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For the first time in more than a century, residents of Ottawa and Gatineau will be able to walk to the edge of the Ottawa River’s majestic Chaudière Falls straddling the provincial border and get a good look at the rushing water.

Later this week, the falls will be awash with light and sound with the start of a free nightly show called Mìwàte created to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. When the month-long show is over, the new viewing platform will continue to allow the public to get close to one of the region’s most striking natural features.

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Public access to Chaudière Falls off Booth Street has been blocked by decades of industrial use of the adjoining islands for paper plants, logging and hydroelectric stations.

The viewing platform is part of a larger transformation of the area that is the heart of Ottawa’s industrial past and a sacred spot for aboriginals for centuries. The controversial billion-dollar Zibi development on Chaudière and Albert Islands and the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River shoreline will add condos, townhouses, stores, offices, plazas, parks and bike paths in the coming years.