Top 14 news stories in Ottawa in 2022

It was a memorable news year in the city of Ottawa.

The Freedom Convoy occupied downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks, a powerful storm left half of Ottawa in the dark for several days, a new mayor and council were elected, and COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses continued to put a strain on the health care system.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top stories in Ottawa in 2022.

COVID-19 in Ottawa

Ottawa residents started 2022 in lockdown, as the capital and Ontario continued to see high levels of COVID-19 circulating in the community.

The lockdown measures began to ease in late January, with students returning to school for in-person learning and restaurants, movie theatres, meeting rooms and event spaces allowed to reopen at 50 per cent capacity.

The vaccine certificate system, requiring people to be vaccinated to enter restaurants, sporting venues and other indoor spaces ended on March 1, and all capacity limits were lifted.

In March, Ontario lifted vaccine mandates for most places, including schools and childcare settings.

At the end of the year, there are no COVID-19 restrictions in place.

Fatal explosion at Ottawa's Eastway Tank

Six people were killed in an explosion at Eastway Tank in Ottawa's south end in January, the deadliest workplace incident in the capital in decades.

On Thursday, Jan. 13, fire officials responded to a large explosion and fire at the tanker truck manufacturing facility on Merivale Road.

The victims were identified as Rick Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson, Russell McLellan and Matt Kearney.

Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshal continues to investigate the cause of the explosion and fire.

Ottawa police issued a drone photo of Eastway Tank on Merivale Road following Thursday's explosion and fire. (Photo courtesy: Ottawa Police Service)

Freedom Convoy

The so-called 'Freedom Convoy' rolled into Ottawa in late January to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other public health measures aimed at controlling the virus.

In a statement on the convoy's Facebook page, organizers said they thought the federal government "crossed a line" when it came to implementing COVID-19 vaccine passports and mandates, and called on the government to lift all mandates.

For more than three weeks, hundreds of trucks and protesters occupied Wellington Street and other roads in front of Parliament Hill, while residents complained about incessant truck honking and fireworks blaring at all hours of the day. Eventually, the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in history. On Feb. 18, Ottawa police, OPP, RCMP and municipal police forces began to move in to clear the streets and arrest protesters.

Downtown business owners are fed up with the ongoing trucker demonstration which has moved into it’s third week, jamming streets in Ottawa. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

Here is a look at the key dates for the 'Freedom Convoy' protest in Ottawa.

• Jan. 28-30: The 'Freedom Convoy' arrives in Ottawa to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other public health measures. During the opening weekend, police opened investigations into the desecrations of the National War Memorial and the Terry Fox statue.  The Shepherds of Good Hope reported convoy supporters harassed staff at the Ottawa shelter.
• Jan. 29: The Rideau Centre closed after dozens of unmasked shoppers packed the mall. The mall would remain closed until Feb. 22.
• Feb. 2: Freedom Convoy organizers issue a statement saying they plan to remain in Ottawa "as long as it takes"
• Feb. 4: A $9.8 million class-action lawsuit is filed on behalf of downtown Ottawa residents over incessant truck honking.  Zezi Li, 21, was the lead plaintiff on the lawsuit to stop the truck horns.
• Feb. 6: Ottawa mayor Jim Watson declares a state of emergency
• Feb. 14: The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in history, giving the government sweeping new powers to end ongoing truck convoy protests and blockades in Ottawa, Windsor, Ont. and Coutts, Alta.
• Feb. 15: Chief Peter Sloly resigns. Deputy Chief Steve Bell is named interim chief after former Ottawa Police Services Board chair Diane Deans attempted to hire a chief from outside the force.
• Feb. 16: Council votes to remove Coun. Diane Deans from the Ottawa Police Services Board. Coun. Eli El-Chantiry is appointed to the board. Coun. Jeff Leiper and Coun. Cathy Curry are appointed to the board after Rawlson King and Carol Anne Meehan resign.
• Feb. 18-20: Police move in to end the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation in downtown Ottawa and clear the streets of people and trucks.
• April 25: The federal government establishes the Public Order Emergency Commission to investigate the circumstances that led to the declaration of emergency. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mayor Jim Watson, former Chief Peter Sloly and others testify at the inquiry in the fall.

Police push back protesters as authorities work to end a protest against COVID-19 measures that had grown into a broader anti-government demonstration and occupation lasting for weeks, in Ottawa, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston 

'Freedom Convoy' organizers Tamara Lich, Pat King and Chris Barber were charged in connection to the protest.

Ottawa saw several other protests this year over COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The Rolling Thunder protest was held in late April, and Canadian Forces veteran James Topp completed his cross-country march to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the National War Memorial.

A protester waves a Canadian flag in front of parked vehicles on Rideau Street on the 15th day of a protest against COVID-19 measures that has grown into a broader anti-government protest, in Ottawa, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk dead at 62

Longtime Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk died in March at the age of 62.

The Senators said Melnyk passed away after an illness he faced with "determination and courage."

Melnyk bought the Senators out of bankruptcy in 2003, along with the team’s home arena in Kanata. The team played in the 2007 Stanley Cup finals and the Eastern Conference finals in 2017 under his ownership.

Melnyk was a Toronto native born to parents from Ukraine. He was an avid supporter of the Canadian military and a philanthropist who supported numerous causes. The Senators' charity invested more than $100 million in organizations that support children and youth across the region.

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk stands near the ice as members of the media are given a tour of changes to the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on September 7, 2017. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Four Royal Military College cadets killed in Kingston, Ont. incident

Four cadets at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. were killed in an incident involving a motor vehicle on April 29.

Emergency crews responded to an incident at approximately 2 a.m. at Point Frederick, located on the RMC campus. The Department of National Defence confirmed there was a fatal incident involving a vehicle that went into the water.

The four victims were identified as:

• Officer Cadet Jack Hogarth
• Officer Cadet Andrei Honciu
• Officer Cadet Broden Murphy
• Officer Cadet Andrès Salek

An investigation was launched into the cause of the fatal incident.

The Department of National Defence says an investigation is underway into a fatal incident involving a vehicle at the Royal Military College Campus in Kingston, Ont. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)

Dress code blitz at Ottawa French Catholic school

Students at an Ottawa high school held a protest after teachers and staff conducted a dress code "blitz" that students said left them feeling degraded and humiliated.

The blitz at Béatrice-Desloges Catholic High School in Orléans on May 12 provoked immediate outrage among parents and students, who say the actions went too far and seemed to be aimed only at female students.

Sophie Labbée, 18, was one of the students called out of class because of her wardrobe. She said a teacher told her that her shorts were too short.

“She said that they had to be mid-thigh, and made me do this weird test where I bend my knee and she touched my thigh and showed me that that was my mid-thigh and if it was any shorter than that it was inappropriate,” she told CTV News Ottawa.

“I didn’t appreciate that. It made me uncomfortable and it was a little humiliating, because it was in front of other classes too.”

The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est apologized to students for the blitz, and called it unacceptable.

In November, the board announced a new dress code that allows students to wear clothing that is appropriate for the school environment, but it "must be opaque, cover underwear and private parts."

Sophie Labbée, 18, was called out of class at Ottawa's Béatrice-Desloges Catholic High School and told her shorts did not comply with the school's dress code. (Courtesy: Sophie Labbée)

Powerful derecho hits Ottawa and eastern Ontario

A powerful derecho storm hit Ottawa and eastern Ontario during the Victoria Day long weekend, knocking out power to tens of thousands of people and causing millions of dollars in damage.

The storm moved through Ottawa on Saturday, May 21 with heavy rains and winds up to 190 km/h.

In Ottawa, the storm damaged more than 400 hydro poles, snapped kilometres of power lines, damaged hundreds of trees and homes, and knocked out power to more than 180,000 homes and businesses for several days.

"This event is significantly worse than both the Ice Storm of 1998 and the tornadoes of 2018," Hydro Ottawa CEO Bryce Conrad said in a letter to councillors on May 22. "The level of damage to our distribution system is simply beyond comprehension."

The communities of Stittsville, Hunt Club, Navan and Sarsfield were the hardest hit by the storm in Ottawa, with residents still repairing the damage in December.

The city of Ottawa estimated the storm cost the city $20 million, plus another $30 million in costs for Hydro Ottawa.

The storm also hit most of southern and eastern Ontario and parts of Quebec, causing more than $875 million in damage. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the storm was the sixth largest "insured loss event" in Canadian history.

Hydro crews work to cleanup the damage and restore power along Merivale Road on Monday. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

Ontario election

Premier Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party were re-elected for a second term with a majority mandate in June.

Ford and the PC Party won 83 seats, compared to 31 for the NDP, eight for the Liberals and one Green Party MPP.

Two Ottawa-area incumbents were defeated in the election. Progressive Conservative Jeremy Roberts was defeated in Ottawa West-Nepean, while Liberal Amanda Simard was unseated in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell.

Here are the winners in Ottawa ridings

• Carleton: Progressive Conservative Goldie Ghamari
• Kanata-Carleton: Progressive Conservative Merrilee Fullerton
• Nepean: Progressive Conservative Lisa MacLeod
• Orléans: Liberal Stephen Blais
• Ottawa Centre: New Democrat Joel Harden
• Ottawa South: Liberal John Fraser
• Ottawa-Vanier: Liberal Lucille Collard
• Ottawa West-Nepean: New Democrat Chandra Pasma

Voter turnout in Ontario was 43.5 per cent, the lowest voter turnout in provincial history.

Iconic Sir Winston Churchill photograph stolen from Chateau Laurier

In August, Ottawa's Fairmont Chateau Laurier announced an iconic photograph of Sir Winston Churchill appeared to have been stolen from the hotel and replaced with a copy.

The photo of Churchill by Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh, taken in December 1941 on Parliament Hill, is among the most famous photos ever taken of the British prime minister.

“We are deeply saddened by this brazen act,” Geneviève Dumas, the Chateau Laurier’s general manager, said in a news release. “The hotel is incredibly proud to house this stunning Karsh collection, which was securely installed in 1998.”

Hotel officials noticed the photograph was not hung properly. They then discovered the portrait's frame did not match the other Karsh frames that hung in the hotel's reading lounge.

"Upon further investigation, and a confirmation from the Estate of Yousuf Karsh, it was found that the Winston Churchill photograph was replaced with a copy of the original," the hotel said in statement.

The Chateau Laurier believes the portrait was stolen in late 2021 or early 2022.

Winston Churchill, 1941, by Yousuf Karsh. (NOTE: The above image may only be used for articles related to this incident. No other rights are granted.)

New Ottawa police chief

The Ottawa Police Services Board went outside of the service to hire a new police chief.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Eric Stubbs was introduced as the new chief of the Ottawa Police Service on Oct. 21, three days before the municipal election.  Mayoral candidates had called on the board to delay the hiring of the new chief until the new council and Ottawa Police Services Board was sworn in.

Stubbs replaced Chief Peter Sloly, who resigned in February during the 'Freedom Convoy' demonstration in downtown Ottawa.

Stubbs first joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1993, and was posted to E Division in British Columbia. He briefly worked in Ottawa as Director General, National Criminal Operations from 2014 to 2017.

New mayor and council in Ottawa

Ottawa residents elected a new council on Oct. 24, featuring a new mayor and 11 new councillors.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe was elected mayor of Ottawa with 51 per cent of the vote, defeating former Coun. Catherine McKenney and former Mayor Bob Chiarelli.

All 13 councillors running for re-election won their wards in the election, while 10 new councillors replaced councillors not seeking re-election. Wilson Lo made history as the first councillor for the new riding of Barrhaven East.

In December, Council directed staff to draft the 2023 budget with a 2 to 2.5 per cent property tax hike, a campaign promise from Sutcliffe. The 2023 city of Ottawa budget will be tabled in February.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and the new council pose for a selfie ahead of Tuesday's swearing in ceremony. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa Senators for sale

The 'For Sale' sign was placed on the Ottawa Senators in November, seven months after the death of owner Eugene Melnyk.

The board of directors for the Senators Sports and Entertainment retained New York-based bank Galatioto Sports Partner to oversee the sale of the club.

"This was a necessary and prudent step to connect with those deeply interested parties who can show us what their vision is for the future of the team," Sheldon Plener, chairman and governor of the Ottawa Senators, said in a statement.

"A condition of any sale will be that the team remains in Ottawa."

Melnyk’s daughters Anna and Olivia took over the Senators after their father passed away in March due to illness. The franchise is being run by a three-person board of directors.

Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds says he is interested in being part of the ownership of the Senators, even watching a game from a private box in November.

In December, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said more than a dozen potential bidders signed a non-disclosure agreement to view the Senators finances as part of the sale process.

Postmedia has reported NHL executives would like to have an idea who is the frontrunner to buy the Senators by mid-January.

Sportico, a Los Angeles-based magazine, valued the Senators at $655 million.

The new owner of the Senators will have the opportunity to build a new arena at LeBreton Flats. In June, the National Capital Commission signed a memorandum of understanding with Capital Sports Development, a group led by the Senators, to build a new arena at the land west of downtown Ottawa.

The 17th annual Skate for Kids was held at the Canadian Tire Centre Dec. 13, 2022, hosted this year by Ottawa Senators owners Anna and Olivia Melnyk, the daughters of late owner Eugene Melnyk. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa Light Rail Transit Inquiry final report

The public inquiry into Ottawa's light rail transit system concluded the construction and maintenance of the $2.1 billion project was plagued by persistent failures in leadership and saw "egregious violations of the public trust."

On Nov. 30, Commissioner Justice William Hourigan released a 637-page final report, saying both the city of Ottawa and Rideau Transit Group lost sight of the public interest during the project.

"The people of Ottawa deserve better," Commissioner Justice William Hourigan told a news conference. "There were persistent failures in leadership, partnership and communications in the construction and maintenance of the LRT."

His report lists several reasons for the problems with the LRT. He found that the city chose unproven technology for the trains, RTG didn't coordinate the work of its subcontractors, the city rushed the LRT system into service before it was ready due to political pressure, and RTG and its subcontractors did not provide adequate maintenance.

The report made 103 recommendations to fix the problems with the Confederation Line and ensure the same mistakes aren't made on other large projects.

•  READ MORE: 10 takeaways from the Ottawa LRT inquiry final report

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe directed staff to develop an action plan to implement the report's key recommendations.

Former Mayor Jim Watson issued a statement 10 days after the report's release, saying "I take full responsibility for the project's shortcomings."

Steve Kanellakos resigned as city manager on Nov. 28, two days before the report was tabled.

There have been two major incidents with the Confederation Line this year. In July, OC Transpo reduced speeds on the line after a wheel hub failure on one train. Service was also reduced for a week after a lightning strike damaged the overhead catenary system.

A westbound train travels along the Confederation Line of Ottawa's Light Rail System.

Respiratory virus season

The year ends with Ottawa's children's hospital dealing with an "unprecedented surge" in respiratory virus cases, with a record number of patients seen a month in the emergency department.

"Over the past few weeks, CHEO has seen an early arrival of the peak viral season driven by acute viral respiratory infections including RSV, flu, COVID and other viruses," CHEO said in a media release on Nov. 9. "These are at levels never before seen in CHEO’s 48-year history."

CHEO called in the Canadian Red Cross for assistance, opened a second pediatric intensive care unit, cancelled non-urgent surgeries and shifted staff around to deal with the spike in patients.  Patients aged 16 and 17 were referred to other hospitals in Ottawa for care.

On Dec. 12, CHEO warned the holiday season would be "more challenging than ever", and said the respiratory virus surge would continue until mid-January.

"Respiratory illnesses have been more severe and, as a result, we are seeing more children and youth coming through our doors at CHEO. The combination of RSV, influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses make up the vast majority of admissions."

CHEO admitted 73 influenza cases in November, and 149 cases for RSV.