President Joe Biden speaks with Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the United States, left in blue, and Canada's Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, second from right, as Biden arrives at Ottawa International Airport, Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Ottawa, Canada. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
U.S. President Joe Biden visits Ottawa, a board of health member calls out a body shaming email and a school board proposes a four-day school week at two elementary schools.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week.
Heavy security and sparse crowds greeted U.S. President Joe Biden during his whirlwind two-day trip to Ottawa.
Biden's visit to Ottawa included a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an address to Parliament and a gala dinner at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
On Friday morning, a small crowd gathered along Wellington Street to watch the president's motorcade drive to Parliament Hill.
"It has been a really long time since a president has come to Ottawa and I am hoping to get a glimpse through the ‘beast’ window before he gets to Parliament Hill," Josh Arless said.
The U.S. President did not take a side trip to any destinations during his 27-hour visit to the capital.
Biden did get to taste ice cream from a beloved Ottawa shop during his visit to the capital. Biden and Trudeau shared ice cream from Moo Shu, the small-batch ice cream maker on Bank Street, after the president arrived in Ottawa Thursday evening.
The flavour, officially called “Friend-chip Goals,” Moo Shu founder Liz Mok told CTV News in an email.
The ice cream was a toasted marshmallow and maple sugar ice cream, "spun with chocolate like a stracciatella for a chocolate chip effect,” she said.
President Joe Biden meets with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his office at Parliament Hill, Friday, March 24, 2023, in Ottawa, Canada. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo)
A member of Ottawa's Board of Health spoke out about body-shaming this week after receiving a letter that said she shouldn't serve on the board because of her weight.
Elyse Banham tweeted a picture of a letter she received that claimed she could not be a role model because she appeared to be overweight, according to the writer.
"As a member of the Ottawa Board of Health, citizens expect you to be a role model for our city's residents and I believve (sic) you cannot fulfil that role due to your unhealthy status. It is unacceptable to be overweight by the 20 pounds it appears you are carrying," the letter said. "I would be happy to see you on the new committee on the condition that you become a better role model."
Banham was quick to call it out.
"Standards that are projected onto women make this type of work hard. Sad, demeaned & hurt today but standing up for myself and all women," she said on Twitter
OPH's Twitter account replied with a "corrected" letter from their "Bruce" character calling Banham "an incredible role model for our community" and that her empathy for others makes her a "beacon of much-needed light" for which they are grateful.
Ottawa Board of Health member Elyse Banham (right) speaks with Ottawa city councillor Theresa Kavanagh, the council liaison on women and gender equity. March 20, 2023. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa)
VIA Rail apologized this week after a Muslim man was told he couldn't pray at the Ottawa train station.
Ahmed, who asked that his last name not be used, said a security guard at the station told him he was not allowed to pray there and that he should pray outside.
The Toronto man said the interaction left him feeling shocked, embarrassed and disgusted.
Via Rail issued a statement apologizing to Ahmed and "the entire Muslim community" and said they are investigating the incident.
On Thursday, the crown corporation said it is working to improve its diversity and inclusion policies in response to the incident.
A screenshot from a video on social media in which a security guard at the Ottawa train station tells Ahmed, a Toronto man waiting to travel home, not to pray inside the station. (TikTok/@a.p416)
Elementary students at two Ottawa French Catholic schools will soon have the option to go to school four days a week.
The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est has announced plans for a four-day school week pilot-project this fall, becoming the first school board in Ontario to offer families a shortened school week schedule.
Parents of students at École élémentaire catholique l’Étoile-de-l’Est in Orleans and École élémentaire catholique Saint-Rémi in Kanata will be allowed to opt-in to a four-day school week.
Students enrolled in the four-day school week would begin classes one week earlier than students attending classes five days a week and the school year would end three days later than the typical school year. Each school day would last an additional 38 minutes compared to students attending classes five days a week.
École élémentaire catholique l’Étoile-de-l’Est in Orleans will be home to a four-day school week pilot project, starting in the fall. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)
Stargazers were treated with a rare sight over Ottawa and eastern Ontario this week.
Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, made a rare appearance, with residents across Ontario treated to the stunning effect.
The Northern Lights normally aren't visible this far south.
Northern lights overhead in Dunrobin on March 23, 2023. (Christopher Illidge/CTV Viewer)
Foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston has resigned, CTV News has confirmed. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Johnston cited the intense politicization of his appointment and work, as the reason for his coming departure.
Fires across the country are burning millions of hectares of land but what does that really look like? CTVNews.ca compared the blazes to some cities and lakes in the country showing just how big they have gotten.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed Friday that alleges that he described a Pentagon 'plan of attack' and shared a classified map related to a military operation.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament.
Despite the alarming facts and figures, experts say Canada is far more reactive than it is proactive when it comes to wildfires and they’re calling for a national campaign on wildfire education to better prepare for the future.
A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Preventative Medicine Reports by a group of international researchers has found that post-secondary students with unhealthy eating habits can go on to suffer from disease and mental health issues for years to come.
Police in Newfoundland and Labrador say three people are facing charges following the alleged abduction of a 14-year-old girl.
Showers are predicted Saturday over the aggressive wildfire threatening Tumbler Ridge, but forecasters say thunderstorms could sweep through the parched region without bringing any rain.
Air Canada says it made a mistake in rejecting some compensation claims from the thousands of travellers affected by delayed flights due to computer malfunctions.
Nova Scotia says it has identified more details about the records stolen in a file transfer service cyber attack, impacting teachers, students and health care workers' records.
The majority of Halifax-area residents evacuated due to wildfires are now permitted to return home.
Police in Newfoundland and Labrador say three people are facing charges following the alleged abduction of a 14-year-old girl.
Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass was demoted from the team’s roster on Friday afternoon after sharing an anti-LGBTQ2S+ video.
An Ontario woman was surprised to find out her licence plate was duplicated by another driver after multiple Highway 407 bills landed in her mailbox.
A Vaughan man thought he had done the right thing by equipping his brand new SUV with tracking technology offered by the manufacturer — but when it was stolen, he faced plenty of roadblocks sharing that location with the police chasing after it.
Montreal police (SPVM) stats for 2022 show that crime went up dramatically in 2022 and, taking COVID-19 pandemic numbers into account, violent crimes have been on the rise overall since 2017. In addition, motor vehicle thefts skyrocketed, having more than doubled since pre pandemic years.
A chain of illegal magic mushroom dispensaries in Ontario is determined to open a location in Montreal this summer despite the threat of a crackdown by Mayor Valerie Plante.
Montreal police said two men are expected to be charged with first-degree murder after a man was found dead inside an apartment last weekend.
One person has been killed in Kirkland Lake following a shooting Thursday evening on Second Street East.
A water advisory is in effect for Kagawong on Manitoulin Island. Public Health Sudbury and Districts say a loss of water pressure created conditions that has compromised the safety of the community's drinking water.
A tenant displaced in the downtown Sudbury fire last month said her hotel is denying her request to move her room to a centralized location following an attempted break-in.
A London, Ont. courtroom heard Friday that from a so-called “hobby farm” near Newbury, drugs were being housed and trafficked.
A three-vehicle collision on Wellington Road resulted in an SUV flipping onto its roof and one person being sent to hospital Friday afternoon.
A neighbourhood pool in west London, Ont. may not be able to open this year because the federal funding it depends on every year to hire lifeguards has not come through.
Mounties say remains found in western Manitoba have been identified as a woman who has been missing for three years.
An ad campaign from an out-of-province group is fanning the political flames in Manitoba.
A downtown fountain has undergone a facelift to honour Winnipeg's water source.
Police have shut down a section of Highway 401 westbound between Woodstock and Cambridge after a crash involving a transport truck and an Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) vehicle.
A new bar in Uptown Waterloo is offering an exclusive experience based around a members-only model.
The Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy (WRIDS) is sounding the alarm after a significant number of drug overdose and poisonings were reported over the last few days.
Disturbing new details about a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting women in Calgary have come to light, as court documents exposing accounts from his alleged victims have been unsealed.
Calgary firefighters scrambled to attack a grass fire that broke out in the southeast, near an Amazon warehouse, between Builders Road and Manitou Road, around 8:30 p.m., Friday evening.
For the second time in about a month, residents of Edson were told to leave town Friday night because of a wildfire.
The head of Saskatoon’s chamber of commerce responding with frustration to the city’s announcement of a $75 million deficit over the next two years — and the tax hikes that will likely be needed to help makeup some of the the shortfall.
A tunnel connecting Saskatoon's Fairhaven community to the Meadowgreen neighbourhood is raising concerns.
An iconic Saskatoon parade isn’t going ahead this year and there are conflicting reasons about the reason why.
For the second time in about a month, residents of Edson were told to leave town Friday night because of a wildfire.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new cabinet Friday, about two weeks after her United Conservative Party took the majority of seats in Alberta.
Edmonton has set a new record high for June 9th. The city reached 30.8 degrees Friday afternoon, breaking the old record of 30.6 set in 1913.
The Moby Dick restaurant has been serving up its famous fish and chips on the White Rock promenade since it was founded by the Mueller family in 1975. But one local city councillor clearly isn’t a fan.
Authorities in West Vancouver say it's lucky more people were not harmed when a driver crashed his car through the entrance of a Whole Foods Friday, coming to a stop in the busy produce section.
Developer Beedie Living's condo tower was originally voted down by the City of Vancouver's Development Permit Board in 2017, but a challenge in B.C. Supreme Court and a shift in community sentiment have given the project new life.
A young Saskatchewan girl that stole the hearts of the province, and millions online, is back in hospital.
A 13-year-old is dead following a vehicle rollover near Moosomin on Thursday morning.
Saskatchewan RCMP cancelled an Amber Alert after two missing children were located.
