Police chief wants officers back in school

Good morning!

A huge thanks to the fine folks at Cyco’s Sports who got my bike back on the road in record time for a fair price. Turns out my front tire’s tube decided to tear itself to bits. As I said last week, I’m really, really happy it let go when the bike was parked and not like five minutes earlier when I was riding it.

Anyway, there’s a fair bit to get to on the police chief’s hope to get uniformed officers back into schools, plus tons of events to keep you busy this week.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Monday: 25 🌡️ 14 | 🌦/⛈️

Tuesday: 21 🌡️ 10 | 🌦

Wednesday: 20 🌡️ 10 | 🌧

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

🚧 LRT shutdown: Parts of the LRT will be closed on a rotating basis as the city begins maintenance on Line 1 of the system June 5. Barrhaven East Coun. Wilson Lo posted a handy series of maps showing which sections will be shut down and when. R1 bus service will run to make up for the train closures.

🚮 Bag tag debate: The environment committee will debate Monday whether to institute a bag tag system for roadside garbage collection. The plan, recommended by city staff, would give each household 55 tags per year to help cut down on waste going to the dump. Additional tags would be $3 each, if the policy passes.

POLICING

Chief wants uniformed officers back in schools

What happened: Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs is pushing for more uniformed officers to be in schools, CBC reported. In 2021, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) changed the rules so that officers could only appear in classrooms out of uniform because of concerns from racialized and LGBTQ students.

• After the board changed its policy, the Ottawa Police Service ended its school resource program that put officers in schools.

Stubbs said he believes putting officers in schools when they’re not there actively enforcing the law is a good way to build trust with the community.

The controversy: Recently, the union representing officers complained that parents who were police officers were not allowed to speak to classes in uniform for take your parent to school day. Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe decried the policy, and Education Minister Stephen Lecce wrote a memo to all school boards in the province that parents should be able to wear their uniforms as guest speakers.

The reasoning: The board made the decision to bar uniformed officers based on feedback from students, staff, and parents in the community. But the board chair said the police force and the school board could work toward a compromise if they’re able to regain trust.

• “I think the communities that came out and talked to us during the creation of the initial report would say there's still a lot of work that needs to be done before that level of trust that some people have for the police would be felt by all,” OCDSB board chair Lyra Evans told CBC.

Abuse of power?

Meanwhile… At the same time Stubbs wants more police in schools, Ottawa police officers have been referred to the internal professional standards division for pulling over a school bus and threatening an elementary student with arrest for giving the middle finger to them, the Ottawa Citizen reported. The boy’s parents filed a complaint with the force about the incident.

A human rights lawyer witnessed the event and filed a public complaint with Ottawa police. In her complaint, Anne Levesque said one of the officers boarded the bus and argued with the child before threatening to take him away. Her complaint said one of the officers “falsely” told a neighbour who saw the incident that they had pulled over the bus because children were standing up, according to the Citizen.

• “Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian. It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability,” Justice Dennis Galiatsatos wrote, affirming that giving the finger is a constitutional right in a Quebec case.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🏥 $12,321,120: The amount of money raised at this year’s CHEO Telethon, a new record for the fundraiser. [CTV]

⚖️ $25,000: The amount the developer Brigil and its owner Gilles Desjardins were fined for breaking Quebec electoral law during Gatineau’s 2017 municipal election. The company was fined $20,000 and Desjardins was fined $5,000. [CBC]

🔥 50%: Arson investigations are up this year this much at residential and commercial buildings. [CTV]

🔌 7,200: The approximate number of households that were without power after a car crashed into a hydro pole, breaking it. [Ottawa Citizen]

NEW LOCAL JOBS

Check out these new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Program coordinator at the City of Ottawa

2. Case manager at Canadian Blood Services

3. Hand safety program manager at Superior Glove Works Ltd.

4. Talent and culture director at IISD

5. Director of people and culture at CHEO

THE AGENDA

🚂 The public got a sneak peek inside the new Swiss-made Stadler diesel trains that will run on the north-south Trillium line, which will hopefully come online later this year. The city brought one of the new trains to Greenboro station for Doors Open Ottawa. [CBC]

🍞 The opening of the Ottawa Food Bank’s new location, a warehouse more than twice the size of its old building, is nothing to celebrate, CEO Rachel Wilson said. With demand up 85 percent since 2019, the much bigger space was necessary to help the increasing number of the city’s vulnerable. [CBC]

🚒 Firefighters had to rescue someone who fell into the aqueduct near the Fleet Street Pumping Station at LeBreton Flats. The area is very dangerous because of the water pumping station. [CTV]

⚖️ A one-time staffer to disgraced former councillor Rick Chiarelli is “beyond appalled and upset” a bill to make it easier for municipal governments to oust members for harassment and violence was voted down. The staffer was one of several former employees who accused Chiarelli of misconduct, accusations which were upheld by multiple integrity commissioner reports. Chiarelli was docked about a year and a half of pay, but couldn’t be forced out. [CBC]

🚨 Police investigated reports of gunshots near Clyde and Merivale. No one was injured, but shell casings were found at the scene on Kerry Crescent. [CTV]

🏢 There’s a shortage of condo managers across the province, a problem that is only going to get worse as older managers retire. There are only about 2,500 licenced managers in Ontario, overseeing 950,000 units in the province. [CBC]

🏒 NHL Commissioner said to expect “a very good outcome” on the sale of the Senators will be announced in the next few weeks. The team has been on sale since November, and final bids were entered May 15. [CTV]

🚔 An 18-year-old former student of a Gatineau elementary school was arrested after a hidden camera was found in a girls’ bathroom. The man was charged with attempted production of child pornograpy, voyeurism, and breaking and entering. [CBC]

🪧 Thousands of people in Ottawa and across the province marched in protest of the anniversary of the reelection of Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative Party. The day of action was hosted by the Ontario Federation of Labour. [CTV]

📱 The OC Transpo Helps account decided to get a little smarmy with a transit user who said he was upset he had to wait more than two hours for a scheduled ParaTranspo ride. [Twitter]

🗳️ Federal Liberal MP Yasi Naqvi, who represents Ottawa Centre, announced he will run for the leadership of the provincial Liberal Party where he once served as an MPP. [CTV]

EVENTS

What to do this weekend

Music

🎺 Beginner Band Info Night, Wednesday 6 pm: The Ottawa New Horizons Band is kicking off its fall beginner band program. It’s for any adult who wants to learn, or re-learn, to play an instrument. No experience necessary. Find out more at this info session. At Woodroffe United Church, 207 Woodroffe Ave. Admission is free.

Food

🍺 2023 Orléans Craft Beer Festival, Thursday to Saturday: A rain or shine outdoor beer festival with craft beers, wines and spirits. Plenty of live entertainment and this year a charity beer run to raise money for the Orléans Cumberland Resource Centre. At Centrum Plaza, 255 Centrum Blvd. Limited tickets start at $28.

🌮 Hintonburg Night Market, Thursday 4pm: Every thursday at the Gateway to Hintonburg, check out the best local food and more with live entertainment. At 1088 Somerset St. W. Admission is free.

General

🎙️ Comedy Night in Manotick, Wednesday 7 pm: Once a month The Mill Tavern in Manotick hosts a comedy night with specially priced beers and snack menu. At 5544 Manotick Main St. Tickets $17.

Other

🛠️ Ottawa Career Fair and Training Expo, Tuesday 1 pm: Dozens of employers are looking for workers in the public and private sectors. The Ottawa Shaw Centre at 55 Colonel By Dr. hosts. Free admission.

🚲 Bike Maintenance Workshop, Thursday 6 pm: The tool library is hosting a workshop on how to keep your bicycle in tip-top shape. Learn how to do basic tune up tasks from brakes to chains. At the Ottawa Tool Library, 877a Boyd Ave. Tickets $40.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• The new Urban Art Collective gallery is looking to give emerging artists a place to showcase and sell their work. [CBC]

• The Glebe Report celebrated 50 years of publishing with a party for the community. [Twitter]

• The Ottawa Titans lost their sixth-straight series as their season continues its rocky start. [Ottawa Titans]

• Decent crowds hit Sparks Street for this year’s edition of Ribfest, with a busy weekend for BBQers from across the region. [CTV]

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

TOP PHOTO

Today’s photo comes from Janet Stephens, who says, “Goslings are everywhere, you just want to take one home, but you know you can’t!”

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 CAIRN, as in the type of monument pictured in last week’s Ottawa Guesser!

For today’s quiz, we want to know how many customers lost power because of an outage caused by a car crash? The first five people to write in with the correct answer will get their names mentioned in the next issue.

Subscribe to unlock the rest. And get 21% off the first year of your membership.