CJRO News August 14 to August 20, 2023
Hello, bonjour, and welcome to CJRO News on CJRO Radio. I’m Candice Vetter, reporting from Embrun.
The Auditor General of Ontario has blasted Premier Doug Ford’s government in her report on Toronto’s Greenbelt boundary changes which benefited several developers at the expense of natural areas and farmland. AG Bonnie Lysyk said the way the boundaries were changed last year “cannot be described as a standard or defensible process.” She pointed out that the land selection was highly restricted and excluded substantive input. The entire process only took three weeks, in other words not allowing input from the public, land-use planning experts within the government itself, municipalities, conservation authorities, or First Nations. The select group of developers had direct access to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s chief of staff, Ryan Amato. The premier claims he did not know of the contact and the housing minister, Steve Clark, said he knew about it for one week only. Rapid development is also a major issue in our coverage area, with both the eastern part of Ottawa, which used to be separate townships, and Russell Township experiencing the fastest growth ever. Last Thursday, August 10th CJRO asked Stephane Sarrazin, the Conservative Party MPP for our coverage area, what he could do in his position to combat this at Queen’s Park and if he would be censured if he spoke out. CJRO had not received a reply as of Monday, August 14th.
The Ottawa Police Service is seeking witnesses to a fatal collision on Farmers Way this past Sunday, August 13th. Shortly before 11:18 in the evening a vehicle hit a pedestrian on Farmers Way, south of Thunder Road. The pedestrian, a man aged 21, died of his injuries. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police at 613 236 1322 extension 2345, or Crimestoppers at 1 800 222 8477 or crimestoppers.ca.
The Russell Fair is this weekend, August 17th to 20th. Headliner for the Friday night show is Canadian country music star Dallas Smith. There will also be music throughout the fair, all kinds of food, tractor pulls, agricultural exhibits, animals to see and sometimes pet, 4-H shows, acrobats, clowns, and of course the midway. For a full fair schedule see russellagriculturalsociety.com.
The Upper Ottawa Valley Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is warning about recent phone fraud, after a Petawawa resident received a call from what appeared to be the victim's financial institution's fraud department. This scam is the Bank Investigator fraud. Fraudsters will claim that there are suspicious charges on your credit card or in your account. They claim the charge is from an online purchase, in-store transaction or an overseas transfer. They then state they need your credit card information to cancel the transaction. Sometimes scammers will gain access to the victims' computer to continue the "investigation". Victims are then shown a fake transaction on their online banking account. The scammers state they want the victims' help in an ongoing "investigation" against the criminals who stole their money. The alleged bank investigator and/or law enforcement official indicate they will send victims a deposit of funds for the victims to send overseas as part of the "investigation". It is not until the transfers are completed that the victims realize funds were never deposited into their account. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has received over $5.9 million in reported losses in 2023 so far. The OPP reminds the public that financial institutions or online merchants will never request transferring funds to an external account for security reasons. Never provide remote access to your computer. Fraud can be reported to the local police and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's online reporting system or by phone at 1-888-495-8501.
Japanese beetles are infesting fruit trees, roses and vegetable gardens in large numbers this year. USnews.com suggests ways to reduce them and their damage. These include spraying them with a soap and water solution, picking them off by hand, spraying the plants with neem oil, setting beetle traps away from the plants needing protection, using row covers during the feeding period—which is mid-June to mid-August—so pretty much all summer, getting parasitic nematodes, planting geraniums nearby, and pruning roses as soon as the first blooms are finished.
Send your event listings and News you want included in this weekly report to newscjro@gmail.com by Monday mornings. Don’t forget—Facebook may not allow Canadian News, but we’re all about it. Get the local news that matters to you anytime on cjroradio.com.
Hear us at 107.7 or 107.9, listen to our podcasts on cjroradio.com or on the Tune-In and Radio Player Canada apps and visit our website for photos and maps. I’m Candice Vetter for CJRO News. CJRO, last on the dial, first for local news.