April 2022 Newsletter

decorative banner for Cleaning the Capital

Cleaning the Capital

Every spring and fall, Ottawa residents can help keep their neighbourhood looking great by signing up for Cleaning the Capital.  The City of Ottawa will provide supplies if you register your clean up here or call 311 to register.  Registration is open until April 30, 2022. 

After you do your clean up, if you fill out the report online, you can even win prizes for your efforts.  Once you register, you have until June 15th to submit your report.

Rally your neighbours or go solo to get Convent Glen and Orléans Wood looking ready for spring and summer enjoyment! 

apply for crossing guard jobs at www.crossing-guard.ca

Crossing Guards Urgently Needed!

There is still an urgent need for crossing guards in Convent Glen and Orléans Wood.  Maybe you could help?

Do you love being outside?

Do you have spare time in the morning or afternoon?

You might love being a Crossing Guard!

Shifts are during morning and afternoon school bell times.  The average shift is 40-60 minutes and paid $17 per shift.

It’s a great way to give back to the community!

For more details and to apply please see Crossing-Guard.ca

Poster for dog walkathon - article contains same information

Annual Dog Walkathon 2022 Edition

After a brief hiatus due to the pandemic, our annual Dog Walkathon, in support of the Canadian Cancer Society, is back!  Please join us on Saturday April 30th at 9am.  We’ll meet with our four-legged friends at Hiawatha Park (corner of Voyageur and Voyageur) and do a 3km walk.  Dogs and people of all fitness-levels are welcome!  Everyone will walk at their own pace along the course.  Even if you can’t join us, you can donate here.

photo of a dog

WordPress-Savvy Volunteer Needed

The CGOWCA is looking for a volunteer to help manage and improve our website. The ideal candidate would be fluently bilingual (French and English) and have some experience with the WordPress platform. We estimate that this volunteer role would require between 3 and 7 hours of work per month. Interested? Please send an email to conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com.

photo of a computer, notebook and coffee on a table

March 2022 Newsletter

endorse the campaign at www.startswithhome.ca

Endorse the Starts with Home campaign

Ottawa City Council declared a housing and homelessness emergency in January 2020. You can help to change this by supporting the Starts With Home campaign. It is a non-partisan campaign to build strong public support for Ottawa’s next City Council to take concrete action to solve the housing affordability crisis. You can read the platform here.

The goal is to reach 200+ organization endorsements and 20,000 individual endorsements to demonstrate that affordable housing is a key priority for our community. 

By endorsing the Starts With Home movement, you will join hundreds of neighbours who care about making sure that Ottawa is a city where everyone can have an affordable, appropriate home.

Change starts with us. 

Please join us and endorse the Starts With Home campaign.

apply for crossing guard jobs at www.crossing-guard.ca

Crossing Guards Urgently Needed!

There is an urgent need for crossing guards in Convent Glen and Orléans Wood.  Maybe you could help?

Do you love being outside?

Do you have spare time in the morning or afternoon?

You might love being a Crossing Guard!

Shifts are during morning and afternoon school bell times.  The average shift is 40-60 minutes and paid $17 per shift.

It’s a great way to give back to the community!

For more details and to apply please see Crossing-Guard.ca

image of a woman double exposed

Taking Care of Your Mental Health

Everyone has been dealing with a lot for the last 2 years.  Covid-19 impacts affecting work, school, and social outlets.  The convoy of trucks that occupied many areas of the city for weeks. International conflicts and worries of war.  These layers are on top of all the “regular” stressors that many of us are coping with.  It hasn’t been easy.  We’re not out of the woods yet.

It’s important to do what you can do to look after yourself as you and your neighbours are weathering these stressful times.

Ottawa Public Health also has a whole page of resources specifically targeted to “Responding to Stressful Events” (which we are all doing!): https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-health-topics/responding-to-stressful-events.aspx

calculator, pen and words "income tax"

Income Tax Season

It’s almost time to file income tax for 2021.  Did you know that the only way to qualify for benefits like the Ontario Trillium Benefit, or the Guaranteed Income Supplement is by filing your income tax? 

For more information on filing personal income taxes,  check out this site: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/income-tax/personal-income-tax/get-ready-taxes.html

You’ll find information on the following topics:

  • how to get ready for 2021 taxes,
  • key dates for filing 2021 taxes,
  • what to report and claim,
  • updating your information with Canada Revenue Agency, and more!

If you’re wondering about free income tax clinics available locally, please check out this list:

  • Community Pentecostal Church Orléans Tax Clinic – 1825 St Joseph Blvd
    • Open for walk-ins; able to prepare returns for 2021 only; services in English and in French; open to the general public
  • RCCG Faith Chapel Tax Clinic – 4-2181 St Joseph Blvd
    • Open by appointment; able to prepare returns for 2021 and prior years; services in English, Igbo and Yoruba; open to the general public
  • Orléans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre – 613-830-4357 x310
    • Registration required; available to low-income families

February 2022 Newsletter

poster for the CGOWCA snow sculpture contest.

Winter Carnival Update

The board of the CGOWCA has decided to cancel our annual Winter Carnival again this year, due to the risk and uncertainty around the pandemic. (Yes, we’re just as tired of it as you are!)

Instead, we invite you to participate in our Snow Sculpture Contest! There will be two categories: 10 years old and under, and over 10 years old. Create something out of snow, take a picture and share it on our Facebook page with the hashtag #SnowMuchFun. Make sure to specify which category you belong to. We’ll create an album with all of the photos, and voting will take place between February 19 and 21, with the winner of each category being announced on February 21. If you aren’t on Facebook and would like to participate, please send your pictures to conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com before February 19.

image showing the 3 possible sites being considered by the NCC.

New Interprovincial Crossing Committee

Possible new Interprovincial Crossing options being considered by the NCC.

The CGOWCA would like to introduce a new subcommittee of our board: the Interprovincial Crossing Committee.

There has been talk of a sixth interprovincial crossing for many years. Recently, the National Capital Commission’s (NCC) mandate was renewed by the federal government to study interprovincial transportation and the possibility of a new interprovincial crossing. They have since drafted a Long-Term Integrated Interprovincial Crossings Plan, which was approved by the board of the NCC in January 2020.

In the past, when building a new bridge was a serious option, the NCC had narrowed the potential choices to three east end options, two of which would utilize part of Highway 174 and cut through the greenbelt immediately to the west of and bordering on Orléans. One of the stated purposes of this potential new interprovincial crossing is to move heavy truck traffic out of the downtown core.

Many residents expressed concern about the potential impacts of such a bridge on our community, and so we have created a subcommittee to examine the issue. This new committee is being tasked with:

  • Working to better understand the issue of interprovincial transportation and a possible new interprovincial crossing;
  • Providing information to the community at large regarding the impacts of an interprovincial crossing in the East End; and
  • Engage with other stakeholders on this issue.

If you would like to learn more or get involved, please write to conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com

photo of Constable Marc Leroux

Meet our local Community Police Officer

Constable Marc Leroux with the Ottawa Police Service is our area’s community police officer. Here are a few words of introduction from Constable Leroux.

“I work in the community to promote safety, crime prevention and to build the community’s trust in police. I work in partnership with City of Ottawa Councillors, Community Associations and many other community groups and stakeholders. 

I’ve been an officer with Ottawa Police since 2006 and have worked mostly in the East end of Ottawa including Orléans and rural areas. Starting on Patrol, I have also worked as a School Resource Officer for 5 years and have now been working as a Community Police Officer since 2019.

Community Policing is the process by which police and other community members partner to improve community wellbeing, safety and security through joint problem identification, analysis, response and evaluation.

I would like to remind everyone that if you have concerns about the safety of your neighbourhood and require police assistance, please file a report online, or call us at 613-236-1222, extension 7300. For all other questions, please email CSS@ottawapolice.ca. This email is monitored Monday to Friday between 7am and 3pm and our intake coordinators will do their best to respond to your query in a timely manner. For all other emergencies, please dial 911.”

January 2022 Newsletter

Happy New Year spelled out with beads

Happy New Year!

We wish that the news as we start 2022 was different than what we were experiencing at the start of 2021. With the Omicron variant spreading quickly, case counts in Ottawa are higher than they have ever been since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The good news is that the City of Ottawa has the highest rate of vaccination of any city in Ontario. This should help us.

Covid realities aside, the members of the Convent Glen-Orléans Wood Community Association wish all of you a Happy New Year. May 2022 bring you health, hope and compassion.

On January 3rd, the provincial government made an announcement listing new restrictions due to the rising case counts, including delaying a return to in-person learning for students: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1001394/ontario-temporarily-moving-to-modified-step-two-of-the-roadmap-to-reopen

For data on the local numbers, please consult Ottawa Public Health’s Covid-19 dashboard:  https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/reports-research-and-statistics/daily-covid19-dashboard.aspx

We’re all feeling tired as we head into the third calendar year touched by this pandemic. Try to be a little more kind to yourself and others. We’ll get through this. 

photo of people at the 2020 Winter Carnival

Save-the-date: CGOWCA Winter Carnival

*New Date: Saturday February 19

Plans are in the works for a 2022 Winter Carnival, to take place outdoors at the community rink behind Convent Glen Catholic Elementary School.  Watch for more details, the event will depend on pandemic conditions and restrictions.

a stack of vehicles: a bicycle on top of a scooter on top of a van on top of a bus

City of Ottawa Transportation Master Plan

The City of Ottawa has launched Phase 3 of its consultation on the Transportation Master Plan. During this phase of engagement, the public is invited to provide input on the close to 70 proposed transportation-related policies to be included in Part 1 of the TMP.  

These policies – developed in line with the Official Plan, and the new realities of our growing city – will guide our transportation decisions and networks to 2046 and help Ottawa fulfill its vision of becoming the most liveable mid-sized city in North America.  Residents are also invited to use the online engagement tools to provide feedback on the pedestrian and cycling projects that are proposed for implementation from 2023 onwards and a proposed network of paved shoulders to be added to rural roads at the time of resurfacing. 

The online questionnaires and a link to the mapping activities can be found on the project website along with the draft policy document, one-pagers, a discussion paper on transportation and climate change, and more. Residents are welcome to share questions or comments with the TMP team by emailing tmpupdate@ottawa.ca.

highway with blurred headlights and tail lights

Orléans Corridor Secondary Plan

The Open House for the Orléans Corridor Secondary Plan will occur on Tuesday, January 25th, 2022 from 7:00pm until 9:00pm.

This discussion will consist of a presentation explaining the Secondary Plan, followed by an in-depth breakout room discussion.

Each breakout room will go over a specific study area, and during the registration, participants will register for one of the specific breakout rooms:

  1. Jeanne d’Arc Station
  2. Convent Glen Station and Place d’Orléans Station
  3. Trim Station
  4. Saint Joseph Boulevard
  5. Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard

Register for the Open House: https://s-ca.chkmkt.com/?e=254130&h=334D7947871DDF8&l=en

Bulletin de décembre 2021

father and son on community rink

Patinoire extérieure au parc Jeanne d’Arc

Si vous cherchez une activité physique à l’extérieur cet hiver, sachez que nous planifions la préparation et l’ouverture de notre patinoire communautaire extérieure, située au 1155 St. Moritz, derrière l’école Convent Glen.

L’hiver dernier, la surface de la patinoire était exceptionnelle, grâce aux efforts d’une merveilleuse équipe de bénévoles, dirigée par Jeff Fennessy. Les membres du groupe ont gratté et arrosé la glace presque chaque nuit. Ils sont toujours reconnaissants de votre aide pour déneiger la patinoire après une chute de neige! Fait amusant : l’année, notre patinoire était ouverte plus longtemps et en meilleur état que la patinoire du canal Rideau!

La patinoire est illuminée la nuit, et si vous désirez apprendre ou patiner tranquillement, il y une petite patinoire située du côté nord de la patinoire principale. Les bancs et les filets sont fournis par la Ville d’Ottawa.

Les consignes concernant la COVID-19 seront affichées régulièrement sur les panneaux par la Ville et seront mis à jour au fur et à mesure. L’état de la glace est également mis à jour sur le site Web Ottawa Rinks, ainsi que sur la page Facebook de l’ACCGOW. Nous avons hâte de passer un autre hiver formidable à la patinoire extérieure !

trees along a winding path

Des arbres pour Orléans

La ville mène un sondage pour déterminer si et où planter des arbres sur le terrain entre la rivière des Outaouais et la promenade Voyageur. Si vous croyez que les arbres sont de bon puits de carbone, qu’ils offrent de l’ombre aux piétons, qu’ils réduisent l’érosion et qu’ils créer des habitats pour les animaux, faite compter votre opinion en complétant le sondage au: https://participons.ottawa.ca/sentier-de-la-riviere-des-outaouais

La date limite est le mardi 7 décembre.

woman blowing snow off her mittens

L’hiver est à nos portes

Normes pour le déneigement

La neige est à nos portes, alors c’est le temps de se remémorer les processus municipaux de déneigement. Voici les directives de la Ville d’Ottawa concernant le déneigement des propriétés privées :

  • Ne poussez pas la neige et la glace sur la rue, le trottoir ou dans un parc.
  • Assurez-vous de dégager les bornes fontaines.
  • Indiquez où se trouvent les côtés de votre entrée de cours à l’aide de bâtons de la taille d’un bâton de hockey, en bois, en plastique ou en fibre de verre.
  • Lorsque la température s’adoucit, dégagez les puisards devant chez vous. Ils sont marqués par un « T » peinturé en jaune sur la chaussée.

Un andain de neige est un amoncellement de neige qui s’accumule au bout des allées et sur les côtés des rues pendant le déneigement. Il incombe au propriétaire de dégager les amoncellements sur son terrain.

Que faire si les normes de service de déneigement ne sont pas respectées?

Si la neige a cessé depuis 48 heures et votre trottoir n’est toujours pas déneigé, composez le 3-1-1. La ville n’est pas responsable du déneigement des entrées de cours ni des trottoirs privés menant à une résidence.

https://ottawa.ca/fr/stationnement-routes-et-deplacements/entretien-des-routes-et-des-trottoirs/entretien-hivernal/pendant-et-apres-une-tempete

Conduire de façon sécuritaire en hiver

Le Conseil canadien de la sécurité vous propose neuf étapes pour la conduite sécuritaire en hiver. Vous trouverez l’article au complet sur leur site web : Conseils pour la conduite en hiver – Canada Safety Council

Notre sélection des trois meilleurs conseils de leur liste :

Conduire lentement et doucement

  • Évitez les arrêts et virages brusques lorsque vous conduisez, car ces manœuvres sont susceptibles de causer une perte de contrôle et un dérapage.
  • La vitesse excessive est la principale cause des collisions qui surviennent l’hiver. Faites en sorte de conduire lentement et prudemment sur les routes couvertes de glace ou de neige.

Ne pas talonner

  • L’hiver vient aggraver les risques auxquels s’expose un conducteur qui suit de trop près la voiture de devant. La distance d’arrêt est beaucoup plus longue sur des routes glacées ou enneigées que sur une chaussée sèche; il convient donc de maintenir une distance suffisante entre votre véhicule et celui du devant.

Consacrer toute son attention à la conduite

  • Il est plus ardu d’effectuer certaines manœuvres dans la neige. Assurez-vous de bien prévoir votre prochain geste afin de disposer de tout l’espace nécessaire aux virages et aux arrêts.
image of hands holding a gift

Cadeaux des fêtes pour la communauté

Quelle que soit la fête que vous célébrez, c’est souvent une période de l’année où les gens pensent à des moyens de redonner à leur communauté d’une manière ou d’une autre. Que ce soit offrir du soutien informel à des amis ou à la famille, ou faire don d’articles ou de fonds à une organisation locale. Voici quelques idées si vous souhaitez donner des articles ou de l’argent :

close up image of grooming machine grooming the snow

Ski Heritage East trace un chemin jusqu’à votre porte

L’hiver est à nos portes – profitez-en! Des études démontrent que l’activité physique en plein air contribue à améliorer notre sentiment de bien-être et de tranquillité d’esprit. La piste de loisirs d’hiver Ski Heritage East Trail est une piste polyvalente, tout près de chez vous.

Ce sentier vous offre 40 km de piste pour le ski classique et le ski de patin, la raquette, le fatbike et, bien sûr, la marche, le tout tracé professionnellement. Il débute au stationnement du Musée de l’aviation, traverse le champ et descend longer la pittoresque rivière des Outaouais jusqu’au ruisseau Green. À cet endroit, il monte jusqu’au sentier supérieur et continue jusqu’à Radisson à Orléans. Il est interrompu sur 500 mètres par un bout de rue, après quoi le sentier continue ininterrompu jusqu’au chemin Trim, en bordure de l’île Petrie. Vous trouverez des aires de stationnement facilement accessibles à plusieurs endroits le long du sentier.

Bien que des gens aient tracé une piste de ski le long de la rivière depuis de nombreuses années, c’est en 2017 que Ski Heritage East a connu ses débuts et a commencé à l’entretenir avec. Il s’agissait au départ d’une piste de 7 km desservant principalement Orléans et entretenu une fois par semaine. Depuis, le sentier a pris beaucoup d’ampleur : il est maintenant entretenu 3 à 4 fois par semaine et dessert plusieurs communautés, dont Beacon Hill, Manor Park et Rockcliffe. Au cours de la saison 2020/21, le nombre d’usagers a beaucoup augmenté, passant d’environ 35 000 à 75 000, ce qui indique la popularité croissante de ce joyau récréatif.

Notre opération dépend de notre groupe de bénévoles, qui se chargent de tracer et entretenir les pistes. Ces gens dédiés se promènent avec nos motoneiges et nos dameuses Ginzu, souvent même avant le lever du soleil. Si vous les voyez sur la piste, n’hésitez pas à les saluer.

Ski Heritage East est un organisme communautaire bénévole financé par une combinaison de soutien gouvernemental (la Ville d’Ottawa et la CCN contribuent environ 50 % de notre financement) de dons privés par l’entremise de notre page GoFundMe, et de commandites d’entreprises et d’organismes. Les commanditaires actuels dans votre communauté comprennent le conseiller Matt Luloff, les agents immobiliers Jean Richer (Keller Williams) et Jacques Bédard (Remax), Dental Docs et plus encore. Si une commandite vous intéresse, écrivez-nous au skiheritage.east@gmail.com.

Merci pour votre appui et bonne saison!

Ski Heritage East

www.skiheritageeast.ca

FacebookTwitter: @skiheritageeast