Weather

• ❄️  40 per cent chance of flurries. High of -9°, low of -11°. 

Number 

• 10,000
• – The number trees to be planted at Pihney’s Point Park in West Carleton. The 200-year old manor house will get the trees as part of the Federal government’s 2 Billion Tree programme. (City of Ottawa) 

Ottawan of the Day

• Roderick Costain, Ben Seaman, Don Williams, Melanie Williams, Shannon Ferguson, Kris McCarthy, Nate Beacham, Jason Flick, Dave McIlhagga, Ingrid Gayle, and Anusha Gandhi
• The 11 entrepreneurs have been selected as winners of the Ottawa/Gatineau Bootstrap Awards, a celebration of self-funded startups and gumption. (Ottawa Business Journal)

Quote 

• “
  We made mistakes, there's no doubt
• – Ottawa Police Services chief Eric Stubbs yesterday when asked about the the shellacking the police received in the Emergencies Act inquiry report. (Joseph Tunney at the CBC) 

Sports

• 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 1 – Boston Blackhawks 3 last night
• 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 7 – St Louis Blues 2 last Sunday
• 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 3 – Chicago Blackhawks 4 last Friday
• 🏒 OHL Ottawa 67s 3 – North Bay Battalion 2 last night
• 🏒 OHL Ottawa 67s 5 – Oshawa Generals 2 last Friday
• 🏒 QMJHL Les Olympiques de Gatineau 5 – Les Huskies de Rouyn-Noranda 2 last Sunday
• 🏒 QMJHL Les Olympiques de Gatineau 8 – Cape Breton Eagles 4 last Saturday

🚨 Fallout from the Emergencies Act Inquiry report

• The Ottawa Police Service had ample intelligence that the Convoy was here to stay but ignored it, either through incompetence or disfunction.
  
  ➕Related The Windsor police had a smooth operation rousting the protestors from the Ambassador Bridge, helped by good communication with the City.
• The Toronto Star’s Ottawa bureau chief, Stephanie Levitz, notes that Inquiry commissioner Justice Paul Rouleau accuses Premier Doug Ford of shifting the Convoy problem onto the Federal government as a political and policing breakdown – literally abandoning Ottawa. An entire chapter of the report is entitled ‘Ontario’s absence’ (PDF Page 230).
  
  New Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles called Ford’s action a ‘ghosting’ of the people of Ottawa.
• While journalist Justin Ling agrees with Rouleau that invoking the Emergency Act was warranted, he thinks that Rouleau was too soft on the Federal government’s banning of protests outside of downtown Ottawa and bank account seizures.
  
  Ling also appeared as a counterpoint in the pro-convoy documentary The Freedom Occupation (YouTube).
• The Ottawa Citizen answers three buring questions about the occupation: 
  
  1. Why didn’t officers just ticket the protestors breaking city bylaws?
  
  The Police told the ByLaw department that the tickets could cause riots
  
  2. Why didn’t the city seek an injunction earlier?
  
  City Solicitor David White said that he was worried that it would be unenforced or worsen the the situation for the Police.
  
  3. Why were convoy vehicles allowed to park downtown in the first place?
  
  The Ottawa Police special events unit deliberately planned to place them there. Rouleau said this decision was not ‘Intelligence-led.’
• Using transcripts and testimony at the inquiry, Andrew Duffy at the Citizen has put together how Ottawa Police inspector Robert Bernier came up with the plan that ended the convoy protest.
• Finally, the Beaverton has their take.
• ➕Related Crown prosecutors have requested an out-of-Ottawa judge to preside over next month's hearings of convoy leaders Chris Barber and Tamara Lich. The Crown is trying to head off ‘local bias’ complaints from the two who otherwise argue that the Convoy was not disruptive to Ottawa residents. 

💰 Civil Servants

• Four Public Service Alliance of Canada bargaining units should get a raise says the, deep breath, Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board's Public Interest Commission. The Commission recommends pay rises of 1.5 per cent in 2021, 4.5 per cent for 2022, and three per cent for 2023.  (CBC)

🎭 Elegy

• Polymath Peter Herrndorf has died at the age of 82. Herrndorf served as president and CEO of the National Arts Centre for nearly 19 years, helped create the CBC programmes The Fifth Estate and The Journal, was publisher of Toronto Life magazine, and was chairman and CEO of TVO. The flags at the National Arts Centre will fly at half-mast for the rest of February. (CBC)

🏠 Maison du patrimoine

• Gatineau council has stepped in to stop the demolition of one of the City’s Matchstick Houses, a deceptively simplistic style built by lumber and match factory workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. The owner, Gestion NDI Champlain Inc, is not amused and will go to court to continue building its planned 10-storey, 159-unit apartment building. (CBC)

🌲 Gatineau Park

• Chelsea is appealing a court decision for money owed by the National Capital Commission for Gatineau Park. Federal institutions do not pay property tax but do pay an similar amount ‘in lieu’. Chelsea argued that the Commission should have paid an amount that is equal to developable land, the Commission says it is a park and will never be developed. (Andrew Duffy in the Ottawa Citizen) 

💣 Diefenbunker

• The world cannot get enough about the Diefenbunker. This time, it's a six minute podcast from the UK. (Paul Logothetis in Monocle)

Click here to feature your event

Today

• The City of Ottawa Spring activities are now available for viewing online. Registration begins on March 6 (Aquatic activities) and March 8 (non-aquatic activities).
• Curious about that 20th century musical instrument invention, the Theremin? Tonight Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra presents The Invisible Singer, with Dutch thereminist Thorwald Jørgensen

Tomorrow

• February 22 is Pink Shirt day or Anti-Bullying Day, when wearing a rose coloured shirt signifies your support of anti-bullying initiatives.
• The Historical Society of Ottawa presents The End of Slavery in Upper Canada part of the Virtual Speakers Series. At 7:00pm on Zoom. Free.
• The Ottawa Public Library presents author Catherine Hernandez, who will be giving her speech ‘What Would Ms. Hina Do?’, which explores themes from her novel Scarborough. The event is free but registration is required. 7:00pm at the Peter A. Herrndorf Place (see above), National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin St.

Thursday

• Ottawa Design Club presents Beyond the Mark, its first in person event of the year. Speakers include tattoo artist Mariah Landers, muralist and illustrator Dom Laporte, and brand designer and illustrator Dom Richichi. Plus, network and enjoy drinks with other Ottawa creatives. $20. Club SAW, 67 Nicholas St.
• The Ottawa Boat & Outdoors Show drops anchor at the Centre EY Centre until Sunday. 4899 Uplands Dr. Passes from $16 for adults.
• The Brewmaster’s Dinner: Beer VS. Wine Edition, a “Head to Head pairing dinner” pitting Mill Street Brewery against Mark Anthony Wines. At Craft Beer Market, 975 Bank St. Tickets $85 +fee

Just Announced

• Nominations for the 4th annual Capital Music Awards (CMAs) have opened. The awards, presented by the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, celebrate the artists, of course, but also the promoters, organizations, and entrepreneurs that work hard to promote Ottawa’s music scene. The awards are open to anyone living in the Ottawa-Gatineau region but voting can only be done by members of the OMIC in good standing. The awards will take place on June 1 (venue to be announced soon), with the action to be live broadcast by Rogers TV.
• Doors Open Ottawa returns June 3 and 4 for its 21st anniversary experience. This is your chance to step inside some of the city’s most beautiful buildings, for free. This year’s event is hybrid, with some buildings taking part virtually. Building representatives have until March 3 to apply to take part.
• Marshes Summer golf Camps are now registering summer 2023 campers.