Board of Health member speaks out against body shaming and President Biden visits Ottawa: Top five stories this week
Board of Health member speaks out against body shaming and President Biden visits Ottawa: Top five stories this week
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)
Ottawa board of health member sees outpouring of support after body-shaming message
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)
Four children were found unresponsive on a shoreline in Portneuf-sur-Mer, Que. on Saturday after they were swept away by the tide in a fishing incident. One man is still missing, while six other people were rescued.
New study finds increase in antipsychotic drugs use in long-term care homes across Canada, despite no significant increase in behavioural symptoms – something that may expose a potential area of concern for quality of care, researchers say.
Photos released by NASA taken from International Space Station show the immense scale of the wildfires in Nova Scotia, with billowing smoke engulfing the landscape.
At the moment, wildfires are burning across six provinces and one territory in Canada — and they’re still spreading in what’s being called an unprecedented fire season. While firefighters work tirelessly to battle the merciless flames and prevent further destruction, scientists say the wildfires are linked to climate change and that this will be the new normal.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
A Halifax-area wildfire that forced thousands of residents from their homes over the past week is 85 per cent contained and no longer spreading, officials said Saturday morning.
Evacuees at the Sandy Wickens Memorial Arena in Barrington, N.S., are out of the fire zone but now face their own battle — how to cope with so much uncertainty, and what lies ahead.
Toronto police say the five suspects involved in a stabbing at Kennedy Station Friday night that left a man in critical condition are between the ages of 12 and 15 years old.
Four children were found unresponsive on a shoreline in Portneuf-sur-Mer, Que. on Saturday after they were swept away by the tide in a fishing incident. One man is still missing, while six other people were rescued.
Police are investigating the "suspicious death" of a man discovered shot dead in downtown Montreal Saturday. According to the SPVM, a man was found around 7:50 a.m. inside an apartment on Saint-Catherine and Beaudry Streets, in Montreal's Gay Village.
The 2,000 residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon in Northern Quebec received a mandatory evacuation notice Friday evening due to forest fires. Meanwhile, a little further north, some 1,000 residents of Chapais learned on Friday that they would have to wait at least another day before returning home.
Photos released by NASA taken from International Space Station show the immense scale of the wildfires in Nova Scotia, with billowing smoke engulfing the landscape.
It's the start of a new season at Moraine Lake and for the first time, you will have to take a shuttle bus to access the famous landmark -- no matter how early you're willing to show up.
The City of Regina has a three-phase approach to address the flooding that occurs at the downtown underpasses during most heavy rainfalls, including Thursday night’s storm.
Eight years ago, the Regina Police Service (RPS) embarked on a facility dog program. Now, one of its first recruits officially retired from her career.
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)
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) 
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)
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)
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) 
Northern lights overhead in Dunrobin on March 23, 2023. (Christopher Illidge/CTV Viewer)
