Neighbours Don’t Continually Steal From Neighbours — ByWard Markets Need Mayor to Act

 Before Ottawa City Council recessed for their five-week summer break, they announced that the newly formed ByWard Market District Authority would replace the lacklustre performing ByWard Business Improvement Area, better known as the ByWard BIA. S The BIA had become a punching bag for the increasing dysfunction in the ByWard

Unelected councillor angry about accusations of OC Transpo gaslighting

 ABOVE: Ward 4 Kanata North Councillor Cathy Curry took great offense to criticism of OC Transpo's new ad campaign. The Ottawa Transit Commission met today for its final time with its current board. It was Sarah Wright-Gilbert who kicked things off quickly with a contentious discussion. The publicly appointed commissioner accused Commission Chair

Councillor Brockington tries in vain to save Hunt Club forest

 PHOTO: Forest via Save Hunt Club Forest Today’s Ottawa City Council meeting was particularly interesting as Council finds itself in a late-term debacle with lame-duck rules possibly kicking in if fewer than 18 sitting council members do not run for the next term. With 24 seats in the chamber currently, including

Ford announces Civic Campus expansion and defends Covid-19 reopening.

 Today Premier Doug Ford was in Ottawa to announce upgrades to the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus, flanked by Deputy Premier Christine Elliot and Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma, Mayor Jim Watson, and Ottawa Hospital President Cameron Love. Ford complimented Ottawa Hospital staff for their professionalism in conducting day-to-day operations during the Covid pandemic.

Struggling to make sense of how our city lost control

 When typing this article, the occupation of truck drivers is still happening. Despite Ottawa and Ontario being under a state of emergency, nothing has changed. Outside of issuing tickets and a few arrests, The Ottawa Police continue to do nothing besides watching others take over our city. Our mayor continues

Stop the chaos, anxiety, sleep deprivation: We need our city back!

 It’s been over a week since the trucker protests started. Let’s just call it what it is, an occupation. That seems to be the more accurate and popular term. I could also come up with other words, but I enjoy working here. It’s one of the few good things I

The convoy: How quickly we became prisoners in our homes

 As I’m typing this, it’s early afternoon on a Sunday. I can hear cars and trucks honking in the distance. This has been the soundtrack to my weekend. On YouTube, people have been live-streaming what’s happening on Parliament Hill, as well as on the streets nearby. On social media, people

Welcome to 2022. It’s time to review, and begin anew.

 Right off the bat, or in my case, the wheel, I want to say Happy 2022 to everyone. I hope that this year brings you happiness, good health, kindness, and an end to the pandemic once and for all. Since this is the first full week of January, the holidays

Councillor Shawn Menard releases “four point immediate action plan” to deal with LRT woes

 Capital Ward Councillor Shawn Menard is demanding action  from Mayor Jim Watson  and OC Transpo and released a statement on Friday detailing the continuing LRT problems and what he sees as a lack of  city leadership in dealing with those issues. Below is Menard’s statement on the matter. We are

Ottawa Tourism, Invest Ottawa and Shaw Centre team up to launch #ThinkOttawa

 Ottawa is about to make a name for itself on the global map with the launch of ThinkOttawa! Three of the city’s biggest economic development organizations, Ottawa Tourism, Invest Ottawa and Shaw Centre, have just announced the initiative which strives to attract major global and regional conventions and conferences to

Ottawa’s Top News Stories of 2018

 Tornadoes Touchdown On the afternoon of September 21, 2018, a localized outbreak in the national capital region of 6 tornadoes impacted eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. The Dunrobin-Gatineau tornado was classified as a high-end EF3, with winds reaching 265 km/h. Dubbed Ottawa-Gatineau’s tornadoes, they blew down houses and blacked out

Luxury at its finest comes to the Capital

 Photos by Anne De Haas Meet Ottawa native Micki Mizrahi and her husband Sam who are adding a wow factor to the local condo market. Ottawa is a city of hidden gems. Whether it’s the cool and quirky neighbourhoods, restaurants, cafés, bars, shops, sports facilities, museums, parks, universities, colleges, green

The Top 25 People in the Capital: 1-10

 Photo by Valerie Keeler This year we teamed up with Crusoe, the Celebrity Dachshund, to sniff out the top dogs in the city that are actually people. Crusoe got his game face on and scouted out Ottawans that are the ones to watch. They are the best that the capital has

Watson and Task Force Want Amazon Shipped to Ottawa

 Could Amazon be shipping its second headquarters to Ottawa? If Mayor Jim Watson has his way, you’re future online orders may be arriving at your front door from much closer then you think. Last Thursday, the online retail giant announced that it was their turn to shop around. They weren’t looking

I Won’t Back Down

 Ottawa Life’s Festival City Series is back! We'll provide a unique look at some of your favourite events. We’ll go beyond the music with artist interviews, volunteer profiles, concert reviews and spotlights on the tastes, sights and sounds of the festival season.  Your city! Your festivals and events! Like a good sunscreen,

Inspiration Village Opens to Celebrate Canada

 Ottawa Life’s Festival City Series is back! We'll provide a unique look at some of your favourite events. We’ll go beyond the music with artist interviews, volunteer profiles, concert reviews and spotlights on the tastes, sights and sounds of the festival season.  Your city! Your festivals! Like a good sunscreen, Ottawa Life

A Sweet Night of Candy at Alterna Savings Crackup!

 Photos by Andre Gagne It was a joke John Candy probably would have appreciated, breaking out his signature smile and boisterous laugh: his family fly in from sunny California for a tribute in his name only to face 20 centimeters of snow and the biggest blizzard of the year. While

After 20 Years of “Dithering” Library Finally Ready to Book It

 Photos by Andre Gagne The central branch of the Ottawa Public Library is heading west! Yesterday city council approved LeBreton Flats as the site for what is being called a "super library" set to replace the aging main branch currently at 120 Metcalfe Street. The 21-1 vote to partner with

Elementary, Watson!

 The colorful flash of fireworks lighting up the Ottawa sky ushered us into the New Year a few weeks ago. The foundation was laid for what is shaping up to be one of the biggest years the city has ever seen. Today, the proverbial cherry was placed firmly on top

Ashcroft Homes Announces Key Sparks Street Development in the Heart of the Capital

 It was over a decade ago, back in 2006 that Ashcroft Homes began discussions with the National Capital Commission (NCC) about developing a prime Sparks Street property, one block south of Parliament Hill. The RESIDENCES project was finally announced October 26, 2016 as Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Ashcraft Homes President

Meet Ottawa Artist Katerina Mertikas

 It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to meet a celebrated Canadian artist. Katerina Mertikas is best-known for her bright and colourful paintings of children playing outdoors in the snow and enjoying the rain under bright umbrellas. The expressionist artist will have a variety of her artwork on

Juno Awards to Make Historic Return to Ottawa

 The city is buzzing with anticipation for the JUNO Awards returning to Ottawa in 2017 as part of the country’s 150th anniversary. The musical birthday bash will transform Ottawa into not just a festival city but a music city as the JUNO Week celebrations take place March 27th to April

Childcare Done Differently Now in Westboro

 All photos by Ali Matthews. When it comes to childcare, no two families are alike. Every family has different needs and expectations for their care, not to mention the tinges of parental guilt no matter where or whom you leave your child with. Victoria Sopik, Founder & CEO of Kids

The Festival of India Returns with a Wave of Culture and Colour!

 All photos by Andre Gagne. To the sound of a sitar, a surge of culture and colour is about to wash over Marion Dewar Plaza bringing with it all the traditional food, workshops, dancing and, of course, music that is the Festival of India. The three-day event beginning on August

Celebrating Tomlinson’s New Waste-Recovery Centre in Carp

 Tomlinson celebrated the opening of their new waste-recovery centre last Saturday on June 11. What may have seemed like just another rainy weekend to many, actually marks the opening of an important addition to Ontario's waste system. The Canadian infrastructure and environmental services organization officially opened their Carp centre in May,