El-Chantiry: Ward 5 weekly news, April 13

COVID-19 – LATEST NEWS

Stay-at-home order enacted by the Province of Ontario: As you will already be aware, the Province of Ontario enacted a provincial emergency and stay-at-home order on April 8, which is in effect for at least the next four weeks.

Please CLICK HERE to read the Province’s news release which outlines in detail what this means for all Ontarians. Please remember, during this stay-at-home order only go out for essential purposes such as:

• going to the grocery store and pharmacy
• accessing health care services
• getting exercise outdoors and walking your dog 
• for work related purposes that cannot be done remotely

COVID-19 vaccination updates: As vaccination roll-out in Ottawa is moving forward rapidly and updates seem to happening almost daily, I’ve outlined below some of the best ways for residents to stay on top of the latest news in this regard. If you are still waiting for your turn to make an appointment, you can stay informed by:

• Visiting Ottawa Public Health’s website and their social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook)
• Sign up for Ottawa Public Health’s enewsletter which provides updates on a daily/weekly basis of the vaccine roll-out and future pop-up clinics
• Going to the City of Ottawa’s website and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook)
• Visiting the Province of Ontario’s website
• Staying tuned into Ottawa’s various local news media channels, newspapers and social media accounts

Residents warned to protect privacy: The City of Ottawa is warning residents to protect their privacy after reports of unauthorized callers offering vaccination appointments. The callers ask for personal information and pretend to arrange COVID-19 vaccination appointments or tests. Ottawa Public Health will not call you directly about a vaccine appointment, unless you have asked for a call back. If you are an adult recipient of chronic home health care, you may get an automated call with a recorded message to let you know you are eligible to book a vaccine appointment. Some physicians and community partners may be calling to encourage you to book an appointment as well. In all cases, only book and give personal information through official sites and phone numbers listed below. Some individuals may also be contacted by local hospitals, primary care providers and local health care partners:

• Provincial – Ontario.ca/book-vaccine 1-833-943-3900 / 1-888-999-6488 
• Ottawa – OttawaPublicHealth.ca/COVID19vaccine 613-691-5505

Ottawa Public Health will follow up with each person who gets a positive lab test for COVID-19. A case manager will ask for the individual’s name, date of birth and demographic information provided at the test in order to confirm they are speaking to the right person about their personal health information. Ottawa Public Health will never ask for money or your SIN. Neither appointments nor vaccines can be bought or sold by members of the public.

In-person April Break Day Camps cancelled: All in-person April Break Day Camps that were originally scheduled from April 12 to 16 have been cancelled. The virtual camp sessions will continue as scheduled and can be viewed at ottawa.ca/virtualprograms. Registrants for the in-person day camps will be contacted directly to be advised of the cancellation and refund process. For up-to-date information on recreation programming, visit ottawa.ca/recreation.

FIRE BAN IN PLACE

Ottawa Fire Service has implemented a city-wide open air fire ban. Brush piles, campfires and wood-burning outdoor fireplaces are not permitted to be used anywhere in the City of Ottawa during a ban. Please note, this is a normal time of year where a burn ban is put in place. The reason for the spring time ban is that although the ground is wet in most areas, the grass, weeds and other ground foliage is dry at the tips/top of the foliage. Fire can spread very rapidly along the tops of the dry foliage, creating a rapid expansion of the grass/brush fire. Another reason for a spring burn ban is simply due to the fact that fire and brush trucks are very heavy and in most cases cannot enter a field or properties that are muddy, soft and soaked due to the spring thaw. Once conditions improve the ban will be lifted. For more info visit Ottawa.ca/Fire.

MOTORISTS SHOULD YIELD TO GREEN FLASHING LIGHTS

I’d like to remind motorists that vehicles with green flashing lights are being driven by volunteer firefighters who are responding to a call. As a courtesy, road users are asked to allow these vehicles to pass quickly and safely.

Ottawa’s rural communities are served by volunteer firefighters, and through the Green Light Program, the volunteer firefighters are equipped with green flashing lights for their personal vehicles. Volunteer firefighters responding to an emergency typically need to drive their personal vehicles to a nearby fire station where they can transfer into a fire vehicle before responding to the scene of an incident. Pulling over when you see a firefighter’s green flashing lights can have a big impact because every second counts in an emergency situation!

ST. PAUL’S UNITED CHURCH – ONLINE AUCTION

St. Paul’s Church in Carp is holding an online auction. For more details see below or visit stpauls-dunrobin.ca.

CLEANING THE CAPITAL ON HOLD

The City of Ottawa’s Spring Cleaning the Capital Program is on hold until further notice, due to Ontario-wide shutdown. Registration remains open until May 15; however:

• Clean-up kits will not be made available for pick-up until city facilities re-open and are able to safely accommodate their distribution.
• Registrants who have already received clean-up kits are asked to hold off on scheduling their clean-up projects until public health guidance indicates it’s safe to do so.

The city will update registrants upon further information from the Province and our public health partners.

OTTAWA RURAL CLEAN WATER PROGRAM

The Ottawa Rural Clean Water Program (ORCWP) provides funding to landowners and non-profit organizations for projects that protect surface water and groundwater quality, with grants of up to $15,000. Farmers from rural and urban Ottawa along with landowners within rural Ottawa are eligible to apply. The next application deadline is May 1, 2021.Visit ottawa.ca/cleanwater to see a full list of eligible projects and to download an application form.

EARTH DAY WIRESIDE CHAT – HOW TO USE YOUR GREEN BIN TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

Residents are invited to attend this Zoom Earth Day Wireside Chat on Thursday, April 22, from 6:30-8:30pm.  When you put food waste into your green bin, it gets composted. This helps extend the life of our landfill. Reusing organic matter on farmers’ fields also improves soil health and yield. Plus, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions. How? Pull that banana peel out of the garbage can and join us for a virtual event about the numerous environmental benefits your green bin has to offer. Featured experts are Susan Antler, Executive Director, Compost Council of Canada and Maria Kelleher, Principal, Kelleher Environmental Consulting. Space is limited for this event. CLICK HERE to register. Participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the event. Attendance is free. The event will be held in English. Translation will be available for questions being asked in French. 

WOOD BURNING CHANGEOUT PROGRAM

The Ottawa Wood Burning Changeout Program, launched in 2019, encourages residents to replace outdated wood burning appliances with new, EPA certified models through a rebate on the purchase and installation of the new appliance. Wood burning appliances have been subject to increasingly stringent certification requirements over the past years, with an appliance manufactured today reducing emissions up to 90 per cent over an appliance from the 1980s. Replacing an outdated appliance with a new model is a practical action homeowners can take to bring about a measurable reduction in emissions, improved local air quality, and a reduction in the amount of wood required to generate the same amount of heat. In addition to replacing old appliances, residents are encouraged to have wood burning appliances serviced regularly, and to only burn properly seasoned (dry) firewood. The Ottawa Wood Burning Changeout Program will cover 25 per cent of the cost of purchase and installation of a replacement appliance, to a maximum of $750. This program is a partnership between the City of Ottawa and the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association of Canada, and is open to all residential addresses within the city, with a limit of one rebate per household.

CITY OF OTTAWA’S CLIMATE RESILIENCY STRATEGY

The City of Ottawa 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. The City needs to make sure we are ready to deal with the impacts. In this first phase of engagement, the City is 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 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. Residents can provide input by completing the online survey.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING – APRIL 14

The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 14 at 10am. The agenda can be reviewed here, and interested residents can listen in live to the meeting via the City of Ottawa’s YouTube channel.