What’s open and closed in Ottawa over Christmas

Here is what is open and closed in the city during the Christmas holiday week.

City Services

Client Services

• City’s Provincial Offences Courts are open by appointment online, but will be closed on Monday, December 27, Tuesday, December 28 and Monday, January 3.
• Client service centres, including the Government Service Centre at 110 Laurier Ave. W. and at Ben Franklin Place, will be closed on Monday, December 27, Tuesday December28 and Monday, January 3.
• The 311 contact centre will be open for urgent calls that need the City’s immediate attention.

Parking

• Free parking will be available at City Hall at 110 Laurier Ave. W. from Friday, December 24 at 4 p.m. until Sunday, December 26 at 7 a.m., and from Friday, December 31 at 4 p.m. until Sunday, January 2 at 7 a.m.
• The ByWard Market Garage at 70 Clarence St. and the Dalhousie Garage at 141 Clarence St. will offer free parking from Friday, December 24 at 4 p.m. until Sunday, December 26 at 7 a.m.

Ottawa Public Health

• The Sexual Health Clinic and satellite clinics will be closed on Monday, December 27 to Tuesday, December 28. The clinic will be open for appointments on December 24 and 31.
• The Ottawa Public Health (OPH) Information Centre will be closed for general calls on December 25 to 28, and will be open December 29 to 31.
• OPH’s COVID-19 phone line will be closed from December 25 to 28 and will be open on December 29 to 31.
• The Baby Help Line is closed on December 25.
• The Site program office and supervised consumption services at 179 Clarence St. will be closed on Saturday, December 25 to Tuesday, December 28. The Site’s mobile van will be closed on Friday, December 24, but will be operational from 5 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. from December 25 to January 3, exception on December 31 when the hours will be from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Green bin, recycling and garbage collection

• Christmas trees will be picked up on regular collection days.
• Curb side and multi-residential green bin, recycling, garbage and bulky item collection will happen on a regular schedule. Collection will not be delayed due to Christmas.
• The Trail Waste Facility will be closed on Saturday, December 25 and Sunday, December 26.

Recreation and cultural services

• Pools, arenas and fitness centres will operate on modified schedules during the holiday season. This includes public swimming, fitness and public skating facilities. Schedules are available on the City’s website.
• There will be holidays schedules for refrigerated outdoor rinks, including the Rink of Dreams. The Lansdowne Park skating park, Ben Franklin Place skating rink and Jim Tubman Chevrolet Rink all have schedules that can be found at ottawa.ca/skating.

Municipal childcare services

• All municipal childcare centres will be closed on Monday, December 27 and Tuesday, December 28.

Library Services

• The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) will be closed on Saturday, December 25, and Sunday, December 26.
• Branches and services will operate on a regular schedule from December 28 to Thursday, December 30.
• On Friday, December 24 and Friday, December 31, all branches that normally operate on Fridays will open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

COVID-19

Vaccination locations in Ottawa

• Up-to-date hours for each location for between Friday, December 24 and Monday, January 3 can be viewed on the COVID-19 vaccine webpage.
• The OPH COVID-19 booking line will be closed on December 25 and 26. It will open again on December 27 and 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The booking line is 613-691-5505.

Assessment Centre and clinics

• Holidays hours of operation between December 24 and Monday, January 3 can be viewed on the testing information website.

OC Transpo

• Holidays service will run from December 20 to January 1.
• Shopper routes will operate on a normal schedule throughout the holidays.
• Real-time schedule information is available 24 hours a day at 613-560-1000 or by texting 560560 plus their four-digit bus stop number or first three letters of the station name.

Customer services

• Services will be open throughout the holidays. This includes Christmas Even (7 a.m. to 9 p.m.); Christmas Day (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Boxing Day (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
• The Rideau Centre OC Transpo customer service centre will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and will be open on Christmas Even (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Para Transpo

Service will operate on a holiday schedule on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Regular scheduled trips are automatically cancelled, but customers may book trips for these days by calling 613-560-5000, or by using the online web form, up to seven days before the holiday.

The taxi coupon line will be closed on  Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Malls

• Christmas Day: All malls are closed
• Boxing Day: All malls are open