Most-read stories of the week: St. Patrick's Day in Waterloo, Trudeau in Guelph, defrauding doulas
Revellers take over Marshall Street in Waterloo for St. Patrick’s Day parties
What started as a rainy, quiet morning turned into a sea of green as thousands gathered on Marshall Street in Waterloo Friday to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The celebrations come after a couple of calmed-down years thanks to COVID-19, and this year, with the pandemic-related restrictions removed, the party was in full swing.
“Honestly, I’ll party in any weather, I don’t care,” one party-goer told CTV News.
CTV cameras captured one incident involving a person being handcuffed and placed in a police cruiser.
It wasn’t until the early afternoon, when the weather started to dry up, that large gatherings began to form.
Around 2:30 p.m., it appeared thousands of people had come to take part in the day as the parties spilled from inside into the streets. By 6 p.m., those in attendance started to break apart.
Justin Trudeau stops in Guelph to launch $4 billion housing fund
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped in Guelph Friday to announce a $4 billion housing accelerator fund. Trudeau says the money will help eliminate barriers to create more homes, especially affordable units.
The announcement was made at Grace Garden in Guelph. The building, which used to be a motel, is currently being converted to affordable housing. Its 32 units are expected to be ready in two months.
The federal government says they’re aiming to fast track 100,000 homes in the next decade.
'Much bigger than people can even realize': Brantford woman charged with defrauding, harassing Ont. doulas
A 24-year-old woman from Brantford, Ont., is facing dozens of criminal charges, including harassment, fraud and sexual assault, after police say she sought the help of doulas for pregnancies and stillbirths that turned out to be fake.
Kaitlyn Braun is alleged to have misled numerous doulas – professionals who provide support during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period – lying to them about being pregnant or carrying a stillborn, while falsely using their services.
Kitchener doula Amy Perry says she was introduced to Braun in November 2022 after Perry’s colleague, another doula in Stratford, reached out for help supporting a woman who said she was pregnant with a stillborn baby after a sexual assault.
Perry says what happened over the next eight days was more bizarre and more heinous than anything she’s experienced in her nearly six years as a doula.
Kaitlyn Braun appears in a photo posted to social media.
University of Guelph says $3M lawsuit should be 'struck in its entirety'
The University of Guelph says it believes a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by one of its tenured professors against the institution and its employees is “frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process.” The university filed its statement of defence on March 3 in response to a lawsuit from Byram Bridle, a tenured professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College.
Brindle launched a $3 million lawsuit against the university, a number of faculty and other individuals with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Dec. 19, 2022. None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Bridle alleged in his statement of claim he has suffered extensive damages, including, but not limited to, significant loss of standing as a virologist, immunologist, scientist and academic.
The University of Guelph is pictured above. (CTV)
7 victims connected to senior public school teacher charged with sexual assault, sexual interference
Waterloo regional police say there are seven victims involved in an ongoing investigation into a Kitchener senior public school teacher charged with multiple counts of sexual assault.
A spokesperson confirmed the number of victims in an email to CTV News on Friday.
Police charged the 52-year-old man – who taught at a senior public school in the Forest Hills area – with eight counts of sexual assault and sexual interference on Thursday, after reports of youths being sexually assaulted.
Police said officers received the reports on Feb. 2.
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Celine Dion delivers stirring comeback performance at Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Against the rainy Paris night sky, Celine Dion staged the comeback of her career with a powerful performance from the Eiffel Tower to open the Olympic Games.
Jasper wildfire: 'Several weeks' before Jasper can return, premier says
Premier Danielle Smith said Friday afternoon in Hinton while weather conditions are cooler, the Jasper fire is still considered out of control and that Jasper residents can expect to be away from their homes "for several weeks."
Driver charged after flashing high beams at approaching police
Orillia OPP arrested and charged a driver with impaired driving after flashing their high beams.
Missing 3-year-old boy found dead in creek in Mississauga: police
A three-year-old boy has been found dead a day after he went missing in a park in Mississauga, Peel police say.
Irish museum pulls Sinead O'Connor waxwork after just one day due to backlash
An Irish museum will withdraw a waxwork of singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor just one day after installing it, following a backlash from her family and the public, it told CNN in a statement on Friday.
Turpel-Lafond won't sue CBC over Cree heritage report that took 'heavy toll': lawyer
The lawyer for a former judge whose claims to be Cree were questioned in a CBC investigation says his client is not considering legal action against the broadcaster after the Law Society of British Columbia this week backed her claims of Indigenous heritage.
Winnipeg senior's account overdrawn for $146,000 water bill
A Winnipeg senior is getting soaked with a six figure water bill.
Health Canada warns some naloxone kits contain false instructions
Health Canada is warning some take-home naloxone kits come with bad instructions that should be ignored in favour of the correct guidance.
Paris dazzles with a rainy Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine River
Celebrating its reputation as a cradle of revolution, Paris kicked off its first Summer Olympics in a century on Friday with a rain-soaked, rule-breaking opening ceremony studded with stars and fantasy along the Seine River.