What you need to know about Remembrance Day in Ottawa

Good morning,

Remembrance Day is here. Today, I’ll be thinking of my grandparents, both of whom served in the Second World War. The day has taken on a different significance now that they’ve both been gone several years, the act of remembering is something more specific, more personal than it might have been otherwise.

I also have a bit of bad news. When you scroll down to the weather, you will see that this Sunday we might be getting some snow. It’s a bit of whiplash, weather wise, but it was bound to happen eventually.

Anyway, let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Special weather statement: Heavy rain of 30mm to 50mm is expected this afternoon into Saturday morning.

Friday: +17 🌡️ +12 | 🌧

Saturday: +15 🌡️ +4 | 🌧

Sunday: +6 🌡️ -5 | ❄️ (40%)

Monday: +1 🌡️ -8 | 🌤

REMEMBRANCE DAY

What you need to know about the Remembrance Day ceremonies today

Remembrance Day: Today will be the first time in two years a full Veterans Parade will take place at the National War Memorial downtown. The ceremony starts at about 10:30 am today, and most networks will air it, and the Legion will livestream it.

Outside downtown: There are memorial services throughout the region, with ceremonies in Beechwood Cemetery, Bells Corners, Barrhaven, Greely, Kanata, Kars, Manotick, North Gower, Orléans, and Westboro. CBC has all the details.

A veteran’s story: Bill Gunter tried to enlist in the Second World War several times, before finally (legally) joining the Navy at the age of 17 in 1942. Now 97, Gunter shared his memories of D-Day with the Ottawa Citizen:

• He was the gunner on a landing craft that went ashore on June 6, 1944. His landing craft hit a mine as part of the second wave of attacks on Juno Beach “All the other landing craft were helter-skelter all over the beach … and there was machine gun and mortar fire,” he told the Citizen.

What’s closed: Most City of Ottawa services will be closed, but garbage will still be picked up and rec centres will be open as usual. OC Transpo buses will stop for two minutes of silence at 11:11 am, but otherwise run on a normal schedule. Except for smaller businesses like restaurants and gas stations, most businesses will be closed until 12:30 pm, CBC reported.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

☔️ 50mm: The upper estimate of the amount of rain expected this afternoon when the remnants of Hurricane Nicole hit Ottawa. [Ottawa Citizen]

⛽️ 165.9: What an analyst expects the price of gas to drop to today, down three cents per litre. [CityNews]

🚨169 km/h: The speed a driver was caught doing as he ran from the police on Spratt Road. [CityNews]

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CITY HALL

🏘️ City staff paint a dire picture of what the Ontario government’s new housing bill will mean for the city.

The upshot of their analysis: upgrades and improvements to city infrastructure and services will be paid by current residents through tax increases, instead of by developers; there will be less greenspace in new areas; and green buildings can no longer be mandated. [Ottawa Citizen]

• This is a complicated and important issue, and we’ll be diving deeper into the what the province’s new housing law means for Ottawa, and the changes to the city’s official plan in the weeks ahead.

🏛️ The last meeting of the old crop city council ended abruptly, with only the departing Diane Deans saying goodbye. So many councillors walked away from the table when disgraced Coun. Rick Chiarelli — who had once again had his pay docked for harassing staff — that council lost quorum and the meeting was abruptly adjourned. It marked the last meeting for many who are leaving council, including Mayor Jim Watson and Coun. Catherine McKenney. [CBC]

🏢 The city gave initial approval a development of a possible four highrises near Petrie Island in Orléans. There are concerns with the development because it is only 30 metres from protected wetlands. There is some concern about flooding in the area, but city staff said it is 10 metres above the existing floodplain line. [Ottawa Citizen]

HEALTHCARE

Ottawa Public Health asks province for help

What happened: Dr. Vera Etches wrote the provincial government asking for more respiratory illness data and a PR campaign led by the province to encourage masking, CTV reported. The city’s top doctor said she had not ruled out a mask mandate, but also said she was looking for a provincial solution because “viruses don't stop at municipal borders.”

• The federal chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, also encouraged the public to wear masks to help relieve pressure on hospitals, CBC reported.

Record waits: Across the province, emergency room wait times were at record highs last month. It took an average of 21.3 hours of waiting to be admitted, CTV reported. Ambulance offload times were up about 50 percent in the last year, with patients waiting 90 minutes, up from 83 in August.

Overwhelmed: CHEO opened a second pediatric ICU department to deal with a surge in patients, many with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), CBC reported. The hospital has asked the public to wear a mask to help relieve pressure.

EVENTS

Your weekend guide

Friday

🎭 Forever Young: A Ghetto Story, until Nov. 20: The Great Canadian Theatre Company at 1227 Wellington St. W, is putting on this new “sharp comedy” written by Darrah Teitel about a group of youths in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during the Second World War.

🍷 Crave Food and Wine Festival, until Nov. 12: Two days of food, drink, and demonstrations starts today at 4:30 at the Shaw Centre downtown. Tickets start at $33.

Saturday

🛍 One World Bazaar in Manotick, until Sunday 12 pm-7 pm: Handcrafted goods for sale from around the globe. The second last weekend it’s open!

🎶 Sneezy Waters & The Marvellous, 8 pm: Ottawa folk legend Sneezy Waters and his band are playing this weekend at Irene’s Pub. Tickets are general admission, and seating is guaranteed so arrive early. Tickets start at $39.

🎤 An Intimate Evening with Serena Ryder, 8 pm: Canadian songwriting star Serena Ryder heads to the Centrepointe Meridian Theatre as part of a tour of her new album, The Art of Falling Apart. Tickets start at $20.

🚲 Cyclettes book launch, 6:30 pm: Ottawa-born author Tree Abraham is in town to launch her new book at Perfect Books on Elgin Street. Admission is free, get your copy signed by the author!

🎻 Ottawa Chamber Orchestra Fall Concert, 8 pm: The city’s chamber orchestra returns with the music of Mozart, Bach, and Dvorák at Saint Joseph’s Parish, 174 Wilbrod St. Regular tickets $25.

🎄 Christmas Night Market, until Nov. 13: The Kemptville Campus at 75 Campus Dr. is hosting a Christmas market with crafts, live music, Santa, and wagon rides. Admission is free.

Sunday

🚜 Ottawa Farmers’ Market, 9 am-3 pm: The city’s biggest farmer’s market has moved indoor for the cooler season. Head on down to the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne for all kinds of local food products.

Food and Events (Insiders Only)

How to get them: Insider members get a curated food event list in our Thursday Insider email, as well as early access to restaurant reviews. Try an Insider membership for only $1 for your first month - there’s no risk and you can cancel anytime.

QUICK HITS

🚚 Ottawa MP and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Polievre said he stands by his support of the convoy, and won’t comment on what he’s heard at the inquiry until it’s done. [CityNews]

💐 Philanthropist and business leader Grete Hale died at the age of 93. Hale was the chairman emeritus of Morrison Lamothe, and was involved in the Ottawa Community Foundation. [CTV]

🚨 A 23-year-old Ottawa woman was killed in an altercation at a Saskatoon bar. The family and friends of Hodan Hashi are raising money to pay for funeral expenses, you can find the GoFundMe here. A woman has been charged with manslaughter in Hashi’s death. [CBC]

🚰 A boil-water advisory was issued for Hull yesterday afternoon because of a water main break. The advisory affected about 25,000 people. [CityNews]

🥣 Tim Hortons recalled its chicken noodle soup in Ontario and Alberta because of the presence of bugs.

SPORTS

Ryan and the Senators?

🏒 Actor Ryan Reynolds, who expressed interest in buying the Sens, got a standing ovation from fans at Tuesday’s game. [CityNews]

🥅 Goalie Magnus Hellberg is heading back to the Seattle Kraken, after playing only one game with the Sens. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏆 Former Senators coaches Rick Bowness and Jacques Martin had plenty of great things to say about Daniel Alfredsson ahead of his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. [Ottawa Citizen]

Upcoming games

67’s vs. Oshawa Generals | Friday, Nov. 11, 7 pm | At home | Tickets

Senators @ Philadelphia Flyers | Saturday, Nov. 12 1 pm | Away | TSN 5 and TVA Sports 2

67’s vs. Niagara Ice Dogs | Saturday, Nov. 12, 2 pm | At home | Tickets

GIVEAWAY

Beat the grocery inflation blues

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You can beat expensive groceries by entering to win $100 from Burrows, which stocks some of Ottawa’s best products from local vendors.

Entering is easy. All you need to do is enter your email address

The contest closes Nov. 23 at midnight, so hurry and enter!

GOOD NEWS

It’s official: The former rail crossing from Ottawa to Gatineau that is being refit as a pedestrian and cycling bridge was officially rededicated as the Chief William Commanda Bridge. The Algonquin Chief fought for reconciliation, the environment, and forgiveness. [Ottawa Citizen]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Loyalist Trading Company just outside of Napanee is drawing a lot of visitors because of a pair of goats who live on the roof (yes, the roof). [CTV]

• El Taco de Oro has great authentic Mexican, and the tacos are well worth the trip.

• The Ottawa Art Gallery has new fall exhibits, including Portraits in a Time of Social Distancing, which shows people in their work-from-home environments. [Apt613]

• Insider members only only: A trip to Gatineau to check out the hip new Spritz cocktail lounge and restaurant.

• There are road closures on Colonel By (for Canal opening work) and the 174 (for LRT construction) this weekend, plan your travel accordingly.

• Get them while they’re hot, a pair of Jim Watson campaign mugs — a buck each! — were spotted at the Salvation Army at Richmond and Carling. [Reddit]

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

TOP PHOTO

Today’s photo is of the two mayoral candidates, Mark Sutcliffe and Catherine McKenney. During the campaign, the two promised to get a Beaver Tail after it was all over, and today they met to fulfil that promise.

Have you got great shots of our city you’d like to share? Send them in! We love showing off reader photos to the Lookout community.

OTTAWA WORDLE

Congrats to Melissa, Clarissa, Gord, Louise, and Amy, who were the first five people to know Wednesday’s Ottawa GeoGuesser was of just beside the Canadian War Museum. Great work if you guessed correctly as well!

Do you have what it takes to get today’s Ottawa Wordle? Play now!

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