Ottawa enters Step 2, accelerated second dose eligibility expands and new penalties for stunt driving: Five stories to watch this week

OTTAWA -

Ontario expands accelerated COVID-19 vaccine second dose eligibility, Ottawa enters Step 2 of the COVID reopening plan and virtual Canada Day celebrations due to COVID-19.

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

ACCELERATED SECOND DOSE ELIGIBILITY EXPANDS

Ontario is accelerating second dose eligibility for all adults this week in the quest for a two-dose summer.

As of 8 a.m. Monday, all Ontarians aged 18 and over who received their first dose of an mRNA vaccine will be eligible to book an appointment to receive their second ahead of schedule.

Ontario says this will accelerate second dose eligibility for approximately 1.5 million Ontarians.

As of Friday, 665,028 Ottawa residents 18 and older had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 78 per cent of the adult population.

Ottawa is currently operating 11 COVID-19 community clinics, including new clinics at Canadian Tire Centre and the University of Ottawa.

Health-care worker Thi Nguyen administers Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a COVID-19 clinic in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

ONTARIO ENTERS STEP 2

Ottawa and all of Ontario enters Step 2 of the province's Roadmap to Reopen plan this week, easing restrictions on personal care settings, non-essential businesses and gatherings.

The Ontario government will move Ontario to Step 2 of the reopening plan on June 30, two days earlier than scheduled.

Under Step 2, indoor gatherings of up to five people and outdoor gatherings of 25 people are permitted.

Personal care services where face coverings can be worn at all times are allowed to open, along with non-essential businesses inside malls.   Overnight camps, outdoor sports without contact and outdoor concert venues, fairs, rural exhibitions and festivals are also allowed to open with restrictions in place.

GATINEAU AND QUEBEC GO GREEN

Gatineau and all of Quebec go green on Monday, the COVID-19 alert level with the fewest restrictions.

The new rules allow a maximum of 10 people from different addresses or the occupants of three households to gather inside, while outdoor gatherings are capped at 20 people.

Bars and restaurants will be allowed to accommodate a maximum of 20 people per table outdoors.

The attendance cap for funerals, weddings and houses of worship will be raised to 250 people.

Customers enter Les Promenades shopping centre in Gatineau.

NEW PENALTIES FOR STUNT DRIVING

Ontario motorists will face harsher penalties for stunt driving.

Starting Canada Day, new rules will increase the roadside driver's licence suspension and vehicle impoundment periods for drivers caught street racing/stunt driving.

The new penalties include a 30-day driver's licence suspension and a 14-day vehicle impoundment.

Drivers convicted of stunt driving will face a minimum of a one to three-year driver's licence suspension for a first offence, and a minimum of three to 10 years for a second offence.

Ottawa police issued four stunt driving charges over the weekend, including to a motorist going 118 km/h on the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge.

CANADA DAY CELEBRATIONS

Canada Day celebrations will be virtual or cancelled for a second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian Heritage is hosting a virtual Canada Day celebration on Thursday, instead of the usual large party on Parliament Hill.  Other activities in Ottawa will not be held due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

There are also renewed calls to cancel the Canada Day holiday, following the discovery of unmarked burial sites at former residential schools in British Columbia and in Saskatchewan.

The Canadian Museum of History will not be offering any special Canada Day activities this year following the discovery of the unmarked graves.

"This is a moment for deep reflection on our history and on the impacts of that history on the country today," said the Canadian Museum of History in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

"Mourning these children and others yet to be found, the museum will honour them by continuing to provide a platform for Indigenous voices."

A March for Action will be held in the national capital region on Thursday to call for Canada Day to be cancelled. The march will begin at Indigenous Services in Gatineau and end on Parliament Hill.

"The Anishnabe nations calls upon our red nation and allies to join us in our grassroots Anishnabe-led March for Action!" said the posting on Instagram.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ottawa Street Medic Collective (@ottawastreetmedics)

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OTTAWA THIS WEEK

Monday

Gatineau and western Quebec move into the green level for COVID-19 restrictions

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

Ottawa Police Services Board meeting – 4 p.m.

Ottawa BlackJacks host Guelph at TD Place (no fans allowed)

Tuesday

Indigenous Peoples Day celebration and concert at Wesley Clover Parks  

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

City of Ottawa hosts a Zoom meeting on the Master Plan for the Ottawa Hospital's new Civic Campus.

Wednesday

Ottawa and Ontario enter Step 2 at 12:01 a.m.

Thursday

Canada Day

Ottawa BlackJacks host Hamilton at TD Place (no fans permitted)