The owner of a local business is apologizing after sparking a backlash by calling for a temporary COVID-19 shelter to be closed or moved out of his neighbourhood rec centre. "The residents of the community would like the use of their facility back and ask that the temporary self-isolation centre and emergency shelter for homeless men be closed or moved to another location," the petition read. To rectify that, over 100 beds were set up at the Jim Durrell centre. "After [the Jim Durrell] centre was opened, we no longer had to do that." He has apologized after he created an online petition that urged the City of Ottawa to close down or move a temporary shelter out of the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre.

Source: CBC News July 30, 2020 13:52 UTC