Fast Facts: Premier Doug Ford is criticizing Mayor Jim Watson and Dr. Vera Etches for opposing the province s 28-day lockdown. Ottawa saw the lowest level of new COVID-19 cases in a week, but a slight uptick in hospitalizations on Tuesday. The province is cutting hydro rates in January and offering financial support to parents of high school students during the lockdown. Cabinet Minister Lisa MacLeod says the province will review the lockdown in Ottawa after 14 days.
COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa:
New cases: 16 new cases on Tuesday
Total COVID-19 cases: 9,400
COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 27.0
Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.4 per cent (Dec 11-17)
OHL announces delay to the start of the 2020-21 season
An empty Progressive Auto Sales Arena in Sarnia, Ont. (Luke Durda/OHL Images) | December 23, 2020, 10:11 AM
December 23, 2020, 10:11 AM
TORONTO The Ontario Hockey League has delayed the February start of its 2020-21 season.
The OHL announced Wednesday the season will not start on Feb. 4, the date targeted earlier this year. Players were scheduled to report to their teams in early January.
The decision follows Ontario Premier Doug Ford s decision to put the entire province into lockdown starting Saturday as cases surge during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sport Minister Lisa MacLeod said that Ontario s lockdown orders allow for professional and high-performance athletes to train within the province but not to compete.
John Chidley-Hill
Lisa MacLeod Ontario s Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sport attends Ontario Premier Doug Ford s daily briefing in Toronto on Monday, June 15, 2020. The NHL plans to release its 2021 schedule today but Ontario s minister of sport says discussions are still ongoing about how the all-Canadian North division will operate. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young December 23, 2020 - 3:17 PM
TORONTO - The NHL released its schedule for the 2020-21 season Wednesday, but Ontario s minister of sport said discussions are still ongoing about how the all-Canadian North division will operate.
Ontario is scheduled to enter a province-wide lockdown on Saturday that will last for 28 days in its most heavily populated regions. The NHL had previously announced that its new season will start on Jan. 13, 10 days before the lockdown is scheduled to lift in Toronto and Ottawa.
The proposed credit will allow for a 20 per cent return on every dollar spent. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
12/18/2020 10:13am EST
febriyanta via Getty Images
View of Ottawa city buildings and Rideau canal from Mackenzie King bridge during sunset.
Ontario is creating a travel tax credit to help reinvigorate the province’s tourism industry when COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
Tourism Minister Lisa MacLeod said Thursday that the credit will allow for a 20 per cent return on every dollar spent, and noted that the government has set aside $150 million for it.
“If a family of three or four is spending $1000 and they know they’re going to get $200 back they might end up spending the $1200,” said MacLeod. “I think we’ll start to see that money circulating across the province.”