'Freedom Convoy' anniversary in Ottawa and federal employees fired for claiming CERB: Top five stories this week
'Freedom Convoy' anniversary in Ottawa and federal employees fired for claiming CERB: Top five stories this week
A small rally marks the one-year anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy' in Ottawa, 49 federal employees fired for claiming CERB while employed, and the city of Ottawa tables the 2023 budget.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week.
A blast of cold Arctic air gripped Ottawa for more than 48 hours this week, but it wasn't enough to open the Rideau Canal Skateway for the opening weekend of Winterlude.
An extreme cold warning was in effect for Ottawa from Thursday to Saturday, as temperatures dropped below -27 C, with the wind chill making it feel like -43. Saturday is the coldest Feb. 4 in Ottawa in 100 years, with the temperature dropping to -32.2 C at 6 a.m.
The cold temperatures forced Canadian Heritage to cancel all outdoor activities on Friday for Winterlude.
Meantime, the red flag continues to fly on the Rideau Canal Skateway. Despite the cold temperatures to end the week, the National Capital Commission said the world's largest skating rink was not ready for skaters in time for the opening weekend of Winterlude.
If the Rideau Canal Skateway does open this winter, it will be the latest opening in the skateway's history. The latest date for the opening of the Rideau Canal Skateway was Feb. 2, 2002.
Ottawa police reported no problems in the Parliamentary Precinct as people gathered to mark the one-year anniversary of the arrival of the 'Freedom Convoy'.
Police and Bylaw Services maintained an increase presence around downtown Ottawa last weekend as a rally was held to mark the anniversary of the protest against COVID-19 public health restrictions. Police had said more than 200 people gathered on Parliament Hill on Saturday, Jan. 28 for a rally and dance party.
On Monday morning, Ottawa Bylaw said police and Bylaw Services officers had issued 244 parking tickets for violating the Special Event No-Stopping Zone restrictions, while 25 vehicles had been towed from downtown streets. At least 67 Provincial Offences Notices were also issued.
Parliamentary Protective Service officers arrested two people for trespassing on Parliament Hill Saturday afternoon.
On Monday, the Ottawa People's Commission of the Convoy Occupation tabled a report on the impact the 'Freedom Convoy' had on residents, saying all three levels of government failed to take into account the human rights of people directly affected by the occupation.
Ottawa police and Ontario Provincial Police officers monitor a rally on Wellington Street on Saturday. A rally was planned for Parliament Hill to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the 'Freedom Convoy'. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
A federal government department has fired 49 employees who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit while they were employed.
Employment and Social Development Canada, which oversaw the distribution of the benefit—better known as CERB— conducted an internal investigation and found that some of its employees had claimed the benefit for themselves.
"Those individuals that did break the trust of the employer-employee relationship … have been terminated," assistant deputy minister Mary Crescenzi told a House of Commons committee on Thursday. "To date, we have terminated 49 individuals."
An auditor general's report on the billions of dollars in COVID-19 benefits issued by the government found that at least $4.6 billion in overpayments went to those who were ineligible and another $27 billion merited further investigation.
The landing page for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit is seen in Toronto, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says the city of Ottawa's 2023 budget is a "tight budget".
City staff tabled the $5.5 billion 2023 city of Ottawa budget on Wednesday, which includes a 2.5 per cent property tax hike, a transit fare freeze and a 10 per cent reduction in some youth recreation fees.
Sutcliffe said staff have also identified $54 million in "savings and efficiencies" that mean programs and services won't need to be cut.
"Those efficiencies help us reinvest in our priorities," he said.
However, Sutcliffe said the city will need help from other orders of government down the line.
"Without the appropriate level of support from our provincial and federal governments, we will have significant pressures on our finances next year and beyond, particularly on transit and infrastructure," he said.
Councillors will host public consultations on the budget over the next two weeks, and city committees will finalize each department budget before Council holds the final vote on the budget on March 1.
If approved, the 2.5 per cent would cost the average urban taxpayer an extra $104 this year.
Two Ottawa restaurants are on the list of most romantic restaurants in Canada.
Two weeks before Valentine's Day, OpenTable has released a list of the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in Canada for 2023, based on more than one million reviews by OpenTable diners.
The two Ottawa restaurants on the list are Cantina Gia and Riviera.
OpenTable recommends booking a reservation for Valentine's Day at least one week before, and dining at off-peak hours may increase your chances of securing a table at popular restaurants.
Ottawa restaurants Riviera (left) and Cantina Gia are on the list of the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in Canada for 2023. (Riviera and Cantina Gia/Instagram)
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
The federal Liberals are trending downward on three key measures while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has surpassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when it comes to the question of who Canadians would prefer now as their prime minister, according to Nanos Research.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
Gun policy comments made by then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki in a contentious call to Nova Scotia RCMP officers after the mass shooting in 2020 did not amount to political interference, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) final report concludes.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
Premier Doug Ford is slamming federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault as a “real piece of work” in the wake of public remarks he made suggesting that Ontario has “no plan to fight climate change.”
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
A lawyer for the United States government told Quebec's highest court today that the country should be immune from prosecution for the infamous brainwashing experiments at McGill University from the 1940s to the 1960s.
It's been two weeks since a major fire ripped through a heritage building in the heart of Old Montreal, killing seven people and forever altering the lives of families across the globe. For the families of those who died, the grieving process is only starting.
There are exciting plans for Knox Presbyterian Church in downtown Sudbury. Built in 1927, the former church was sold after its congregation dwindled and will be transformed into a concert hall.
When the store manager at La Noisette Bakery arrived Thursday morning to open the small shop on Oxford Street, she discovered that one of the two large circular windows at the side of their building was shattered.
Two Manitoba hunting outfitters have been fined thousands of dollars and lost their licenses after a four-year investigation revealed numerous violations of the wildlife act.
A judge has acquitted a now-retired priest of forcing himself on a residential school student more than 50 years ago, saying she believes an assault happened but could not determine beyond a reasonable doubt who did it.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has responded the media about the issue.
Students at the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine are reluctant to speak up when faculty make racist comments, according to a new report from the human rights commission.
A Mass Casualty Commission report that came out on Thursday following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 may have a local impact on the RCMP Depot model being phased out.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has responded the media about the issue.
Police have released video of a suspected arsonist who allegedly caused thousands of dollars in smoke and water damage to a building in Vancouver's Chinatown last weekend.
A Mass Casualty Commission report that came out on Thursday following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 may have a local impact on the RCMP Depot model being phased out.
Riley Jolly detailed several injuries he observed on his son, Emerson Whitby, prior to the 18-month-old’s death, during testimony at Court of King’s Bench in Regina on Thursday.
Ottawa police and Ontario Provincial Police officers monitor a rally on Wellington Street on Saturday. A rally was planned for Parliament Hill to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the 'Freedom Convoy'. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
The landing page for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit is seen in Toronto, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini 
Ottawa restaurants Riviera (left) and Cantina Gia are on the list of the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in Canada for 2023. (Riviera and Cantina Gia/Instagram) 
