$2.38 plus GST $3.33 plus GST in outlying areas

slowing the purgeProf stresses biodiversity a2

N EWSplanning

As offices sit empty, feds eye huge new complex a4

transit

RTG falls two trains short of deadline a4

Cohen

Why Biden’s choice of veep matters  a7

S por tSsimmons

Muzzin injury takes sheen off Leafs’ victory NP9

op i N i o N

Tay l o r B l ew e T T

It can be really difficult to justify a small wedding to family, friends and a society that so often expects the day to involve hundreds of guests, shared spreads of food and drink and a huge party that lasts late into the night.

And then came COVID-19.While the pandemic and related

restrictions have been devastating

for couples who had their hearts set on a large, traditional wedding in the near future, others have found the perfect excuse for em-bracing the intimate celebration they’ve always wanted.

“We’ve had a couple of our cli-ents say — we didn’t want to have a big wedding, it was family pres-sure, and now COVID is giving us permission to have a small wed-ding,” said Lynzie Kent, founder

of The Pop-Up Chapel Co.Her company offers an all-inclu-

sive “shared wedding” concept — think Uber but for the wedding industry — that sees ten couples married over ten hours, using the same venue.

For about $2,700, each couple gets a 15-minute ceremony and 45-minute reception, complete with an officiant, photography, flowers, live music, and a toast and snacks for up to 20 guests — pretty much everything you’d expect at a wedding, in 60 minutes — plus a donation of at least $300 to a local charity.

Pandemic paves way for more intimate weddings

Dav i D P u g l i e s e

An Ontario police investigation into allegations the Canadian military tried to hide documents in the Mark Norman affair never happened despite official federal

government claims to the con-trary, the Citizen has confirmed.

The investigation was supposed to have been turned over by the RCMP to the Ontario Provincial Police more than a year ago but that was only done on Sunday —

four days after the Citizen began questioning whether an investiga-tion had actually been done.

The alleged attempts to hide the documents, requested from the Defence Department and Canadian Forces under the Access to Infor-mation law, was revealed in Decem-ber 2018 pretrial proceedings in the case of Vice Adm. Norman.

That bombshell further fuelled concerns among Norman’s sup-

porters who alleged the Liberal government and senior military officers were trying to railroad the vice admiral, who was once the second in command of the Canadian Forces. Norman had been charged by the RCMP with one count of breach of trust for allegedly revealing information about Liberal government plans to derail a supply ship project.

DND records probe never happenedOfficials falsely claimed inquiry into Norman documents underway

S T R /A F P v i A G e T T y i m AG e S

Beirut in ruins

food

Dip your chips into tasty bacon snack a8

reCipe

Scallops are served up with broccolini a10

You

W e d n e s d a y , a u g u s t 5 , 2 0 2 0 O t t a W a C i t i z e n e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 8 4 5

Beirut’s port area is reduced to smouldering rubble after two huge explosions shattered much of the Lebanese capital Tuesday, killing scores of people and injuring thousands more. Ottawa’s Lebanese community quickly rallied support for the victims. a5, NP5

egan: and we do nothing?Two more die in treacherous waters a5

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s e e N o r m a N o n a3

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