What we know so far about the Orléans explosion

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Good morning!

We might be finally getting closer to the bidding process for the Senators. The Ottawa Sun has the scoop on the group that’s courted Ryan Reynolds to be a partner in their bid. There’s no firm timeline on the process, but the first round of bidding to winnow down the list to serious contenders is underway. We’ve got a bit more for you below.

If you’ve been looking for local ways to help out victims of the massive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the group Beyond Networking will be hosting an event Thursday at Les Grillades at 111 Colonnade Rd. to collect donations. Things get going at 10:30 am.

They’re looking for canned food, ideally vegetarian or fish items. If you do bring meat items, they need to be halal.

One last thing, in Monday’s newsletter I did indeed mean “dawdle,” not that other spelling I used.

There’s a bunch more news today, so why don’t we get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

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Thursday: +3 🌡️ -9 | ☁️

Friday: -8 🌡️ -18 | ❄️/🌤

EXPLOSION

Natural gas the likely cause of huge east-end explosion

What happened: Early indications suggest a huge explosion in the Avalon Vista neighbourhood of Orléans was likely caused by a natural gas leak, Minto’s president told CTV. The blast injured 12 people and six were taken to hospital, two of them seriously. Two people had to be rescued from the rubble. Four homes were flattened in the new development off Tenth Line Road.

Stories of escape: One couple with two young children had the window on their master bedroom explode and the ceiling collapsed, the Ottawa Citizen reported. The homes that were destroyed were just behind their home. The youngest, a three-week-old infant, may have been saved when his father brought him from the bassinet to the bed just minutes before the blast. The small family escaped with only the clothes on their back.

Another family had only just moved in days before. A ceiling collapsed on top of their children and they had to escape across broken glass, CBC reported. Windows where blown out, locked doors were smashed open, and debris was scattered everywhere from the blast.

• Approximately 30 families cannot return to their homes, and the Red Cross is helping 19 of them with shelter, food, and clothing, CBC reported.

Full investigation: Yesterday the fire marshall began excavating the scene of the blast to find the root cause of the explosion. That digging will take several days. In addition to the fire marshal, the Ministry of Labour, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority, Ottawa police and the fire service are all a part of the investigation.

• Watch: Drone footage of the blast site [CBC]

Paramedic worries: The head of the city’s paramedic union said he was concerned that if there had been more casualties, there would not have been enough first responders to take care of them.

• “It’s a public safety issue, and somehow we keep getting lucky. … [If there had been more patients] it’s not going to be possible to get enough paramedics on scene in a short period of time,” Darryl Wilton told CFRA.

Level zeroes: Last year there were 1,819 “level zero” incidents — where there aren’t paramedics available to answer a call — which is nearly 2.5 times the 750 that occurred in 2021, CBC reported. Attempts to mitigate the problem by adding hospital space and a dedicated nurse to watch emergency arrivals has not worked. A request last year for $5 million from the province to hire 42 more paramedics was not met.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🏢 $277 million: The amount H&R Real Estate Investment Trust is selling the office tower 160 Elgin St. to an unnamed buyer. [RENX]

🐰 25: The Ontario SPCA has this many rabbits in need of adoption this week. [CItyNews]

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OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

🏛️ The municipality of Chelsea voted unanimously to remain officially bilingual. [Radio-Canada]

🪧 Parents protested outside Vimy Ridge Public School in Findlay Creek, where they say school officials are not addressing serious bullying in the school. [CTV]

🏭 The town of Smiths Falls is feeling the pain after Canopy Growth Corp. announced hundreds of layoffs and decided to close its facility in town. [CBC]

🌲 The NCC and a New Edinburgh man came to an agreement to leave a little free library and some chairs on a strip of public land, but remove the holiday lights from the trees. [CBC]

🏥 A woman in Kingston was fired by the Kingston General hospital for faking her nursing credentials. She worked in the post-surgical unit for six months. [CTV]

🚨 A driver hit a 90-year-old pedestrian in Orléans, critically injuring the man who is in the hospital with life-threatening conditions on Tuesday. Police are asking witnesses to the collision to come forward. [CTV]

CONVOY

Threatened protest passes without issue

What happened: Downtown saw heavy police presence and parking bans for the one-year anniversary of the invocation of the Emergencies Act. Despite warnings from police and the city of possible disruption, a “convoy-related activity” passed through town without incident, CTV reported.

• Police said a small number of vehicles passed through town. According to CTV, there were a small number of protestors on Parliament Hill as well.

Battlers return: A group of about 20 people marked the anniversary of the Battle of Billings Bridge counter-protest over the weekend, CTV reported. The gathering included NDP MPP Joel Harden and several of the organizers of the event.

There is another: Someone had a brass plaque made to commemorate the event, and glued it to Billings Bridge, but it was quickly torn down. Fear not, there is a second plaque, an anonymous user posted to Reddit (including a newspaper to prove the date). The person said they will find a new and permanent home where “stealing it will be more difficult.”

• “Don’t be mad the first plaque was stolen, be happy it happened,” the person wrote.

HOUSE OF THE WEEK

This week’s house has a humble exterior. But that belies a fully renovated interior with, believe it or not, four bedrooms. There’s also a modern kitchen with all the amenities, plus lots more.

Check the listing to see how much it costs.

THE AGENDA

🥼 Non-profit long-term care homes say they are being squeezed by temporary for-profit nursing agencies that are charging the homes more than double the typical rate for nurses. Homes can’t compete with wages for nurses because of provincial law, so they said agencies lure nurses away with higher pay, then charge the LTCs even higher rates when they’re desperate for staff. [CBC]

🎸 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band expanded their North American tour to include a Nov. 18 stop in Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre. It’s one of eight Canadian dates announced this week. [Twitter]

🚨 Health Canada issued a recall for MacMillan’s Specialty food branded McCain Staycrisp Straight Cut Fries for having undeclared gluten and wheat contamination. They warned that anyone with celiac disease should not consume the product. [Health Canada]

🛫 Porter Airlines announced they will open a new direct flight between Ottawa and Charlottetown in May. [CBC]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• If you’re in the public service and returning to the office, here’s a good breakdown of what you might need to budget for again. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Inactivity costs Canada $3.9 billion a year. See how ParticipACTION is leading the fight against this silent crisis to get Canadians moving.*

• In the latest Retro Review, our food editor tries out a classic rosé.

• There’s still a sliver of hope it could still happen, but the window to open the Canal is closing fast. [CTV]

• …with the Rideau Canal still closed through Valentine’s Day, the Ottawa Citizen wants to hear from you about what you love about the skateway. Submit your answers here. [Ottawa Citizen]

• The Burrow Shop has all sorts of local goods for pick up and delivery. [Apt613]

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

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CAPITAL EATS

Turkish delights in Orléans

One of the unsung benefits of Turkish or other Middle Eastern cuisines is that it can bring people with a broad variety of dietary restrictions around one table. Whether you’re a vegan or vegetarian, pescatarian or gluten free, this restaurant in the east end has something for everyone. In short, it’s a no-brainer for celebrations.

Then of course there’s the major selling point: the food here is very good and fairly priced. There are a few caveats to dining here but we’ll come to those.

I sat down for lunch and took in the room. On the long wall opposite me, a mural of a bridge spanning the Bosphorus and leading to Istanbul in the distance.

Devastating earthquakes have hit Turkey and Syria. Until Feb. 22, the federal government will match any donations to the Red Cross Red Crescent relief efforts. You can donate here.

SPORTS

💰 Ryan Reynolds has joined a bid with Toronto-based real estate developers the Remington Group to make a bid for the Ottawa Senators. [Ottawa Sun]

🏒 The Senators plan to keep Alex DeBrincat through the trade deadline but could move Nikita Zaitsev and Austin Watson. [Sportsnet]

🥅 What do the Sens need at the deadline? Scout Jason Bukala breaks down what the team needs, and doesn’t, in this in-depth analysis. [Sportsnet]

⚖️ The country’s junior hockey leagues are under intense scrutiny for “horrific and despicable and unquestionably criminal acts” suffered by former players. [The Canadian Press]

🏈 The Redblacks made several key signings at the start of free agency, including middle linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox who they signed to a two-year contract. [Ottawa Sun]

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to Adam, Joan, and Chantal, who all knew the answer to this week’s quiz, that the Rideau Canal opened to skaters in 1971.

There are a few gigantic hints in today’s OttawaGuesser so why don’t we just ask, do you know where this is? The first five people to respond get their names mentioned in the newsletter.

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