The Rideau Canal

[c_speed3108]

The only way I could see this working out well (not hopeful) is if they are willing to hire one company (or consortium) to basically manage the canal and surrounding area (sorta like OSEG at Lansdowne) and then that company is free to go off and sign contacts with whomever it wishes for various services, locations, events, and whatever else it can come up with.

For them to do this they would basically have to give up control of the area.

[rocketphish]

Parks Canada gives bidders more time to flesh out 'innovative' Rideau Canal plans

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: May 18, 2015, Last Updated: May 18, 2015 6:10 PM EDT

Parks Canada is giving bidders until the end of June to submit proposals to provide innovative new experiences along the Ottawa portion of the Rideau Canal.

The federal agency issued a Request for Proposals earlier this year seeking bids from companies interested in providing multiple “innovative experiences and leading edge services” on and along the canal from the Ottawa Locks to Hartwell lock station at Carleton University. It originally gave them until May 20 to submit their ideas.

But potential bidders told Parks Canada, which operates the canal, that its submission deadline was unrealistically tight, said Jewel Cunningham, the agency’s director of Ontario waterways.

“We had a lot of interest from potential applicants to the process and many of them expressed to us that they would really love more time to put together a really good proposal,” Cunningham said in an interview. As a result, Parks Canada has extended the submission deadline to June 30.

Parks Canada has not yet received any formal proposals from would-be operators, Cunningham said. But the tender posting on its website has been heavily visited, she said. “We’ve been really happy with the traffic we’ve been getting there.”

Parks Canada staff have also visited numerous businesses that have expressed strong interest in putting forward a proposal, she added.

Cunningham declined to say what sort of activities are being contemplated by potential bidders who have inquired about the canal tender.

“All I will say is we’ve been pleased with what we’ve been seeing so far. We’re certainly optimistic that we’ll get something new and something that will be well-received by the tourism industry in Ottawa, as well as residents.”

The agency had hoped to select a winning applicant by mid-July. Extending the submission deadline “does push that a little bit,” Cunningham acknowledged.

Even so, there’s still a possibility that some new services could be in place this year, she said. “We’re still hopeful that there might be some proponents — for instance, that have businesses in the local area — who could mobilize quite quickly.”

In the meantime, Cunningham said, Parks Canada is “working on a number of initiatives” to animate the canal this year until the new experiences and services are fully rolled out next year, though she wouldn’t say what they are. “We certainly want to make sure that the canal’s animated. That’s the purpose of the RFP.”

Paul’s Boat Lines, which has been offering canal tours in the city since 1949, cancelled its 2015 canal operations last month after it was unable to come to a long-term lease agreement with Parks Canada.

Because of its Request for Proposals, the agency was only willing to offer the company a two-year lease, which Dan Duhamel, president of Paul’s Boat Lines, said was not financially viable.

There have been no discussions with Duhamel about providing tours on the canal this year as an interim measure, Cunningham said. “We have no reason to believe that he wants to operate on that basis.”

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...au-canal-plans

[rocketphish]

Sounds like a predictable and giant FAIL to me.

[NOWINYOW]

Another example of Gov't fixing something that wasn't broken.

Sounds like the brain trust in Parks Canada needs a good brain-bush shake.

[Harley613]

'Let's animate the canal! But first, let's get rid of that cute parisien style riverboat tourist attraction that everyone has loved for decades.... We need new stuff! Animated stuff! Funky newfangled stuff!'

[phil235]

Anyone know what's up with 8 Locks Flat? No sign of life there yet, and they are missing some prime dates.

[rocketphish]

Ex business owner hopes Rideau Canal facelift won't repeat history

By Keaton Robbins, Ottawa Sun
First posted: Monday, May 18, 2015 08:22 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 09:34 AM EDT

Ken Dale doesn’t want to see history repeat itself along the Rideau Canal.

Back in the 1980s, the former executive director of the Sparks St. Mall developed the now extinct Hogs Back Marina with Parks Canada under a Request for Proposal (RFP).

Dale said he invested more than $500,000 in the marina, which had 72 docks, a cafe and a heritage steamboat.

But in 1993, nine years after it opened, he said Parks Canada didn’t renew the lease and decided to “re-evaluate the land.”

“It’s been basically an empty gravel parking lot now for 14 years,” Dale said.

“We had a beautiful marina in downtown Ottawa and now you’ve got nothing.”

Now he’s worried the same thing will happen to the canal’s summer boat tours.

Last month, Paul’s Boat Lines — which was in business for more than 60 years — said they were shutting down after Parks Canada issued and RFP, saying it wanted companies to provide “innovative experiences” on the canal. With the May 20 deadline looming, Paul’s owner Dan Duhamel decided not to submit a proposal.

Parks Canada said their timeline would allow whichever company replaced Paul’s Boat Lines to start on a small scale as early as this summer.

“Parks Canada is working diligently to ensure the Rideau Canal has new exciting activities to offer visitors this summer,” an official said when asked about a replacement.

Each year, 7.3 million visitors come to Ottawa and spend morte than $1.18 billion.

The Rideau Canal is one of the most visited National Historic Sites in Canada and one of Ottawa’s top attractions according to TripAdvisor.

And it looks like the private sector is lining up to “enhance and improve visitor experiences” along the canal.

So much so, Parks Canada has extended their deadline for RFPs to June 30.

Jewel Cunningham, director of Ontario waterways at Parks Canada, said they’re looking for “out of the box” ideas to make the canal a world class destination.

“We have some ideas on what we’ve seen. We’ve looked around the world and there are many floating barges with cafes and floating barges with entertainment or boat puppet shows or puppet theatre, music or the traditional boat tours, water taxis. That’s the types of ideas we have in mind.”

Cunningham said they don’t want to limit RFPs to traditional cafes, restaurant or shops.

“There could be 60 other ideas that haven’t been done yet. We’re trying to open people’s minds about the possibilities that can happen with the canal.”

The National Capital Commission said they share Parks Canada’s “animation objectives”.

“The NCC remains always available to opportunities of partnerships with projects that support its mandate of building a capital that reflects Canada,” NCC spokesman Jean Wolff told the Sun.

Over the last three summers, the NCC has rolled out two phases of shoreline animation initiatives.

The first, looking for proposals for the Rideau Canal shorelines, then with a call for proposals for “placemaking” along the Ottawa River shorelines — both are pilot projects.

This summer, carrying on with those initiatives, there will be Iceco Ice Cream carts along the Ottawa River and Rideau Canal; tours on Segways at Leamy Lake; Soundwaves at Jacques Cartier Park on the Ottawa River and 8 Locks Flats, a restaurant on the Colonel By side of the canal.

“8 Locks certainly supports more venues and activity along the city centre of the canal,” said Colin Goodfellow, owner of the waterfront restaurant.

But he, much like Dale, is skeptical of how long it will take the facelift to happen.

“Not sure NCC or Parks Canada’s approach will get us there but they own it so let’s keep hoping.”

Dale, a huge advocate of Ottawa tourism, said he supports a canal revamp but doesn’t want to see a staple like Paul’s Boat Lines pushed out in the process.

“I love this city and I want people to see the canal,” he said.

Dale said he’d love to see more pubs and restaurants along the waterway too.

“Go look at Amsterdam and imagine that on the canal, that’s what makes Amsterdam so cool,” he said of all the cafe’s and restaurants planted right along their waterways.

But would more restaurants be a good thing for the few currently on the historic waterfront?

Nelson Borges, general manager of food and beverage at the National Arts Centre, said he doesn’t think their restaurant along the canal, Le cafe, will be negatively impacted by new neighbours.

“I think it will be fast food or cheaper food like food trucks. We distinguish ourselves a little different,” he said.

“I’m not too concerned.”

He said the more spots along the canal, the more traffic they could end up getting.

“If they start searching online about restaurants on the canal, then great,” said Borges.

“People don’t think about dining on the canal, if more come on, then more awareness will come with it.”

Twitter: @Keaton_Robbins


CALL IT A COMEBACK?

Hog’s Back could be making a comeback.

The Parks Canada property, where Ken Dale’s marina used to be, is currently used as a public boat launch and hosts group events at Mooney’s Bay and the surrounding area.

There is also an interactive pirate-theatre cruise offered by a private business.

While Parks Canada wouldn’t say what specifically they’d like to do with the land, it will be part of the development of the canal.

“Parks Canada is currently looking at long-term plans for the use of the site that will foster recreation, tourism and economic development on the Rideau Canal,” Eric Magnan, spokesman for Parks Canada, told the Sun.

“Parks Canada’s vision for the Rideau Canal is one that is vibrant, alive, animated, and experiential.”

Ken Dale said he’d like to see Parks Canada do something with his old stomping grounds.

“I’ll take it. I’d build a condo. Maybe even something like the Canal Ritz. It’s a perfect example of what you can do on the canal. It’s busy all the time.”

http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/05/18/...repeat-history

[Mulder]

Underwater LED's that can duel as extra lighting for the canal during winter would be insane cool thing to do. In addition to changing those lights out along the paths You highlight the heritage site, and can use colour changing LED's to enhance the experience.

They installed them in the CN tower for 2.5m.

[On Edge]

Make the canal and the places along it accessible by transit. A monorail running from the NAC to Dow's Lake Pavilion on the QED side. Stops at Pretoria, 5th, Lansdowne (!!) and Dow's Lake Pavilion. This would connect our light rail system in a loop.

[rocketphish]

Parks Canada spending $40M to shore up crumbling Rideau Canal

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 1, 2015, Last Updated: June 1, 2015 6:06 PM EDT

Moving to address years of neglect, the federal government will spend nearly $40 million over the next five years to repair and replace crumbling infrastructure along the 183-year-old Rideau Canal.

Monday’s announcement by Leona Aglukkaq, the minister responsible for Parks Canada, goes part way to addressing $104 million in deferred maintenance and repairs along the 202-kilometre UNESCO world heritage site identified in a 2012 asset review.

The Parks Canada asset review found that about 20 per cent of the canal’s built assets were in poor or very poor condition and 13 of its 47 lift locks were in poor condition.

Nearly $13 million of the $39.4 million of the new money announced by Aglukkaq will be spent on portions of the Rideau Canal within the City of Ottawa. The largest single project — costing $7.7 million — involves the repair and replacement of the canal’s concrete walls between the Ottawa Locks and Dow’s Lake.

Including previously announced investments of $6.6 million at Black Rapids Lock 13 and the Poonamalie Dam, the government says it has now announced $46 million in infrastructure spending on the Rideau Canal in the past five years.


Here’s a summary of some of the other infrastructure projects announced by Aglukkaq:

HOG’S BACK

Parks Canada will repair and repave the Hog’s Back bridge, built in 1977 and repair concrete at the Hog’s Back dam and weir. Cost: $4.1 million.

BLACK RAPIDS

In addition to the previously announced $2.3-million rehabilitation of Lock 13, Parks Canada will repair concrete and make other improvements to the Black Rapids Dam. Cost: $11 million.

BURRITTS RAPIDS

The project will improve the condition of the earth dams located at the site while maintaining their use as a walking trail for the community. Cost: $2.6 million.

BOB’S LAKE

The Bob’s Lake Dam will be demolished and replaced by a new concrete dam to ensure it remains reliable and functional. Cost: $3.1 million.

JONES FALLS

A wooden pedestrian bridge built in 1883 will be rehabilitated or replaced. If replaced, Parks Canada says, it will be done in a way that “respects the heritage value of the site while enhancing visitor safety.” Parks Canada will also repair or possibly replace a concrete bridge at Jones Falls. Cost: $2.25 million.

UPPER BREWERS

The work involves rehabilitation of the earth dam. Cost: $2.1 million.

KINGSTON MILLS

The fixed bridge at the lock station will be replaced and the swing bridge will be rehabilitated. Cost: $4.5 million.

OTHER WORK

Parks Canada will do smaller repairs at the Upper Nicholsons, Edmonds and Narrows lock stations and the Merrickville swing bridge. It will also spend $7 million on repairs to dams and locks in various locations along the canal’s length.

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...g-rideau-canal

[rocketphish]

Rideau Canal boat tours to resume next year as Parks Canada selects new operator

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 24, 2015 | Last Updated: September 25, 2015 9:40 AM EDT

Following a one-year hiatus, boat tours on the Rideau Canal will resume next year after Parks Canada picked a long-established cruise company to provide new services and experiences along the canal’s Ottawa portion.

In response to Citizen questions, Parks Canada, which is responsible for the canal, said it had selected Ottawa Boat Cruises Inc. (also known by its French name, Croisières Outaouais) from among three bidders for the canal contract.

The three proposals were reviewed by a committee that included representatives from Parks Canada, the National Capital Commission, the City of Ottawa and Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Parks Canada is now working with Ottawa Boat Cruises “to detail the full package of services that will be offered, with implementation scheduled to start in 2016,” the agency said in an email.

One of the services will be a new tour boat that will begin operations in the 2016 navigation season. Details of other offerings will be announced once an agreement has been signed, Parks Canada said.

To the dismay of many, no boat tours were offered on the canal’s Ottawa section this summer for the first time in 66 years.

Paul’s Boat Lines, which had run tours since 1949, cancelled its Rideau Canal tours after it was unable to reach a long-term lease with Parks Canada this spring.

Earlier this year, Parks Canada invited bids from operators able to offer two or more experiences or services on and along the canal from the Ottawa Locks to Hartwell Locks at Carleton University.

The agency’s Request for Proposals said the Rideau Canal “has significant potential for innovative experiences and leading edge services that will increase visitation, appreciation and enjoyment” of the UNESCO World Heritage Site canal.

After a competitive process, Ottawa Boat Cruises has emerged as the winner. According to the tender documents, it will have to pay Parks Canada a minimum a fee of $75,000 a year or six per cent of gross revenues, whichever is greater.

The company was founded in the 1980s after Jean Taillefer converted one of his ferry boats into an Ottawa River cruise boat for family and friends out of Rockland, Ont.

The popularity of his cruises grew, Taillefer moved the operation to the Quai des artistes in Gatineau (then Hull), where it has been operating ever since. His son, Robert Taillefer, took over the business in 1997 and still runs it.

The company has two charter tour boats — the 350-passenger Ottawa River Queen and the 180-passenger J-Taillefer 1 — and operates 250 cruises a year on the Ottawa River, its website says.

It will presumably need to buy a new boat to operate on the canal, but no one from Ottawa Boat Cruises was available for comment.

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...n-rideau-canal

[rocketphish]

Ottawa Boat Cruise will bring boat tours of northern Rideau Canal back in 2016
Ottawa Boat Cruise beats out 2 other bids to provide tours in 2016

CBC News Posted: Sep 25, 2015 12:35 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 25, 2015 12:35 PM ET

Parks Canada has chosen Ottawa Boat Cruise to bring back boat tours on the northernmost stretch of the Rideau Canal in 2016.

In an email, Parks Canada said the more than 30-year-old company, which currently runs Ottawa River cruises, beat out two other bids after the department's request for proposals earlier this year.

"Parks Canada is now working with Ottawa Boat Cruises Inc. (Croisières Outaouais) to detail the full package of services that will be offered, with implementation scheduled to start in 2016," the statement said.

"One of the services will be a new tour boat which will begin operations in the 2016 navigation season. Details on other offerings will be announced at a later date once an agreement has been signed."

The Parks Canada request for proposals went out March 25 of this year and asked for a company willing to pay either $75,000 or six per cent of revenue, whichever was higher, during a 10- to 42-year contract.

The winning company would provide "innovative visitor experiences and leading edge services that will maximize the potential of Canada's Rideau Canal in Ottawa," according to the request.

Services would start no later than Friday, May 20, 2016, which is the day before the Victoria Day long weekend.

Ottawa Boat Cruise sent out a news release Friday saying they had acquired Paul's Boat Lines and had a "big announcement for the new 2016-17 summer season" to make on Tuesday.

Paul's Boat Lines had run boat tours of the Ottawa section of the Rideau Canal from 1949 until 2014.

Dan Duhamel, president of Paul's Boat Lines, told CBC News in April he wouldn't be running tours in the summer of 2015 because he wasn't able to come to terms with Parks Canada on a long-term contract.

In a brief phone interview from the world skeet shooting championships in San Antonio, Duhamel said he thinks Ottawa Boat Cruises will bring Rideau Canal tours to a higher level.

"I think Ottawa Boat Cruise has a lot of depth and I think they'll do very well with the whole thing, I think they'll help bring a lot of people back into Ottawa," he said.

"[I have] total support for these people."

Ottawa Boat Cruise owner Robert Taillefer wasn't immediately available for comment and Parks Canada declined further comment.

"Unfortunately, given the communications protocol during the election we will not be able to accommodate an interview," Parks Canada spokeswoman Meaghan Bradley told CBC News in an email.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...ours-1.3243665

[rocketphish]

Ottawa Boat Cruise secures 42-year lease for Rideau Canal tours

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 29, 2015 | Last Updated: September 29, 2015 6:06 PM EDT

Thirty-one years ago, Robert Taillefer’s parents started a ferry service on the Ottawa River between Rockland and Thurso that would morph into a successful charter cruise business called Ottawa Boat Cruise.

Now Taillefer’s company is set for decades to come after securing a 42-year lease from Parks Canada to provide sightseeing tours and other services on the Ottawa section of the Rideau Canal starting in 2016.

The 42-year term, which will keep Ottawa Boat Cruise vessels on the Rideau Canal until at least 2058, was the maximum specified in a Parks Canada request for proposals last March that invited bids from companies able to provide multiple services or experiences on the canal.

Parks Canada said it would enter into a long-term lease agreement “for a term commensurate with the type of service and level of investment.”

The agency revealed last week that it had selected Ottawa River Cruise (known as Croisières Outaouais in French) over two other bidders.

“We’re proud to have been selected by Parks Canada,” Taillefer said Tuesday at a celebratory news conference aboard his company’s paddlewheeler, the Ottawa River Queen.

“I’ve been on a boat since I was four years old. It’s my life,” he said. “For us, it’s familiar territory. We’re used to it, and we look forward to the challenge.”

The company plans to have two new electrically propelled vessels, each capable of carrying about 100 passengers, built by a local company for the canal tours. There are two potential builders, but Taillefer wouldn’t identify them.

One of the new boats will be operational next season and the second will come into service in 2017, Taillefer said.

The tours will be similar to the ones provided for 66 years by Paul’s Boat Lines — which didn’t bid on the new contract — except that passengers will be able to get on and off at various points.

Ottawa Boat Cruise has also purchased Paul’s Boat Lines’ Ottawa River operations, including its tour boat, the Paula D. The river tour vessels will be rebranded as “World’s Famous Paul’s Boat Lines,” Taillefer announced.

His company plans to build more connections between its services on the river and the canal. For example, tourists could take a river tour, disembark at the Ottawa Locks, board a canal boat and get off at Lansdowne Park to attend a football game.

The company will offer other services on or along the canal as well, but those are still being negotiated with Parks Canada, Taillefer said.

The two parties are also still negotiating the exact financial terms of the lease, but Taillefer said they would be similar to those spelled out in the RFP, which called for annual payments of $75,000 to Parks Canada or six per cent of revenue, whichever was greater.

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...canal-services

[JM1]

A number of cities use boats as transit. Why not Ottawa?

Transit Boats could run along the Rideau Canal with stops at: Rideau Centre (connect to LRT); UOttawa/Campus LRT; Pretoria Bridge; Canal Ritz; Lansdowne Park; Dow's Lake Pavillion; Carleton University. I would bet that such a service would be welcome to both tourists and commuters. You would need boats that are easy/quick to board and unboard.

[Kitchissippi]

because winter.

Boats are also extremely slow relative to other modes. In the warm months it would be far cheaper and faster to have bike share along the length of the canal.

[NOWINYOW]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

because winter.

Boats are also extremely slow relative to other modes. In the warm months it would be far cheaper and faster to have bike share along the length of the canal.

What I find annoying is that the former Rideau Canal boat tour started and stopped at the same place.

I see no reason why they cannot offer a "hop on-hop off" service with a stop around Pretoria Bridge, Lansdowne Park and Dows Lake Pavillion.

I'm sure this would annoy people because it would mean a bit of dock space on the canal and otherwise "ruin" their view.

[Radster]

This is exactly what the new tours will offer as of next summer, at least from my understanding of the articles posted above, the tours will offer a possibility to hop on/hop off at a few locations (ie. Lansdowne, Dows Lake)

[rocketphish]

Work begins Monday on overdue Rideau Canal wall repairs

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: November 6, 2015 | Last Updated: November 6, 2015 9:28 PM EST

Parks Canada will begin repairs Monday on a deteriorating 500-metre section of the 183-year-old Rideau Canal‘s concrete walls in downtown Ottawa.

The work, which includes chipping away damaged concrete and resurfacing the wall with new concrete, will focus on the canal walls on the Queen Elizabeth Drive side in the area of the Bronson Bridge.

Construction will continue until next April, but it should not affect vehicular or pedestrian traffic, Parks Canada said in a news release Friday.

A 2012 asset review by Parks Canada found that the agency had deferred $104 million in needed maintenance and repairs along the historic canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Earlier this year, an analysis by Ken Watson, a Rideau Canal expert and advocate, concluded that the 2012 review underestimated the cost by 33 per cent, meaning the current value of the deferred work is now $155 million.

Parks Canada announced this summer that it would spend $40 million over the next five years to repair and replace crumbling infrastructure along the canal.

Included in that sum was $7.6 million to repair the canal’s concrete walls between Dow’s Lake and the Ottawa Locks. The work starting Monday is the first phase of those repairs.

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...l-wall-repairs

[rocketphish]

There might be skating on the canal this year, but probably not for very long

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 23, 2015 | Last Updated: December 23, 2015 5:35 PM EST




Could this be the year without skating on the Rideau Canal?

Probably not, says Environment Canada weather guru David Phillips. But this winter’s season on the world’s largest skating rink is likely to be short and sporadic.

“It will be measured in terms of days rather than weeks,” Phillips said Wednesday. “It’s going to take a turn of the weather, and I think the odds of that turn of the weather are higher rather than lower. But I think it may not be sustainable.”

With Christmas Eve temperatures forecast to rise to a ridiculous, record-setting 16 Celsius, there’s no sign of that colder weather yet. And Environment Canada’s models are showing milder-than-normal temperatures through January, February and March.

The National Capital Commission, which operates the Rideau Canal Skateway, needs to understand that it’s facing an unprecedented situation, Phillips says.

“There’s nothing about this beginning to winter that has ever been seen before,” he says. To make the 30 centimetres of quality ice the canal requires for skating, “you need those cool-off days. They’re just not there. It’s just not good news.”

At the NCC, spokeswoman Jasmine Leduc says it’s too early to speculate about when — or if — the 7.8-kilometre skateway will open.

But she remains optimistic, pointing out that the canal rink has opened every year since it was created in 1971. It has opened as early as Dec. 18 (twice) and as late as Feb. 2. But open, it always has.

The shortest season was in 2001-02, lasting 35 days, with skating possible on just 26 of those days. The longest season persisted an unimaginable 90 days, from Dec. 18, 1971, to March 25, 1972.

And just last winter, lest we forget, it was possible to skate on the canal for a record 59 consecutive days, from Jan. 10 to March 9, the only blessing bestowed by a truly brutal, endless winter.

Last winter was the polar opposite, so to speak, of this winter so far. From the beginning of January until the end of February, Phillips says, there were only three days when temperatures rose above freezing.

“And two of those days were like 0.1 and 0.3 degrees,” he says. “So you’re still talking about 24 hours of ice-making, even on the warmest days.”

The complete turnaround this winter is another example of “weather whiplash,” an increasingly common phenomenon, says Phillips. “We go from one of the coldest winters on record last year and one of the best skating years ever to a cancellation the following year.”

Things like that never used to happen, he says. “They would change slowly. What we’re seeing is not normal weather any more.”

This year, Ottawa has had the warmest November and December on record by far, Phillips says. The average temperature to this point has been 3.1 Celsius — fully 5.5 degrees warmer than normal and 1.6 degrees above the previous record set in November and December 2001.

Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 25 in an average year, there will be 19 “all-freeze days,” when the temperature remains below zero all day. This year, there have been only five such days.

It doesn’t look like any winter we know, either. On average, we would have received 76 centimetres of snow by now. This year? Just 0.6 centimetres.

The current “super El Niño” is to blame, Phillips says. A normal El Niño is triggered when water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean rise half a degree or more above normal. “This one is 3.1 degrees,” he says. “So it’s like a hot tub out there.”

Though the super El Niño is starting to weaken a bit, it will continue to influence our weather until late spring or early summer. That means a lot of “up and down, back and forth, yo-yo kind of weather” lies ahead, Phillips said.

That’s bad news for the Rideau Canal Skateway. At the NCC, they used to say the canal needed 10 to 14 days of overnight lows between -15 and -20 Celsius to freeze up properly. But it no longer says that publicly. “It’s about managing expectations,” Leduc says.

That doesn’t make it any less valid, though. Without a sustained period of cold weather, it’s conceivable the canal ice won’t attain the necessary thickness this winter.

All we can do is take comfort from Phillips’s observation that temperatures in Ottawa typically bottom out in late January. There’s still time for winter — not this equatorial impostor, but real winter — to show up.

“I would never bet against winter in Ottawa,” says Ottawa Tourism spokeswoman Jantine Van Kregten. “We all know it’s coming.”

dbutler@postmedia.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...en-this-winter

[rocketphish]

Heritage preservation and presentation absent on Rideau Canal, group warns McKenna

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: January 12, 2016 | Last Updated: January 15, 2016 8:54 PM EST

Canada is falling short of its commitment to preserve and protect the Rideau Canal, which was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007, Friends of the Rideau says.

In a letter to Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna, the minister responsible for Parks Canada, Hunter McGill, the volunteer group’s chairman, says revenue generation has replaced cultural and natural presentation as the federal agency’s primary focus on the Rideau Canal.

“Heritage presentation and preservation, core mandates of Parks Canada, are no longer being done on much of the canal,” says McGill’s letter, sent to McKenna in November, shortly after she was sworn in as minister of the environment and climate change.

“We have observed that a consequence has been that many visitors are surprised to learn the Rideau Canal is a working example of early 19th century technology and a significant part of Canada’s history.”

Ken Watson, a canal activist and member of Friends of the Rideau’s board, reinforced those concerns in another letter to McKenna, charging that Parks Canada “is not meeting its obligations to the Rideau Canal as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

The heritage support and systems that led to the canal’s designation are now gone, a casualty of 2012 budget cuts, Watson’s letter says, and Parks Canada is no longer following the 2005 World Heritage Site management plan for the canal. “This is a serious issue that could eventually lead to the delisting of the Rideau Canal.”

Thanks to staff cuts, Parks Canada “simply doesn’t have anybody who knows how to do heritage,” Watson said in an interview. “We’re talking about a multi-year build back up if they want to get back on track.”

Asked for comment, McKenna issued a statement saying she and her family experience the canal every day. “So I understand why it is so important to ensure the protection, conservation and presentation of the Rideau Canal for future generations.

“That’s why Parks Canada monitors and maintains the canal to conserve its historic fabric and make sure it is safe and reliable to use,” McKenna said, noting that the agency is spending $46 million over five years to repair the canal’s crumbling infrastructure.

But Watson said most of that money will be spent on shoring up things such as dams and bridges, whose failure could jeopardize public safety. “The heritage structures aren’t being touched.”

And though Parks Canada estimated in 2012 the canal needed $104 million in repairs and deferred maintenance, that estimate appears to have been understated by at least 33 per cent, Watson said.

“We’re worried,” McGill admitted in an interview. “We do have these concerns that there has been underfunding and, as a consequence, we’re not meeting our obligations and responsibilities.”

He expressed optimism that McKenna, once she has a chance to focus on the canal issue, will act on those concerns.

“Everything I’ve heard about her is that she’s very approachable, she’s very sensitive to local concerns,” he said. “We do need that kind of leadership.”

Watson said McKenna’s focus on climate change has “pushed everything to the side.” But, he added, “I’m hoping that within the year we’ll see fundamental changes start to happen within the Parks Canada administration of the Rideau Canal.”

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