Close X
Saturday, November 16, 2024
ADVT 
National

Hunt On For New Site Away From Parliament Hill To Host Marquee Canada Day Party

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 07 Nov, 2015 01:33 PM
    OTTAWA — Federal officials are on the hunt for a new location for the country's marquee party for Canada Day celebrations.
     
    A select group of companies were invited to bid on the project to find a new location near Parliament Hill for the federally organized Canada Day bash once the Centre Block is closed in 2018 for a decade of badly needed repairs.
     
    During that time, Parliament Hill won't be able to play host to the annual July 1 party that attracts thousands to the heart of the capital.
     
    Government bid documents show the project to find a new party spot is budgeted to cost $30,000, with a final report and recommendation to Canadian Heritage officials due in January. The government says "time is of the essence" to find a new home for the gala.
     
    The bid documents say the new site should be "optimal for the public experience" for "Canada Day celebrations and for future anniversaries." It should also lie  between two bridges that connect Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. — the Alexandra Bridge to the east, and the Chaudiere crossing in the west, meaning the party won't be moving too far from Parliament Hill and will likely remain along the Ottawa River.
     
    The Canadian Press obtained copies of the documents under the Access to Information Act.
     
    Finding a new home for the Canada Day event — and possibly carnivals held in and around Ottawa's downtown core during the depths of winter — will also mean looking for a new launching site for the evening fireworks display.
     
     
    Those fireworks usually go off from Nepean Point, a green space along the Ottawa River just east of Parliament Hill and next to the National Gallery of Canada. But Nepean Point is undergoing its own work around the same time as workers begin renovating the Centre Block, making it a no-go for fireworks and forcing a relocation of the launch pad.
     
    Moving the site will be good news for the National Gallery of Canada, which had asked the government to move the fireworks display.
     
    In a 2014 letter to federal officials, the gallery's CEO raised concerns that the "very strong vibrations caused by the fireworks" put the building's windows and its valuable collection of Canadian art at risk while also leaving a "sticky, tenacious residue" on the glass roof.
     
    The building itself has to be evacuated for the fireworks because it sits inside a safety perimeter.
     
    Federal workers do put up barriers to protect the building from the pyrotechnics display, which is aimed away from the gallery. Two technicians stay on the roof of the building to keep an eye out for any flaming fallout and cleanup crews come through afterwards to clean up any debris.
     
    In a briefing note to the deputy minister of Canadian Heritage ahead of a May 27 meeting with the gallery, officials wrote that launching site for the fireworks should stay put for now for safety and aesthetic reasons.
     
    Officials also recommended that the gallery be pushed to provide data and evidence that the fireworks display puts the building and collection at risk.
     
    Josee-Britanie Mallet, a spokeswoman for the gallery, said in an email that the two sides have not to date talked any further about the fireworks issue.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Numerous side deals to accompany final TPP trade agreement, say officials

    Numerous side deals to accompany final TPP trade agreement, say officials
     The final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be accompanied by a series of side deals for Canada, potentially on a range of issues, government officials said Friday.

    Numerous side deals to accompany final TPP trade agreement, say officials

    B.C. Doctors Criticize Canada's Strict Medical Marijuana Rules

    "When it comes to prescription marijuana, patients' needs should be considered above political considerations," Dr. Julio Montaner, one of the authors, said in a news release.

    B.C. Doctors Criticize Canada's Strict Medical Marijuana Rules

    Calgary Company Unveils Groundbreaking Carbon Capture Project In Squamish, B.C.

    Calgary Company Unveils Groundbreaking Carbon Capture Project In Squamish, B.C.
    The pilot project will suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, not from an industrial plant like other such operations, with the goal of turning the gas into fuel.

    Calgary Company Unveils Groundbreaking Carbon Capture Project In Squamish, B.C.

    B.C. Introduces More Legislation To Improve Workplace Safety After Mill Fires

    B.C. Introduces More Legislation To Improve Workplace Safety After Mill Fires
    The ministry responsible for jobs and labour says Bill 35 will require employers to immediately report all fires and blasts that could seriously injure workers.

    B.C. Introduces More Legislation To Improve Workplace Safety After Mill Fires

    Mayor Hopes Public Memorial For Slain Father, Daughter Will Bring Some Closure

    Mayor Hopes Public Memorial For Slain Father, Daughter Will Bring Some Closure
    Terry Blanchette, 27, was found dead in his Blairmore home on Sept. 14, and a widespread Amber Alert was issued for two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, who had been abducted earlier that morning.

    Mayor Hopes Public Memorial For Slain Father, Daughter Will Bring Some Closure

    Car Crashes Into Surrey Bus Stop, Seriously Injuring Pedestrian, Driver Caught After Fleeing On Foot

    Car Crashes Into Surrey Bus Stop, Seriously Injuring Pedestrian, Driver Caught After Fleeing On Foot
    The victim was sitting on a bench at the bus stop when speeding car lost control, jumped the curb and slammed into the bus shelter 

    Car Crashes Into Surrey Bus Stop, Seriously Injuring Pedestrian, Driver Caught After Fleeing On Foot