Budget week at Ottawa City Hall and Winterlude returns: Five stories to watch this week

It's budget week at Ottawa City Hall, the Ottawa People's Commission on the Convoy Occupation releases a report on the impacts of the 'Freedom Convoy', and Winterlude returns after a two-year hiatus.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at five stories to watch in Ottawa this week.

Budget week at Ottawa City Hall

Residents will find out this week how the city of Ottawa plans to spend their tax dollars this year, as the 2023 draft budgets are presented.

Council directed staff to draft the 2023 budget with a 2 to 2.5 per cent property tax increase, and approved a 2.5 per cent increase for Ottawa Public Health, the Ottawa Public Library, Transit Services and Ottawa Police.

Staff have warned the city is facing "extraordinary" pressures, and the draft budget will include mitigation measures to consider to find savings, including pausing discretionary spending and deferring capital projects.

Council also approved motions to freeze transit fares for one year, and reduce youth recreational programming costs by 10 per cent.

The Ottawa Public Health budget will be presented on Monday, followed by the Ottawa Public Library Board budget on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Council and the Ottawa Police Services Board will present the budgets.

Council will finalize the budget on March 1.

The Ottawa People's Commission on the Convoy Occupation

The Ottawa People's Commission on the Convoy Occupation will release Part 1 of its final report on the impacts of the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation on Monday.

The commission says the report will focus on the experiences residents have shared and key findings.

Ottawa's People's Commission is a grassroots effort to promote "healing and justice" after the 2022 occupation, according to the website. The initiative of Centretown Community Health Centre held 14 hearings, eight community consultations and received over 75 written submissions.

Part 2 of the report, offering further analysis and recommendations for action, will be released in March.

A protester waves a Canadian flag in front of parked vehicles on Rideau Street on the 15th day of a protest against COVID-19 measures that has grown into a broader anti-government protest, in Ottawa, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

February Deep Freeze

Ottawa is set to face the coldest stretch of the winter this week, with minus double-digit temperatures in the forecast.

After a relatively mild January, Environment Canada's forecast calls for overnight lows of between minus 15 C and minus 28 C all week. The low will be minus 24 C on Thursday and minus 28 C on Friday. Daytime highs this week will be minus 17 C on Friday and Saturday.

Environment Canada's monthly forecast calls for below seasonal temperatures for Ottawa over the next month.

The average temperature through Jan. 28 had been a high of minus 1.8 C and a low of minus 8.5 C. The average temperature for this time of year in Ottawa is a high of minus 6 C and a low of minus 15 C.

Rideau Canal Skateway

All eyes will be on the Rideau Canal Skateway this week, to see if the cold temperatures will allow the National Capital Commission to open the world's largest skating rink.

The Rideau Canal Skateway has not opened for a single day of skating so far this winter. The latest opening date for the skateway is Feb. 2, back in 2002.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the NCC said its teams will "resume their work" this week to build the thickness of the ice following the snowfall of the last few days.

"The Skateway opens to the public once the surface is at least 30 centimetres thick with good quality ice. For that to happen, we need 10 to 14 days of consecutive cold weather," the NCC said.

A red flag signals that the Rideau Canal Skateway is closed. (Aaron Reid/CTV News Ottawa)

Winterlude

Winterlude kicks off in Ottawa and Gatineau on Friday, as the popular winter festival returns with in-person activities for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Activities include ice sculptures on Sparks Street and the Snowflake Kingdom in Gatineau's Jacques-Cartier Park.

The opening weekend of the 45^th Winterlude will include the show Minsoshkite in the Great Hall of the Canadian Museum of History and the Winterlude National Ice-Carving Championship on Sparks Street.

The second weekend of Winterlude will include Winter Pride and many activities that "highlight our country's cultural diversity and inclusion", Canadian Heritage said.

Winterlude runs from Feb. 3 to 20.

EVENTS IN OTTAWA

MONDAY

Ottawa Board of Health meeting – 5 p.m.

The House of Commons resumes

TUESDAY

Ottawa Planning and Housing Committee meeting – 9:30 a.m.

Ottawa Public Library Board meeting – 5 p.m.

Ottawa Carleton District School Board meeting – 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

Ottawa Police Services Board meeting on 2023 budget – 8:30 a.m.

Ottawa City Council meeting – 10 a.m.

THURSDAY

Ottawa Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee meeting – 10 a.m.

FRIDAY

Capital Hoops Classic at TD Place