Top 10 local news stories in Waterloo region in 2022

CTV Kitchener is taking a look back at the biggest moments of 2022, revisiting the local stories that defined the year and changed our community.

You can watch all the stories using the player at the top of the page or read our reporting below.

10. Kitchener rocked by two shootings in one day

Two early morning shootings in Kitchener on June 16 set off a search for suspects and prompted a stern warning from then police chief, Bryan Larkin.

Gunfire rang out just around 12:30 a.m. in the area of Belmont Avenue West and Karn Street.

“I heard ‘boom, boom, boom,' I thought it was fireworks. Then all of a sudden I hear a ‘ching’ and I go ‘wow, that’s not a firework,” nearby resident Edmond Bestarache told CTV News.

A few hours later, more shots were fired at a vehicle near Greenfield Avenue and Kingsway Drive.

Police investigate a shooting near Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener on June 16, 2022. (CTV Kitchener)

There were no injuries reported in either incident and as of late November no arrests have been made.

Incidents of gun violence remained on the police and community radar throughout 2022. As of Dec. 29, Waterloo regional police say there have been 24 shooting incidents in the region.

9. Teen girl dies in Waterloo stabbing

A tragic incident rocked a quiet Waterloo neighbourhood in March.

A 15-year-old girl was found with several stab wounds in a home on Chelford Crescent on March 17.

She was later pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.

An 18-year-old man who was also found inside the home with self-inflicted stabbed wounds was charged with first-degree murder in her death.

At the time of the incident, police confirmed the two were family but did not elaborate on their relationship. Neighbours told CTV News a brother and sister lived at the home.

“It was very confusing because of the type of neighbourhood that it is, then shock and then disbelief,” Ryan Hammer, a family friend told CTV News.

Flowers and a stuffed animal form a memorial in from of a Chelford Crescent area home on March 18. (Dan Lauckner/CTV Kitchener)

Purple ribbons could be seen around the neighbourhood to honour the teen and a fundraiser was started to help the family.

The identity of the accused, as well as the identity of the victim, are protected under a publication ban.

8. Police make arrests in historic hit and run case

It was a historic breakthrough in what seemed to be a long-cold case.

On Sept. 20, nearly a decade and a half after 18-year-old Lucas Shortreed was killed in a hit and run near Alma, police arrested and charged two people in connection to his death.

Lucas Shortreed is seen in a police handout. (File photo)

Dave Halliburton, 55, was charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident involving bodily harm and accessory after the fact.

Anastasia Halliburton, 53, was charged with accessory after the fact and obstructing justice.

The pair were arrested at a Mapleton Township home just a few kilometres away from where Shortreed was killed in 2008.

The address police searched on Sept. 21, 2022 was just a few kilometers from the scene of the 2008 crash and even closer to a where a billboard with Lucas Shortreed's face once stood. (CTV Kitchener)

A vehicle was also recovered from the home.

"I guess that we just never really gave up hope that someone in the community knew something," Shortreed's sister Jenneen Beattie said.

The Halliburtons were released on bail shortly after being arrested. None of the allegations against them have been proven in court.

7. Fire destroys Old Marina Restaurant in Puslinch

A landmark Ontario restaurant on the shores of Puslinch Lake was reduced to rubble this summer.

The fire that ripped through the Old Marina Restaurant on July 30 was a fire so powerful, Cambridge fire crews had to call for help from at least five other local fire departments.

The Old Marina Restaurant on Puslinch Lake on fire. (Twitter: @brent_bullough) (July 30, 2022)

The damage was so extensive, it took days for investigators to even be able to get inside the ruins to begin to figure out what happened.

People who were at the busy restaurant when the flames broke out praised staff for getting everyone out safely.

Meanwhile couples whose weddings were planned at the popular spot that weekend were still able to celebrate after other venues opened their doors.

Shorlty after the fire, the owners of the Old Marina Restaurant said they hoped to be back serving the community as soon as they could.

The fire reduced the landmark Ontario restaurant to rubble and ash. (Submitted)

6. Grandson charged in 88-year-old Viola Erb’s death

The mayor of Wilmot called it “a loss felt across the township.”

Eighty-eight-year-old Viola Erb, the co-founder of major Canadian trucking company Erb Transport, was found dead in her home on Sandhills Road in Baden on a Saturday afternoon in September.

Days later, her 39-year-old grandson was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in her death.

Viola Erb. (Mark Jutzi Funeral Home)

5. Average price of K-W detached home surpasses $1 million

The year started on a high note for homeowners as the average detached home price continued to climb, passing the $1 million mark in Kitchener-Waterloo.

In January, the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors (KWAR) released data for December of 2021 showing the average detached home sold for $1,021,353 during that month, a 34.7 per cent increase over December 2020.

As prices continued to increase, by March, KWAR said the average sale price for all home types, including condos and townhouses had passed $1 million for the first time.

But the soaring prices started to decline in the third month of 2022 as the Bank of Canada began hiking its key interest rate.

In its June report, following a drop for the fourth straight month, KWAR said the average sale price across all property types was $791,674 – down 9.6 per cent from May and 24 per cent from the February peak.

In its most recent report, the Waterloo Region Association of Realtors said the average sale price for all residential properties in November was $736,024, a 10.4 per cent decrease from the same month last year.

4. Former WRDSB teacher sues school board

A former teacher with the public school board is suing after being removed from a board meeting in January for alleged “transphobic” comments during a discussion about student reading material.

It stemmed from a virtual board meeting on Jan. 17. Carolyn Burjoski, a teacher at the time, was speaking about her concern with certain children’s books in elementary school libraries – one discussed asexuality, the other was about a transgender teenager. At the time she said the content was not “age appropriate”.

The board chair, Scott Piatkowski, stopped the presentation citing concerns that she was “violating the Ontario Human Rights Code.”

“There were comments that were frankly transphobic – that were questioning the right to exist for trans people,” Piatkowski told CTV News on Jan. 18.

Carolyn Burjoski as seen a video posted to Twitter on Jan. 21, 2022.

Burjoski pushed back by posting a video on social media, saying she had been “silenced and punished” and said she felt bullied, slandered and abused.

“The following morning, HR informed me that I was immediately assigned to home, pending a formal investigation and banned from contacting my colleagues and students,” she said in Twitter video on Jan. 21.

In May, Burjoski filed a $1.75 million dollar defamation lawsuit against the Waterloo Region District School Board.

A month later, she launched a separate judicial review. In June, one of Burjoski 's lawyers told CTV News they're not asking for damages in that legal action.

“What we're really trying to do here is protect the charter rights of Canadians to express themselves at school boards across the country - we'd like to set a precedent that makes it clear that this was unacceptable,” Lawyer Rob Kittredge said.

In August the school board responded, claiming her lawsuit was an attempt to silence them.

The board’s statement of defence denies the allegations, instead claiming any harm done to Burjoski’s reputation “is the result of the plaintiff’s own conduct.”

The statement of defence also noted the chair has a duty to protect LGBTQ2S+ students, staff, and families from discrimination and bullying as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity and added they did not intend to inflict emotional hardship on Burjoski.

The document also called the damages “excessive and remote” and requests the lawsuit be dismissed with costs.

After 20 years of teaching with the public board, Burjoski retired this year. Her website, where she asks for support in her legal action against the board and chair of trustees, is still active.

3. Police called to John Sweeney Catholic Elementary School to remove four-year-old

A police call at a Kitchener Catholic school led to a provincial review and a lawsuit against the school board.

In November 2021, police were called to John Sweeney Catholic Elementary School in Kitchener to remove a four-year-old Black child said to be “in crisis”.

Community advocates speak to media outside the Waterloo District Catholic School Board office on Feb. 23, 2022. (Ricardo Veneza/CTV Kitchener)

The group Nigerians in the Region of Waterloo spoke out about the incident in February on behalf of the family involved.

“Mom is traumatized. Mom is heartbroken. Not only has the school failed the boy, it has failed the mom,” Fidelia Ukueje told CTV News.

The incident caught the attention of the Minister of Education who called it “unacceptable” and launched a review.

Days later, the Waterloo Catholic School Board's director of education at the time, Loretta Notten, called it an "unfortunate situation" but said calling the police is sometimes necessary.

“I will take umbrage to the allegation that there is systemic racism in our board,” Notten said on Feb. 28.

In March, Notten retracted that statement and issued an apology. But some advocacy groups said it wasn’t enough.

In April the school board said it would immediately begin implementing some of the 14 recommendations that came from the provincial review.

In the summer, the family filed a lawsuit against the school board seeking $1 million in damages plus court costs. The suit's statement of claim alleges the board discriminated against the student because of his race and cognitive impairment.

In November, the new director of education provided an update to trustees on the progress made with the province's recommendations.

Tyrone Dowling said they've achieved some of the targets, including a plan to communicate with families when student incidents occur, but he doubts all recommendations will be completed by the one year mark, among them, the call to hire more Black professionals.

The board expects to see another report from the province in April 2023 to outline the next steps.

2. Region weathers a third year of COVID-19

Waterloo region residents continued to navigate the complexities of COVID-19, with the province starting 2022 reinstating several safety measures due to surging cases.

Restaurants, gyms and theaters were among the businesses that closed their doors for roughly four weeks in an attempt to get the provincial surge under control.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang warned the region was “at a very precarious moment” during a weekly COVID-19 update towards the end of January.

Community spread remained high, and even as case numbers stabilized, it would take several weeks for the impact to be felt at local hospitals, Dr. Wang said.

"Our hospitals are facing their most challenging times yet," she said.

In March, the provincial COVID-19 vaccine passport was lifted, allowing businesses to resume their operations without needing to check the vaccination status of patrons.

Later in the month, mask mandates for many settings were also removed.

By summer, many popular festivals returned to Waterloo region, allowing fans to resume seeing their favourite artists live in-person.

For the first time since the pandemic started, students were able to return to the classrooms in September without restrictions.

In the final COVID-19 update of 2022, the Region of Waterloo said there have been 500 deaths linked to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

1. Legal battle over downtown Kitchener encampment puts local homelessness crisis in the spotlight

A large encampment in downtown Kitchener has been the centre of controversy over the past year.

At times during the summer, as many as 60 tents occupied the site and despite an eviction notice ordering residents to leave the regionally-owned property by June 30, the encampment remains intact. 

The Region of Waterloo is now engaged in a legal battle over the future of the downtown site as it seeks approval from the courts to enforce its eviction order. The judge in that case has not yet issued his ruling.

The Region of Waterloo has said there were over 60 tents and as many people at the encampment on Victoria Street in Kitchener at peak. (CTV Kitchener)

Meanwhile the region also approved a new homelessness strategy this year, part of which allows for the creation of its first a hybrid shelter.

In December, the region announced it would be located on the border of the City of Waterloo and the Township of Wilmot.

The site will be home to 50 people, each with their own small cabin, equipped with electricity, heating and air conditioning and will be partially modeled after A Better Tent City in Kitchener.

"I would do anything to have something warm to put my head down at night. That would be fantastic... just to get back on my feet. That's stability," an encampment resident named Jessica told CTV News following the announcement of the shelter's location. "If I had the chance to have a little home, I would take care of it."