Reinforcements arrive at CHEO and CUPE releases contract vote results: Five stories to watch this week
Reinforcements arrive at CHEO and CUPE releases contract vote results: Five stories to watch this week
CHEO released a video on Friday showing patients and parents waiting in the hallways of the emergency department. (CHEO/Vimeo)
A small team of staff from the Canadian Red Cross begin work this week at CHEO, the union representing education workers release the results of the contract ratification vote and all eyes on respiratory viruses as the countdown begins to Christmas.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at five stories to watch in Ottawa this week.
HELP ARRIVES AT CHEO
A small team of staff from the Canadian Red Cross will arrive at Ottawa's children's hospital this week to assist nurses and staff respond to "unprecedented volumes" of patients during respiratory virus season.
CHEO is partnering with the Red Cross to provide assistance to clinical teams leading up to the holiday season.
"This will allow some of our redeployed staff to go back to their regular roles and ensure Team CHEO can provide the safe, world-class care that our patients deserve," CHEO Chief Nursing Executive Tammy DiGiovanni said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
CHEO has been seeing a surge in patients with respiratory viruses this fall, forcing the hospital to cancel non-urgent surgeries and procedures, open a second pediatric intensive care unit and redeploy staff from surgical and medical care units. Patients aged 16 and 17 are also being transferred to adult hospitals in Ottawa.
DiGiovanni says CHEO has asked for extra support from organizations across the region, including Roger Neilson House, Ottawa Public Health and local hospitals for staff, equipment and accommodating patient transfers.
EDUCATION WORKERS UNION RELEASE VOTE RESULTS
The union representing 55,000 education workers across Ontario will release the results of its contract ratification vote on Monday morning.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees reached a tentative agreement Nov. 20, averting a strike that would have closed schools in Ottawa and eastern Ontario.
CUPE says the proposed four-year contract includes an average 3.59 per cent wage increase each year.
If CUPE members vote to reject the latest deal, both sides could return to the bargaining table and CUPE could give another strike notice.
CUPE represents education workers at the Ottawa Catholic School Board, and Ottawa's two French language school boards.
Education workers and supporters hold a political protest outside the office of MPP Lisa MacLeod on Greenbank Road. CUPE is protesting the Ontario government's move to impose a four year contract on union members. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)
OTTAWA CITY COUNCIL MEETS
Elected officials will vote on two major reports setting the stage for the new term of council on Wednesday, the final scheduled meeting of the 2022 year at Ottawa City Hall.
The first big item on the agenda is the 2022-2026 Council Governance Review, outlining council and committee structures, policies, procedures and other related issues.
Recommendations include removing citizen transit commissioners from the transit commission, separate the Community and Protective Services Committee into two committees and that the deputy mayors be appointed by rotation instead of two or three deputy mayors for the full term.
The second report will give directions for staff to develop the 2023 city of Ottawa budget. The report recommends drafting the budget with a 2 to 2.5 per cent property tax hike, which was a campaign promise from Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. The report does warn COVID-19 and inflationary pressures could affect the budget, and proposals to address increased costs will be included in the budget.
Each councillor will also have five minutes during Wednesday's meeting to make opening remarks for the session.
Education workers and supporters hold a political protest outside the office of MPP Lisa MacLeod on Greenbank Road. CUPE is protesting the Ontario government's move to impose a four year contract on union members. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)
RESPIRATORY VIRUS SEASON
All eyes will be on respiratory viruses circulating in Ottawa, three weeks before Christmas.
Ottawa Public Health says overall trends with COVID-19 monitoring indicators are down this week compared to a month ago, but wastewater viral signals show "very high" levels of influenza and "moderate levels" of RSV.
OPH data shows a flu testing positivity rate of 27.5 per cent for the week ending Nov. 26, up from 23.4 per cent for the week ending Nov. 19.
"The levels of respiratory viruses circulating in our community remain high," OPH said on Twitter.
"Remember: the things we learned throughout the pandemic to limit the spread of COVID-19 (like wearing masks & staying home if sick) will also help limit the spread of viruses like RSV & the flu."
Trevor Fowler receives his flu shot from Barrhaven pharmacist Mohammed Manji. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)
SENATORS HOST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES APPRECIATION NIGHT
The Ottawa Senators host their fourth annual Indigenous Peoples Appreciation Night on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators say the night will celebrate and engage the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation, the ancestral unceded land on which Canadian Tire Centre sits.
The event will include a hockey clinic for Indigenous youth from communities around the region, an Indigenous artisans' market on the 200 level concourse, and Black Bear singers.
The Senators host Los Angeles Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre.'The Canadian Tire Centre will remain the home of the Ottawa Senators as the club takes the next step in building a new arena at LeBreton Flats. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)
The federal government is seeking to delay the extension of assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder until March 17, 2024.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
It's about as strange (and cute) as holidays get. So how did Groundhog Day go from a kooky local tradition to an annual celebration even those of us who don't worry about winter can find the fun in?
Dominic Barton, the former global managing director of McKinsey & Company, says he had no involvement in federal contracts awarded to the firm in recent years.
Australia is removing the monarchy from its bank notes. The nation's new $5 bill will feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins that currently bear the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
When the opera 'La Flambeau' premieres next week in Montreal, Black performers will be front and centre in an artistic medium where they have historically been under-represented.
On the day that Shubenacadie Sam predicted six more weeks of winter, there are warnings and statements cautioning that the coldest air of the season is about to arrive in the Maritimes.
Ontario has released a new 'connected' and 'convenient' health-care plan aimed at shortening wait times and localizing access to care across the province.
A polar vortex is descending over Ontario this week and some of the coldest weather is still to come. Wind chills will also reach dangerous levels, increasing the risk of frostbite.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
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 Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
One person has died after a two-vehicle crash in south London Wednesday night. Police were called to the scene on Bostwick Road around 7:20 p.m. and say there were five people injured in total and all five were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from serious to life-threatening.
Wiarton Willie has predicted an early spring! The groundhog in South Bruce Peninsula didn't see his shadow at 8:07 a.m. on Thursday morning, meaning spring is on the way.
The organization regulating medical care and services in Manitoba is apologizing for racism directed towards Indigenous people when accessing health care in the province.
Wiarton Willie made his prediction his spring prediction Thursday morning at 8:07 a.m. The groundhog did not see his shadow, meaning we could get an early spring.
A large crowd of around 700 students, faculty members and Lethbridge residents came out on Wednesday to protest a planned speech by Frances Widdowson at the University of Lethbridge that didn't take place.
B.C.'s Ministry of Health is continuing its multi-year trend of paying millions more dollars each year to private surgical centres for the delivery of public health care, CTV News has learned.
The federal government is seeking to delay the extension of assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder until March 17, 2024.
CHEO released a video on Friday showing patients and parents waiting in the hallways of the emergency department. (CHEO/Vimeo)
Education workers and supporters hold a political protest outside the office of MPP Lisa MacLeod on Greenbank Road. CUPE is protesting the Ontario government's move to impose a four year contract on union members. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa) 
Trevor Fowler receives his flu shot from Barrhaven pharmacist Mohammed Manji. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)
The Canadian Tire Centre will remain the home of the Ottawa Senators as the club takes the next step in building a new arena at LeBreton Flats. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)
