Park ambassadors will let people know what’s allowed
City rolls out plan as province slowly reopens with three-stage framework
As the province moves to slowly reopen, the city has announced that “park ambassadors” will be stationed at Ottawa’s busiest parks to help users figure out what’s allowed and what’s not.
These are city parks and recreation employees, and will not be issuing tickets, Mayor Jim Watson said.
“Their role is to educate and inform park users.”
Parking restrictions and barriers were also lifted at Mooney’s Bay, Britannia Beach and Petrie Island.
The city announced the allocation of $3 million to help 73 non-profit and charitable organizations that provide social services address immediate and ongoing needs due to COVID-19.
Funded by the federal and provincial governments, the money is going to groups such as the Shepherds of Good Hope, Youth Services Bureau and Parkdale Food Centre.
Gatineau Park is also slated to reopen to Outaouais residents on Saturday, but recreational amenities remain closed and all parking in and around the park is prohibited, so local residents will have to be able to get there on foot or bike.
Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips said officials are working to fill out the province’s threestage framework for reopening the economy, which currently lacks dates and other specifics.
He also suggested, without providing details, that more reopenings may soon be announced.
“I’m confident we’ll soon be in a position to take another step, a significant step, and that should give us hope.”
Ontario is allowing professional sports training facilities to reopen as long as leagues have coronavirus-specific health-and-safety rules in place.
Lisa MacLeod, the minister responsible for sport, made the announcement. “While it is imperative to do everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19, we need to carefully and cautiously begin to reopen the economy.”
Meanwhile, it was reported
Friday that there were 477 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario.
This was “more or less to be expected,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott.
“We’ve spoken with the chief medical officer of health about it, he’s very optimistic about where we are headed in Ontario — it’s not going to be a big step down on a daily basis, it’s a very, very gradual reduction in the number of cases.”
The federal government is also extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy beyond its originally scheduled end date in June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.
The news came hours after the release of Statistics Canada data showing Canada lost a record-breaking two million jobs in April, while the unemployment rate surged to a near-record 13 per cent.