Police checkpoints between Ottawa and Gatineau come down
Sporadic police checkpoints on the bridges between Ottawa and Gatineau have come to an end after more than eight weeks.
The Ontario government announced earlier this week that the restrictions on interprovincial travel from Quebec and Manitoba would end at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
The restrictions came into effect April 19. Ottawa police were originally expected to spend 24 hours a day on the bridges and at ferry crossings to turn away non-essentially travellers, but quickly shifted to sporadic checks due to budgetary and staffing pressures.
Quebec responded by also keeping non-essential travellers from Ontario from visiting the province, with Gatineau police running occasional checkpoints on their side of the Ottawa River.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson says the border checkpoints locally have cost the city as much as $800,000, a bill he intends to send to the provincial government.
The move was intended to help curb the spread of COVID-19, but Watson said all it did was waste time and resources.
Upon Ontario's announcement that the boundary between the two provinces would reopen, the Quebec government said it would allow Ontarians into the province again, and even said visitors are welcome to eat at local restaurants so long as they follow regional COVID-19 guidelines.
Gatineau is currently in Quebec's Level-2 or yellow zone, which allows for indoor dining with members of up to two households allowed per table.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.