From Race Cars to Rail Lines: Your Ottawa News Roundup!

Mayoral candidate Alex Lawson says he'd cut building fees in new housing plan

Mayoral candidate Alex Lawson has released a housing and homelessness plan he says will cut construction costs and improve shelter safety.

OPP charge 13 after seizing $4.1M of illegal drugs in Cornwall, Montreal

Ontario Provincial Police say they seized drugs with an estimated street value of $4.1 million during a major operation in Cornwall and Montreal last month. The amount of suspected fentanyl recovered equated to "approximately 200,000 potentially lethal street-level doses," according to police.

Ottawa breaks ground on long-delayed Afghanistan memorial after bitter design fight

The federal government has finally begun construction on a national Afghanistan war memorial in Ottawa, years after a politically charged design dispute nearly derailed the project. The monument will honour more than 40,000 Canadian veterans and 158 fallen soldiers, with completion now pushed to 2028.

These Ottawa children called 911 when it counted most

City of Ottawa emergency services recognized three children who called 911 when a loved one was in need.

Change might be in store for federal co-working sites

The federal government is considering reallocating shared workspaces to help departments that expect employees to work in the office four days a week starting July 6. David Fraser has more.

Canada's latest census effort begins

Canada has begun its latest census effort, as Ottawa seeks to build an updated picture of the country and its people.

Judge in Ontario murder trial for prospective parents of 2 brothers to release decision today

An Ontario Superior Court judge will hand down his decision this morning in the Milton murder trial for Burlington couple Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney, prospective parents who pleaded not guilty in the death of a 12-year-old boy and alleged torture of his younger brother.

Progressive Conservatives set Ford Fest for Scarborough ahead of key byelection

Staff and MPPs in the Ford government are being asked to beef up the attendance numbers at Premier Doug Ford’s annual community barbecue — nicknamed Ford Fest — as the Progressive Conservative Party looks to “build momentum” ahead of the Scarborough Southwest byelection. While the Ford government has yet to call the byelection to replace...

Sex assault allegations against Ottawa police union president being investigated by watchdog

The president of the union for rank-and-file Ottawa police officers and civilian members has been accused of sexual assault dating back to 2008, CBC News has learned.

Meet the Ottawa area’s longest lasting mariachi band

May 5, or Cinco de Mayo, is a day of celebration of Mexican culture, history and food. In Ottawa, one group has been gathering together for more than three decades. Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco tracked them down.

A packed legislative session begins in Quebec City. These are the bills that could pass into law

Quebec lawmakers begin sitting at the National Assembly today — and, with a shorter-than-usual session ahead, the premier says her party will attempt to pass an ambitious number of bills.

Quebec faces pressure to act on promise to reopen fast-track immigration program

Jessica Prats came to Quebec from France with her husband and four children with hopes of building a life in Canada, but her plan was put on hold when the provincial government scrapped a fast-track immigration program.

Canadian flood risk portal doesn't work yet and doesn't consider climate change: report

By now, Canadians should have a portal where they can learn their personal flood risk by entering their address. But that portal doesn't work yet, and when it does, it won't take climate change into account, says a new report from the Auditor General's office.

Carney picks former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour to be governor general

Prime Minister Mark Carney has named former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour as Canada's next governor general.

Season ticket holders frustrated by Ontario's new law capping resale prices

Ontario's move to capped the price of resale tickets is making it harder for some season seat holders to offset the cost by selling tickets to games they can't attend.

Ontario, Quebec residents charged after RCMP seize $4.4M in drugs

Six people from Ontario and Quebec are facing charges after the RCMP seized more than $4.4 million in drugs during an 18-month-long investigation.

Ontario women found guilty of killing boy in their care and confining his sibling

An Ontario judge is expected to deliver his ruling Tuesday in the case of two women accused of killing a boy they were trying to adopt and confining his brother.

Ontario couple found guilty of boy’s murder, brother’s torture

The Royal launches $75M research, urgent care fundraising campaign

Ottawa's mental health centre is asking people to donate a total of $75 million for urgent care and research into topics such as brain imaging and looking for physical signs of suicide risk.

Neil Saravanamuttoo pledges cheap transit, transparency at mayoral launch

Neil Saravanamuttoo is framing his Ottawa mayoral bid as a fight against insiders and special interests while promising to drastically cut transit fares and open up the books at city hall.

Gatineau, Que., man faces several charges linked to string of fires

Gatineau police allege a 61-year-old man set seven fires across an area east of the city core last month. Among the charges he's facing is arson with disregard for human life.

Public health warns of increase in Toronto drug deaths

There was an increase in suspected opioid overdose deaths in Toronto over several days last week, Toronto Public Health warns.

Doug Ford accuses NDP leader Marit Stiles of “trump-style” comments

Premier Doug Ford called Stiles's remark "unacceptable" and tried to tie it to U.S. President Donald Trump. Stiles pushed back and said she had nothing to apologize for.

Canada's incoming GG Louise Arbour brings rich palette of experience to Rideau Hall

Former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour is perhaps Canada's most accomplished jurist, having served in a number of highly influential roles both at home and abroad that sometimes earned her criticism for the principled positions she took.

Rajakovic already looking ahead to next season

As far as Darko Rajakovic is concerned, there is no off-season.

Montreal-Ottawa high-speed rail line could cross 1,700 properties, Alto predicts

The first stretch of Canada's proposed high-speed rail network is expected to cross approximately 1,700 properties, including at least 500 agricultural lands, the Crown corporation behind the project has told Radio-Canada.

Toronto highrise fire sparked by work to remediate damage after previous blaze

A fire between the walls of two Thorncliffe Park condos was ignited during remedial work for an original fire that burned for several weeks late last year, Toronto fire says.

U of O students built a race car. Do they have the winning formula?

University of Ottawa engineering students have built a race car styled in plaid for an upcoming contest in Michigan that challenges participants to design and competitively race a formula-style car.

WNBA is new in Toronto but women’s basketball has a long history in Canada

The WNBA, not surprisingly, chose Canada as the country to extend its footprint outside of the U.S. for the first time. But while the league will have a new franchise in the country with the expansion Toronto Tempo making their debut this season, Canada has been sending a pipeline of players to the U.S. for more than three...

Quebec Premier Fréchette to renew notwithstanding clause on province's language law

The notwithstanding clause, which has been invoked most frequently by Quebec, allows provincial governments to enact legislation that limits sections of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a maximum of five years.