Category: News

Ottawa City Council met last week to formulate a budget for 2016. The city is facing a record-setting deficit, and has been investigating creative ways to bolster municipal earnings. Some Councillors argued that cutting arts programming could save money, but since no one dared propose a tax increase, the Council ultimately decided on a dramatic move: selling Vanier to Hull for 22 million dollars.

“The City of Ottawa is growing. When a population rises, so do costs.” said Gregory Scott, Councillor for Nepean, “The decision to sell Vanier solves a lot of problems for us. The money from the sale will pay off Ottawa’s debts, giving us a fresh start for the new fiscal year. Additionally, a slightly smaller Ottawa means less roads to plough and less potholes to fix. Finally, our significant police forces that have been allocated for Vanier will be distributed elsewhere, making the city safer for everyone.”

The sale came as a surprise to residents, as something of this nature has never been done before. One has to wonder what those who live in Vanier think of the decision, but we were unable to obtain a statement from anyone, as none of our staff wanted to go there.

Black Friday has its roots in American Thanksgiving sales, but many Ottawa businesses will be offering major discounts this weekend as well. The Ottawa RedBlacks got their name from Ottawa’s previous CFL team’s colours, Red and Black.

With the RedBlacks capturing a spot in this year’s Grey Cup on Sunday, there has been a lot of confusion as to what customers and fans can expect to find while they’re out today. The city has declared today to be “RedBlack Friday”, with restaurants and bars in the Glebe and Old Ottawa South offering specials through this weekend as Grey Cup hype builds.

Businesses in the area are understandably having some difficulty explaining deals to staff and customers. Jared McDonough, a manager at Crust and Crate at Lansdowne, arrived to work early this morning to find over 150 people lined up expecting door crasher sales. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “I think they might not realize this isn’t Crate and Barrel. We advertised drink specials as a part of RedBlack Friday, but I never would have expected this.”

By later today this confusion should all be sorted out, but it may happen all over again if the RedBlacks are able to win on Sunday. Kettleman’s has already said it plans to offer discounts and special deals on Monday if Henry “Cyber” Burris wins Grey Cup MVP.

For decades, Ottawa’s Rideau Canal enjoyed the title of “World’s Longest Outdoor Skating Rink”. In 2008, however, this glory was lost to a river in Winnipeg, and the Canal has struggled to remain relevant as a tourist attraction ever since. Yesterday, the National Capital Commission announced plans to revitalize the once great stretch of ice.

“This winter, the Rideau Canal will make an attempt at the Guinness World Record for ‘Deadliest Outdoor Skating Rink’. The National Capital Commission as well as the City of Ottawa look forward to working together to accomplish this goal” announced Alison Camonbur, a spokesperson for the NCC.

Although the project is still in the early planning phase, some details have already been set. The National Capital Commission have stated that maintenance schedules will remain unchanged from last season, but instead of fixing potholes and clearing snow, they will be in charge of creating hazards on the ice. “The ice will be thinned in strategic spots, lighting will be severely reduced at night, and we will do our best to ensure that the surface of the Canal remains as uneven as possible.” Camonbur explains, “In addition, our volunteer medics will no longer patrol the skateway, and access will be reduced to a single point at each end. Injured skaters will have to drag themselves up to 4 km to escape. I think we really have a shot at this record.”