Ontario to unveil COVID-19 vaccine passport and a shooting at a busy Ottawa intersection: Top five stories this week

The Three Watchmen statue, created by hereditary chief of the Staast'as Eagle Clan James Hart, is seen near Parliament Hill Wednesday, June 2, 2021. Today marks the second anniversary of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women report. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA -

Ontario's medical officers of health call for a vaccination certificate, a high-speed crash caught on camera and a costly lesson for an Ottawa driving instructor.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week

Ontario will unveil COVID-19 vaccine passport system next week, source confirms

The Ontario government will unveil plans for a COVID-19 vaccination passport system next week.

Sources tell CTV News Toronto the certificate will be required to access non-essential settings, like restaurants and movie theatres.

The plan will come just days after Eastern Ontario's medical officer of health said a vaccination certificate was "inevitable" in Ontario, and the province's medical officers of health were prepared to create their own system if the government doesn't rollout a province-wide system.

"We want a provincial one, let's make it clear. It would be easier if it's provincial because then it's across the board and there won't be interregional differences," said Dr. Paul Roumeliotis during an interview on CTV Morning Live Thursday morning.

"We need something digital, something that's confidential and an alternative card, Manitoba has that as well, Quebec and B.C. all have those alternatives."

The Quebec government will implement a vaccine passport on Sept. 1, which will be used to access non-essential services. British Columbia has also announced plans for a vaccine passport.

This week Ottawa's three adult hospitals announced COVID-19 vaccines will be mandatory for all doctors, nurses and staff, with no testing available for unvaccinated staff members without an exemption.

Ottawa woman with rare pain disorder denied medically assisted death

Ophelia Brown and her family have been turned away after months of fighting for access to medical assistance in dying (MAID).

It's a decision the 22-year-old Ottawa woman and her family never thought they would have to make.

“It’s been awful, watching her lose the ability to do the things she loves and lose her future,” said her mother Sheila Craig.

After more than a decade of severe pain, battling a rare disease called complex regional pain syndrome, Ophelia Brown and her parents, Sheila Craig and Ian Brown, decided to apply for a medically assisted death.

“There just isn’t anything worth living for anymore; it’s just pain and all I can see ahead of me is the pain getting worse. The best way I can describe it is it wasn’t time until it was time,” Ophelia said.

Complex regional pain syndrome is a condition that causes excess and prolonged pain that is much greater than normal. In chronic and severe cases, the pain can be disabling.

As of March 2021, there have been changes to the medically assisted dying law.

Patients are no longer required to have a foreseeable natural death—a condition that will worsen over time may qualify.

That change allowed Ophelia to apply, but she was denied and told her case was too complex.

Ophelia Brown, 22, suffers from a rare disorder called complex regional pain syndrome. She sought a medically assisted death but has been turned away. (Jeremie Charron / CTV News Ottawa)

Video shows vehicle crashing into a stopped SUV at an intersection in Ottawa's east end

One person was treated for injuries after a high-speed crash at a busy Ottawa intersection was caught on camera.

The crash occurred at the corner of St. Joseph Boulevard and the Sir George-Etienne Cartier Parkway Wednesday afternoon.

Video posted to Twitter by Joelah Shelaga showed a vehicle weaving on the road as it entered a turning lane and proceeded towards the intersection. The video shows the vehicle driving up on the curb as the driver is turning the corner, then accelerating across the lanes of traffic, hitting the median and crashing into a vehicle stopped at the intersection.

Both Shelaga and her husband, who was driving, screamed, 'Oh my God' as the vehicle collides with the stopped SUV.

Shelaga tells CTV News Ottawa she noticed the driver "weaving all over the place" and called 911.  She was on the phone with the 911 operator when the driver crashed into the stopped vehicle.

A vehicle collided with a stopped car at the intersection of St. Joseph Boulevard and the Sir George-Etienne Cartier Parkway on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/JShelaga)

Two men injured after shots fired at car on busy south Ottawa road

Two men were treated for gunshot wounds after shots were fired at a vehicle in Ottawa's south end.

Police responded to a call for shots fired at a vehicle with two men inside in the area of Heatherington Road and Albion Road North just after 9 p.m. Thursday.

Police say the targeted vehicle attempted to flee the area to avoid gunfire, colliding with parked cars.

As the vehicle was driving away, the driver noticed a paramedic unit crossing their path and stopped the crew in order to seek medical attention.

The two occupants of the vehicle were wounded during the shooting.

Driving instructor charged with stunt driving on Ottawa street

A driving instructor received a costly lesson on the rules of the road after being stopped for stunt driving this week.

Ottawa police say the driver was observed going 101 kilometres an hour on King Edward Avenue. The speed limit in that area is 50 km/h.

The stunt driving charge includes a seven-day licence suspension, and the vehicle is impounded for 14 days.

Ottawa police have issued 2,000 charges on Ottawa roads this summer as part of Project NoiseMaker.