Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Thurs. April 24th, 2025

During yesterday’s program, we received news that the Ontario government would be thoroughly investigating the finances of a few school boards. One of them is easily Ottawa’s largest. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has posted deficit budgets for 4 straight years, and they are currently facing a multi-million-dollar deficit for the next learning season. In his first month of office, Education Minister Paul Calandra says he has received plenty of feedback from parents in Canada’s Capital, specifically pertaining to the OCDSB. And while he doesn’t want to take action, he isn’t afraid to. Is this the right move from the Ministry of Education? Kristy Cameron digs deeper with Jennifer Dimoff, a parent of two kids below the age of seven. Both of them attend an OCDSB school. In other news, a Canadian clothing retailer is closing all 14 of its stores over the coming weeks, a tough decision that is part of a massive restructuring plan. They are also selling 100 percent of their intellectual property to a Montreal-based company. Plus, Hudson’s Bay had originally promised to save six of its stores from the liquidation guillotine. Sadly, as doomsday approaches, it appears as though none of their stores are safe after all.