Hour 2 of Ottawa Now for Wed. August 13th, 2025

Expensive rent prices, dirty apartments in a state of disrepair, and irresponsible landlords resemble just a handful of the localized student-levied complaints that Canada’s Capital has seen over the past year. And with Ottawa currently housing a pair of high-in-demand universities, not to mention a large college system, that’s not the picture you want to paint. However, according to a recent report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, this crisis isn’t an isolated emergency, nor is it sudden. Kristy Cameron investigates further with Nir Hagigi, who is currently examining the city’s student housing crisis. He is also the primary author of this report. Shifting gears to Ottawa’s humid Summer, temperatures have already surpassed 30 degrees Celsius 21 times this year. Mercifully, the latest heatwave is expected to end after today’s blistering highs. And if you think there’s a correlation between the scorching-hot weather and broken-down cars, you’re not crazy, as the CAA is dealing with a spike in service calls. Compared to this time last year, it’s a 15 percent uptick. Simon Potten, an Ottawa-based master mechanic and the former host of CFRA’s Drivability, pays us a visit.