Latest news with #Grondin
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Night mayor makes it easier for Ottawa bars to stay open until 5 a.m.
Ottawa nightlife commissioner Matthieu Grondin is making it easier for the city's bars to temporarily extend their liquor sales until 5 a.m. In the review of Ottawa's special events bylaw, which goes before council on May 28, Grondin recommends lifting the city's requirement for an additional license for venues seeking a temporary extension of hours — when they are already properly licensed. The move will streamline the process of extending alcohol-service hours beyond Ontario's regular closing time of 2 a.m., reducing paperwork and avoiding duplicate inspections. Farid Dagher, who runs two electronic-music venues, City at Night at Bank and Slater, and Gridwrks, his new spot on Rideau Street, said it will be a big improvement over the current system. The existing bylaw, enacted in 2002, requires events where 'the principal activities include listening and dancing to music,' to obtain an All Night Dance Event license when applying to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for an extension. According to city staff's review of the special-event bylaws, the license was originally designed to counter the popularity of 'underground dance events commonly referred to as 'raves.'' The All Night Dance Event license calls for an extra round of inspections at the applicant's expense, a detail that Dagher said is unnecessary for a licensed venue. 'It's like you're having to get a license over an existing license to do the same thing but at a different hour,' Dagher explained, adding that he's had some amusing encounters with inspectors while applying for the All Night Dance Event license. 'They would come in and be like, 'Well, this is going to be quick because we were here not too long ago.' So we would laugh about it because it's just the process, but we always thought that somebody should challenge that,' he said. The amendment to the bylaw now recommends a letter of 'municipal significance' be attached to the AGCO application for a temporary extension, instead of the all-night dance event license. 'The letter typically indicates that the City agrees the proposed event is of municipal significance, as it benefits the greater good of the city,' wrote Valérie Bietlot, the city's manager of public policy development, in response to an email inquiry. Final approval from the AGCO is still required for the extension. What's more, the city is adopting 'a more flexible definition of municipal significance,' added Grondin, that takes into account the social, cultural, or local economic development impacts of the event. Contrary to widespread perception, there is a market in Ottawa for after-hours activity, and it includes shift workers, hospitality staff and other night owls, as well as electronic-music fans. Of course, ever since the heyday of raves, it's been traditional for electronic-music shows to run into the wee hours. As a booker, Dagher said the ability to program longer sets not only provides a unique experience for fans but also allows for a 'progression' of acts, building a vibe throughout the night. Making the paperwork easier helps prevent the rise of illegal after-hours parties, too. 'If you make it too complicated to get the permits, you may give clandestine events a reason to do it without permits,' Dagher said. 'There are spaces that are known to be doing it, and when they start selling alcohol illegally, it's no longer a safe space for the customers.' Dagher gave kudos to Grondin and his advisory Nightlife Council group for bringing the issue to the attention of city authorities during this year's review of special events bylaws. 'He's really advocating for us,' Dagher said. 'He's talked to a lot of people to try to identify what the pain points are, and he's advocating for these changes. 'It's like he's initiating a culture of change and I feel that as we start getting these changes, the politicians and policy makers will maybe have a better read on what these changes mean in terms of outcomes, and they may become more comfortable and accepting of nightlife. We're pretty happy with that.' Rick Laplante, the veteran Ottawa promoter/DJ who's a member of the volunteer Nightlife Council, said the amendment is a good example of the type of thing the council is looking to simplify. 'We're trying to make recommendations to remove a lot of this kind of red tape and redundancies that we see in some of the business-licensing bylaws that are in place, especially for dance events,' he said. 'Typically, our culture lives at night and thrives at night. And when we do have the opportunity to extend our hours, it's inclusive to a whole segment of Ottawa's population that works off hours or works at night. 'Ultimately, it's a couple of extra hours of dancing at the end of the night, but I think it goes a long way toward our shared goals of having an expanded and financially successful nightlife.' Following council approval, the amending by-law will be enacted immediately to exempt establishments and events already operating under an AGCO license from the requirements of the all-night dance event license. lsaxberg@
CBC
06-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's Grondin wins snowboard cross gold after securing season title in Quebec
Social Sharing Éliot Grondin didn't let up after securing the men's snowboard cross overall World Cup season title. About 24 hours later, the Sainte-Marie, Que., native defeated Frenchman Aidan Chollet in the big final on home snow at Mont-Sainte-Anne on Sunday. Loan Bozzolo, Chollet's teammate, placed third in the final World Cup event of the season Grondin has back-to-back Crystal Globe wins on the World Cup circuit, and it comes a week after he won world championship gold in Switzerland. The 23-year-old needed a top-three finish in Saturday's event to claim the Crystal Globe and followed through with a loss in the big final to Austria's Jakob Dusek. Grondin won three gold medals, three silver and a bronze on the World Cup circuit this season. WATCH | Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success: Éliot Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success 11 days ago Duration 14:19 The two-time Olympic snowboarder tells CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis about what the support of his community means to him and how he lost the gold medal at Beijing 2022 by a 'photo finish.'
CBC
05-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada's Éliot Grondin clinches snowboard cross Crystal Globe with silver-medal win in Quebec
Sainte-Marie, Que., native has now won back-to-back overall season titles Image | Grondin-Eliot-795265225 Caption: Canada's Eliot Grondin, shown in this file photo, won World Cup silver medal on Satruday to clinch a Crystal Globe for overall season winner. (Paul Brechu/) Canada's Éliot Grondin won a snowboard cross silver medal at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que., on Saturday to clinch the overall World Cup season title. The 23-year-old from Sainte-Marie, Que., needed a top-three finish in Saturday's event to claim the Crystal Globe and accomplished that by narrowly losing the big final to Austria's Jakob Dusek. Nathan Pare of the United States took bronze. Grondin now has back-to-back Crystal Globe wins on the World Cup circuit, and it comes a week after he won world championship gold in Switzerland. WATCH | Grondin shreds to a snowboard cross world championship title: Grondin has won two golds, three silvers, and a bronze medal on the World Cup circuit this season. On the women's side, France Lea Casta earned her third World Cup win of the season while Mia Clift of Australia took silver to land on a World Cup podium for the first time in her career. Swiss racer Sina Siegenthaler claimed bronze. Tess Critchlow was the top Canadian, finishing fifth by winning the small final. The final World Cup event of the season streams live on CBC Gem and beginning on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
CBC
05-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canadian snowboard cross racer Éliot Grondin secures Crystal Globe with silver-medal win in Quebec
Social Sharing Canada's Éliot Grondin won a snowboard cross silver medal at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que., on Saturday to clinch the overall World Cup season title. The 23-year-old from Sainte-Marie, Que., needed a top-three finish in Saturday's event to claim the Crystal Globe and accomplished that by narrowly losing the big final to Austria's Jakob Dusek. Nathan Pare of the United States took bronze. Grondin now has back-to-back Crystal Globe wins on the World Cup circuit, and it comes a week after he won world championship gold in Switzerland. WATCH | Grondin shreds to a snowboard cross world championship title: Canada's Éliot Grondin shreds to a snowboard cross world championship title 8 days ago Duration 7:16 A world junior champion in 2021, Éliot Grondin of Sainte-Marie, Que., earned his first senior world championship title at the 2025 FIS snowboard world championships in Corviglia, Switzerland. Grondin has won two golds, three silvers, and a bronze medal on the World Cup circuit this season. There is one World Cup event event remaining tomorrow, which will stream live on CBC Gem and WATCH | Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success: Éliot Grondin sits down in Switzerland to talk snowboarding success 10 days ago Duration 14:19 The two-time Olympic snowboarder tells CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis about what the support of his community means to him and how he lost the gold medal at Beijing 2022 by a 'photo finish.' On the women's side, France Lea Casta earned her third World Cup win of the season while Mia Clift of Australia took silver to land on a World Cup podium for the first time in her career. Swiss racer Sina Siegenthaler claimed bronze.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Moioli finally gets elusive gold medal at snowboard worlds, Grondin wins men's event
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Italian snowboarder Michela Moioli finally earned an elusive world championship gold medal on Friday despite finishing the race on her back. Both Moioli and Charlotte Bankes fell at the line in a close photo finish at the end of the snowboard cross event. A replay showed Maioli's board crossed a few inches ahead of her British rival's as they slid over the line on their backs. The 29-year-old Moioli lay flat back on the snow and appeared to be sobbing as she was warmly embraced by Bankes — who was world champion in 2021. 'I made it. I can't really believe it that I'm a world champion, it sounds weird to me still,' Moioli said with a laugh. Julia Pereira de Sousa of France was third. Moioli, who won Olympic gold in the snowboard cross in 2018, had never triumphed at the freestyle skiing and snowboard world championships in four previous attempts. She won bronze in 2015, 2017 and 2019 and silver in 2021. Moioli, who also had two silver medals from team events, missed the last world championships through injury. Éliot Grondin of Canada also won a first world title in the men's event. Defending champion Jakob Dusek and Austrian compatriot Alessandro Hämmerle — the reigning Olympic champion — were working together for one of them to take the victory but they came into contact on the final bend, allowing Grondin to sneak through for the win. Loan Bozzolo of France was second, with Hämmerle third. The 23-year-old Grondin won bronze at the worlds in 2021 and secured silver in the Olympic Games in 2022, when he also took home bronze in the team event. ___ AP sports: The Associated Press
