A discarded mask litters the street. (Photo by Elizabeth McDaniel on Unsplash)
Ottawa has a new top cop, the capital sees a rise in motor vehicle thefts this year, and Ottawa Public Health says it's time to start masking indoors again.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week.
The Ottawa Police Service announced the appointment of a new chief on Friday, three days before Ottawa residents vote in the municipal election.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs was hired to replace Peter Sloly, who resigned as chief during the 'Freedom Convoy' in February. Deputy Chief Steve Bell has been serving as interim chief since Sloly's resignation.
Mayoral candidates Bob Chiarelli and Catherine McKenney had called on the board to delay the hiring of the new chief until the new council and board is sworn in, but Stubbs says he is prepared to work to overcome "any negativity or angst" a new mayor and council may have with the hiring process.
"If the new mayor and council express concerns when it was announced, that's okay. But I certainly look to overcome that by meeting with them and, again, building relationships with them and know that I'm here for all the right reasons to work with the great team at OPS, work with City Hall and the community to make this community safe."
Stubbs has been in charge of Core Criminal Operations for the B.C. RCMP since July 2017. His first day is Nov. 17.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs has been named the new chief of the Ottawa Police Service.
Ottawa Public Health is urging people to start wearing masks in indoor and crowded public settings again this fall, as COVID-19 levels remain high in Ottawa.
In its weekly COVID-19 snapshot, the health unit says the wastewater viral signal and testing per cent positivity remain very high.
"Our monitoring indicators show that the levels of COVID-19 in our community are high," Ottawa Public Health said on Twitter. "And influenza has started to spread in the community, causing our first outbreak."
While masks are no longer mandatory in indoor public settings across Ottawa, the health unit is urging people to wear masks to protect yourself and others.
"We know it's been a long 2.5 years, and we get it...but if you haven’t been wearing a mask in indoor and/or crowded public settings lately, this is the time to start again," Ottawa Public Health said on Thursday.
"A well-fitted mask is a very effective way to protect yourself and those around you."
Face masks seem to be emerging as an important accessory to any outfit as Canadians start to settle into ‘the new normal.’
A woman in her 20s died after being struck by a car near the University of Ottawa campus.
Ottawa police say a Mazda 3 struck two pedestrians just after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at King Edward Avenue and Somerset Street East.
One of the pedestrians succumbed to her injuries in hospital. Police said the other pedestrian was treated for serious injuries.
A Mazda sedan with a dented hood and broken windshield was parked at the scene Tuesday morning.
Residents say the intersection of King Edward Avenue and Somerset Street is unsafe.
"People, they go too fast through here and the students, they're focused on where they are going," Darling said. "So we need to have speed cameras. We need to have one of those flashing signs. We need to have one of those signs that says how fast you're going because this is a 40 (km/h) zone. People don't pay attention to the little static sign anymore."
One woman killed, another hurt in Sandy Hill
The public inquiry looking into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act during the "Freedom Convoy" occupation listened to a secretly recorded conservation between Ottawa's mayor and former chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board about plans for an interim chief.
During the 10 minute call, Coun. Diane Deans updated Jim Watson about plans to bring in an interim chief, and asked about a special council meeting to discuss the situation.
"Is there a vote of non-confidence in me or the board coming to council?" Deans asks the mayor in the tense phone call.
"I haven't seen any motions," Watson responded.
A short time later, Deans asks Watson, "Would you support a vote of non-confidence in me?"
"I haven't decided that yet," Watson said.
Council voted on Feb. 16 to remove Deans from the Ottawa Police Services Board after she decided to hire Matt Torigian in a sole-sourced deal without consulting councillors of the mayor.
Ottawa City councillor Diane Deans appears as a witness at the Public Order Emergency Commission in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. (Sean Kilpatrick /THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The city of Ottawa is seeing a rise in vehicle thefts this year, with more than 1,500 vehicles stolen in the first nine months.
Barrhaven resident Marcin Wiechorek had a new Jeep Wrangler parked in his driveway. His daughter woke him up after hearing a noise outside, and seeing a black SUV parked next to their home.
"Some guy had some kind of white glove, and this fanny pack with some kind of device," Wiechorek said. "They ran to my car, it was parked on the side, and they started (the Jeep), and 10 seconds later they were gone."
In the first nine months of 2022, there have been more auto thefts reported to Ottawa police than the total for each of the last four years. According to Ottawa police data, as of Sept. 26, there have been 1,502 auto thefts reported in Ottawa.
There were 1,185 vehicle thefts reported in 2021, 951 in 2020, 1,007 thefts in 2019 and 1,019 in 2018.
Barrhaven's Marcin Wiechorek's Jeep Wrangler was stolen out of his driveway. The theft was captured on security camera nearby. (Marcin Wierchorek/submitted)
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
Magic mushroom dispensaries are popping up in cities across Canada, with customers ranging from those looking for treatment for depression or PTSD to people wanting to 'micro-dose' a small amount of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms. But while the situation is in some ways reminiscent of when cannabis retailers set up shop before marijuana was legalized in 2018, Health Canada says there are no plans to legalize or decriminalize psilocybin products.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
With the anniversary of Ukraine's invasion by Russia around the corner, CTV News sat down with a Russian warfare expert to discuss how he sees the conflict playing out and what happens next.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia.
One of Saskatchewan’s oldest hockey rinks has garnered national attention for its unique features and unusual design.
A paramedic signing off for duty for the last time got choked up and teary-eyed during his final radio call to colleagues.
Quebec is changing its vaccine strategy: public health officials are now recommending booster shots only for vulnerable people who have never had COVID-19.
Paid subscriptions to on-demand care are among the many strategies primary health-care providers in Ontario are adopting in order to meet increased demand for access to doctors in the past year, while also managing staffing shortages.
On the day that Shubenacadie Sam predicted six more weeks of winter, there are extreme cold warnings cautioning that the coldest air of the season is about to arrive in the Maritimes.
Police in Sackville, N.B., are investigating after seven children ingested cannabis edibles at a middle school on Wednesday.
An extreme cold warning has been issued across the region, with some saying the arctic air could break record-low temperatures in the Maritimes.
A paralegal firm whose tagline is “we win or it’s free” bribed a Toronto traffic court clerk to change legal records to make it look like they had won, said the clerk in the first time he has testified publicly about the case.
Toronto and most of Ontario are in for a frigid bout of winter weather, according to Environment Canada.
A group of Ontario Greens have put together a counteroffer for Liberals trying to poach their leader.
After an extremely mild month of January, the province is bracing for a blast of arctic air that will move in tonight and last until Saturday. Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued extreme cold warnings that covers most of the province with wind chills expected to be between -38 and -42 across the South and -50 across Northern Quebec.
A beloved man who was a fixture on the streets of Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood died last year from a combination of street drugs in his system, including fentanyl, a coroner has ruled.
Medicago's parent company has announced that the Quebec City-based biopharmaceutical company, which developed a vaccine against COVID-19, will cease operations.
An argument between two young children playing outside together escalated to violence when a parent got involved, a North Bay mom says.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is holding a big reveal Friday morning: the winner of a $48 million Lotto 6/49 Gold Ball draw.
The past few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster for 16-year-old Ra'Jah Mohamed, a student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School.
One person has died and four others were sent to hospital after a two-vehicle crash in south London Wednesday night. She has since ben identified by her former cheerleading coach as 19-year-old Chloe Mackenzie.
Two-year-old Ella Crosset loved to dance and celebrate Halloween. Her smile lit up a room, and brought joy to so many people. But Ella passed away after a pool accident, and the pain of that loss was incomprehensible — through tragedy however, comes hope.
Environment Canada has lifted a snow squall warning for the London region Thursday evening, but a cold weather alert from the Middlesex-London Health Unit remains in effect. In addition, Grey-Bruce and Huron-Perth remain under snow squall and extreme cold warnings.
New documents show what led to a couple handing out cannabis-infused gummies to children in Winnipeg - and what happened in the hours directly after.
Ducks Unlimited Canada is celebrating World Wetlands Day by highlighting a success story in Niverville, Man.
A mobile home owner could potentially be out thousands of dollars after learning her home might not be insurable.
Police say they’ve arrested multiple people and one person was taken to hospital following reports of an armed robbery at Conestoga Mall on Thursday.
A Kitchener man, who was charged with killing his wife and then blowing up their home in 2018, has been found not criminally responsible.
A blast of cold Arctic air is expected to reach southern Ontario Thursday night paired with possible heavy blowing snow, according to Environment Canada.
After years of decline, demand for Calgary's downtown commercial real estate is showing signs of returning to life.
Artur Pawlowski is charged with breaching a release order and mischief for inciting people at the border crossing, where truckers gathered to block a highway.
Curling Canada says it is opening up its pregnancy exemption eligibility to all teams competing at next year's Canadian women's and men's championships, with the announcement coming a day after the organization came under fire for limiting the exemption to just the top five teams in the rankings.
Aaron Benneweis, 46, has been charged by Saskatoon Police with sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor while in a position of trust or authority.
Brian Hodgkinson always knew there was benzene in natural gas — after all, he spent 40 years working with it for SaskPower, then SaskEnergy.
A report written and reviewed by Saskatoon Water is calling on the city to create a warning system, in particular for drivers, when roadways become “dangerously flooded” due to heavy rain.
A former Edmonton Police Service officer believes bringing Alberta Sheriffs into downtown Edmonton is a risky plan that has the potential to backfire if not done properly.
The Operation Friendship Seniors Society (OFSS) announced Wednesday that it would be shutting down services at the McCauley Seniors drop-in facility.
A new public art installation has blossomed in a downtown Edmonton neighbourhood.
CTV News has learned that four of five RCMP officers facing charges in the death of an Indigenous man during an arrest in Prince George are still on active duty.
A man who was gunned down outside of his business in South Vancouver never got the chance to meet his daughter, a court heard as his killer was sentenced.
A nationwide billboard campaign that appears to promote grunge-chic clothing for street youth is causing confusion and igniting debate.
One of Saskatchewan’s oldest hockey rinks has garnered national attention for its unique features and unusual design.
The final details are being chiselled into place at the REAL District in preparation for the second annual Frost Festival taking place Feb. 3 to 12.
The Farmer and Rancher Mental Health (FARMh) Initiative has launched a mental wellness network along with a virtual toolbox full of mental health resources for the agriculture community.
