The public service can expect a “comprehensive review” of at least three departments as part of a federal government effort to eliminate inefficient programs, curb wasteful spending and end ineffective and obsolete initiatives, according to the federal budget released Wednesday.

Exactly which departments will be subjected to the review won’t be revealed until sometime down the road, following a budget that featured only modest investments to the public service — and no mention of new money to help fix the problematic Phoenix Pay system that has resulted in some federal workers getting paid too much or others nothing at all.

The two largest unions representing public service workers had been hoping for a $75-million contingency fund so employees could get paid correctly and on time.

“Words don’t even describe how disappointed I am that they did nothing to address Phoenix,” said Robyn Benson, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

“It’s heart-wrenching that they have left out Phoenix in totality,” said Benson. “For myself as president of the PSAC and my 100,000 members, that says to them they are not important. It says to them it doesn’t matter if you get paid.”

Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, added the government’s silence on Phoenix was deafening.

And NDP MP Erin Weir, the party’s critic for public services and procurement, said he was surprised to see no details about the Phoenix payroll and Shared Services programs.

They are “huge boondoggles” that could have been addressed in the budget, Weir said.

“Even if it was a commitment of some sort, some verbiage, that would have been helpful to know the government was going to put the resources behind making sure public servants are properly paid,” said Daviau.

The budget was vague on when the comprehensive review of departments will begin, but it was among three measures announced to find better value from the public service.

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“We’ll be closely watching to make sure those reviews are not done in the Harper fashion, that stakeholders are properly consulted…and if there are cuts, or reallocations of resources that they are done with all the information in front of them and not just as some ideological move,” said Daviau of the departmental reviews.

Benson said she hopes the Liberal government work with unions while conducting the reviews.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Justin Trudeau leave the Prime Minister’s office holding copies of the federal budget. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick 

“I don’t want them just to go in there and slash, cut and burn, then it will be reminiscent of the Conservatives,” said Benson, who argued the real waste in government comes from the contracting out of services and public-private partnerships.

The government also said it would begin the first comprehensive review in decades of federal fixed assets, such as buildings. The government said it spends $10 billion a year buying, maintaining and repairing owned and leased assets.

The review will be staged by asset-type — such as engineering assets, science facilities and so on — over the next three years.

Editorial: A budget Donald Trump can easily live with

The government also vowed to conduct a three-year review of all federal innovation and clean technology programs with the goal of simplifying programming and better aligning resources to improve the effectiveness of those programs.

The government expects to report back on the progress of the reviews in next year’s budget. The expenditure reviews come a year after the government announced annual reductions of $221 million on professional services, travel and government advertising.

The 2016 budget promised a $444-million investment in the Canada Revenue Agency to track down tax cheats.

This year’s budget promises an additional $523.9 million over five years, which the government anticipates will result in an additional $1 billion in assessed tax annually over that time period.

The funding is expected to result in more than 300 new jobs for auditors and other staff at the CRA, with a specific focus on the “underground economy.”

“We’ve long been calling for those investments. Although it probably doesn’t go far enough, it’s clearly a step in the right direction,” said Daviau. “It’s smart for Canadians. For every dollar invested, a minimum of five is coming back.”

The budget put a heavy emphasis on innovation, and that included a promised review of the National Research Council that would examine the future role the NRC would play in creating more opportunities for women researchers while supporting “breakthrough” research.

The budget also established a $2-million budget for the Chief Science Advisor and secretariat and promised to develop a new federal science infrastructure strategy, including for federal laboratories and testing facilities.

The government also vowed there would be a more “integrated and effective approach” to laboratories, information technology and human resources in the federal science community and they’d seek to ensure federal scientists have access to world-class infrastructure, innovative equipment and computer networks.

MORE: Liberals’ vision of the future involves robots and risky government activism

Daviau said “targeted investment “ in science was “not nearly enough to make up for the cuts of the Harper government in terms of decimating critical science programs for Canadians.”

There was also not enough focus on how public scientists play into innovation agenda, she said.

“What we’d like to see know is far more focus on how you use public science to inform and inspire innovation in every sector in Canada,” she said.

Benson said she noted there was a commitment to some spending in other departments, which was positive.

“There is an infusion of money in different areas, so if in fact it is going to be used to improve programs, to hire people, to provide quality public services I’ll be happy,” she said.

There was also a series of less-defined promises that could improve the working lives of the public service.

The government promised to put more women in positions of leadership in the public and private sectors.

The government also signalled there would be more support for federally-regulated employees to request more flexible work arrangements, such as flexible start and finish times, the ability to work from home and unpaid leave to help manage family responsibilities.

There was also the announcement of an additional $7 billion over the next 10 years to create more affordable child-care spaces.

With files from Jon Willing 

Sidebar: Other investments in the public service

Public Safety

– $17.4 million over three years to the National Energy Board to enhance oil and gas pipeline safety and oversight. There will be a further $1.9 million over three years to keep Canadians informed on energy, regulations and pipeline safety — investments that the government said will be fully cost-recovered from the industry
– $1.37 million to Public Safety Canada to better safeguard Canada’s critical infrastructure, including transportation networks, power grids and hospitals
– Promising to invest $8.7 million over five years to Natural Resources Canada to expand the list of regulated chemical, and better control of access to the chemicals used to manufacture homemade explosives

Innovation

– Provide $229 million over four years, starting in 2018-19, to Natural Resources Canada and Transport Canada to continue Research and Development in core-clean energy and clean transportation programming
– $200 million to Natural Resources Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to support clean technology research
– $15 million a year to Global Affairs Canada starting in 2017 to implement strategy connecting clean technology firms with international networks and educating them on business supports provided by Canadian government
– $14.5 million over four years allocated to Natural Resources Canada and Innovation, Science and Technology Canada for the creation of a Clean Technology Data strategy. There will also be $12 million over four years to establish a “Clean Growth Hub” within Innovation Canada.

Housing

– $39.9 million to Statistics Canada to develop and implement a database of all properties in Canada, providing information on purchases and sales, the degree of foreign ownership and homeowner demographics and financing

Aside from the billions earmarked in the 2017 budget for housing and childcare, the government’s social infrastructure agenda includes millions of dollars for building new cultural spaces and making them accessible to all Canadians.

In the federal budget released Wednesday, the government says it will build on commitments in the 2016 budget by investing a further $1.8 billion over 10 years, starting in 2018, to promote arts and culture. The majority of that money, $1.3 billion, will be provided to provinces and territories through bilateral agreements.

The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund will provide $300 million over the next decade to construct, renovate and better equip creative spaces and hubs.

Several Ottawa-area facilities have previously benefited from the fund.

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The expansion of the Ottawa Art Gallery and the redevelopment of the Arts Court building received $5.25 million in February, while the gallery received an additional $1.3 million for specialized equipment for its new space.

Carp’s Diefenbunker Cold War Museum received $25,000.

A further $77 million over 10 years will pay for the construction and renovation of public spaces such as community centres and swimming pools to make them more accessible.

Eligible projects include constructing and renovating buildings (adding ramps, automatic door openers and accessible washrooms), providing accessible information and communication technologies, and retrofitting vehicles.

MORE: Budget 2017: Federal government review coming for at least three departments in public service

The Enabling Accessibility Fund has provided cash to more than 2,300 projects across the country since its creation in 2007.

The government will also give Parks Canada $364 million over the next two years to manage national parks, marine conservation areas and historic sites.

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation, admission is free to all national parks, marine conservation areas and historic sites this year.

The 2017 budget also outlines the government’s plan to complete, enhance and maintain the Trans Canada Trail.

The government will give $30 million over five years to Parks Canada, starting in 2017-2018.

When completed, the TCT will be the longest recreational trail in the world, stretching nearly 24,000 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans, touching every provincial and territorial capital and linking together 15,000 communities.

Access to the trail will be within 30 minutes of about 29 million Canadians.

As the government rolled out its financial plan Wednesday, we asked Ottawans what their spending priorities would be, if they held the purse strings …

Lacy Huard, house cleaner, 25

“More funding for schools and something done to help seniors.”

•

Brandon Fong, district manager, 33 

“Actually have a plan to balance the budget, we have nothing right now.”

•

Diego Arrieta, uOttawa finance student, 21

“Honestly, get rid of the poverty, especially in big cities like Ottawa. We have the money for it so we need to help.”

•

Baldeep Brar, Algonquin robotics student, 19

“Canada doesn’t need all this money in the military, we’re a peaceful country.”

•

Lindsay Slatter, Algonquin child and youth care student, 20

“I’d like the government to figure out a way to use our money more efficiently so there’s less waste.”

•

Jeremy Beaumir, project manager, 41

“I’d like to be more aware of the federal budget, right now I feel like its too complicated for the average person to understand.”

•

Daniel Lussier, mover, 28

“I’d like to see more of a more money go into the roads, they’ve been getting pretty bad recently.”

Red Bull is adding Ottawa as a stop in its 2017 Global Rallycross racing series this June, marking the first time one of the events has been held in Canada.

The two-day race event on June 17-18 features 16 drivers at the wheel of 600-horsepower super cars on a track that will be built at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

The course will incorporate part of the runway at the Rockcliffe Airport, but will require construction of a large dirt track component, complete with a 70-foot jump near the finish line, to complete the circuit.

Red Bull announced the race on Thursday morning, saying that the caffeinated drink manufacturer chose Ottawa in an effort to help mark Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. The event is being put on in partnership with Ottawa 2017, an agency affiliated with the City of Ottawa.

“As the nation’s capital, we’re happy to welcome this exciting event to Canada for the first time. Red Bull Global Rallycross will thrill participants and viewers across the country and around the world, while showcasing our city in a new and dynamic way,” said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson is quoted in the release as saying.

“In support of Ecology Ottawa’s One Million Trees project and to further support this important legacy of the sesquicentennial year, the series’ organizers have committed to planting 10,000 trees in Ottawa.”

“As Ottawa 2017 celebrates the 150^th anniversary of Canada, we can’t think of a better way to join the celebration than by staging an event in the nation’s capital,” said Red Bull Global Rallycross chief executive Colin Dyne. “We’ve been fortunate to see many Canadian fans at our events in the United States over the years, and we’re looking forward to bringing our racing formula north for the very first time, and to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.”

“Red Bull Global Rallycross will be yet another legacy of the Ottawa 2017 celebrations, with the opportunity for the event to return in subsequent years.  It’s one of the bold new events we are helping to bring to Canada’s capital,” said Guy Laflamme, executive director of the Ottawa 2017 Bureau in the release. “We’re equally happy to engage our federal partners at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum to showcase this important institution on an international scale.” 

The 2017 Global Rallycross season will also feature stops in Memphis, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Atlantic City, NJ, among other destinations. Ottawa is only Canadian event on the schedule.

The announcement comes on the heels of the recently concluded Red Bull Crashed Ice event, which was held earlier this month at a course built outside the Château Laurier over the Rideau Canal locks. The event attracted tens of thousands of spectators who braved frigid weather to watch race through an icy series of jumps and turns at breakneck speeds.

Tickets are available and range in price from $60 (for children) to $200.

For the “Super Fan”, the event is offering a $5,000 package that includes a practice round ride-along in one of the cars, a club pass and other “exclusive access.”

Steelheads 6, 67’s 2

(Mississauga leads best-of-seven series 1-0)

For 10 minutes or so, things looked pretty good for the Ottawa 67’s in their playoff opener against the Mississauga Steelheads on Friday night.

The 67’s came into the game as underdogs, having finished seventh in the Ontario Hockey League’s Eastern Conference standings, well behind the second-seeded Steelheads. On Friday, it was easy to see why each team finished where it did.

Despite a hot start, the 67’s to the tune of a 6-2 defeat.

Head coach Jeff Brown will have to go back to the drawing board in order to figure out a way to contain the Steelheads’ speed.

Just over seven minutes into the first period, the 67’s took advantage of a Steelheads penalty. Centre Sasha Chmelevski buried a one-timer to put them up 1-0.

It would only go down from there, though.

With just under 10 minutes left in the opening frame, Steelheads captain Michael McLeod gobbled up a loose puck and scored to knot the game up at one goal each.

It was all Steelheads from there. Mississauga scored two more goals in the final four minutes of the opening period.

The first of those two came on with the teams skating four-on-four. The last came on a penalty after the frustrated 67’s began to get more physical. Both came from the line of Owen Tippett, Nathan Bastian, and Vili Saarijarvi. 

The damage could have been worse in the first period, as 67’s forward Patrick White slid in front of an empty cage to save a goal after netminder Leo Lazarev failed to clear the puck.

The second period was not much better for the 67’s.

Tippett steamed down the wing just over three minutes in and set up Bastian with a backhand pass for a goal and a 4-1 lead.

67’s captain Travis Barron did his best to get the team back into the game. The captain got into a fight right after the goal, resulting in a two-minute power play after Steelheads defenceman Austin Osmanski was assessed an extra minor.

“We were down 4-1 at the time. I asked the guy to go and we ended up getting a power play out of it,” Barron said after the game. “Might as well try to spark the teammates.”

The game continued to get rougher as the period went on, with the 67’s struggling to find an opening. After Barron failed to score on a breakaway, the momentum started to shift.

With less than three minutes left in the second period, 67’s forward Zach Dorval burst down the right wing and bounced the puck off goaltender Jacob Ingham and in, cutting the Steelheads’ lead to 4-2.

The 67’s once again started slowly in the third period, though, and they gave up a goal to Trent Fox little more than a minute after play resumed.

Brown took a risk late in the third, replacing Lazarev with an extra skater with more than six minutes to play. It did not work out, as a quick empty netter by Fox sealed the deal.

“They’ve got a really fast team. We didn’t get the spots, we didn’t get the pucks, we didn’t out-will them in any way in that second half,” Brown said. “We had a great start, it was really good eight minutes in. We have got to play a whole game like that.”

Brown had not been happy with the team’s performance over its last four periods of regular-season action, dating back to the third period of a victory against the Oshawa Generals last Saturday.

However, he said, Friday’s performance was not an extension of that slump. “I thought it started great. Then, for some reason, we just changed our whole intensity level.”

Brown was not the only one disappointed in the difference between the first 10 minutes of play and the last 50.

“For the first 10 minutes of the first period we played lights out,” 67’s defenceman Ryan Orban said, “But we kind of took a step back from the stuff that was working and went back to some of the bad habits we had earlier in the season.”

Despite the loss, Brown and 67’s players said all they needed was to play more consistently and keep up with the speedy Steelheads.

“It’s a new season, we start off fresh. We just have to build off the last month we had,” Brown said.

Game 2 in the series is Sunday afternoon in Mississauga.

Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven East quarter-final will be played next Tuesday and Thursday evenings at TD Place arena, both starting at 7 p.m.

— Daniel Marinaro

67’S FIRST-ROUND SCHEDULE

Game 1: Mississauga 6, Ottawa 2

Game 2: Sunday, March 26, 2 p.m., at Mississauga

Game 3: Tuesday, March 28, 7 p.m., at TD Place arena

Game 4: Thursday, March 30, 7 p.m., at TD Place arena

Game 5: Friday, March 31, 7 p.m., at Mississauga (if necessary)

Game 6: Sunday, April 2, 2 p.m., at TD Place arena (if necessary)

Game 7: Tuesday, April 4, 7 p.m., at Mississauga (if necessary)

Hydro Ottawa reported a power outage for 1,000 customers in an area near Woodroffe High School on Saturday evening.

The utility service issued the notice shortly after 7 p.m. for the neighbourhood near Woodroffe and Carling avenues and Georgina Drive, saying it had been caused by a traffic accident.

Crews were responding, Hydro Ottawa said, and an update at 8:42 p.m. said power had been restored to all but 273 customers. The process was expected to take until 1 a.m. Sunday.

The Ottawa Police Service is applauding the work of an off-duty officer who helped a child who was choking in a restaurant on the weekend.

Const. Tina Pippy stepped in to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on the eight-year-old girl after she choked on some bacon, according to CTV. The family was hoping to find the full name of the officer to thank her again. Ottawa police tweeted out the name Monday morning.

The girl’s mother told CTV that Const. Pippy was a “random stranger” who rushed over to offer assistance. 

There are many retirement homes in Ottawa and surrounding area, but none of them can match V!VA Barrhaven Retirement Community’s amenities.

“I feel like I’m living in a five-star hotel,” said Jane Grant, 79, who moved in with her husband in December. “It really feels like that, but it’s my home now.”

V!VA Barrhaven has 145 suites with floor-to-ceiling windows, ranging in size from studio to two-bedroom apartments, and offers an all-inclusive lifestyle with three daily meals. There is weekly housekeeping, a full activity calendar, a shuttle bus to enable community members to get out and around town, a gym, a café, a movie theatre, a saltwater pool and even a golf simulator which is the first one of its kind at any retirement community in Canada.

“This is really meant to be a place that is vibrant,” said Chelsea Ramsay, the community relations manager at V!VA Barrhaven. “It’s encouraging people to get out to do things. There is tons of natural light and really nice finishes. The main difference is that this is their home so we put a lot of emphasis on the quality of the people we hire because we know the better quality that our team is, the better care that is going to be delivered to our community members.”

Perks Café is the central hub of the retirement community.

V!VA Retirement Communities is Canadian-owned and operated and manages retirement communities in several locations in Ontario. Ramsay says that they learn from each one and incorporate best practices learned with each new construction. V!VA Barrhaven is their newest location, having opened in May 2016. She says that one of their goals is to address the isolation that some older adults can feel when staying in their house.

“We’ve put more emphasis on our amenities that encourage social interaction so our Perks Café is the central hub of the retirement community,” she said. “It really encourages people to spend time with one another and meet new people; new neighbours as well as friends from outside the community. We promote a lot of interaction with local organizations and groups.”

Community resident Grant has discovered that for herself. “I like what V!VA does,” she said. “They’re different from most retirement homes. There’s a purpose for living here. You’re not just all by yourself. You can interact with other people. There are places to go. You’re not stuck in your room. There’s always somebody to talk to. You can go down and have a cup of coffee or tea with someone who’s sitting there. They want to talk to you too. It’s a nice way of living.”

On top of the extensive list of lifestyle amenities and services available to community members, Ramsay says that V!VA Barrhaven has another element that makes it unique.

“We’ve put in V!VA Barrhaven a children’s daycare which is open to the community,” she said. “What this is meant to do is encourage intergenerational interaction and programming. We work with the children’s daycare staff to develop programming with the kids who attend daycare, which is really great. A lot of people get to a certain age and perhaps don’t have access to kids, perhaps because their own grandchildren are a little older and starting a life of their own. This is a nice way for people, no matter how old they are, to interact with other generations.”

Some of the reasons that Barrhaven was chosen for this new retirement community was its central location with ready access to shopping and services along nearby Strandherd Drive, but also its proximity to the highway, train station and airport. It’s also easily accessible from neighbouring communities like Stittsville and Manotick.

V!VA Barrhaven Retirement Communities’ golf simulator is the first one of its kind at any retirement community in Canada.

As we age, health becomes an issue and V!VA Retirement Communities is equipped to help its members with any medical problems they face.

“We have a dedicated assisted living floor where we are able to help folks age in place so there’s no need for them to move out if they face some health challenges,” said Ramsay. “We have a wellness team, including a nurse, and we have a doctor on site who visits once a week so we’re able to address any of those health challenges.”

Grant’s husband needs a walker to get around and she appreciates the help the wellness team gives them. Mobility issues and the inability to maintain their Kanata home of 50 years was one of the primary reasons they relocated to V!VA Barrhaven.

“It wasn’t a hard decision to move because I thought it was the right thing to do,” she said. “I don’t feel sad. I have happy memories there, but I feel we’ve made the right decision and I feel quite comfortable driving away and coming over to Barrhaven. I feel this is my home now and am very pleased with it.”

For more information visit vivalife.ca or call 613-823-0220.

This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of V!VA Retirement Communities.

A father, son and car aficionado lost his life this weekend when he was involved in a violent single-vehicle crash.

Vincent Cheslock, 27, died when a Honda SUV he was travelling in lost control on Saturday just after 2:30 a.m. and ran into a hydro pole near the corner of Merivale Road and Raven Avenue. The vehicle was shattered into multiple pieces due to the intensity of the impact. 

Cheslock was found trapped inside one of the broken pieces of the car with the vehicle’s other occupant, a 20-year-old man. The 20-year-old suffered critical injuries to his lower body, Ottawa paramedics said, but he was listed in stable condition as of Saturday night. 

Photo posted to Twitter by Mitch Lavergne‏ of a crash on Merivale Road.

On Monday, Cheslock’s mother, Venus, told the Citizen the news of her son’s death was still sinking in.

“He was very loving, loyal and caring to the people close to him,” she said. “Cars were his life, fixing cars, buying cars, selling cars, it was his whole life.”

In addition to his passion for cars and motorcycles, Cheslock’s mother said he cared deeply about his two daughters, an eight year old and a toddler. He also had a younger brother, Derek.

Cheslock was born and raised near the area where he died and attended Sir Guy Carleton Secondary School. 

“He had a great smile, and he had lots of friends; everybody loved him,” said Venus Cheslock. 

Ottawa paramedics said firefighters had to extract the two men from the vehicle after the crash. Cheslock was in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at the scene after attempts to resuscitate him.

Given the police investigation into the collision is ongoing, Cheslock’s mother would not say whether he was the driver of the SUV. An officer involved in the case confirmed they are looking into whether speed was a factor in the collision. As the investigating continues, police are looking to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call Ottawa police at 613 236 1222 ext 2481 or Crime Stoppers at 233-TIPS.

Canadians may be able to celebrate Canada Day in 2018 by legally smoking a joint, but that’s small consolation to the 21-year-old clerk who was working the security desk at the Cannabis Culture shop on Bank Street on Monday.

He shrugged off the news that the federal government plans to have all the regulations in place for legal pot by July 1, 2018. That’s the timeline reported by CBC, citing unnamed sources. The government had promised to introduce legislation to legalize recreational marijuana this spring.

“I’m hoping, but I have my doubts,” said the budtender, one of five people arrested on May 9 when police raided the shop.

“All they do is lie,” he said, expressing a common suspicion among those in the “cannabis community” of government promises.

The man didn’t want his identity revealed because after he was charged with drug trafficking, he was released from custody with conditions that included not going into a marijuana dispensary.

He was sitting at the front desk of the Bank Street shop, checking IDs and buzzing a steady stream of customers into the back room that contains dried weed and other cannabis products. He shrugged. “I have a seventh grade education. I can’t really get a job anywhere else. I have bills. I can’t just sit at home and be broke.”

A 21-year-old ‘budtender’ working at the Cannabis Culture marijuana dispensary on Bank Street says he’s crossing his fingers that the federal government will move ahead with legalizing pot. He was ordered not to work at an illegal dispensary as a condition of his release fafter he was arrested in a raid on the shop.  Jacquie Miller/Postmedia Network

He said it’s a great job, in a friendly environment. Cannabis Culture is paying the legal fees for the five clerks who were charged during the raid. They are to appear in court Wednesday, when supporters are planning a rally in front of the courthouse.

Fellow budtender Ming Saad called police raids on the illegal shops “ridiculous.” Ottawa police have raided 14 dispensaries since November, arresting 29 people.

“They’re going to be legalizing it. I don’t understand why they are wasting so much money.”

Cannabis activists such as she aren’t willing to wait any longer, she said.

“We don’t want to keep people away from their medication, or their recreational use. I believe I’m doing something that’s helping people, even if at the end of the day I’m in handcuffs.”

As Canada moves to legalize pot, a key question will be the fate of the dispensaries that have popped up in some major cities.Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto have the most shops.

It’s widely expected the federal government will license and control the production of marijuana, but give provinces the power to decide where it will be sold, as recommended by a federal task force that studied the issue.

The task force recommended that provinces work in “close collaboration” with municipalities. That will be especially important if storefront sales are allowed, as the task force recommends.

The City of Ottawa should start getting ready now, says Counc. Riley Brockington.

Brockington, who is vice-chair of the city’s community and protective services committee, says he will try to get the issue added to the bylaw department’s packed work schedule.

Brockington first consulted bylaw staff last fall after a dispensary opened in his ward across from a Montessori school.

“The position of the (legal) office is that you can’t regulate something that is illegal. You can’t say, ‘Oh yes, you’re illegal, but since you’re going to be open anyway, we’re going to determine where you are permitted.’ Because the answer right now is you aren’t permitted to be located anywhere.”

However, the city can start consulting with the community and with businesses interesting in selling marijuana, says Brockington.

Vancouver, Victoria and several smaller cities in B.C. have regulated illegal dispensaries. In Vancouver, which pioneered the idea, for-profit dispensaries pay a $30,000 business licence and have restrictions on their location and operation.

Brockington says he’d like to see Ottawa adopt similar regulations once pot is legal. “I definitely want us to be prepared and ready well before July 1 of 2018. That’s not the date to start having the conversation.”

Ottawa Coun. Mathieu Fleury, who has expressed concerns about Montreal Road in his ward turning into  pot shop alley, says the city won’t be able to do much until the federal government sets the regulatory framework.

He expects Ontario might decide to distribute marijuana at stand-alone stores similar to the LCBO. “It’s a controlled substance, so why would they approach it in a different way?”

Fleury would support the idea of Marijuana Control Board outlets, saying they would be easier for cities to regulate than privately owned shops. If there was a problem with a store, there would be a central contact, rather than having to deal with many individual owners, he said.

jmiller@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JacquieAMiller

If you had a friend or relative who needed an extra $300 a month to pay the rent, what would you do: help him with payments now or wait three years, then buy a house and rent it to him for $300 less than the market rate, while paying all the repair costs yourself?

If you took the second choice, congratulations, you’re right in sync with the Canadian approach to “affordable” housing. When it comes to solving the straightforward problem of helping low-income people who struggle to pay rent, our federal, provincial and city governments have combined to create a complex maze of programs that fails to get the job done, but at great cost.

The federal government has been praised for last week’s budget announcement of $11.2 billion over 11 years for affordable housing and homelessness programs. Fortunately, the money will be doled out slowly, with only $20 million this year and $3 billion over five years. That creates an opportunity for some new thinking in the national housing strategy expected this spring.

If one takes Ottawa as an example, it’s easy to see the futility of the way we do things now. The fundamental problem is that about 11 per cent of Ottawa households are considered to be in poverty, consequently straining to pay market rents. This is not a problem of housing being so expensive it is generally unaffordable. It is a case of some people lacking the money to pay normal rents.

The city’s primary solution has been to build new social housing, either directly or through a variety of community agencies. Ottawa has about 26,000 units of subsidized housing. The problem is we need about 14,000 more. To put that in perspective, the new federal subsidized housing money would produce about 3,650 units a year across the entire country.

The queue for subsidized housing has had about 10,000 households in it for many years. The city has been unable to build enough new units to put a dent in the demand. Other people would qualify for help but haven’t bothered to join the line, where the wait time is three or four years.

At a construction tab of $150,000 to $200,000 a unit, the cost of shrinking that lineup is prohibitive. So is maintaining the housing supply the city owns now through the Ottawa Housing Corporation. The accumulated repair backlog is $140 million. While the city spends about $19 million each year on repairs, it would require another $22 million annually to catch up and keep its buildings in good shape.

While one might think the cost of a social program would fall to the federal or provincial government, it is Ottawans who pay the biggest share through their property taxes. The city’s total spending on housing and homelessness programs is $168 million this year. Of that, $103.5 million comes from property taxes.

There is a better way to accomplish the goal of making rents affordable and even a glimmer of hope that governments might finally endorse it.

For years, private landlords have been campaigning for direct subsidies to low-income renters who are already in their units.

Portable housing benefits, as they are called, are cheap to administer, don’t require new capital spending or publicly paid building upkeep and they are fairer. The system now gives a great benefit to those who get social housing, little or nothing to people who are waiting. The approach also lets people choose where to live rather than clustering them in housing projects.

Some of the money the federal government will eventually dole out could be used for portable housing benefits.

The provincial government has shown interest in the idea and is running a three-year pilot project. Even the City of Ottawa has dipped a toe in the waters with a $1.7-million-a-year program.

The federal housing plan needs to admit that what we do now is unaffordable. A direct subsidy wouldn’t generate photo ops, but it would help far more people.

Randall Denley is an Ottawa commentator, novelist and former Ontario PC candidate. Contact him at randalldenley1@gmail.com

As technical crews rolled in road cases and pulled cables around the Canadian Tire Centre in preparation for Sunday’s Junos, the man who heads Canada’s biggest awards show said he’s revelling in the hype surrounding Canadian music this year.

“It’s probably, for me, one of the most exciting times I have ever seen in Canadian music,” Allan Reid, president and CEO of the Juno Awards and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, said Tuesday.

“It’s not just this year but the build that’s been happening,” said Reid, standing inside the CTC bowl. “I’ve been in this business for close to 30 years, and honestly not since the ’90s when Shania (Twain) and Céline (Dion) and Sarah McLachlan had that sort of dominance of the charts worldwide have we seen the same thing happen.”

Reid cites big hitters like Drake, Justin Bieber and The Weeknd as obvious stand-outs, but also other lesser-known, rising talents like Shawn Mendes, Alessia Cara, and The Strumbellas.

On Tuesday, Reid and the show’s executive producer Lindsay Cox led a behind-the-scenes media tour around the backstage dressing rooms and the arena bowl where the performance will be held.

There were glimpses of the excitement to come as the technicians set the stage. Walking through the arena halls, visitors passed Mendes’ dressing room, which had a large pile of fan mail and gifts waiting for him. A colourful rack of clothing and props were rolled into co-host Russell Peters’ room.

Fan mail litters the front door of Shawn Mendes’ room, as seen during a backstage media tour of the upcoming Juno awards at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa Tuesday March 28, 2017.

Peters is hosting the Juno Awards alongside fellow Canadian Bryan Adams. This will be a first for Adams, who was happy to do it for his friend Michael Bublé. The crooner was originally scheduled to host the awards before he pulled out to be with his young son Noah, who was diagnosed with cancer last year.

“(Adams and Peters) stepped up right away and said, ‘If you need help we are here to support’,” said Reid. “So that’s really nice they did that for him and for us. So we’ve gone from one iconic Canadian to now two and I think Bryan and Russell are really looking forward to working together as well. It should be a lot of fun.”

The Junos air Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on CTV.

Junos: By The Numbers

* 5 performance areas on stage

* 30 extra minutes the show will run for this year

* 34 dressing rooms

* 140 local crew members

* 450 microphones

* 3,850 square feet of stage space

* 8,500 feet of camera fibre cable

* 13,000 members of the audience

* 280,000 watts of audio power

Steelheads 2, 67’s 1

(Mississauga leads best-of-seven series 2-1)

It’s the old sports cliché: one game at a time.

After falling 2-1 to the Mississauga Steelheads at TD Place arena on Tuesday night, the Ottawa 67’s can’t worry about anything beyond Game 4 of the series Thursday, again on home ice.

The Eastern Conference’s seventh-ranked squad now trails 2-1 in the best-of-seven series against the second-ranked Steelheads, who showed in the regular season they could generate plenty of offence.

“We told (the players), ‘It’s going to be a long playoff series,’ ” 67’s head coach Jeff Brown said. “This is one game. We have to come with an effort in Game 4, win, and it’s down to best-of-three.

“We’ll lick our wounds tonight, but get your head up and get back to work because this thing is far from over.”

Coming off an impressive 4-0 win in Game 2 at Mississauga on Sunday, the 67’s were good in their own end most of the night, but struggled to generate quality scoring chances against Steelheads rookie goalie Jacob Ingham, again starting in place of the injured Matthew Mancina.

67’s forward Mathieu Foget is stood up at the blue-line by the Steelheads’ Owen Tippett during the third period of play at TD Place arena. Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia

“We’re disappointed with the result,” Brown said. “I thought a lot of guys played real hard, not as hard as in Game 2, and that’s the difference. That’s a really good hockey club and we have to bring our best if we expect to win. We just weren’t quite there tonight.

“It’s one goal, it’s playoff hockey. You win some, you lose some. We could easily have won that game. We score one 5-on-3 goal and that was really all the offence we created, which was disappointing. That’s back-to-back here at home. The last game here wasn’t every good offensively. We have to find a way to generate more 5-on-5.”

With several younger players in the lineup, especially on defence, the 67’s hung in there with the older Steelheads.

“There are breakdowns, but that’s junior hockey. It doesn’t matter if they’re 16 or 21,” Brown said. “I’m really happy with the young guys. They’re 16 years old and holding their own playing a lot of minutes, playing arguably the best team in the East.”

The first period was scoreless, despite a 67’s flurry just before intermission.

Mississauga opened the scoring 10 seconds into the second frame, when Michael McLeod beat 67’s goalie Leo Lazarev with a shot.

The Steelheads got into penalty trouble near the six-minute mark, with Watson taking a holding penalty and Stefan LeBlanc sent off for slashing 30 seconds apart. Ottawa cashed in on a three-way passing play with Artur Tyanulin and Austen Keating combining to set up Noel Hoefenmayer, who blasted a slap shot past Ingham.

Mississauga took a 2-1 lead with its own power-play goal at 13:46 of the second. After Trent Fox missed an open net, Jacob Cascagnette beat Lazarev with a wrist shot.

“Game 2, (Lazarev) was lights out,” Brown said. “Tonight, the first one he didn’t have a chance. The second one, he’d like to have back, but the two defencemen backed right up on him. But it’s one goal. One goal shouldn’t beat you.”

A questionable high sticking penalty to Ottawa’s David Pearce with 5:34 left put the Steelheads on the power play, but they couldn’t capitalize.

Asked about the penalty call, which if anything could have been a dubious cross-checking call, Brown said: “What do you say? Playoff game, I don’t understand … Five minutes to go, the team that’s down … I thought the guys did a great job up until then. They let us play, there were some calls they let go. Then, out of the blue, we get a phantom high stick. With five minutes to go, that’s a tough call. There’s two minutes we don’t have to try and get back in the game. That’s not why we lost. It’s just frustrating sometimes. You don’t always get the calls.”

Game 4 is Thursday at TD Place, starting at 7 p.m. Game 5 will be Friday in Mississauga, with Game 6, if necessary, back in Ottawa on Sunday.

tbaines@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/TimCBaines

Home renovation projects are inherently stressful — from selecting a company to undertake the project, to designing your dream space and accommodating your budget, there’s much to do.

The OakWood Design Centre aims to ease some of that stress by providing a one-stop shop where you can walk around and be inspired by Ottawa’s largest collection of renovation products. Exciting possibilities reveal themselves as you speak to a certified design consultant about your dream home or space, craft your plans and are presented with a 3D rendering of your design. And it all takes place at the state-of-the-art centre on Taylor Creek Drive in Orleans.

OakWood is a fourth-generation family-run business. It’s one of Ottawa’s most established residential and commercial builders and is best known for providing quality renovation services. The family has always had an unwavering dream to bring everything a homeowner needs to design and plan their renovation under one roof.

“Our Design Centre has been 60 years in the making,” says John Liptak, OakWood’s President and CEO. “We started out as a small, family-run carpentry and renovation business. We grew into a complete design and build company. It’s taken us over half a century to get here, but now we’ve done it.” 

The local builder and renovator is now at the forefront of embracing new technologies and creative products, to better provide homeowners with unprecedented options when planning a renovation of any scale, or a custom home. The company also recognizes the importance of innovation, the transformative and disruptive nature of taking on something completely new, and continue to provide their customers with the latest technological options.

“More than anything we wanted this to be a showcase for what is possible,” says OakWood’s COO, Patricia Liptak-Satov. “We wanted to lead by example and show that beautifully designed renovations can go hand-in-hand with industry-leading environmentally friendly construction methods.”

OakWood sees game-changing innovations in four key areas: Energy-efficiency, smart home and intelligent building automation, healthy environment and building green. Clients motivated by sustainability issues and lowering their heating, cooling and energy costs can embrace innovative solutions, ranging from improving the building envelope to installing solar panels and geothermal, delivering greater energy-efficiency and financial savings,.

Those who want more control over their work or home environments have the option of intelligent automation, such as timed lighting, heating and cooling systems. Homeowners who are concerned about the materials used in their renovation or new home construction can opt for hardwood floors instead of carpet, eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) often found in paint products, or introduce whole house ventilation systems that maintain air quality. And if sustainable building is key, OakWood can provide recycled glass products, natural materials like bamboo and cork, reclaimed lumber — the options are endless. 

Each of the four areas represents a plank in a concept OakWood calls “High Performance Home & Building.” They represent an area of fast-changing products, techniques and technologies that not only provide homeowners with exciting options, but are fundamentally changing how renovators and home builders must design, plan and build. “What we’re seeing is a more informed client,” says John Liptak. He describes these as individuals who are concerned with incorporating ideas, techniques and solutions in one or more of these innovation planks into their project. 

OakWood also recognizes that healthy, sustainable living is becoming an important consideration for homeowners and innovations are making bold new solutions possible for renovations, custom homes and commercial homes. 

“The whole idea of building green, creating a healthier living environment and bringing eco-friendly materials into a project is also a big part of the story and concept,” adds Patricia Liptak-Satov. “That’s the broader context for our high-performance concept; it’s a more complex and holistic solution.”

In the end, it all comes back to the design centre, the place that cultivates innovative ideas and solutions for today’s homeowners. The Platinum LEED certified building showcases the most advanced green building technologies and features more than 22,000 square feet filled with unique displays and materials, including more than 7,500 artistically displayed items to fuel your design and imagination. OakWood provides practical solutions to each client’s needs, and their design consultants craft custom designs based on the space and budget that has been allocated. 

“That’s the beauty of the design centre,” says Dan Lavigne, a senior project consultant at OakWood and one of the main planners behind the layout, configuration and materials on display. “We wanted to provide an exceptional range of examples to spark ideas, and this is a truly unique place to get inspired and facilitate the whole creative side of the renovation process. For example, someone could see one of our cabinetry designs, how we have integrated a refrigerator, a millwork or tile treatment, or an island counter, and bring one of those elements to our design consultants.”

The new Taylor Creek Design Centre features an open-door policy and is a resource that’s available to anyone. Book a tour or free consultation with an OakWood Project Consultant in one of three easy ways. Visit www.OakWood.ca,  call 613-236- 8001, or e-mail Experts@oakwood.ca.

Family Lynn Saxberg

One of this year’s top Juno nominees is the Strumbellas, a rootsy Ontario band that specializes in folky songs with big, sing-along choruses, not unlike the Lumineers. They’re up for three awards (best single, group and Fan Choice), and are performing on Sunday’s live broadcast, but they’re also reaching out to young Ottawa fans by performing an all-ages show at Bronson Centre on Saturday. It’s not an autograph session or meet-and-greet, but an actual concert. Tickets are $22, plus fees, available at ticketfly.com. Doors open at 3 p.m.; showtime is 4 p.m.

Country Lynn Saxberg

You may recall the song, Butterfly Child, a fund-raising single inspired by and dedicated to Jonathan Pitre, the Ottawa teen who’s fighting a debilitating disease. Written by Ottawa-area songwriter Tara Shannon, the soaring ballad uncorked a torrent of creativity for the mom of seven, who’s also launched her own record label, Willow Sound Records. Now she’s releasing her debut album, Unfinished, celebrating its soulful country-pop sound with a 6 p.m. concert at the Heart and Crown Pub, 67 Clarence St., on Saturday. Tickets are $15, plus fees, available at events.com.

Jazz Peter Hum

Ottawa will be awash in visiting jazz talent this weekend, and not simply because of the JUNOFest showcases Friday and Saturday nights at Live on Elgin. On Friday, Montreal drummer Mark Nelson brings his impressive, forward-thinking Sympathetic Frequencies quartet to Brookstreet Hotel’s Options Jazz Lounge in Kanata on Friday and Saturday, where the music runs from 8 p.m. to midnight and there’s no cover. At GigSpace (953 Gladstone Ave.), guitarist James Brown and bassist Jim Vivian, two Torontonians who’ve played together for two decades, play jazz standards and originals Saturday night. At that intimate 46-seat venue, the music starts at 7:30 p.m. and admission is $20.

Film Peter Hum

Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin, the auteur who The Saddest Music in the World, My Winnipeg and other strikingly original films, visits Ottawa this week when he will be feted by the Canadian Film Institute. On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Art Court, CFI executive director Tom McSorley will conduct an onstage interview with Maddin, and a reception will follow. Tickets are $25, $20 for CFI members, students and seniors, at cfi-icf.ca. On April 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Carleton University’s Richcraft Hall, Maddin will presenting two short films, accompanied by live percussion from Carleton music professor Jesse Stewart, plus a director’s cut his 1990 film Archangel. Tickets are $15, $10 for CFI members, students and seniors, at cfi-icf.ca.

Drinks Peter Hum

You can take a crash course in sake when Japanese Ambassador Kenjiro Monji leads a tasting of his homeland’s signature rice wine at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Saturday, April 1. Monji is especially qualified to discuss all things sake as he’s one of 60 people in the world designated as a Sake Samurai in recognition of his expertise. As well, a museum botanist will speak of the science behind the making of sake. Six sakes will be sampled, including an “experimental” sparking sake, and light snacks will be served. Doors open for the event at 6 p.m., and tickets, available at nature.ca, are $50 plus tax.

Carleton University, which stirred up controversy by removing the scales from its primary athletic facility, says everyone now has the means of weighing themselves at the centre again.

Carleton says it now has scales in both men’s and women’s changing rooms in a bid to compromise with those who were angry when the scale in the main gym was removed earlier this month.

The university previously offered scales only in the women’s changing room, as well as in the primary workout area.

Carleton sparked a range of reactions when it yanked the scale from the main gym in an effort to get athletes to take a more holistic approach to health and focus on factors other than weight.

Some criticized the university for removing a basic fitness tool and others lambasted the school for pandering to over-sensitive students who suggested scales could be triggering for those with body image concerns. Carleton itself never cited such a reason for its decision to remove scales.

The university issued a statement saying it was responding to feedback from fitness centre users, adding it hoped its new approach could strike a balance between client needs and the message it hoped to promote by removing the gym scales in the first place.

“While we will continue to provide educational information on various health measurements that shift the focus away from weight, we do understand that some people want to weigh themselves and so we have provided scales in the change rooms,” public affairs manager Beth Gorham said in the statement. “We thank everyone who has contacted us with comments.”

The Carleton scale controversy surfaced earlier this month when an article in a campus newspaper reported the scales’ removal.

In it, the school’s manager of wellness programs explained the school’s rationale by saying indicators such as girth measurement, cardiovascular performance and overall strength represented better health indicators than weight alone.

In a subsequent statement to The Canadian Press, Bruce Marshall went on to say that a growing number of gyms had decided to leave scales off the premises in a bid to shift the focus away from weight, adding that Carleton was following suit.

But soon the issue gained traction well beyond the Carleton community, with media as far afield as the United Kingdom devoting space to the controversy.

The Breitbart news website in the U.S. criticized students for perceived over-sensitivity, latching onto a quote in the original campus paper article that described scales as “very triggering” for those with eating disorders and other body image concerns.

Right wing pundit Bill O’Reilly even described the comment as a classic example of “snowflake culture” on his Fox News television show The O’Reilly Factor.

While other fitness facilities have kept scales in their gyms, they say Carleton’s message about focusing on health measures beyond weight is indeed in line with an industry trend.

Kim Lavender, national director of team training with GoodLife Fitness, said there’s a growing consensus that weight is only a part of good health management.

“The consumer has become more and more savvy about understanding a holistic approach to health,” Lavender said. “What the scale says is just one minor metric in terms of determining your overall health, and it can often just be the door to us being able to educate people on all of the aspects of health.”

The National Ringette League has announced its award nominees, with the winners to be called on Saturday at the NRL Championship tournament awards ceremony in Leduc, Alta.

Ottawa-area nominees include: The Ottawa Ice’s Molly Lewis and the Gatineau Fusion’s Chantal St-Laurent (top centre), the Ottawa Ice’s Jenna McBride (top defence) and the Gloucester Devils’ Jasmine Leblanc (top goalkeeper).

The Ottawa Ice coaches are up for coaching staff of the year.

The saying “When one door closes, another opens” certainly applies to Ottawa’s restaurant scene as of late. In the last several months, the city has lost a few popular locales, but many others are about to spring up. Here’s what you might have missed.

The Captain’s Boil restaurant on Elgin Street is expected to open soon.

The restaurant: The Captain’s Boil

Location: 354 Elgin St. (The former location of Fresco Bistro Italiano and The Guest House)

Food and drink: Seafood in a bag. You heard that right. With more than a dozen locations around Toronto and across the country, this unique approach to food service looks like a trend that might be catching on. The seafood — from clams and mussels to lobster and shrimp — is steamed or boiled then placed in a BPA-free bag, along with veggies and a sauce of your choice.

Specialty: Seafood, particularly shellfish.

Opening: April 2017

Price range: $11 to $20

Fun fact: The only way to eat this fare, called a “seafood boil,” is with your hands. The restaurant does not provide forks or chopsticks. Just peel, dip and eat.

*

Albion Rooms Executive Chef Jesse Bell. 

The restaurant: The Albion Rooms’ Heritage Room Gastropub

Location: 33 Nicholas St. (The site of the former Albion Hotel, which is now connected to the Novotel Hotel)

Food and drink: Canadian-inspired food that includes crispy mackerel, elk tartare, and mushrooms on toast served with kale pistou on house-made sourdough focaccia.

Specialty: Elk burgers, served with old cheddar, black pepper molasses bacon, lettuce and tomato, with a side of buttermilk ranch triple-cooked chips or iceberg wedge.

Opening: Just opened in March

Price range: $7 for soup to $36 for a rib-eye steak. 

Fun fact: The site of the former Albion hotel, built in 1871, is steeped in rich Ottawa history given its location across from the former Carleton County Courthouse (now Arts Court). It was a popular meeting spot for lawyers and university students, as well as jurors who were often housed when they unable to finish deliberating before midnight.

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Rice bowl with chicken breast at Pi-Rho Grill in Barrhaven.

The restaurant: Pi-Rho Grill

Location: Elgin Street, inside the old Boushey’s Fruit Market location. (The exact address will be determined by the city. It will be either 344 or 346 Elgin St.)

Food and drink: Pi-Rho serves fresh, quick food, with staffers pulling together pita wraps, grain bowls and sandwiches in an assembly-line style. Customers move along the queue, choosing from a variety of meats, including Ontario lamb and Angus beef, or toppings that include sauces made in-house. The owner, George Plagakis — who calls his restaurant the “fine dining of fast food” — opened his first location last year in Barrhaven, and its popularity prompted him to open the new 34-seat downtown restaurant. 

Specialty: Quick-serve Mediterranean pita wraps, salads and grain bowls, plus local beers.

Opening: May 2017

Price range: $8.75 to $12.25 for salads, grain bowls, pita sandwiches

Fun fact: Pi-Rho is environmentally conscious of its building materials and waste management. The restaurant’s take-out containers, cups and cutlery are all compostable. 

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The chicken burrito with a side salad, served with a lime margarita at Zak’s Cantina.

The restaurant: Zak’s Cantina

Location: 10 ByWard Market Square, on the north side of Zak’s Diner.

Food and drink: Classic Mexican fare. Think tacos, burritos, chimichangas and enchiladas. There’s also house-made chips, salsa and guacamole, and you can even order a side of nachos. Enjoy your meal with a pitcher of sangria or a margarita made with fresh lime juice.

Specialty: Mexican, but they also have a fun spin on Canadian classics such as the “Street Dog,” a jumbo hot dog wrapped in bacon and topped with fresh salsa, shredded lettuce, refried beans, avocado ranch and tortilla straws.

Opening: May 15, 2017

Price range: $4 for a single taco to $14 for a full meal.

Fun fact: A South American-inspired bus in a section of the restaurant will be used for some seating. The restaurant, which is family friendly, will seat more than 100 people.

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Patrons  at the Clocktower Brew Pub.

The restaurant: The Clocktower Brewhouse

Two new locations: 2010 Trim Rd. in Orléans and Rideau Street at the corner of Nicholas Street.

Food and drink: Casual to upscale pub fare that includes everything from falafel wraps and turkey pho dip to honey salmon and steak with mashed potatoes. The restaurant, which also serves brunch, sports several flat screen televisions.

Specialty: Fish and chips and a full range of craft beers.

Opening: Orléans location opening in April; downtown location opening in June.

Price range: $10 to $19.

Fun fact: The Clocktower is Ottawa’s first and largest local brew pub chain. 

The Juno Express had just rolled around the bend on the last leg of its trek from Toronto to Ottawa when young Scott Helman strapped on his acoustic guitar, propped up his microphone and launched into a scorching take on the Johnny Cash classic Folsom Prison Blues.

“I hear that train a-comin’, rolling round the bend,” sang Helman, chugging out the chords on his road-worn guitar and unleashing a voice belying his diminutive 21-year-old frame.

And if Ottawa’s music junkies didn’t happen to hear the Juno Express a-comin’ Thursday — when it rolled in to a full red-carpet welcome, with Mayor Jim Watson high-fiving every bleary-eyed passenger — chances are fans will soon be hearing plenty from the rising stars on board.

Helman, who was nominated for two Juno awards last year — for Pop Album and Breakthrough Artist of 2016 – has just kept breaking on through.

On a train car packed with media, music fans, sponsors, executives and a wide array of artists, Helman belted out a string of hit singles in rapid succession, with 21 Days, his current hit, Kinda Complicated, and his breakout smash, Bungalow.

Of course, last year’s recognition as a “breakthrough artist” was years in the making, with Helman spending most of 2015 on tour, crisscrossing the U.S. and Europe with Canadian heavyweights Walk Off the Earth, followed by a cross-Canada tour with Matthew Good.

The Dirty Nil, while in a different world stylistically, followed a similar trajectory on their path to a nomination as 2017’s Breakthrough Group of the year.

The power trio, hailing from Dundas, Ont., have been hard at work at their craft since 2009, setting out on their first U.S. tour in 2013, and finally hitching up with the likes of Billy Talent and Alexisonfire on major tours last year.

“It’s funny to take stock and reflect back, because … it just seems to be one fluid plot, all the way along,” said frontman Luke Bentham. The Dirty Nil toured Europe three times last year alone, and is heading back to the continent again in a matter of weeks.

“It’s been amazing. The last few years has certainly been some explosive growth. We’re very, very proud and lucky to be able to do what we do,” Bentham said.

“But the year’s just begun,” said band mate Kyle Fisher, “so we’ll see where it goes from here.”

Related

• Musicians face off on stage for JUNOCup jam
• Five moments to watch for at Sunday's Junos
• Russell Peters returns to host Juno Awards, teams up with Bryan Adams

That sentiment was shared among more than a few of the up-and-coming artists aboard the Juno Express.

Riding the train along with this year’s crop of nominees were the winners of the Juno Master Class — one of the industry’s premier artist-development programs, with a jury fielding hundreds of applicants each year before deciding on three winners. The class of 2017 — perhaps representing the next wave of Juno nominees — is Vancouver’s Youngblood, Halifax’s Neon Dreams and Winnipeg hip-hop collective The Lytics, who nearly rocked the train off its tracks in a searing, show-stopping performance Thursday (fuelled in part by the flowing complimentary champagne.)

Hip hop artists The Lytics from Winnipeg performed on the Juno Express left Toronto’s Union Station and arrived in Ottawa Friday March 31, 2017. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

“The Master Class was a huge opportunity to meet different people, to network; we made a lot of connections and we’re just rolling with it now, trying to see where it takes us,” said Andrew.O, one of the group’s four emcees (along with AOKS, Alexander and SonGully) spinning fast-flowing rhymes over thundering beats courtesy of DJ Hectic.

“It’s validation almost,” he said of the Master Class selection. “We all made music for a long time not really knowing where we were, and that was a measuring stick. It shows you where you are. We were one of three artists chosen (out of hundreds), so maybe we’re not wasting our time.”

Neon Dreams kicked things off with a performance on the Juno Train Friday March 31, 2017. Ashley Fraser

Along with the video grants, studio time and cash that comes with the Master Class, there is intensive instruction on the business side of the game, something many young bands will acknowledge is somewhat foreign territory.

“Sometimes when you’re creating music, you have happy accidents, but on the business side there are no flukes. It’s very streamlined, it’s planned out and methodical,” said fellow emcee Alexander, who said the program focused on both the creative side and the business side of the music industry.

“One part is completely left brain, one part is completely right brain,” he said. “We’re good with the left brain but we’re trying to get the right brain working right now.”

For fellow winners Neon Dreams, one of the biggest prizes was instant access to some of their Canadian musical heroes — they found out they had won via Skype call with members of the Arkells, Lights and Kardinal.

“You’re working with all these veterans in this industry, and they’re available to ask any question you want, so it’s just a crazy amount of resources and knowledge available to you,” guitarist Matt Gats said.

Each of the three winners received individualized training based upon their strengths and shortfalls, “and they push us to where our next steps need to be,” said singer Frank Kadillac.

And that next step, according to drummer Adrian Morris?

“To take over the world. Keep growing, never stop.”

They could be well on their way by the next time that train comes rolling round the bend.

ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera

Now that those few days of flurries are behind us, Ottawans should get ready to soak in some sun. 

But not until tomorrow.

Saturday’s high is predicted to reach 4 C, according to Environment Canada, with clouds and a UV index of 4 or moderate. The low is expected to dip down to -1 C at night. 

It brightens up Sunday, with a high of 11 C (pretty much shorts weather!) and sunshine all day, with a low of -2 C at night. 

The Monday morning blues will be made easier with a sunny high of 9 C, and a low of 1 C during the evening. 

Tuesday, the rain moves in. The weather agency predicts a 70 per cent chance of showers during the day and a high of 9 C, with a 30 per cent chance of rain at night.