Winter storm buries Ottawa and the betting favourite for new Senators owner: Top stories this week
Winter storm buries Ottawa and the betting favourite for new Senators owner: Top stories this week
Laurier Avenue near Ottawa City Hall on Friday. Environment Canada says Ottawa could see up to 25 cm of snow during the first significant storm of 2023. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
A winter storm blankets Ottawa, two students face hate crimes charges at an Ottawa school and full O-Train service resumes following six days of disruptions.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week.
Full service resumed on the Confederation Line late Tuesday evening following six days of disruptions between Tremblay and uOttawa stations.
The problems started at 11:45 p.m. on Jan. 4, when two trains stopped in an area east of Lees Station during a freezing rain storm. Shortly after, a temporary power interruption occurred between Tremblay and Blair stations. Rideau Transit Maintenance says the power outage led to a build-up of ice in areas where trains were no longer running. Four trains became immobilized between Tremblay and Lees stations due to ice build up and damage to the overhead catenary system.
While full service resumed at approximately 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, RTM is still investigating what caused the trains to initially stop near Lees Station, contributing to the ice build up.
"We know what happened. The ice buildup was so extreme that we had to take several steps to remove it and because of that, it took much longer than it normally would have,” RTM CEO Mario Guerra said. “As to why it happened? I think Ms. Amilcar said it’s going to take us awhile to figure that one out, but I wouldn’t expect that to take too long.”
Guerra said a working group formed of experts from RTM, the city of Ottawa, and Alstom, the train manufacturer, has been formed and has already met once, and he anticipates some preliminary information “within weeks.”
Workers move an LRT train on the Confederation Line between Lees and Hurdman stations after trains remained stuck for four days. Jan. 8, 2023. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
The first significant snowstorm of 2023 blanketed Ottawa with 26 cm of snow Thursday and Friday, slowing down the commute for drivers and transit riders.
Environment Canada says a total of 19 cm of snow fell between 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday night, while another 7 cm of snow fell on Thursday.
The storm forced the cancellation of school buses on Friday, disrupted some air travel, and caused slowdowns on roads.
The city of Ottawa warns the clean-up will take a few days.
"This will be a longer duration clean up, just given the significance of the amount of snow accumulation that's out there we'll be working into the weekend," Quentin Levesque, director of roads and parking services, said Friday morning.
The snow is good news for area ski resorts and cross-country ski trails, after mild temperatures and rain melted snow during the first week of January.
A city of Ottawa snowplow clears the sidewalk along Wellington Street in Ottawa on Friday. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
Two students are facing hate crime charges after an antisemitic incident at an Ottawa high school last month.
The hate incident happened at Sir Robert Borden High School on Dec. 1. The students have been charged with public incitement of hatred, mischief and criminal harassment, Ottawa police said in a news release Tuesday.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board confirmed the incident last month. The board said that after an extracurricular activity, two Jewish students were called into a room by other students.
When they entered, they witnessed a large swastika displayed on the floor and one student made a Nazi salute. Police said Tuesday that one student created and displayed a hate symbol in the school and another used antisemitic language and gestures.
In a statement on Tuesday, the OCDSB said it stands against antisemitism.
"Jewish students, families and staff have the right to feel safe at school and in the community. Acts of antisemitism, hate and intolerance are unacceptable," a board spokesman said. "Since this incident, the school has taken a number of steps to respond to concerns of antisemitism and the safety of students. This work will continue in 2023."
This week, the Ottawa Police Service reported a rise in hate crimes in Ottawa last year.
The police service's hate and bias crime unit saw 377 total incidents in 2022, they said in a news release, deeming 300 of them to be criminal. That's up from 340 and 260 in 2021.
Sir Robert Borden High School in Ottawa in December 2022.
Ryan Reynolds is the betting favourite to become the new majority owner of the Ottawa Senators, according to a gambling website.
The Canadian actor and entrepreneur expressed an interest in being part of a consortium to purchase the Senators and Canadian Tire Centre.
Online sportsbook Bodog has updated its odds on who will be the next majority owner of the Senators, and Reynolds is now listed as the favourite at +240.
Reynolds expressed his interest in being part of an ownership group on The Tonight Show, attended a Senators game in November, and has met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Toronto businessman Michael Andlauer, who is part owner of the Montreal Canadiens and owns the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL, is tied for second favourite at +245.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
The increase in excise duties on all alcoholic products is being temporarily capped at two per cent starting next month instead of a planned six per cent increase.
The federal budget shows the government's proposed dental-care insurance program will cost more than double what the Liberals originally thought, driving it up by another $7.3 billion over five years.
Tucked into the 2023 federal budget unveiled on Tuesday in Ottawa, the Liberals have announced plans to explore implementing a standard charging port across Canada, in an effort to save Canadians some money and reduce waste.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government plans to launch a National Counter-Foreign Interference Office, amid ongoing scrutiny of allegations that Beijing interfered in recent federal elections.
In the wake of another deadly mass shooting in America, that saw children as young as nine years old shot and killed, the gun control debate is going nowhere, writes CTV News political analyst Eric Ham.
Another American community is reeling after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. These are the three children and three adults whose lives were taken by the shooter.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
Almost three years after a man disguised as a Mountie started murdering people in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the senior RCMP officers and staff involved in the tragic case have all either retired or moved into new jobs.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
New Brunswickers suffering from a mystery neurological disorder are calling for an investigation into potential environmental causes of the health problems they've been living with for more than two years.
The man who killed a 16-year-old boy remembered as an avid adventurer has been wanted on an arrest warrant issued in a Newfoundland courtroom for nearly two years.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
A Toronto man is wanted for a February incident in which he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he followed off public transit before taking her phone and sexually assaulted her again, police say.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
Montreal police say they have identified two more victims found in the rubble of a fire in Old Montreal 12 days ago. Charlie Lacroix and Walid Belkahla, both 18, are the sixth and seventh victims of the fire.
A 22-year-old McGill student who suffers from a terminal disease could soon lose access to the medication she needs because she's graduating from university.
The driver of a pickup truck, a 47-year-old woman, has died after a crash with a tanker on MR55 in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively on Tuesday morning, police say.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
A London toddler is fortunate to have avoided serious injury after a giant cinderblock came through her bedroom window in the middle of the night. Around 4 a.m. on March 26, Riiver was sleeping with her head right under the front window of her home on Emerson Avenue.
London fire crews are currently tackling a ‘large grass fire and working barn fire’ in the southeast section of the city Tuesday afternoon and are asking the public to avoid the area.
OPP are investigating after discovering a child who was vital signs absent in West Elgin on Monday. According to police, no foul play is suspected in the child’s death.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Rima Rifai thought her furnace had exploded Monday when the house across the street burst into a ball of fire, sending 10 people to hospital with serious injuries.
A Saskatoon couple says they felt ignored by police after their five-year-old foster son was attacked by a dog outside the Meadowgreen Confectionary on March 22.
The Pizza Hut employee who was shot at his workplace earlier this month is on the long road to recovery, his sister has confirmed Tuesday to CTV News Edmonton.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Authorities are asking witnesses to come forward after security at Simon Fraser University discovered the head of the school's Mahatma Gandhi bust had been removed.
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said the city will more than likely continue to follow Health Canada guidelines when it comes to asbestos cement pipes (ACP) that carry drinking water to residents’ homes.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Laurier Avenue near Ottawa City Hall on Friday. Environment Canada says Ottawa could see up to 25 cm of snow during the first significant storm of 2023. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
Workers move an LRT train on the Confederation Line between Lees and Hurdman stations after trains remained stuck for four days. Jan. 8, 2023. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)
A city of Ottawa snowplow clears the sidewalk along Wellington Street in Ottawa on Friday. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa) 
Sir Robert Borden High School in Ottawa in December 2022.
A group of seven firefighters from the Ottawa-Gatineau area are splitting a $1 million Lotto 6/49 prize. (OLG/supplied)
