The convoy's return, a mask mandate fails, and a big lottery win: Top 5 stories in Ottawa this week

An Ottawa school board fails to pass a mask mandate, the “Freedom Convoy” could be coming back, and an 83-year-old woman wins a big lottery prize.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca takes a look at the top five stories on our website this week.

'Freedom Convoy 2.0' being planned for February 2023

An organizer of the 'Freedom Convoy' says he's planning a reunion in Ottawa in February.

James Bauder, the founder of Canada Unity, a group that called for an end to all vaccine mandates, posted on Facebook calling for a 'Freedom Convoy 2.0' Feb. 17 to 21 in Ottawa.

Canada Unity was also the group that drafted a "memorandum of understanding" that called on the Senate and the Governor General to sit with a citizen's coalition to bypass the House of Commons and remove mandates. The MoU was rescinded partway through the three-week occupation of Ottawa last February.

Bauder was arrested on Feb. 20 in Ottawa as police cleared the occupation, which gridlocked the city's downtown for three weeks. He is facing charges of mischief to obstruct property, disobeying a lawful court order and obstructing a peace officer.

He was released under a condition not to return to downtown Ottawa.

Bauder's Facebook post about the Freedom Convoy 2.0 plans calls for a two-week "Canada Unity-Fest" in February 2023.

The post comes on the heels of the inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act during the last “Freedom Convoy”, which claimed to be about public health mandates.

A Freedom Convoy supporter stands at the curb in front of Library and Archives Canada, the site of the Public Order Emergency Commission, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang 

Eastern Ontario great-grandmother, 83, wins $60M Lotto Max jackpot

When Vera Page realized she had won the Lotto Max $60 million grand prize, she had a difficult time convincing herself she hit the jackpot.

But it was even tougher for the 83-year-old mother, grandmother and great-grandmother from Vankleek Hill, Ont. to convince her family.

Page won the $60 million Lotto Max jackpot from the Nov. 1 draw. OLG held a small winner celebration with her in Toronto and interviewed her about her big victory.

A regular lottery player for 40 years, Page almost missed out on buying her ticket when the weekly outing to the grocery store from her retirement home was cancelled.

“When the staff at my retirement home rescheduled our weekly trip, I got on my motorized scooter and went to the store myself," she said.

Page says she wants to buy a piece of land on the Ottawa River and build a double-family house for herself and her son's family. She also wants to experience an Alaskan cruise and wants to spend winters in a warmer place.

Vera Page, 83, of Vankleek Hill, Ont., won the $60 million Lotto Max jackpot in the Nov. 1 draw. (OLG)

Masks will not be mandatory in Ottawa's English public schools this fall

Masks will not be mandatory in Ottawa's English public elementary and secondary schools this fall.

A motion to introduce a mandatory mask requirement for all students, teachers and staff in schools fell in a 6-6 tie vote by Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustees Thursday evening, following two nights of debate on the motion. The tie vote means the motion fails.

Ottawa's largest school board will continue to "strongly encourage" everyone to wear masks in schools this fall.

Trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth introduced the motion to implement the mandatory mask requirement in all OCDSB buildings and in all board activities as Ottawa Public Health and CHEO warned of a rise in respiratory viruses circulating in Ottawa this fall, resulting in a surge in patients at the children's hospital in recent weeks.

Trustees Alysha Aziz, Amanda Presley, Lyra Evans, Kaplan-Myrth, Justine Bell and Cathryne Milburn voted in favour of mandatory masks in schools, while Trustees Lynn Scott, Donna Blackburn, Suzanne Nash, Jennifer Jennekens, Donna Dickson, and Matthew Lee voted against the motion.

(File)

Protest over gendered washroom use at Renfrew high school

A protest took place outside St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Renfrew, Ont. on Friday over the use of the gendered bathrooms in the school.

Josh Alexander, a Grade 11 student at St. Joseph's, says he organized the protest, which took place just off school property at the corner of Barnet Boulevard and First Street.

"A couple of female students complained to me about males using the female washrooms in St. Joseph's Catholic High School," Alexander told CTV News Ottawa.

The protest, which also included a contingent of anti-vaccine mandate protesters was met with a larger counter-protest, formed by various pride groups from across the Ottawa Valley.

In a statement posted online Tuesday, the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board said, "It is important to note that St. Joseph’s High School has had no part in the planning of this demonstration. [...] We want to make it clear that the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board strongly condemns transphobia and all forms of hate."

Protesters and counter-protesters gather along Barnet Street in Renfrew outside of St. Joseph's High School on Friday. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

Feds announce $90 million for 270 new housing units in Ottawa

The federal government is earmarking more than $90 million to help build more than 270 new housing units in Ottawa, most of them affordable and below-market.

The announcement Tuesday morning includes five projects with a mix of units across the city. It took place at 289 Carling Ave., which is a site being developed by the John Howard Society.

The non-profit John Howard Society is planning to build a six-storey building at 289 Carling Ave. that would include 40 supportive housing units at the site.

The money would also help fund a 49-unit building in Mechanicsville, a 122-unit building in Little Italy with 36 units specifically for women and children, a 29-unit supportive housing building in Centretown, and 32-unit Ottawa Community Housing building in Barrhaven.

The building at 289 Carling Ave. is one of five affordable housing projects receiving new federal funding. (Jim O'Grady/CTV News Ottawa)