OBJ staff

Sweep deal: Calgary-based landscaping firm acquires Ottawa street-cleaning company

Ottawa

After merging with another local company last year, Urban Life Solutions said this week it’s acquired Ottawa-based Richard’s Sweeping.

Delay of game: Ottawa Titans’ inaugural Frontier League season pushed back to 2022

Sports and Entertainment

New baseball franchise’s planned 2021 debut scuttled due to uncertainty over when the Canada-U.S. border will reopen.

Ottawa housing starts bounce back big in March: CMHC

Residential

Developers in the National Capital Region broke ground on 1,196 new dwelling units last month, up from 634 in March 2020, agency says.

Cannabis producer Hexo seeks $1.2B capital raise to fund expansion plans

Ottawa

CEO Sebastien St-Louis said the Ottawa-based company is seeking “maximum flexibility” to make acquisitions and sign partnerships with players in related industries.

Feds, province to give local school boards $57M for COVID-related safety upgrades

Construction

Projects could include renovating HVAC systems, installing water bottle refilling stations to boost access to safe drinking water and reconfiguring rooms with new walls and

Low-cost airline Flair to launch Ottawa-Kelowna routes this summer

Tourism

Airline’s plans to connect Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and Toronto to the capital were put on hold last year due to the pandemic.

Shepherds of Good Hope submits plan for new mixed-use ByWard Market facility

Residential

Mid-rise building on Murray Street would include a drop-in centre, soup kitchen and 48 supportive housing units for chronically homeless residents.

Ottawa-Gatineau jobless rate holds steady at 6.5% in March

Ottawa

Employers added nearly 8,000 new jobs to their payrolls last month, StatsCan says, but those gains were offset by more people looking for work.

That’s rich: Shopify’s Lütke Canada’s second-wealthiest person, Forbes says

Ottawa

Mitel founder Terry Matthews and Claridge Homes CEO Bill Malhotra are also members of the billionaires’ club.

‘We’ve simply run out of time’: Bluesfest cancelled for second straight year

Tourism

While this year’s festival won’t be happening, Bluesfest boss Mark Monahan said Rage Against the Machine has already been confirmed as a headliner for 2022.