A man walks along the side walk near Parliament Hill during a snow storm in Ottawa, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The first major snowstorm of the year is set to hit Ottawa, students return to school for in-person learning and Quebec's overnight curfew comes to an end.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at five stories to watch in Ottawa this week.
The investigation will continue this week into one of the deadliest workplace accidents in Ottawa history.
One person is dead and five others are missing and presumed killed following an explosion and fire at Eastway Tank on Merivale Road last Thursday.
Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion, Regional Supervising Coroner for East Region, told reporters that the remains of four people have been discovered in the debris, but it is "unsafe" to recover the remains at this time.
On Sunday, Deputy Fire Marshal Tim Beckett told reporters the scene is presenting many challenges for investigators, including the size of the area and the magnitude of the blast. The Office of the Fire Marshal and Ottawa Police say the cold weather and Monday's pending snowstorm will also create challenges for the investigation.
"The roof has collapsed, there is a large portion that has been completely obliterated," said Ottawa police Insp. Frank D'Aoust.
Beckett added the, "Origin and cause is the big focus" of the investigation.
The first significant snowstorm of 2022 is set to bury Ottawa with a record amount of snow.
Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for Ottawa-Gatineau, calling for 25 to 40 cm of snow on Monday.
"Snow, at times heavy, with peak snowfall rates of 2 to 5 cm per hour possible which could significantly reduce visibilities," said Environment Canada on Sunday.
"A low pressure system tracking south of the Great Lakes will bring significant snowfall to the region. Heavy snow will likely significantly impact Monday commutes."
The record snowfall for Ottawa on Jan. 17 is 11.7 cm, set in 1972.
Ottawa has only received 5 cm of snow in January, after 38.6 cm of snow in December.
CTV News Ottawa and Newstalk 580 CFRA will have the latest on the storm, possible school bus cancellations and travel conditions all day on Monday.
A worker shovels snow as a major winter storm hits Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Tens of thousands of students, teachers and school staff return to class in Ottawa this week for the first time since the Christmas holidays.
The Ontario government has given the green light for in-person learning to resume after two weeks of online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"You're returning to in-person learning next week, which is so important to the health of children and youth," said medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches in a statement to teachers, support staff and students.
"And yet you're doing it in a time of Omicron, which gives rise to a lot of questions because the approach is changing. We know that there are important measures you can take to slow down COVID transmission."
Etches encourages everyone to screen for illness every day, stay home when you're sick and get vaccinated.
Both the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and Ottawa Catholic School Board have warned classes may have to move to remote learning at a moment's notice if there are staffing shortages. Parents will be advised the night before.
For more information on the return to school, you can visit the OCDSB and OCSB’s websites.
The Quebec government is lifting its overnight curfew on Monday as officials predict the explosive Omicron wave is coming to its peak.
The 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew was announced on New Year's Eve, the same day the province closed indoor dining in restaurants, bars and gymnasiums to deal with a rise in COVID cases and hospitalizations.
Students will also return to school on Monday in Gatineau and across Quebec. All students and teachers will be required to wear masks indoors.
As the curfew ends and students return to class, new measures aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19 will be introduced later this month.
Starting Jan. 24, businesses with more than 1,500 square metres of space will require a proof of COVID vaccination to enter the building. The new measure will not apply to pharmacies and grocery stores.
A man walks along a street in Gatineau, Que as a province wide curfew began on Saturday, January 9, 2021. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The National Capital Commission will discuss two contentious issues during its first board meeting of 2022.
The first item on the agenda for Thursday's meeting is the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus development – Phase 2 Parking Garage and Roof Park. Opponents are opposed to plans to build a four-storey parking structure in part of Queen Juliana Park.
In October, Council approved the site plan for the new Civic Campus on federal land between Dow’s Lake and the Central Experimental Farm. The planned site area features 44 per cent buildings and hardscape, 22 per cent buildings with green roof and 34 per cent green space and landscaping.
The other major item on the agenda is the long-term integrated Interprovincial Crossing Plan for the National Capital Region.
A draft plan published in November warned a new interprovincial crossing between Ottawa and Gatineau would not significantly reduce truck traffic in the downtown core.
The report from IBI Group for the NCC says based on current projections, a new interprovincial crossing in the east end would divert 15 per cent of heavy truck traffic downtown by 2050, while a new crossing in the west end would reduce truck traffic downtown by eight per cent.
"To achieve greater reductions and better manage goods movement, more measures will be required," said the report. "For example, changes in logistics practices or in truck routes."
Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus (File Photo/CTV Ottawa)
A wave of buyer's remorse is taking shape in several heated real estate markets, after housing prices started dropping and the number of sales slowed over the last two months.
There is a cost to war — to the countries that wage it, to the soldiers who fight it, to the civilians who endure it. For nations, territory is gained and lost, and sometimes regained and lost again. But some losses are permanent. Lives lost can never be regained. Nor can limbs. And so it is in Ukraine.
Etiquette expert Julie Blais Comeau answers your questions about how to address the royal couple, how to dress if you're meeting them, and whether or not you can ask for a selfie.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the military alliance stands ready to seize a historic moment and move quickly on allowing Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries submitted their membership requests.
Saddle Lake Cree Nation in eastern Alberta is 'actively researching and investigating' the deaths of at least 200 residential school children who never came home, as remains are being found in unmarked grave sites.
The Green Party of Canada is calling on the federal government to develop a targeted anti-transgender hate strategy, citing a 'rising tide of hate' both in Canada and abroad. Amita Kuttner, who is Canada's first transgender federal party leader, made the call during a press conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
The existence of unmarked graves had been a 'knowing' among residential school survivors and Indigenous elders, but the high-tech survey findings represented confirmation for Canada.
Police say the Buffalo supermarket shooter mounted a camera to his helmet to stream his assault live on Twitch. The move was apparently intended to echo the massacre in New Zealand by inspiring copycats and spreading his racist beliefs.
A new report says digital technology has become so widespread at such a rapid pace that Canadians have little idea what information is being collected about them or how it is used.
The police officer who fatally shot a 26-year-old Indigenous woman during a wellness check in Edmundston, N.B., two years ago says he doesn't know why things escalated so quickly.
When a man disguised as a Mountie started killing people in northern Nova Scotia two years ago, there was considerable confusion over who was in charge of the RCMP operation, newly released documents show.
A woman who was stabbed overnight in the Halifax area has died from her injuries.
Political analysts call Doug Ford's approach the “front-runner” strategy and say it started long before the writ was drawn.
A day after Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner was robbed of his Range Rover at gunpoint outside an Etobicoke movie theatre, Toronto police said they have already seen more carjackings so far this year than they did in all of 2021.
An Ontario man who has nearly 1 million-kilometres on his car is sharing his secret of how he did it.
Montreal public health officials are considering whether to bring back a special hotline for families with sick children to get them speedy appointments with a doctor. Hospitals are seeing an increase in visits to pediatric emergency rooms.
Peppered with questions on Bill 96, Legault said there's been "disinformation" spreading, in his opinion -- and that on one important question, health care, many critics of the bill are wrong. In fact, the bill is confusing on that point and the details still haven't been fully explained.
Montreal drivers have a lot of words to describe the city's roads in summer, when the orange pylons pop up: an obstacle course, a maze, a mess. The city's auditor general agrees and offers analysis of why in a new report.
There have been more than 107 fatalities on Ontario Provincial Police patrolled roads so far this year.
B'Nai Brith Canada presented North Bay Mayor Al McDonald with a certificate of merit Tuesday morning, honouring him for standing up to racism.
As the provincial election nears, Sault Ste. Marie incumbent Ross Romano is squaring off again against Michelle McCleave-Kennedy, who gave him a tough fight in 2018.
A police investigation has been sparked after a north London, Ont. playground was vandalized with hate symbols.
The London Fire Department responded to a fast-moving blaze early Tuesday evening in the area of Dundas Street and Lyle Street, resulting in an estimated $50,000 worth of damages.
One person is in custody for allegedly breaking and entering after a Sarnia business owner saw they were being robbed in real-time thanks to a video surveillance system.
Federal regulators are demanding answers and solutions from the bell MTS after several Manitobans have spoken out about their landline phone service which they call unacceptable.
Two Winnipeg men are facing firearm-related charges after Winnipeg police officers seized 19 guns from a home in the city’s Southwood neighbourhood.
A Manitoba mother says the use of cannabis oil has had a profound impact on the health of her child.
The search continued Tuesday for a man police say may have information about the death of an 8-year-old boy in Cambridge. Neighbours also shared their concerns about the police response.
Provincial police have launched an investigation after human remains were found in the water in Dunnville, just northwest of Port Maitland.
A contentious topic is back under review in Cambridge. City council is hearing from a number of delegates sharing their thoughts about a paintball company's land and whether it should be re-zoned.
Alberta schools boards can choose to pilot three more subjects in the new K-6 draft curriculum this fall, which is drawing criticism from some parents and student advocates.
The last time the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers faced each other in the playoffs was way back in 1991.
The ballots are in and tension is building within the United Conservative Party ahead of Wednesday's revelation of the result of Jason Kenney's leadership review.
A former employee of Epic Alliance says the firm sometimes "pushed" for higher appraisals on homes sold to landlords and would rent to tenants who would "destroy" properties
With the University of Saskatchewan research team monitoring the city's wastewater for signs of COVID-19 noting an 85 per cent drop in its latest update, experts in the city say the trend is cause for cautious optimism.
Saskatoon Police Service officers are not permitted to wear Thin Blue Line patches, according to a report to the Board of Police Commissioners.
The ballots are in and tension is building within the United Conservative Party ahead of Wednesday's revelation of the result of Jason Kenney's leadership review.
Saddle Lake Cree Nation in eastern Alberta is 'actively researching and investigating' the deaths of at least 200 residential school children who never came home, as remains are being found in unmarked grave sites.
A hunter's wife has testified she texted her husband not to drink and drive or get in a fight the night he and his uncle were shot to death on a rural Alberta road.
The soaring cost of gas is hitting charities in Metro Vancouver hard and organizations are worried they will soon have to make tough decisions and cuts to services if they don’t get some relief.
Nearly three weeks after Moderna became the first pharmaceutical company to apply for Health Canada approval of its COVID-19 vaccine for young children, the regulatory agency is tight-lipped about progress.
Volunteers with the CFB Chilliwack Historical Society are reeling after thieves broke into a military museum and stole irreplaceable items donated by war veterans and their families.
A number of social media users captured Saskatchewan's first apparent first tornado of 2022 on Tuesday evening.
Some food vendors at Mosaic Stadium are pausing preparations for the preseason as the CFL strike has potential to postpone the first exhibition game of the year.
The Williston Basin Petroleum Conference has returned to Regina after three years away due to the pandemic.
