What's closed on Day 6 of the downtown Ottawa protest
Rideau Centre, City Hall and some museums remain closed Wednesday
As a protest with vehicles taking up blocks of downtown Ottawa continues, the area's major mall closes for the rest of the week and museums are staying shut despite being allowed to reopen under updated pandemic rules.
City officials continue to advise people to avoid non-essential travel, especially downtown. Museums, the Rideau Centre and some city services are also closed or reducing operations for the time being.
These are some of the local services affected.
Museums
The Canadian Museums of History, Nature and War have delayed reopening by a week, along with the National Gallery of Canada.
They were set to open Wednesday after the Ontario government loosened restrictions for indoor venues, but will remain closed until Wednesday, Feb. 9. Some cite problems accessing the buildings and potential security concerns related to the protest.
The agriculture, aviation and science museums are farther away from downtown and open.
Libraries
Two of the Ottawa Public Library's downtown branches are also closed Wednesday.
The Main branch at 120 Metcalfe St. and the Rideau branch at 377 Rideau St. will remain closed for now.
The library says some of the closest branches to the downtown are the St-Laurent library at 515 Côté St., Vanier at 310 Pères-Blancs Ave., Sunnyside at 1049 Bank St. and Rosemount at 18 Rosemount Ave.
Shopping
The Rideau Centre closed early on Saturday after it was overrun with maskless patrons defying provincial rules for indoor spaces. A notice on the mall's website says it will remain closed for the rest of the week.
Other businesses have also chosen to close.
Ottawa City Hall
Municipal services at city hall, its parking garage and the Rink of Dreams will remain closed Wednesday, while the Service Ontario centre inside the building will be open to pre-booked appointments.
Waste and recycling
The city says it does not anticipate the protest will disrupt garbage and recycling collection.
City-owned garbage and recycling containers on the side of some downtown streets are being emptied when possible, the city says.
Childcare
The St. Luke's Child Care Centre at city hall and Centre éducatif Pinocchio at 111 Sussex Dr. are both open Wednesday.
Transit
OC Transpo bus routes into the downtown will continue to be detoured around congested areas. Residents are urged to check OC Transpo's Twitter account or alerts website.
Para Transpo continues to operate in the downtown core. The city's transit director says "staff are making every effort to get to customers."
The Confederation Line will continue to run through the downtown core.
Only the Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO)'s Route 400 is crossing into Ottawa.
Snow clearing
Ottawa is expected to receive between seven to 16 centimetres of snow by Friday morning. The city says it does not expect disruptions to snow clearing operations.
Vaccine clinics
Ottawa Public Health says its University of Ottawa COVID-19 vaccine clinic will reopen Wednesday after being closed since Jan. 28 because of traffic disruptions in the area from the ongoing park-in protest against pandemic rules.
The Lowertown Public Health Neighbourhood Vaccination Hub, which was also closed at the end of last week, will reopen as scheduled on Wednesday.