WARMINGTON: Too warm for ice skating but too cold for ice sculpting in Ottawa

Talk about snowflakes.

You know things have skidded off track when Canada’s national winter carnival gets cancelled because of winter conditions.

Officials say it’s not cold enough to get the Rideau Canal ready for skating but it’s too cold to open Ottawa’s Winterlude festival. But it is Canada’s capital city, so perhaps doublespeak should be expected.

In Ottawa, in recent times, they seem to be better at closing things down than opening them.

Keep in mind this is the first Winterlude since 2020, so families from all over were excited to partake in the fun post-pandemic. Instead, it seems all of the fun is being removed as Canada runs the risk of losing our bragging rights of being able to wear our toques and long johns, drink hot chocolate, and attack the winter with grit as proud Canucks.

What the heck happened to us? We are tougher than this.

While last winter’s Freedom Convoy participants seemed to be able to withstand the freezing mercury before the Emergencies Act threw them out, our leaders in 2023 don’t seem to believe in law-abiding Canadian Hosers ability to put on a scarf, mittens and employ some instant hand and foot warmers.

Instead, cancel culture reigns.

“Cancellation of outdoor activities – February 3rd,” said the Government of Canada Winterlude website. “Notice: February 3, 2023 – Given the extreme weather conditions and to ensure the security of staff, volunteers, and visitors, all outdoor Winterlude activities held today have been cancelled.”

This includes the world famous ice sculpting competition.

“It makes the ice really hard,” was one of the explanations in a CTV story.

Who knew ice in Canada in February would not only be hard but that hard ice would be problematic for ice sculpting?

Meanwhile, the ice is apparently not hard enough on the Rideau Canal skateway, run by the federal National Capital Commission, because they have now set a record for the latest it has not opened.  Up until Friday, the latest it had ever opened was Feb. 2.

Now it looks like it will blow way past that. Maybe they will blame climate change? Pretty hard when it dipped down to -26C Friday night. Oops!

“It’s the up and down of Mother Nature, not having a sufficient window between two snowfalls to water the ice, to get it (frozen) before the next snowfall — that’s been the challenge,” Bruce Devine, senior facilities and programs manager with the NCC, told the CBC.

Imagine there being snow in the winter in Ottawa? Are these people serious?

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Meanwhile, perhaps the real question is whether Ottawa should move Heritage Canada-run Winterlude to July to ensure nobody gets frostbite. And maybe just have rollerblading along side the federally-run Rideau canal so no one runs the risk of falling through the thick ice while gliding along the world’s most famous outdoor skating rink.

Perhaps we shouldn’t even joke about it in a country that has effectively cancelled its first prime minister. Somebody may get an idea and actually do it.

What they should do, as they hope to do with Winterlude on Saturday, is let the snowflakes come from the sky and get this famous winter party started.

jwarmington@postmedia.com