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Tag: Ottawa-Gatineau

Risk of wildfire smoke in Ottawa low — for now: Environment Canada

Smoke from wildfires in Western Canada will soon be drifting high overhead, but it poses no health risk in Eastern Ontario, says Environment Canada.

“Taking a look at our guidance and the weather patterns this week and the way things are panning out, it doesn’t look like Eastern Ontario needs to be concerned about its air quality at this time,” Trudy Kidd, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Monday.

“At best, people might see some haze in the skies in the coming days as the forest fire smoke makes its way through and disperses aloft, but from what we can tell at this time, the particulate matter — and that’s what’s of concern when it comes to forest fires — we’re expecting it to stay aloft,” she said.

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Wildfire smoke could move into Ottawa, eastern Ontario tonight

Wildfires in western Canada will likely bring smoke into Ottawa and eastern Ontario starting on Monday and into Tuesday morning.

CTV’s Your Morning chief meteorologist Kelsey McEwen says smoke could travel as far as Quebec City by Tuesday morning with air quality advisories being issued in five provinces.

“You can see the Jetstream pulling that smoke down south of the border through the Dakotas and back up through the Great Lakes,” McEwen said.

“By tomorrow, this begins to slide toward the Ottawa-Gatineau area, tomorrow morning and out toward Quebec City.”

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Convoy leader Pat King heads to trial

One of the most polarizing figures to gain notoriety during what became known as the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa more than two years ago will stand trial Monday, signalling the tail end of criminal proceedings that have dogged hundreds of individuals who participated in the historic protest.

Pat King, from Red Deer, Alta., is facing charges of mischief, intimidation, obstructing police, disobeying a court order and other offences for his role in the protest that gridlocked downtown for nearly a month in early 2022.

Arrested and jailed for five months before his release that summer, King is unlikely to serve more time behind bars if he is found guilty, given laws around credit from time served.

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$1 million investment for cleaner, healthier air, energy savings at CHEO

The federal government says the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s (CHEO) will have major updates, resulting in healthier and cleaner air, and energy savings.

An investment of up to $1 million from the Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF) will go to the hospital to support its Deep Energy Retrofit Program, the government announced on Thursday.

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Mpox cases on the rise again, OPH warns

Mpox cases in Ontario are on the rise, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is warning local doctors and nurses.

The province has reported 26 cases so far in 2024, with OPH noting in its Wednesday statement that four had been confirmed in Ottawa.

Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is a rare viral disease that is typically endemic in some central and west African countries.

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Hospitalizations nudge upward in otherwise stable respiratory checkup

Ottawa is back in high-risk respiratory territory because of an increase in new hospitalizations.

COVID-19 and RSV trends are generally seen as low in the weekly respiratory update from Ottawa Public Health (OPH).

Flu wastewater readings and hospitalizations remain very high as this flu season stretches into spring.

OPH said there were 17 new COVID, flu and RSV hospitalizations the week starting March 24, and 27 the week starting March 31.

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Wildfire season: What can Ottawa expect?

Last summer’s smoky skies could make a return this year, as officials say Canada is on track for a repeat of the 2023 wildfire season – the worst on record.

In Ottawa, wildfire smoke blanketed the capital several times last summer and there were multiple open air fire bans and even concerns Canada Day fireworks could trigger a blaze.

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Ottawa Public Library to provide free solar eclipse glasses for residents

The Ottawa Public Library will be providing free solar eclipse glasses to residents in anticipation of a partial solar eclipse on April 8.

While supplies last, the glasses that provide proper protection for eclipse viewing will include a printed handout with safety instructions.

The City of Ottawa says it will launch the initiative on Thursday, March 28. All library branches will have total solar eclipse glasses available for the public, starting when branches open on Thursday.

Officials say quantities of glasses are limited, so branches will run out before April 8.

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Respiratory virus levels mostly steady, but 13 flu hospitalizations in latest update

Respiratory disease levels have remained mostly steady in the past week, Ottawa Public Health says in its latest update.

Influenza remains a major concern with 13 more patients hospitalized in the seven days ended March 16. There were 14 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, which OPH described as “low and decreasing since last week.”

There were 45 more confirmed COVID-19 cases, about half of them in patients 65 years of age and older.

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Ottawa woman ‘outraged’ at $110 charge at Appletree clinic for routine cervical cancer screening

Ontario’s Ministry of Health says it is launching an investigation into the practices of an Ottawa Appletree clinic after a woman was charged $110 to see a nurse practitioner for a routine cancer screening test.

Eileen Murphy says she registered with the Appletree clinic near Carling and Woodroffe last year because both she and her husband were without a family doctor. Their former doctor switched her practice from family medicine to dermatology in 2022.

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Ottawa Public Health stats mainly stable for COVID-19, flu and RSV

Respiratory infections in Ottawa showed little change over the last week.

Ottawa Public Health reported 83 new confirmed cases and three new deaths during the period ending Feb. 27.

Last week, there were 130 new cases and two additional deaths.

This week’s reading brought the total number of Ottawa cases to 98,254 since the pandemic began in 2020, while 1,230 people have died.

The health agency’s weekly respiratory infections dashboard showed 12 new hospitalizations for flu patients in the seven days ending Feb. 24, for a total of 199 this season. The report described flu levels as very high, the same description as last week’s data.

The report showed 21 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, for a total of 1,064, and three more hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The COVID-19 and RSV results were described as “moderate.”

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Ottawa Bylaw says police warned officers not to ticket ‘Freedom Convoy’ demonstrators due to ‘risk of escalation’

The City of Ottawa’s general manager of emergency and protective services says there is no double standard when it comes to how Ottawa Bylaw issues tickets to protesters who violate things like noise bylaws.

His comments come after the city announced this week that bylaw tickets were not issued to protesters in Ottawa for the “Freedom Convoy” anniversary rally on Saturday, despite the fact that a group of protesters set off fireworks in a parking lot on Queen Street, in violation of the city’s fireworks bylaw.

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Ottawa-Gatineau community update | 2024‑02‑15

📈 The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa is very high. The signal has decreased substantially since a peak around January 12, 2024. Levels are still about 1,050% higher than the value during a low point on July 12, 2023. The signal has increased during the first week of February 2024.

⚠️ The percent positivity is high (9.39% in Ottawa; 12.0% in the Outaouais).

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Convoy organizers claim Ottawa police board should pay damages in proposed class-action lawsuit

Convoy protest organizers defending a proposed class-action lawsuit now argue the Ottawa Police Services Board should be on the hook for any potential damages to be paid out, claiming protesters were following police directions when they parked hundreds of trucks in downtown Ottawa during the 2022 demonstration.

“None of the defendants … had originally expected to park any vehicles on the streets of downtown Ottawa as part of the protest,” according to a new third-party claim filed by the lawyer for the defendants, which include organizers Tamara Lich, Chris Barber and Pat King.

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COVID-19 cases continue downward trend

COVID-19 infections showed another drop in the last seven days, with Ottawa Public Health reporting 144 new cases as of Tuesday.

That compares with 177 new cases reported last week and 264 new cases the week before.

The health agency reported five new deaths from COVID-19, compared with four a week earlier.

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Judge tosses motion to dismiss proposed class-action lawsuit against convoy participants

Downtown Ottawa residents and business owners who launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against organizers of the 2022 convoy protest moved one step closer to having their day in court as a judge tossed a defence motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

“There is sufficient basis to conclude that the plaintiffs have a meritorious case,” Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod said in his ruling, released Monday.

“There is evidence that certain plaintiffs were subjected to what they contend to have been extreme amounts of noise, horn honking, incessant diesel fumes and other pollution, blockage of the streets and intimidation.

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Lawsuit against convoy organizers moves forward

There is evidence that certain plaintiffs were subjected to what they contend to have been extreme amounts of noise, horn honking, incessant diesel fumes and other pollution, blockage of the streets and intimidation. There is evidence that plaintiffs had difficulty accessing their properties and that business was disrupted, reservations cancelled, and revenue negatively impacted.

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Ottawa: Don’t trash the COVID-19 dashboard

📣 Let Ottawa Public Health, Ottawa’s mayor, and city councillors know you want continued access to the city’s COVID-19 dashboard.

✉️ Send letters to let them know you want continued access to updated data in the COVID-19 dashboard, and elsewhere on the City of Ottawa’s website. You can use your own email software to send the letters.

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