The March 2022 issue of The Centretown BUZZ, Centretown’s community newspaper, is out.
You can read it online here!
Read the March 2022 Centretown BUZZ
Category: March 2022
Free Transpo fares good, but not enough
Free is good, but reliability is necessary, too. That was the message from more than 700 transit riders when surveyed about the free-fare month offered by OC Transpo last December.
Who will pay for the occupation?
Small businesses forced to close by the trucker convoy were finally able to apply for government relief funding this week, more than three weeks after the trucks were towed out of downtown. But questions still remain as to whether this funding will cover enough lost revenue, and what will be done for those workers who were laid off because of the closures.
In a climate crisis, Ottawa’s development standards should at least match Toronto’s
Climate change is all around us, but we don’t seem to be doing anything about it. On March 23, City Council will debate new High Performance Development Standards (HPDS), in order to advance “sustainable and resilient design” in new buildings and developments. Why are these standards important?
Heritage at risk: sending buildings to the intensive care ward
What is the fate of the city’s many heritage-designated buildings, which are being left to rot by noncompliant, uncooperative or absentee owners? It’s known as demolition by neglect.
City to repair Somerset House itself?
Alayne McGregor The City of Ottawa is considering just fixing Somerset House itself. At the city’s Built Heritage Subcommittee on March 8, Heritage Planning Branch Program Manager Lesley Collins said the city is looking at options to have existing orders…
The Good, the Bad, and the Bumpy: fearing the end of COVID mandates
Before the pandemic happened, I had a very busy life. I was always out with friends or active in the community. When the pandemic hit, this changed. Suddenly, my world became scary and my anxiety level was at an all-time high. I’ve been on high alert for the past two years. Now it seems my anxiety is about to get worse, for me as well as others who are deemed vulnerable.
Ontario issues: The affordable housing crisis
There is a dire need for action at all levels of government to address the affordable housing crisis in Ottawa. Whether this involves curbing the loss of affordable housing, creating more affordable housing, or preserving the quality of existing affordable housing, systemic and policy changes are urgently needed to protect our most vulnerable.
Somerset Ward: Post-occupation, where do we go from here?
Two questions must be answered: How did this happen? How can we prevent it from happening again?
Dalhousie Community Association report: when will our city be returned to us?
News from the Dalhousie Community Association: Cornerstone on Eccles, recovering from the occupation, vacant buildings, community garden, AGM in-person in May?
Centretown Community Association report
News from the Centretown Community Association: CCA’s idling vehicles, heritage rules, Earth Day celebration, rent-geared-income housing
Comment: Policing won’t address distrust of governments or gaps in social services
As a right-wing convoy occupied the city centre‒noise at all hours, residents harassed, service workers put at risk by anti-vaxxers refusing to wear masks‒it was clear the police did not have our backs. It was up to residents to take care of each other, which they did with neighbourhood walks, mutual aid, legal initiatives, counterprotests and blockading trucks to keep them from entering the downtown.
What’s on in Ottawa and beyond
![“In the Tent” (1914) by Helen McNicoll is in the new National Gallery exhibit of Canadian Impressionist art. [image courtesy National Gallery of Canada]](https://centretownbuzz.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NGC-mcnicoll-in-the-tent-150x150.jpg)
Cinemas are open and we review a film that recently screened in Ottawa. The arrival of spring sees a new exhibition of Impressionist art at the National Gallery of Canada. The Canadian Museum of Nature is open and welcomes a new child-focused aquarium to its offerings just in time for March Break.
MPP report: time to rally for peace
Joel Harden A text message from a Russian soldier to his mother was intercepted earlier this week. The mother was worried that she hadn’t heard from her son and wanted to know where she could send a care package. She…