The city councillor who represents the Mooney’s Bay area is speaking out after city staff decided to install fencing this winter to prevent people from sledding at Mooney’s Bay Park.
The decision came nearly a year after an 11-year-old girl died in a tobogganing accident on the hill at Mooney’s Bay.
Coun. Riley Brockington, however, says he was disappointed by the decision.
“I am very disappointed to read this memo, sent to the corporation and Council as a whole, without first reviewing it with me, the local Councillor,” he wrote in a response to City Manager Steve Kanellakos and Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services general manager Dan Chenier.
The memo, released Friday, said a municipal risk assessment found no area of the hill was safe for sledding, and the city would be installing “robust temporary fencing” to keep people off it in the winter. Fencing off Mooney's Bay was among a 10-point list of recommendations aimed at minimizing the chances of another fatal accident and improving the city's sledding hill program.
But Brockington was critical of the city's response, saying staff took no responsibility for last year's fatal accident.
“The tragedy at Mooney’s Bay last December 27 that took the life of 11-year old Josée Abi Assal was completely preventable,” he wrote. “City of Ottawa negligence caused this death.” (emphasis in original)
Brockington noted in a phone call to CTV News that Abi Assal hit a post that city crews had forgotten to remove that winter.
“Through-out your memo you have taken no responsibility for this death and instead paint the Hill as a public recreational amenity so dangerous that it must be closed and boarded up until the end of time,” he wrote in his response.
Brockington said he is strongly opposed to closing the hill to sledding and noted that Mooney’s Bay is visited by many new Canadians and by those with limited means, who enjoy what the park offers year-round. Brocking also previously called for a safety review of the hill following last year's tragic accident.
He said he accepts that sledding comes with risks, but argued the city’s role is to mitigate those risks.
“I also accept that Mooney’s Bay Hill has risks around it that add to potential issues for sledders. Many of these can be addressed if a comprehensive plan is developed to permit sledding on one or some angles from the hill’s summit and not an absolute ban and closure. Mooney’s Bay Hill needs to remain open for public use in all four seasons,” he wrote.
Last winter, city crews installed hay bales around lamp posts and removed some of the metal poles from the bottom of the hill in an effort to improve safety, though officials stressed the hill was still unsafe and continued to discourage people from using it for tobogganing.
City officials are placing bales of hay around lamps and other hard metal posts at Mooney's Bay hill Dec. 28, 2021, following a fatal sledding accident. Crews were also removing most of the thin metal signage from the area. (Colton Praill/CTV News Ottawa)
Speaking to CTV News Ottawa, Brockington said toboganning has been part of Mooney's Bay for decades.
“It's free, it's outside, it's physical; it's everything I believe our city parks should offer. Closing the hill is not on for me,” he said.
The hill has not been an approved sledding hill since 2017, but has remained a popular destination regardless. Brockington says instead of a ban, the city should be looking at ways to make it safer for tobogganers.
“As to your action item list, I draw your attention to Item 6: conduct annual inspections for all approved hills. City hills that are not officially sanctioned but known to be well visited by the public should also be inspected,” he wrote. “This matter needs greater attention.”
He believes all sledding hills should have signage that inform users of the risks and things like rocks and trees can be wrapped and padded if they pose an issue, but there are also ways the city can change the landscape to make sledding safer. He added that he has heard from residents, including Abi Assal's family, who say they want to keep the hill open.
“It's going to take a motion at council,” Brockington said. “They dropped this memo yesterday, so I need some advice and I don't have anything written yet, but it is my strong desire to see tobogganing at Mooney's Bay Park.”
Authorities in Western Australia on Wednesday recovered a tiny but dangerous radioactive capsule that fell off a truck while being transported along a 1,400-kilometer (870-mile) Outback highway last month in what an official said was like finding the needle in the haystack.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is raising concerns over the federal government's spending on so-called COVID-19 quarantine hotels, calling the total spent on a Calgary-area hotel in 2022 'legitimately flabbergasting.'
The fallout from the December travel chaos continues, as the backlog of complaints made to the Canadian Transportation Agency keeps growing. As of Jan. 31, there have been 6,395 new complaints made to the agency since Dec. 21.
A new report from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is highlighting 'significant inequities' in women's health care that is disproportionately affecting racialized and Indigenous women, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community and those living with low socioeconomic status.
A suspect in a violent kidnapping in Oregon died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night after being taken into custody following a standoff with law enforcement, a police spokesman said.
Andrew Tate, the divisive influencer and former professional kickboxer who is detained in Romania on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, appeared at a court in Bucharest on Wednesday to appeal against a second 30-day extension of his detention.
A chance discovery in a Canadian laboratory could help extend the life of laptop, phone and electric car batteries.
Jeopardy! turned the spotlight on Ontario on Monday night with a category entirely dedicated to the province. One question stumped every contestant.
A woman held in a detention camp in Syria, along with her three Canadian children, says the federal government is forcing her to make an agonizing choice: relinquish custody of her kids so they can be repatriated to Canada, or keep them in the camp where the conditions are dire. Her children are eligible for repatriation but she is not a Canadian citizen.
Atlantic Lottery says someone in Cape Breton has a multimillion-dollar winning lottery ticket.
Another fire has caused significant damage to a home in Moncton, N.B., this week.
A blast of Arctic air will combine with northwest gusts to make it feel like -35 degrees or colder for parts of all three Maritime provinces Friday night into Saturday.
A suspect drove a vehicle through Vaughan Mills mall early Wednesday morning before reportedly breaking into a store.
The family of a 95-year-old Ontario woman tricked into withdrawing $10,000 in the middle of a major snowstorm said it's 'absolutely unconscionable' that bank employees allowed her to take out the money without contacting her power of attorney.
Premier Doug Ford announced new Service Ontario changes to make it 'faster' and 'easier' to get driver’s licences and health cards.
The Quebec government suffered a setback Tuesday when two amendments to Bill C-13 to modernize the federal Official Languages Act were rejected after heated debate in parliamentary committee.
A man in his 20s was rushed to hospital with sharp-object wounds Tuesday night in Longueuil, police say. After suffering his injuries elsewhere, police say he sought help inside a depanneur on Chambly Rd. and King George St. in Old Longueuil.
Brady Tkachuk scored at 18:41 of the third period to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 5-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
It was a busy night for power repair crews in Greater Sudbury after two crashes take out hydro poles in different parts of the city.
The family of a 95-year-old Ontario woman tricked into withdrawing $10,000 in the middle of a major snowstorm said it's 'absolutely unconscionable' that bank employees allowed her to take out the money without contacting her power of attorney.
A new report released by the office of Ontario's Chief Coroner suggests deaths among incarcerated populations have “risen dramatically” in recent years, painting a picture of a criminal justice system that is struggling to deliver on basic human rights.
Barrie Police are requesting assistance from the public in finding two females wanted for animal neglect.
One person remains in hospital after a crash on Highway 21 in Bruce County on Tuesday. Just before 1 p.m., South Bruce OPP responded to a two-vehicle crash on Highway 21 near Kincardine.
Reptilia took a small step forward but learned the finish line has moved farther away.
New standards for long-term care homes are being rolled out across Canada in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the tragedies that unfolded during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is raising concerns over the federal government's spending on so-called COVID-19 quarantine hotels, calling the total spent on a Calgary-area hotel in 2022 'legitimately flabbergasting.'
RCMP in Headingley say a fire at a business in the RM of Rosser that caused millions in damage was a case of arson.
A Kitchener public school board trustee has released an open letter of dissent, arguing a recent communication to parents from the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) may have a “chilling effect” on those who may wish to voice concerns in public forums.
Work is underway for the Region of Waterloo's sanctioned outdoor shelter on Erbs Road, but some in the community have some questions.
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner but at least one school in Kitchener is canceling the day of love in the classroom.
A Calgary-area MP is questioning why the federal government spent almost $7 million last year for a quarantine hotel in the city that only 15 people stayed at.
Warming substantially in Calgary by the weekend.
The first instalment of the province’s affordability payments has been automatically deposited into the bank accounts of Albertans already receiving income supports.
Residents of a Saskatoon care home are speaking out about staff shortages and broken equipment in their facility.
Thirty-seven-year-old Adam Willet was found dead in his apartment on 7th Street East in December, and his family says they are now on the hook for cleaning the suite.
The Service Employees International Union West (SEIU-West), which represents some Saskatoon healthcare workers, has launched a petition calling for safer parking.
Police are asking the public for help in identifying two males involved in a shooting in north Edmonton last month.
The Alberta government says changes are coming to further protect free speech on campuses as a former professor speaking out on so-called “woke” policies prepares for a showdown with the University of Lethbridge.
Las Vegas police on Tuesday arrested and raided the home of a former 'Dances With Wolves' actor turned alleged cult leader accused of sexually assaulting young Indigenous girls during a period spanning two decades, according to police records obtained by The Associated Press.
Disturbing video of a man berating a young couple with homophobic slurs in downtown Vancouver has triggered a police investigation – and prompted an outpouring of support for the victims.
The ongoing toxic drug crisis, waves of COVID-19 and other mass casualty events have B.C. healthcare workers pleading for faster access to mental health care as more of them find themselves distressed and despairing.
Following a week and a half of testimony from 34 witnesses, the jury in the coroner's inquest into death of Vancouver police Const. Nicole Chan began deliberating Tuesday.
No injuries were reported after a house fire late Tuesday night on the 1100 block of Robinson Street, Regina Fire said on Twitter.
The Government of Saskatchewan is pledging to spend $5.5 million to create more than 550 spots for 18 post-secondary healthcare programs.
The fallout from the December travel chaos continues, as the backlog of complaints made to the Canadian Transportation Agency keeps growing. As of Jan. 31, there have been 6,395 new complaints made to the agency since Dec. 21.
