available), there were 54.

In a lengthy feature, The Globe and Mail explored how the crisis has taken root in Ottawa, as it has across the continent. Health workers frequently rush out of a safe injection site in Lowertown to revive people overdosing outside.

The head of Ottawa Inner City Health told the paper, “You’re seeing so much death in this field right now. You hear about one death and then there’s another. It’s non-stop.”

• Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster said the housing crisis layers on top of the opioid crisis, making people even more vulnerable because of the lack of reasonably priced housing.

Fentanyl: At the root of the crisis is the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It’s a powerful drug that's 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin but is also odourless and tasteless. Accidental overdoses are particularly easy with the drug, and it is often added to other substances, according to the federal government.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🚫 $2.1 million: The approximate value of the 20,348 tickets handed out this year to cars violating winter parking bans. That’s up from 8.364 last year. [CTV]

🍺 6.3%: The amount the federal tax on alcohol will rise this year on April 1. The tax rises in line with the inflation rate. [CTV]

🚗 39,000: The number of cars in Ottawa with expired licence plates. The annual fee dropped, but you still need to renew your plates every year. [Ottawa Citizen]

WINTER

It’s official: no skating this year on the Canal

What happened: The NCC made it official, there will be no skating on the Rideau Canal this winter. For the first time in its history, the weather was too warm and too erratic for ice to thicken enough for safe skating, CTV reported.

Up and down temperatures, rain, and plenty of snow all made for poor ice quality. Efforts by the NCC to use ice-making technologies weren’t enough. In a typical year, it costs about $1 million to operate the skateway. The NCC isn’t sure what the final cost will be this year.

Business hit: It’s a challenging year for vendors along the skateway. Downtown restaurant ZUPS bought a new trailer to serve poutine on the Canal for the first time at a cost of about $10,000, CBC reported. Dunrobin Distilleries bought a kiosk for about the same price. This follows BeverTails pulling their Canal-level kiosks more than a week ago.

• Despite the season's failure, the businesses said the NCC was upfront with them the whole way.

NEW LOCAL JOBS

Check out the new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Senior director of revenue generation at the Native Women’s Association of Canada

2. Inventory for future jobs at the Office of Energy Efficiency at Natural Resources Canada

3. Communications officer at the Public Service Alliance of Canada

4. Housing policy analyst at the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation

5. Bilingual program analyst at Sport Canada

THE AGENDA

💥 A car drove off the 417 and landed on Carling Avenue over the weekend. A man has been charged with impaired driving, and police said witnesses saw the car strike the centre median, cross four lanes of traffic, go through the barrier and fall into the road below. [CTV]

🚛 A group of doctors filed a complaint with the province that the trucking route that runs through Lowertown threatens the health of local residents. [CBC]

📍 A local, Cameron Ryan, put together a map with the locations of every homicide in the city since 2012. Each entry also includes a brief description of the deaths and where the cases are at.

🚧 The Orléans home builder Highbridge Construction that had its licence revoked, said it was the victim of a “gross theft” a year ago, which led to its insolvency. [CBC]

📸 Of the 259,656 tickets issued by speed cameras in the city, 57,613 were issued by two cameras, one on St. Laurent and the other on Ogilvie. Fines depend on the amount of speeding, starting at $20 for one km/h over, to $718 for going 49 km/h or more over the limit. [CBC]

🪧 Nurses held a rally at the Riverside campus of the Ottawa Hospital, protesting the province’s decision to outsource surgeries to private surgeons by opening the operating room for them on Saturdays. [Ottawa Citizen]

🇺🇦 For many Ukrainians living in Ottawa, the last year of open warfare in their home country has been very difficult. One describes it as “living two lives.” [CTV]

🎤 The late Geoge Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, made the keynote speech at this year’s Black History Gala. “It is my prayer to see one day a world in which our children and elders will never fear for their lives because we were born Black,” Floyd told the crowd. [CTV]

SPONSORED BY THE ROYAL OTTAWA

This March, join our challenge and spend at least 10 minutes daily taking care of your mental hygiene. Mental hygiene is the concept of doing small things each day to care for your mental health - just like brushing your teeth for dental hygiene.

The Royal Mental Hygiene Challenge is free, and you can choose from 16 evidence-based practices to help build healthy habits to improve your well-being. There are prizes too!

Join the challenge!

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Overbrook Community Association has put together a GoFundMe for the residents forced from their homes by an apartment building fire last week.

• Go to a fusion restaurant for great wings? Absolutely yes, at least at this place.

• The Sens won all four games this season against the Habs, besting Montreal Saturday 5-2. [The Canadian Press]

• Remember to clear ice off your car, it can be very dangerous to other drivers if you don’t. [CTV]

• If you’re looking for perfectly grilled lamb, head over to this Turkish restaurant in the east end.

• Get ready, we’re only two weeks away from the clocks springing forward. [CTV]

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

EVENTS

What to do this week

Arts

🎨 Social Art Night, Tuesday 6 pm: A night to try your hand at painting guided by instructors. Canvases and instructions are provided, but paints and brushes are required. At the Intercultural Dialogue Institute, 335 Michael Cowpland Dr. Tickets $40.

General

👩‍💻 Ottawa Career Fair, Tuesday 1 pm: Employers from across town are hiring. Museums, hotels, government departments. You name it, they’re looking to hire. At the Shaw Centre, 55 Colonel By Dr. Admission is free.

Culture

🥂 Black History Month Closing Celebration, Tuesday 5:30 pm: An evening to celebrate Black women’s leadership. Several incredible speakers and dinner. At 144 Wellington St. Admission is free.

🥃 Saké & Whisky: Expand your knowledge of Japan's Drinks, Tuesday 6:30 pm: An introductory event to saké and Japanese whisky, hosted by Michael Tremblay and Rob Rosenfeld. You might even run into our food editor, Ralf! At the Japanese Embassy, 255 Sussex Dr. Reservations are free.

GIVEAWAY

A foodie’s dream, and it’s free to enter

Our food editor has compiled a fantastic food giveaway of delicious items and local gift cards to some of Ottawa’s best restaurants.

• Best of all? You have two chances to win.

Entering is easy. All you have to do is refer a friend (or even better, friends!) to Ottawa Lookout or Capital Eats. Every person you refer increases your odds of winning.

• The contest closes on March 8. You must live in Ottawa to enter.

We’ve even made it easy to share! Just click these links to automatically share with your contacts.

Share to enter

Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin | Forward to a friend

TOP PHOTO

Today’s photo comes from reader Ernie Labelle. He said he’d been in his condo for more than 30 years, but the city never looked quite this good before. “Breathtaking but lasted only a few seconds,” he said.

Do you have a photo you’d like to share with the Lookout community? Send it in!

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to everyone who got last week’s Ottawa Wordle. The answer was BALMY, just like the winter we’ve been having (though maybe not the weekend).

There’s a truck route that goes through downtown, and it might be affecting the health of residents in the area. What bridge are the trucks using across the Ottawa River? The first five people to write in with the correct answer will get their names mentioned in the next issue.

LATEST COVID STATS