That time of year again! OSCA is looking for volunteers to support the work of its board of directors and various committees. If you have an interest in helping out, please get in touch.

We want to welcome everyone back to Firehall and are opening up our patio at 260 Sunnyside Avenue this Saturday from 11am to 2pm for a BBQ and music.  

We want to provide you with an update regarding our health and safety policies at OSCA.

Last September the OSCA Board made the decision that all participants in OSCA programs aged 12 and above must be fully vaccinated if they wished to register for an OSCA program. At the time, “fully vaccinated” meant having two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine.

Further to the Provincial government’s announcement on January 20, lifting COVID restrictions on certain public activities, OSCA will be starting its regular Winter season children’s and adult’s programming on Monday, January 31, 2022. Breakfast Club and After 4 programming had already reopened on January 17 with the reopening of public schools. The reopening on January 31 will include the Firehall Fitness Centre!

Given the exceptionally rapid spread of the Omicron COVID variant in Ottawa and Ontario, and the uncertainty with respect to how this will impact the risks we face locally in the delivery of recreational programming, OSCA has decided to postpone the start of its Winter programing for adults, youth and children from Monday, January 3 to Monday, January 17, 2022 as a safety measure to protect our clients and staff. As a result, winter programming will be extended for two weeks longer than normal and finish on Friday, April 1^st, 2022.

For the first two weeks of January only the Fitness Centre will be open for use, with a limit of 2 persons at any one time who must social distance and follow all screening and other safety protocols.

We wish each and every one of you, the best of this festive season. And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity, support and compassion.

A time to hope

We are delighted to report that this last quarter of 2021 has been promising. Our summer camps were very successful and youth programming continues to grow as restrictions ease. The Firehall is beginning to thrive once again!

Important: You must pre-register to receive Zoom invitation details and AGM materials. Details below.

OSCA’s Annual General Meeting is more than a legal requirement. The AGM has traditionally been a welcome opportunity to gather in the Firehall in the springtime as a community, hear what our Old Ottawa South Community Association has been doing for us over the preceding year, and share ideas for the coming year. OSCA’s AGM is among the many things disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Once again, organizing OSCA’s traditional in-person AGM has been complicated by health guidelines, government regulations and practical considerations, all relating to Covid-19.

Old Ottawa South and other inner urban areas are slated to provide housing for many of the 400,000 new residents expected in Ottawa over the 25-year term of the new Official Plan. What will that look like? Where will we do it? How will we get there?

OSCA’s Planning and Zoning Committee (‘P&Z’) prepared a slide presentation about the City’s New Official Plan (‘OP’) and presented it in a Zoom meeting on September 27, 2021. You can view here the pdf OSCA P&Z Community Presentation 21 09 27 (5.99 MB) .

Your feedback is requested by October 13, 2021.

Registration is now open for a virtual community meeting at 7:00 pm on Monday, September 27, 2021 to discuss the impacts of the City of Ottawa's final Official Plan draft on Old Ottawa South.  Register via OSCA programs to obtain the Zoom link.