Primary Care for Older Adults: An Urgent Need

Our office co-hosted a successful public forum on June 18 with Senior’s Health Innovation Hub on the subject of the urgent need for access to primary care for older adults. At the forum we heard from a dynamic group of exciting speakers:

• Dr. Ben Robert, Chief Medical Officer at Perley Health, spoke to why we have seen a shortage of family doctors.
• Monica Armstrong & Shelley Horrocks from the Ottawa Ontario Health Team discussed how to use data to inform health care redesign.
• Margaret Tansey, Chair of the Seniors Health Innovations Hub, spoke to how to push back on ageism and outlined important health resources for older adults.
• Hoda Mankal, Executive Director of Ottawa’s first Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, spoke to the growing role and value of nurse practitioners in primary care.
• Nancy Edwards & Chris Bidmead, from the C.A.R.P. Ottawa Chapter Fall Prevention Working Group, on how older adults can proactively prevent falls
• Nathalie Lafrenière, Regional Director of CSS Shared Resources / AccessCSS for Ontario East, on the role of Community Support Services in the healthcare system.

You can find the full recording of the forum, the power point presentations and more here. Thank you to the hundreds of residents that attended in person or tuned in online.

Canada Day—City Services and Schedules

The City of Ottawa would like to remind residents of the following schedule changes and impacts to City services for the Canada Day holiday on Tuesday, July 1.

Client Service Centres

• The City’s 3-1-1 Contact Centre will be open for urgent matters only. Please visit the 3-1-1 website for more information.
• ServiceOttawa’s Client Services and Provincial Offences counters and phone lines will be closed. Counters are located at Ottawa City Hall (110 Laurier Avenue West), Ben Franklin Place (101 Centrepointe Drive), Orléans (255 Centrum Boulevard) and the City’s Provincial Offences Court at 100 Constellation Drive.
• The Business Licensing Centre at 735 Industrial Avenue will be closed.
• The City of Ottawa Spay and Neuter Clinic at 26 Concourse Gate will be closed.
• The City of Ottawa Archives and Gallery 112 at the James Bartleman Centre will be closed from Saturday, June 28 to Tuesday, July 1.
• The Barbara Ann Scott Gallery, the Karsh-Masson Gallery, and the City Hall Art Gallery will be closed on Tuesday, July 1.

Green bin, recycling and garbage collection

• There will be no curbside green bin, recycling, garbage or bulky item collection on Tuesday, July 1. Pick up will take place on Wednesday, July 2. In addition, the collection will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week.
• Residents can sign up to receive collection reminders and service alerts by email or phone call on our Collection Calendar page
• Multi-residential garbage containers will be collected on the regular scheduled day. Collections of multi-residential recycling containers, bulky items and green bins will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week.
• The Trail Waste Facility Landfill will be open on Tuesday, July 1 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Ottawa Public Health

• The Site program office and supervised consumption services at 179 Clarence Street will be closed. The Site mobile van will operate from 5 pm to 11:30 pm.
• Visit the ParentingInOttawa web page for vaccination clinic hours and availability.
• The Sexual Health Clinic and satellite clinics will be closed.
• Dental clinics will be closed.
• The Parenting-In-Ottawa drop-ins will be closed on Tuesday, July 1.
• Visit the COVID-19 Vaccine page for vaccination clinic hours and availability.
• Connect with a registered nurse from Health811 for free, secure, and confidential health advice. Service is available in English and French, with translation support also offered in other languages.
• Our immunization program telephone line will be closed. You can update your child's immunization record using either the CANImmunize App or the Immunization Connect Ontario (ICON) Tool. For more information visit our Updating and Retrieving Immunizations web page.

Employment and Social Services

• All four Employment and Social Services offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 1:
  • 370 Catherine Street
  • 2339 Ogilvie Road
  • 100 Constellation Drive
  • 2020 Walkley Road

Municipal child care services

• All municipal child care centres will be closed on Tuesday, July 1.

Library services

• All branches of Ottawa Public Library (including Bookmobile, Homebound services and InfoService) will be closed on Tuesday, July 1. Online resources, digital content, and program listings are available through the Ottawa Public Library website. Regular hours resume on Wednesday, July 2.

OC Transpo Service During Canada Day

OC Transpo is the best way to travel to Canada Day events across the city, with no-charge service all day on all O-Train lines, buses, and Para Transpo. To better support customers travelling to and from Canada Day celebrations, OC Transpo will have additional service running throughout the day and into the evening.

All O-Train stations are open for customers attending Canada Day festivities. Pimisi Station on O-Train Line 1 is the closest station to the main event site at LeBreton Flats. Lyon and Bayview stations are also only a short distance from LeBreton Flats. Signage and staff will assist in directing pedestrians from these stations to the LeBreton Flats site entrance.

Bus service and O-Train Lines 1, 2 and 4 will operate on a special Canada Day schedule. Line 1 will operate from 6:00 am to 2:00 am, with enhanced frequency in the evening. Lines 2 and 4 service will operate from 7:00 am to 1:00 am. Additional buses will supplement service levels where needed.

Para Transpo will provide direct service to a designated drop-off and pick-up location on Vimy Place across from the War Museum's group entrance. Para Transpo service will run until 3:00 am. Further details on accessibility are available at canada.ca/CanadaDay.

Customers travelling downtown for the fireworks are encouraged to plan ahead and arrive early. Access to the LeBreton Flats event site will be closed at approximately 9:30 pm, or earlier if capacity is reached, to prepare for attendees leaving the event. To reduce crowding on Booth Street while access to the event site is closed, trains will temporarily bypass Pimisi Station until the conclusion of the fireworks. Customers can get off at Lyon or Bayview stations to watch the fireworks, if they arrive after access has been closed.

When leaving LeBreton Flats after the fireworks, customers have several options to get home or to their next destination:

• Walk south on Booth Street to reach eastbound O-Train Line 1 service at Pimisi Station or special westbound bus service on Albert Street.
• Walk east on Wellington Street to get downtown or to reach Lyon Station for O-Train Line 1 service in both directions.
• Walk west on Wellington Street and an adjoining pathway to reach Bayview Station for O-Train Lines 1 and 2.

OC Transpo will have an information tent set up on Wellington Street just west of Bay Street from 8 am to 2:30 pm, and transit outreach staff will be present in the evening at many stations. Customers are also encouraged to download Transit, the recommended trip planning app for OC Transpo customers.

OC Transpo Service During Bluesfest

Ottawa Bluesfest concerts will take place at LeBreton Flats between Thursday, July 10, and Sunday, July 20.

Ticketholders can travel for free on all O-Train lines, buses and Para Transpo up to three hours before and two hours after the event.

During Ottawa Bluesfest, additional buses will be available to supplement service levels where needed. Service on O-Train Line 1 will operate more frequently in the evenings and will be extended to midnight on Sundays to accommodate event attendees returning home. Customers can use O-Train service at Pimisi, Bayview or Lyon stations when travelling to and from the event area.

Information on transit service for Canada Day and Bluesfest will be shared on channels including octranspo.com, the Transit app, social media, digital screens, printed material, signage, and public service announcements.

Further details on transit detours and stop impacts due to event-related road closures will be posted on OC Transpo’s alerts page in advance of each event.

Stay Safe in the Heat

The extreme heat of the past week was a stark reminder of the impact of climate change on the wellbeing of residents. To help keep residents safe, Ottawa Public Health has provided information on protective and preventative measures in extreme heat, including: 

• An interactive map of places to cool off 
• Tips on recognizing heat-related illness 
• Guidance for checking in on vulnerable individuals 
• How to prepare your home for the heat, and more.

To access this information, visit the Extreme Heat and Humidity page of the Ottawa Public Health website.

Air Conditioner Noise and The Clemow

This spring and summer have brought a new concern for residents living near Bronson Avenue, especially between Powell and Second Avenue. The air conditioning units at a new building on Carling Avenue, The Clemow, have been disruptive for nearby residents.

After initial concerns, Bylaw Services officers visited the area to take noise readings. At that time, they determined that the units were not violating city noise regulations. At our request, officers agreed to take more readings this week during the heat wave, when air conditioners would be running consistently. We are still waiting on the results of those readings.

Our office is also trying to work with the property manager at The Clemow to install noise mitigation measures. At this time, the property manager says they are committed to finding a solution to the noise concerns.

Coming this Summer: Alcohol-in-Parks Pilot 

Following the City of Toronto’s successful pilot in 2023 and our office’s subsequent inquiry in 2024, city staff have recommended moving ahead with a pilot to allow the personal consumption of alcohol in select parks across Ottawa this summer.  

Parks are valuable assets for the quality of life of residents and the enjoyment of our city. For many residents in the core, parks are their sole outdoor space. 

Other Canadian municipalities where similar programs have been run—including Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver—reported that anticipated concerns regarding potential negative consequences from an alcohol-in-parks program did not materialize. Instead, the programs have been “functioning smoothly, with no reported adverse impacts on the municipality or the public.” 

Under the Ottawa pilot, which will run from July 1 until October 31, councillors across the city have the option to select one or more parks for the pilot. The pilot will follow common sense guidelines under the updated Parks and Facilities By-law, including that personal consumption of alcohol in parks will not be allowed before 11:00 am or after 9:00 pm. In addition, designation of areas in which alcohol is allowed will not be within a five-metre radius of several amenities including playgrounds, wading pools, splash pads and outdoor pools, among others. 

In recommending parks for the pilot, staff will also take into consideration factors such as access to water fountains and bathrooms, and well-lit conditions. 

We are considering the potential for the Lansdowne Park Great Lawn and Brewer Park in Capital Ward as pilots for this year. We would welcome feedback. 

More information from the city will be made available as the pilot program launches in July.  

Hawthorne Avenue Speed Reduction

We are happy to announce that after further discussions with staff, they have agreed to lower the speed limit on Hawthorne Avenue from Pretoria Bridge to Main Street to 40 km/h. This will be an important safety improvement for the community, and it aligns with the efforts of the current re-construction project to calm traffic in the area.

It will also provide more consistency on our main streets. This will match the speed limits on Main Street, Colonel By Drive, Queen Elizabeth Drive and Bank Street. As well, Elgin Street at the Pretoria Bridge is 40 km/h; now that road will maintain a consistent speed all the way from McLeod Street, under the Queensway and across the bridge.

We would like to thank all the residents who collaborated with our office on making these improvements to the ward.

Docks and Beaches in Capital Ward

Temperatures are climbing and it’s time for some fun by the water! After more than a month of work, city staff have completed the installation of all 28 docks and boat launches along the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers. In Capital Ward, docks are available for use at Brantwood Park, Brewer Park, Springhurst Park, and Windsor Park. We continue to work closely with staff to see that accessibility measures are added to Brantwood dock as soon as possible.

For more information on docks, boat launches, and outdoor recreation across the city, go to: https://www.ottawa.ca/en/recreation-and-parks/outdoor-recreation#

Beaches across the city are also now ready for use. Crews started with a general cleanup of any litter, branches and debris that collected over the winter. City staff also installed seasonal garbage and recycling receptacles and picnic tables. After a couple years offline, Westboro Beach will be open this summer as well.

For more information on city beaches, outdoor pools, splash pads and wading pools, go to: https://ottawa.ca/en/recreation-and-parks/swimming/outdoor-swim-and-splash.

Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Now Available in Brantwood Park Under City Pilot

Ottawa SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboard) opened for business this past Monday, June 23, in its new summer location at the Brantwood Park parking lot. The program is running as part of a city pilot, which our office was happy to support. For more information about SUP at Brantwood Park, go to: www.ottawasup.ca.

Special Forestry Operations Underway this Summer in Old Ottawa East

This summer, City of Ottawa Forestry Services will undertake a Neighborhood Operational Work Plan (NOW) in Old Ottawa East. City and contracted crews will be in neighborhood to maintain trees on City easements, right of ways and parks. Approximately 525 trees have been inspected within the Ottawa East neighborhood as part of this preventative maintenance project, and Forestry Inspectors have identified over 250 trees to be pruned as well as trees in the maintained parklands.

The work will include pruning and removing branches for the health and structure of trees. Crews will also clear any encroaching trees from sightlines. Forestry staff will notify residents via flyers prior to work commencing on a given street.

The work is projected to be completed by fall. However, that schedule is subject to change due to factors such as the weather, which may require attention by the forestry team elsewhere in the city.

Trees and Shrubs Planted at the Corner of Greenfield and Concord 

In collaboration with staff, we were happy to see three trees (Autumn Brilliance Serviceberries) and an assortment of shrubs planted at the corner of Greenfield and Concord as part of the Greenfield-Main-Hawthorne renewal. The large sewer and water underground works and road renewal project meant some trees had to be removed in the last couple of years, so it's nice to see this sort of planting happening now. 

Your Capital Ward

Photo by Thomas

If you have a photo you’d like to share in an upcoming bulletin, please send it to [email protected], with the subject line Your Capital Ward. Please give us your name for attribution…or tell us if you’d rather not have your name shared.

Summer Fun at Lansdowne Park

With summer kicking off in earnest, there are a lot of great (and free!) events at Lansdowne Park. Recently, 175 people enjoyed Pilates in the Park. It’s wonderful to see so many residents enjoying this important public space. You can find out about what else is happening at Lansdowne Park at the city website (it’s updated regularly, so remember to keep checking in!).

CHEO’s Teddy Bears’ Picnic is coming to the park tomorrow, Saturday June 28, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Bring your favourite teddy bear and enjoy all the free activities, from interactive games to live entertainment.

On Saturday July 5, 613Flea returns to Lansdowne, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

There will be Full Moon Yoga on Thursday July 10, starting at 9:00 pm, so grab your yoga mat and come on out!

And, of course, every Sunday through October, the Farmers’ Market will be up and running in Aberdeen Plaza, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Supporting Bank Street Businesses During Construction

In the last bulletin, we talked about the need to support businesses on Bank Street from the River to Walkley, as the street goes through some challenging road construction. If you haven’t been down there recently, there’s a great variety of shops for whatever you may need, from restaurants to toy stores to automotive centres. If you’re interested in health and wellness, there are businesses like Alta Vista Chiropractic & Massage Clinic, Aurora Salon & Spa, and FRST Fitness.

Don’t be fooled by the construction. These businesses are all open and accessible!

Confederation Heights Re-development

On June 24, Canada Lands Company and the City of Ottawa joint hosted an interactive workshop to review and discuss the draft master plan for the re-development of Confederation Heights. If you couldn’t join in person, Canada Lands Company is pleased to offer an additional opportunity to provide feedback. A recorded version of the presentation and questionnaire will be available on the project website beginning early July. Visit the project website to register for the Canada Lands newsletter to stay informed on when these materials will be available. Confederation Heights: Realize the Potential | Canada Lands Company CLC Limited.

Repair Café 

Looking to mend your shirt, blender, or necklace? Join the city for an upcoming Repair Café! The event will be held from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, July 5 at Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre at 102 Greenview Avenue. Residents will be accompanied by trained volunteers to fix these and other household items. Light refreshments will also be offered.

For more information on City-sponsored Repair Cafés, visit The Ottawa Tool Library website or see the 2025 Repair Café series on the City of Ottawa website.

Electronics Recycling Drop Off & Open House

The Ottawa Tool Library is hosting an Electronics Recycling & Open House event with the support of EPRA (Electonic Products Recycling Association) on Saturday June 28 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Come drop off your electronic and batteries for recycling.

Volunteers will be on hand to show off the library of tools and WorkSpace as well as answer any burning questions you may have.

The Ottawa Tool Library (OTL) is a non-profit tool lending library in the heart of Ottawa—providing tools, expertise and a workspace for projects.

This is a free event. Learn more here.

Retail Gap Survey

The Glebe Business Improvement Area (BIA) has commissioned FBM , an architecture, design and planning firm, to prepare a Retail Market & Gap Analysis to assess the ideal offering of shops and services for the local market and identify any potential opportunities to enhance the offering. The goal of the study is to support the BIA in maintaining and growing its role as a vibrant shopping district in Ottawa.

This Customer Survey is intended for anyone who has, does, or may in the future visit the Glebe shopping area. Your input is valuable and represents an opportunity for you to influence the manner in which the Glebe shopping area may evolve in the future. 

The survey will take about six minutes and will be open until Sunday, July 13.

Lemonade Standemonium 2025

Lemonade Standemonium is a fun, community and youth-driven fundraising campaign put on by The Ottawa Cancer Foundation. The campaign runs all summer long in support of cancer support programs. Individuals, families, schools and community groups are invited to set up lemonade stands to raise funds for The Ottawa Cancer Foundation, with 100% of proceeds going towards free services for those affected by cancer.

Lemonade Standemonium runs until August 31, so there’s still lots of time to get involved. You can find the details of this event on their website: Lemonade Standemonium—The Ottawa Cancer Foundation.

Street Renewal of William Street and ByWard Market Square Survey

The City of Ottawa is seeking feedback on the proposed street redesigns based on the preliminary design concepts below. The preliminary designs have been developed in accordance with the directions of the ByWard Market Public Realm Plan, which was approved by City Council in January 2021. Your feedback is important to understand what should be considered in the new designs.

Complete the online survey until July 16.

To learn more please visit Engage Ottawa (Revitalizing Public Space in the ByWard Market | Engage Ottawa).

Community Waste Reduction and Reuse Initiatives 

Community waste reduction and reuse initiatives play a key role in conserving space in the landfill and building a circular economy in Ottawa. Under the Solid Waste Master Plan, staff are exploring which programs to support and what new ideas to explore—and staff want to hear from you.

What programs or events are you aware of? Which ones do you take part in? What challenges do you face? What could the city do to help?

Residents can submit feedback until July 7. To submit your response, go to: Reuse Survey: English. For more information, visit engage.ottawa.ca/reuse.

Celebrate Gloucester’s 175th Anniversary!

The Gloucester Historical Society is celebrating the 175th anniversary of Gloucester’s incorporation as a township in 1850—and you’re invited! This free event will be held at the Billings Estate National Historic Site (2100 Cabot Street) on Sunday July 13 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. There will be displays and entertainment, a trivia contest with prizes, and, of course, cake. Entry to the Billings Museum is included. Everyone is welcome!

Discover Ingenium’s Science and Innovation Museums in Ottawa with the Canada Strong Pass this Summer

Families across Ottawa can take advantage of the new Canada Strong Pass—a national initiative offering free and discounted access to cultural and heritage institutions for children and young adults.

From June 20 to September 2, 2025, children and youth under 17 will receive free admission, while young adults aged 18 to 24 will enjoy 50% off entry at participating institutions—including many of our incredible local museums here in Ottawa, including all three Ingenium museums: the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

Just visit participating locations! The Canada Strong Pass is not a physical pass that you need to purchase, sign up for or collect. Simply visit any participating Parks Canada site, museum, gallery, or VIA Rail to benefit from free admissions or discounts. Learn more about the pass and eligibility details.