April 16 Newsletter 2021

April 16, 2021 newsletter from Rawlson King, City Councillor for Rideau-Rockcliffe.

New COVID-19 Enforcement Measures and Extension of Emergency Declaration 

Today, Ontario's stay home order was extended for a total of six weeks by the Ontario Government and will now be in effect until at least May 20. 

New enforcement measures and restrictions are being implemented to help Ontario manage through the third wave of COVID-19 to protect the health and safety of Ontarians.

As of 12:01 a.m. on April 18th, the new restrictions will apply provide-wide:

• Outdoor gatherings will be limited to members of the same household only, or with one other household if that individual lives alone.
  
  
• In-person shopping at stores that primarily sell food and pharmaceutical goods, grocery, and “big box” stores will be restricted to 25% occupancy.
  
  
• Only essential construction will be able to continue (e.g., assessment centres, hospitals, long-term care homes). Non-essential construction (e.g., shopping malls, office towers, and hotels) is not allowed.
  
  
• All outdoor amenities will be closed (e.g., playgrounds, basketball courts).

As of 12:01 a.m. on April 19th, other changes will include:

• Restricting indoor participation at places of worship, funerals, and weddings to 10 people.
  
  
• Checkpoints will be created to restrict mobility at interprovincial borders between Quebec and Manitoba, with exceptions for work, transportation of goods, and medical appointments.

To accompany these restrictions, the Ministry of Labour has increased the number of inspectors for workplaces, to ensure that any employee that is not required to work outside of the home, stays at home.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General has also provided new temporary enforcement powers of by-law, Provincial Offences Act (POA), First Nation Constables, and police officers. Some of these powers include the ability to ask Ontarians to provide the purpose of being outside the home, to ask their personal address, and police officers will be able to stop cars to inquire into why they are outside the home.

Ward Boundary Resolution

City Council approved a motion, at the direction of Councillor Fleury and I this week authorizing the City’s legal department to pursue settlement of the Overbrook Community Association’s appeal to ward boundary changes approved last year.

This proposed settlement, if accepted, will preserve the historic boundaries of both Overbrook and Vanier.

This settlement will clarify the boundary using historic delineations rather than utilizing streets that divide the community. Most critically, the proposed boundary minimizes disruption to social service clients, as the current ward boundary serves to define its service catchment.

I commend the Overbrook Community Association for bringing the action and fighting for our neighbourhood. The community reasoning was entirely compelling, and I am pleased that a fully satisfactory resolution is within reach.

Montreal Road lane closures to begin April 18

On Sunday, April 18, Montreal Road will be reduced to a single westbound lane between Vanier Parkway and St. Laurent Boulevard until late 2022. These lane closures are needed to complete the Montreal Road revitalization project.

Workers will continue to replace aging underground infrastructure, including watermain, sections of sanitary sewer, storm sewer and the roadway. Construction of surface features will also continue this year, including concrete sidewalks, cycle tracks and landscaping.

Traffic detour

Eastbound traffic, including cyclists, will be detoured to McArthur Avenue via North River Road and Vanier Parkway, connecting to St. Laurent Boulevard. Visit ottawa.ca for more information about the detour.

Transit detour

OC Transpo routes 12, 15 and 20 will be modified, as illustrated in the graphic below. Visit octranspo.com for more information.

Parking and local access

On-street parking will be prohibited along Montreal Road between Vanier Parkway and St. Laurent Boulevard. Various side street closures will also be required. Access to and from existing driveways will be maintained along Montreal Road in the westbound direction only. Montreal Road between North River Road and Vanier Parkway will continue to operate as a two-way road, but with some parking restrictions as work progresses.

Pedestrians

Pedestrian crossings will be maintained around the work and signed detours will be in place. Pedestrian access to local businesses and private properties will also be maintained throughout. Montreal Road businesses remain open.

Nominate a Volunteer in your Community

Your Ottawa-Vanier elected representatives would like to honour members of the community for their volunteerism. Do you know someone that you feel deserves to be recognized for their dedication to the Ottawa-Vanier Community? Does this person exemplify the spirit of what it is to be a volunteer?

Do you feel like this person has:

• Made a significant contribution through their volunteer efforts?
• Made a meaningful impact in the community?
• Demonstrated social responsibility and leadership by giving back to the community?

If someone comes to mind, no matter how big or small their contribution to their community; we’d like you to tell us about them. Once your nominations have been received, we will identify the recipients, and then your Councillor, our Member of Parliament and Member of Provincial Parliament will honour them with a personalized certificate. We want each recipient to be properly acknowledged for their achievements, have the chance to accept their certificate, speak to their nomination, and what/where they volunteer.

With Covid restrictions in place, we will be hosting a Zoom evening event in late May 2021 to honour the recipients. Links will be shared with the selected nominees shortly before the event.

Please submit your nominations to your ward councillor by 4:00pm on Monday, May 3rd, 2021.

There is no word limit to the nomination.

Depending on how many responses we receive, we may not be able to provide a certificate to each person. By no means does that it in any way lessen the importance and value of the nominee’s contributions.

Please send submissions to [email protected], with subject “Volunteer Recognition”.

Responding to Mental Health Crises Webinar Series

Join us for our Webinar Series, Responding to Mental Health Crises: Learning What Works in Ottawa and Beyond.

In Ottawa, Canada and the U.S., there have been many successful models for responding to mental health crises. We invite you to this webinar series to learn what is currently being done in response to mental health crisis situations.

Each event in the series will feature one approach to a mental health crisis response, with a presentation highlighting how and why it was developed, how it works and the lessons learned. A Q&A will follow the presentation.

Registration is free! Visit this link to register for the webinar.

Help shape the City’s Climate Resiliency Strategy

The City is developing a Climate Resiliency Strategy to assess how Ottawa is vulnerable to climate change and identify strategies to adapt to future conditions and mitigate the greatest climate risks. 

Ottawa will become much warmer over the coming decades, with more intense rainfall and more extreme events. This will impact our health and safety, infrastructure, economy and the environment. We need to make sure we are ready to deal with the impacts.

In this first phase of engagement, we’re looking for your input on:

• What climate impacts you are most concerned about
• How climate change is affecting you
• How we can help you prepare for the future

Your input will help us develop a strategy that meets the needs of everyone in Ottawa.

The Climate Resiliency Strategy will go hand in hand with Energy Evolution, the City’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Find out more about the Climate Resiliency Strategy and provide your input by completing the survey.

Covid-19 and Vaccine Updates:

• To date, more than 254,400 doses of vaccines have been administered in Ottawa.
• The Provincial Emergency and Stay-at-Home Order remains in effect, requiring everyone to remain at home except for essential purposes.
• The Ontario government made the decision to move elementary and secondary schools to remote learning following the April break.
• The Province of Ontario opened pre-registration to individuals with highest risk health conditions and their caregivers. These individuals can visit Ottawa Public Health to pre-register.
• The City continues to administer vaccines in accordance with theProvince’s Vaccine Distribution Plan while prioritizing those that are at highest risk of serious illness and death.
• Ontario is in Phase 2 of its vaccine distribution plan. All Ottawa residents age 60 and over can book appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at community clinics.
• Two more high-priority groups of residents are now eligible for vaccination appointments. In line with Province of Ontario guidance, vaccines will be made available to special education workers and homebound home health care recipients.
• The Province of Ontario announced the extension of vaccine appointments at community clinics to residents aged 50 and older who live in certain “hot spots”. Vaccination appointments for 50+ at community clinics are expected to fill up quickly.
• The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is available in select Ottawa pharmacies for eligible people ages 55 or older in 2021. Find your closest pharmacy.
• In addition to community vaccination clinics and mobile vaccination teams, we continue to operate pop-up clinics, clinics for Indigenous community members, and adult recipients of chronic home health care. Visit the Vaccination distribution page for more information.
• Moderate priority health care workers can now pre-register for their COVID-19 vaccine.
• The City is working with our partners at The Ottawa Hospital and Queensway Carleton Hospital to deliver vaccines to thousands of local health care workers. For more information on each of these delivery channels, including eligibility and booking information, please visit ca.
• Visit the OPH Covid-19 Vaccination page to learn who can currently get the Covid-19 vaccine and check out COVID-19 in Ottawa for the latest updates.