Ottawa’s week-long Transit Challenge for 2020 begins

Local:

Ottawa Matters Ottawa Transit Rider, a local non-profit transit advocacy group, is challenging citizens to only ride buses, trains or ParaTranspo from Feb. 17 to 23, except for emergencies. The event is called the Ottawa’s Transit Challenge, or #transitchallenge2020 on social media, and it aims to put a spotlight on transit in the city so that it remains a priority in the eyes of municipal government. Surveys will be sent out Wednesday and Sunday to get public reactions on transit.

National:

CTV News The Thousand Island Bridge re-opened after a three-hour protest blocked the flow of heavy traffic on the afternoon of Family Day. According to Ontario Provincial Police, 40 protesters began blocking Highway 137 that joins Canada and the U.S. around 11:40 a.m. Protesters held signs that read, “No pipelines on Wet’suwet’en land” and “shut down Canada.” Police had to re-route cars heading back into Ontario after the long weekend to Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, one hour away.

Global:

The Toronto Sun Canada’s Bombardier will sell its rail division to France’s Alstom for $8.89 billion. The sale makes Alstom the world’s second-largest train manufacturer to better compete against China’s CRRC Corp., the world’s leader. According to union sources in France, the Bombardier-Alstom combination is estimated to give Alstom a share of 40 to 60 per cent of the European regional train market. Jobs will not be affected, according Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Alstom’s chief executive officer.