Rats invade an Ottawa neighbourhood and an impaired driver crashes into a cop cruiser: Top five stories this week

Parliament Hill is seen in this photo taken on May 26, 2021. (Photo by CTV News' Jeff Denesyk)

OTTAWA -

The federal government will require vaccinations for federal public servants, rats invade an Ottawa neighbourhood and a bumpy ride for OC Transpo.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the five most viewed stories on our website this week.

COVID-19 vaccines to be mandatory for federal public service, most air and rail travellers

COVID-19 vaccines will soon be mandatory for all federal public servants, and people travelling commercial air, interprovincial trains and cruise ships.

The Federal government announced a new, mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for tens of thousands of people on Friday.

"After months and months of deploying these vaccines literally into millions of Canadian arms, we see how effective they are. We also see what other workplaces and other public service agencies around the world have done," said Dominic LeBlanc, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister. "It is very much a continuation of our government’s efforts to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to protect the health and safety of Canadians."

As soon as September, COVID-19 vaccines will be mandatory for all federal public servants, and employees working in some federally regulated industries, including air, rail and marine transport.

The government says no later than October, all commercial air travellers, passengers on interprovincial trains and cruise ships passengers will have to be fully vaccinated to board.

This week, the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Queen's University and St. Lawrence College announced mandatory vaccination policies for students, staff and faculty returning to campus this fall. 

A federal office tower in Ottawa. Aug. 2, 2021. (Jackie Perez / CTV News Ottawa)

This Ottawa woman trapped more than 100 rats in three months

The city of Ottawa is receiving many complaints about rats this year.

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 6, Ottawa's 311 service received 576 service requests regarding rats. Statistics provided to CTV News Ottawa and CTV Morning Live shows the city received 645 complaints about rats in all of 2020, and 410 requests in 2019.

Neighbourhood Facebook groups have been buzzing with complaints about rats so far this summer. One person said on the Heron Park Community Association Facebook page that this year was the first time in the 25 years of living in the neighbourhood that they have seen rats

For Heron Park resident Melanie Giroux, rats have been invading her property all year.

"Over 100 since May," says Giroux, when asked how many she has caught.

For the past three months, Giroux has been on a mission, setting rat traps every night in her back yard, in hopes of getting rid of the rodents.

“On average, two per night,” says Giroux, “and a maximum of eight I think that I’ve caught, maybe nine one night.”

Melanie Giroux setting one of her rat traps with peanut butter bait. (Dave Charbonneau / CTV News Ottawa)

These Ottawa neighbourhoods have the highest and lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates

Ottawa Public Health is setting up new Neighbourhood Vaccine Hubs to address systemic barriers that may be preventing access to COVID-19 vaccines for residents in some areas of the city.

A new report concludes that “vaccination coverage is generally lower in neighbourhoods with less socioeconomic advantage than in neighbourhoods with higher socioeconomic advantage."

New data shows the neighbourhood of Ledbury – Heron Gate – Ridgemont has the lowest vaccination rate in Ottawa, with 46.4 per cent of residents 12 and older fully vaccinated.  The neighbourhood of Hawthrone Meadows-Sheffield Glen has the second-lowest vaccination coverage in Ottawa, with 50.2 per cent of residents 12 and older fully vaccinated with two doses.

The neighbourhoods with the highest vaccine coverage are Vars, Hunt Club South Industrial and Cumberland, all with over 90 per cent first dose coverage and 80 per cent of adults 12 and older fully vaccinated.

Health-care worker Thi Nguyen administers Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a COVID-19 clinic in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Bumpy ride for OC Transpo

It was a rough week for Ottawa's transit service, with the O-Train out of service for five days following a derailment and 19 double-decker buses pulled off the roads for inspection.

The problems started Sunday night, when a train on the Confederation Line derailed as it was leaving the Tunney's Pasture station.

The Transportation Safety Board told CTV News Ottawa one wheel on the train derailed on a switch. The train was slowly moved back to the rail yard on Wednesday for further inspection.

On Friday, Transportation Services General Manager John Manconi said the investigation into the cause continues, however, the root cause investigation has identified the fault in the axle bearing assembly.

"As part of the investigation, the sealed unit was taken a part and it was found that the green section of the bolt, which should be completely tightened, had a very small amount of movement, by fractions of a millimetre," wrote Manconi in a memo to Council. "This movement caused damage to the bearings inside the unit and wheel, which in turn lead to the axle coming off the track on Sunday evening."

O-Train service resumed Saturday morning. 

Meantime, OC Transpo pulled 19 double-decker buses out of service for inspection after a bus ended up in a ditch on Monday. The bus ended up in a ditch along Carling Avenue near Bayfield Avenue.

Manconi said the investigation found a component of the steering system required an adjustment.

Seven of the double-decker buses remained out of service on Thursday for an adjustment.

An OC Transpo double-decker ended up in a ditch Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. No one was reported hurt, Ottawa police said. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Peterson.)

 

Woman charged with impaired driving in head-on crash with Ottawa police cruiser

Ottawa police say an officer was injured when an impaired driver struck a police cruiser in Ottawa's west end.

The crash occurred on Franktown Road near Jays Road Sunday night.

In a statement on social media, police said, "An impaired driver crossed the centre line and struck an OPS cruiser head on."

The 44-year-old woman driving the vehicle was charged with impaired driving and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

A photo showing the aftermath of a head-on crash on an Ottawa Police Service cruiser. Police say the crash happened Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in rural southwest Ottawa. (Photo: Ottawa Police Service / Twitter)