COVID-19 Ottawa:

There are seventeen new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ottawa Wednesday.

3151 cases have been reported in the Capital throughout the pandemic. 225 are active, while 84 per cent of patients have recovered. No new deaths related to the virus were reported Wednesday.

COVID-19 Ontario:

Across Ontario there are 149 new cases, and 136 newly marked as resolved.

No new deaths related to the virus were reported. The total number of cases in Ontario now stands at 43,685, which includes 2,813 deaths and 39,332 cases marked as resolved.

Federal Government Supports Black Entrepreneurs:

The Federal Government is contributing nearly $93,000,000 over four years toward the creation of a new national program to help Black Canadians get business loans with national banks.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Black Entrepreneurship Program is a partnership with Canadian banks, with money also going towards identifying barriers preventing Black Canadians from succeeding in business. He says the pandemic has disproportionately affected Black Canadians, and the new program will create community financial supports.

Speed Cameras Lead to More Than a Thousand Tickets:

Hundreds of drivers are still speeding through school zones in our city, despite the installation of speed cameras.

Mayor Jim Watson announced Wednesday that the four speed cameras installed in four different school zones across the city netted 10,771 speeding tickets in a two and a half week period in July alone. In one case, a driver was clocked at 89 km/h near St. Gregory Elementary School on Meadowlands.

Council Approves Bank Street Canal Bridge Redesign:

Ottawa City Council is meeting Wednesday, the first meeting that Diane Deans is taking part in since being treated for Ovarian Cancer.

Among other things, council approved a redesign of the Bank Street Canal Bridge, that will see the structure go from four lanes of traffic to three, with expanded multi-use paths on each side for pedestrians and cyclists. Work on the redesign is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

BC First Nation Declares State of Emergency:

A state of emergency has been issued by a BC First Nation after four members tested positive for COVID-19.

The Tla’amin Nation has ordered residents to shelter in place until Friday afternoon to slow the spread of the virus and allow health officials to complete contact tracing.

Access to the First Nation northwest of Vancouver has also been restricted to a single entry point and parents are being urged to keep children out of school this week