Ottawa's new city council, the LRT inquiry report, and keeping an eye on the flu: 5 stories to watch in Ottawa this week
Ottawa’s new city council gets down to business, the LRT inquiry report is released, and keeping an eye on the flu.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at five stories to watch in Ottawa this week.
New City Council holds first meetings
Ottawa’s newly sworn-in city council will meet together for the first time this week, with a special, largely closed meeting on Monday and a regular council meeting on Wednesday.
Mark Sutcliffe will begin his council term as mayor alongside 11 new councillors and 13 veterans of the last term.
Monday’s meeting will discuss the upcoming release of the LRT inquiry report on Wednesday.
The agenda for the meeting on Wednesday is light, but includes opening remarks from members of the 2022-26 term, a governance review and a follow-up to planning items discussed at the final meeting of the last term on Nov. 9.
Council’s next meeting is Dec. 7.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and 22 councillors pose for a picture ahead of Tuesday's swearing in ceremony. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)
Two first-timers at Ottawa Police Services Board
The Ottawa Police Services Board meets Monday, with two high-ranking first-timers.
This will be the first police services board meeting for Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Police Chief Eric Stubbs.
Stubbs was sworn in earlier this month after being hired by the police services board three days before the municipal election on Oct. 24. There was some demand from candidates in the election to delay the hiring of the new chief until after the crucial vote, but the board had the authority to make the decision.
Stubbs is vowing to regain the trust of the community following the “Freedom Convoy” demonstration in February that led to the resignation of former police chief Peter Sloly and a reconfiguration of the police services board.
The meeting begins at 4 p.m. There are eight public delegations signed up to speak, including a former mayoral candidate.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs has been named the new chief of the Ottawa Police Service.
LRT inquiry report released
The long-awaited report from the inquiry into Stage 1 of Ottawa’s beleaguered LRT system will be released this week.
The final report from Justice William Hourigan is due at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Justice Hourigan was tasked with a mandate to investigate the commercial and technical circumstances that led to the Stage 1 breakdowns and derailments of the Confederation Line since its launch in September 2019. Hourigan will present his findings in the final report, and recommendations to prevent these issues from happening in the future.
The inquiry heard from 41 witnesses during 18 days of public hearings in June and July, hosted an expert panel to discuss public-private partnerships in July, and held two nights of meetings to hear from the public in May. The commission also received well over a million documents and interviewed dozens of witnesses before the start of public hearings.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has promised to implement the recommendations from the public inquiry. As part of his 100 days in office pledge, Sutcliffe said he would "begin to implement the key recommendations" to fix the system.
A window is broken and the wheels of a segment of an OC Transpo O-Train is seen west of Tremblay LRT Station in Ottawa on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021 after it derailed on Sunday. (Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Keeping watch on the flu
As flu cases continue to climb, all eyes will be on Ottawa’s weekly flu report, to see if the positivity rate grows again.
Ottawa Public Health reported a flu testing positivity rate of 23.4 per cent for the week of Nov. 13 to 19, which is well above the seasonal average. It’s unclear yet if influenza has peaked, as it’s still early in the flu season.
OPH’s weekly flu updates come on Tuesdays.
COVID-19 figures will also be reported Tuesday. There are signs that the level of the virus in the community is decreasing, with wastewater concentration trending downward, according to available data. Four COVID-19 deaths were reported in Ottawa last week.
The “triple-demic” of the flu, COVID-19, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) have been keeping CHEO busy. The hospital has been well over capacity for weeks.
Some children’s cold and flu medication has begun to arrive in Ottawa amid bare shelves, but pharmacies are largely expected to keep it behind the counter for some time yet, as supplies are still limited.
Person checking their temperature with a thermometer. (Shutterstock)
Canada’s last stand at the World Cup
The Canadian men’s national team has been officially eliminated from advancing at the 2022 World Cup, but there is still one more game for Team Canada, and they could still make history.
Canada play Morocco on Thursday, where a win—which would be Canada's lone win of the tournament—would mark the first-ever win for the Canadian men's team at the World Cup.
Canada scored its first goal of the tournament on Sunday when star Alphonso Davies found the back of the net just over a minute into play against Croatia. It was the very first goal for Canadian men at a World Cup. Croatia responded with four unanswered goals, sealing Canada’s fate at its first appearance in the international tournament since 1986.
Canada vs. Morocco airs at 10 a.m. Eastern, Dec. 1 on TSN.
Alphonso Davies of Canada celebrates after scoring their team's first goal with their teammate Richie Laryea, right, during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match between Croatia and Canada at Khalifa International Stadium on Nov. 27, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.