OTTAWA The cost to rent a one or two-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is cheaper today than it was before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But across the river in Gatineau, rental rates increased in February compared to the same month in 2020. A new report from Rentals.ca finds the average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa was $1,527 in February, down 5.3 per cent from February 2020. In Gatineau, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment increased 1.9 per cent to $1,159 dollars a month in February. The cost to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Ottawa was down 7.1 per cent in February from February 2020 to $1,963. In Gatineau, the average cost to rent a two-bedroom apartment has increased 26 per cent to $1,577 a month.
OTTAWA A 17-year-old is facing kidnapping and weapons charges after Ottawa police say two young people were held at gunpoint in the Findley Creek neighbourhood in Ottawa s south end. At approximately 3 p.m. Tuesday, police received a 911 call that two young people were in a vehicle with an armed male who was demanding money. Police say multiple officers responding to the call located the vehicle on Bank Street near Findley Creek Drive. A high-risk arrest was conducted, police said in a media release. The suspect tried to flee the vehicle on foot but was quickly arrested without incident. Police say a loaded 9 mm FEG silver handgun was seized.
KINGSTON, ONT. Queen s University students are being urged to get tested for COVID-19 after seven more cases were linked to an ongoing outbreak at the school on Tuesday. Eight cases have been linked to the University so far this week, all involved students living off-campus, but the ongoing outbreak that started at Watts Hall residence has been linked to 28 cases so far. Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health said Tuesday the outbreak was two clusters but involves variants of concern. Due to the increased transmissibility of the variant of concern, the University, in cooperation with KFL&A Public Health, is strongly encouraging students who have been in close contact with someone outside their household without wearing a face covering or physical distancing, to get tested during the next two weeks, even if they are not experiencing symptoms, the health unit said in a statement.