Hour 2 of Ottawa Now for Thurs. July 2nd, 2026

Hydro One crews are assessing the damages after overnight thunderstorms knocked out power to thousands of customers across Ontario, including parts of Central and Eastern Ontario. This morning, over 32,000 Hydro One customers still couldn’t turn the lights on, as several outages remain unresolved. To make matters worse, the humidity outside hasn’t wavered. Hydro One spokesperson Bianca Pizzo joins guest host Chris Holski in Hour 2. Here at home, we check in with Knoxdale-Merivale councillor Sean Devine, who is looking after one of the hardest-hit wards in Wednesday’s storm. Plus, this isn’t the first natural disaster our city has dealt with in recent years. Back in 2017 and 2019, we dealt with significant Spring flooding along various areas of the Ottawa River. There was a trio of tornadoes in 2018. There was a derecho in 2022. Are there any gaps in the city’s response to events like this? Do you have concerns about the city’s infrastructure to handle stuff like this? We pose those questions, and several others, to our Reality Check Panel – all of whom have served time on Ottawa City Council at some point in their political journeys.