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Biting cold weather in Ottawa to allow Family Day skating on Rideau Canal

OTTAWA — Families will be able to lace up for another rare session on the Rideau Canal skateway today.
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People skate on the uneven ice surface on the Rideau Canal skateway in Ottawa, after its reopening, on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Families will be able to lace up for another rare session on the Rideau Canal skateway today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA — Families will be able to lace up for another rare session on the Rideau Canal skateway today.

Frigid temperatures overnight allowed staff to sweep, grade and flood the ice along a two-kilometre stretch between the Pretoria Bridge and Bank Street. 

The National Capital Commission promises that this morning's brisk weather is helping to "firm everything up" so the canal can open at noon. 

The same section opened on Sunday for a brief period — but ice conditions were so poor that the commission said skating wasn't such a good idea. 

An even shorter stretch opened for four days in January before warmer-than-average temperatures forced the canal's closure. 

Last year, the canal didn't open to skaters at all for the first time in its 53-year history. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press

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