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Ontario launches the vaccine passport and a verdict in the fatal Westboro bus crash: Five stories to watch in Ottawa this week

The Ottawa sign on York Street in Ottawa's ByWard Market. (Photo by Jacob Meissner on Unsplash) The Ottawa sign on York Street in Ottawa's ByWard Market. (Photo by Jacob Meissner on Unsplash)
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OTTAWA -

Canadians vote in the 44th general election, Ontario rolls out its COVID-19 vaccine passport for non-essential businesses and the Transit Commission meets after two LRT train derailments in six weeks.

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

44TH GENERAL ELECTION

The 44th general election hits the finish line on Monday, as Canadians head to the polls.

A Nanos Research poll released on Sunday, commissioned by CTV News and the Globe and Mail, shows the Liberals are polling at 30.8 per cent support, compared to 30.5 per cent for the Conservatives. The NDP is at 21 per cent support, 5.6 per cent for the People's Party of Canada and 4.7 per cent for the Green Party.

Heading into election day, the Liberals hold seven ridings in Ottawa, while the Conservative Party is the incumbent in one riding.

Polling stations will be open on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

To find your polling station, check your voter information card or visit the Elections Canada website.  Elections Canada says you must vote at your assigned polling station

CTV News will provide full coverage of the 44th general election Monday, starting at 6:30 p.m.

COVID-19 PROOF OF VACCINATION

Ontario will require proof of vaccination in select non-essential settings.

Starting Wednesday, you will need to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination to enter non-essential businesses, including indoor restaurants, gyms, movie theatres and sporting events.

The Ontario government says individuals aged 12 and older can provide either a paper or digital copy of their vaccination receipt. It must include name, date of vaccination and product name at the time of vaccination.

You can download your COVID-19 vaccination receipt from Ontario's provincial booking portal.

Here is a list of settings that will require proof of vaccination, starting Sept. 22.

  • Indoor areas of restaurants, bars, and other food and drink establishments without dance facilities
  • Indoor and outdoor areas of food or drink establishments with dance facilities, including nightclubs and restaurants, clubs and other similar establishments
  • Indoor areas of meeting and event spaces
  • Indoor areas of facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities, including waterparks, and personal physical fitness training with limited exemptions. This includes gyms, fitness/sporting/recreational facilities, pools, leagues, waterparks, and indoor areas of facilities where spectators watch events
  • Sporting events
  • Indoor areas of casinos, bingo halls, and other gaming establishments
  • Indoor areas of concert venues, theatres, and cinemas
  • Indoor areas of bathhouses, sex clubs and strip clubs
  • Indoor areas of horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues
  • Indoor areas where commercial film and TV productions take place with studio audiences.

The Ottawa Redblacks host Hamilton Wednesday night at TD Place. All fans must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to enter the stadium for the game.

COVID-19 IN OTTAWA SCHOOLS

Parents, teachers and officials will be keeping an eye on the COVID-19 cases in Ottawa's schools, as the number of reported cases continues to rise.

Three weeks after students began returning to school in Ottawa's four boards, cases have been reported at 49 schools across the city.

Ottawa Public Health declared COVID-19 outbreaks at four new schools over the weekend, bringing the number of reported outbreaks to seven in Ottawa's schools.

  • École élémentaire catholique Pierre Elliott Trudeau – two student cases, zero staff cases
  • Lycée Claudel – two student cases, zero staff cases
  • St. Kateri Tekakwitha Elementary School – two student cases, zero staff cases
  • St. Paul High School – two student cases, zero staff cases
  • École élémentaire catholique de la Découverte – two student cases, zero staff cases
  • École élémentaire catholique Franco-Cite – six student cases, zero staff cases
  • École élémentaire catholique Marius-Barbeau – one student case, two staff cases

Meantime, Ottawa's COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says it is working to expand COVID-19 testing, as parents scramble to find a testing appointment for their children.

Parents and children waited in line for up to two hours on Saturday at a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic at the McNabb Arena.

VERDICT IN THE WESTBORO BUS CRASH

The verdict at the trial for the Ottawa bus driver charged in the January 2019 fatal crash at the Westboro Station will be handed down on Wednesday.

Aissatou Diallo, 44, was charged in August 2019 with three counts of dangerous driving causing death, and 35 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

Diallo pleaded not guilty.

Three people were killed when an OC Transpo double-decker bus struck an overhang at the Westboro Station at 3:50 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2019.

LONG AWAITED TRANSIT COMMISSION MEETING

The Transit Commission will receive an update on two train derailments in six weeks on Monday, as it holds its first meeting since mid June.

Staff will provide an update on the Confederation Line, and outline the investigations into two derailments on the two-year-old light rail transit system.

On Sunday, an LRT car derailed between Hurdman and Tremblay Stations at 12:15 p.m. No one was hurt.

In August, the Confederation Line was shut down for five days after an axle became dislodged from the track on a train near Tunney's Pasture.

OC Transpo general manager John Manconi told councillors in a memo that the root cause investigation identified the fault in the axle bearing assembly.

"As part of the investigation, the sealed unit was taken a part and it was found that the green section of the bolt, which should be completely tightened, had a very small amount of movement, by fractions of a millimetre," wrote Manconi. "This movement caused damage to the bearings inside the unit and wheel, which in turn lead to the axle coming off the track on Sunday evening."

Monday will be Manconi's final Transit Commission meeting before his retirement at the end of the month.

A LRT train stopped west of Tremblay Station after an LRT car derailed on Sunday. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa)

EVENTS HAPPENING IN OTTAWA THIS WEEK

Monday

Election Day – voting stations open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Ottawa Transit Commission meeting – 9:30 a.m.

Ottawa Board of Health meeting – 3 p.m.

Tuesday

Ottawa Standing Committee on Environmental Protection, Water and Waste Management meeting – 9:30 a.m.

Wednesday

Ottawa City Council meeting – 10 a.m.

Ottawa Redblacks host Hamilton at TD Place.

Thursday

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

RBC Ottawa Bluesfest at Lansdowne Park – Lauryn Macfarlane, Aysanabee, Tokyo Police Club and Half Moon Run

Friday

RBC Ottawa Bluesfest at Lansdowne Park – Ryland James, Barenaked Ladies, Jann Arden

Saturday

RBC Ottawa Bluesfest at Lansdowne Park – MonkeyJunk, April Wine, Tom Cochrane and Red Rider

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