Politics

WEST CARLETON – Right before the official start of Thanksgiving Weekend (Oct. 9), as COVID-19 numbers skyrocketed in the province, the Doug Ford Conservative government announced it was banning dine-in eating at restaurants in Ottawa, Toronto and the Peel Region in an effort to control the spike in cases in those three locations. West Carleton Coun. Eli El-Chantiry says the timing of the announcement couldn’t have been worse.

WEST CARLETON – It doesn’t matter what option city council chooses from six currently being considered, West Carleton is set to get bigger.

WEST CARLETON – On Sept. 3 Ottawa Public Health (OPH) released its COVID-19 ward snapshot. The latest of monthly snapshots claimed there were no new cases in Ward 5 West Carleton-March. Coun. Eli El-Chantiry says that number is too good to be true.

CORKERY – It’s a phrase Conservative commentator and well-known voice Lowell Green would use often during our two-hour interview. It’s also the title of the best-selling author’s new book.

BEIRUT – A massive explosion rocked the port of Beirut, Lebanon yesterday (Aug. 4) killing more than 100 people, injuring more than 4,000 and displacing more than 300,000 people from their homes.

WEST CARLETON – In the 2020 Ottawa Police Service (OPS) annual report, the crime rate in West Carleton went down 24.6 per cent, but violent crime rose 14.3 per cent for the 2019 calendar year.

WEST CARLETON – In a marathon council meeting, the last for the city until late August, Coun. Eli El-Chantiry was able to get a motion passed that will bring some surprise roadwork to West Carleton.

WEST CARLETON – The city’s Finance and Economic Development committee (FEDCO) heard from its team of ward boundary review consultants yesterday (July 7) who presented several options as part of the ongoing ward boundary review.

CITY HALL – Urban expansion is coming. After nearly four hours of discussion at Ottawa City Hall yesterday, (May 27) council approved the joint Planning and Agriculture and Rural Affairs  (ARAC) committees’ recommendation for what city staff calls a balanced approach to urban boundary expansion that may see as many as 1,650 hectares added to the urban boundary, taken from the suburban and rural areas of the city.