Counting down the top 10 web stories of 2024

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CTV Kitchener has been looking back at the biggest news stories of the year as we prepare to say goodbye to 2024.

Our web team has compiled some of the most memorable moments, including the best sports and entertainment stories of the year, the oddest incidents, our favourite feel good stories and must-see video.

We’ve also put together our own top 10 list, this one focused on the biggest web stories of 2024.

Click the hyperlinks to watch or read our original reporting.

#10 – Solar eclipse and Northern Lights seen across southern Ontario

Southern Ontario saw not one, but two, celestial shows in 2024.

A solar eclipse darkened the skies in April. The best views were in the path of totality in cities like Hamilton and Fort Erie. In Niagara Falls, more than a million people gathered to watch the eclipse.

Then, in May, there was another treat for skywatchers.

A powerful solar storm caused the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, to be visible across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

#9 – Kaitlyn Braun pleads guilty to new charges

Kaitlyn Braun, the woman who defrauded multiple doulas in 2023, admitted to doing it again while she was still on house arrest for the original charges.

In December 2023, Braun pleaded guilty to 21 charges related to deceiving and defrauding doulas. The court heard that she would tell her victims she was pregnant as a result of a sexual assault, spent hours talking to them in person or virtually and even pretended to go through a stillbirth. She was sentenced to two years of house arrest in February 2024.

At that time, the judge expressed concerns upon reading a mental health report which suggested Braun was likely to reoffend.

While on house arrest, she was charged for incidents that happened in April 2024.

Braun then plead guilty to two counts of obtaining by false pretense, one count of harassing communications and one count of conveying false information.

She’s expected to return to court on Jan. 7, 2025.

#8 – Criticism over trustees trip to Italy to buy $100K worth of religious art

The Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board came under fire after four of its trustees took a trip to Italy to buy $100,000 worth of religious artwork for two new schools.

The board said the total cost of the trip came to $50,369, excluding the purchase of the statues, sculptures and a large crucifix.

CTV News reached out in October to ask how the trip was funded. Rick Petrella, the school board chair and one of the trustees who went on the trip, said money for the artwork came from the board’s budget surplus and additional fundraising would help offset any remaining costs. As for the travel expenses, Petrella said it would come from the trustees’ honoraria and expense budget. He also stated everyone who participated in the trip “agreed to repay all the expenses to the board.” They have not said when, or if, that was done.

In late December, the province appointed a reviewer to look into the expenses of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board. They also alleged the board made changes to its expense policies before the trip to Italy.

#7 – Body found in Rockwood identified nearly 20 years later

Genetic genealogy testing finally revealed the identity of a woman whose remains were found in a wooded area between Rockwood and Guelph.

August’s announcement came almost 20 years after her body was discovered near a picnic rest area along Highway 7.

Ontario Provincial Police said DNA testing was used to identify the woman as Tammy Eileen Penner, 41, of Chilliwack, British Columbia. She was reported missing to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Feb. 7, 2005.

Penner’s death is still considered suspicious. No arrests or charges have been laid in the case.

#6 – Conestoga College and President John Tibbits criticized over international student enrolment

Ottawa announced plans to slash the number of permits it handed out to international students in early 2024 and called out one particular school when setting out the new guidelines.

“Colleges with public-private college partnerships and Conestoga College will see the largest decline,” the media release stated.

The school later confirmed that its allocation was “set at less than 50 per cent” of their current international enrolment.

Provincial data showed students attending Conestoga College with a permit or visa jumped from 785 during the 2012/2013 academic year to 12,748 in 2021/2022.

Politicians weighed in on the issue, criticizing the school’s lack of support to help international students find housing and employment.

Conestoga College President John Tibbits also drew unwanted attention after allegedly making derogatory comments about David Orazietti, the president of Sault College. Tibbits was later named in a defamation lawsuit launched by Orazietti and Sault College.

In August, Conestoga College’s Board of Governors decided to extend Tibbits’ contract until Aug. 31, 2025.

The school also reported a nearly $252 million surplus.

CTV News asked to speak with someone from the school or Tibbits on multiple occasions in 2024 but each time we were told no one was available for an interview. Any comments made by the school were provided via email or media release.

In December, 54 support staff and 106 faculty members at Conestoga College were offered early retirement packages. Many post-secondary institutions across Ontario have sought to cut costs amid the drop in international student enrolment.

#5 – Wilmot fight against land assembly process

A plan by the Region of Waterloo to secure land for future “shovel-ready projects” was met with pushback from farmers and residents in Wilmot Township.

They learned about the proposed purchase of 770 acres between Nafziger Road, Bleams Road and Wilmot Centre Road in March.

Over the next several months, there were meetings with Wilmot councillors, town halls, calls for more transparency, accountability and public consultation around the process.

In April, Premier Doug Ford stated the industrial project was part of a broader strategy to ready sites for development.

Farmers said the Region of Waterloo denied 21 freedom of information requests on farmland expropriation in July. A week later, the region announced they had secured one-third of the Wilmot property.

Questions were then raised about the disappearance of crops on the land purchased by the region and specifically the reason why corn was removed just weeks before the crop would have been harvested. A staff report, shared in September, frustrated farmer advocates. It stated the corn crop was destroyed to allow for an archeological assessment that could not be delayed.

On Aug. 15, Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris and Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, issued a joint statement on the Wilmot land assembly process. They expressed “disappointment” over the way the region handled the situation. Regional Chair Karen Redman said she was stunned to learn of the statement.

Fight for Farmland staged a protest at a Wilmot council meeting on Aug. 26, followed by a tractor convoy and protest at regional headquarters on Aug. 28.

Two dozen farmers then took their message directly to the premier on Oct. 1 at the International Plowing Match in Lindsay. Doug Ford was overheard saying he did not understand the “secrecy” surrounding the project and claimed the process was “mishandled.”

#4 – Mysterious metal object crashes into Kitchener home

A mysterious object crashed through the roof of a Kitchener home in April, narrowly missing Robert Caluian. He told CTV News he had been brushing his teeth when the 25-pound chunk of metal flew right past his head.

Caluian wondered if it had fallen from a passing airplane, which seemed possible as his Beaumont Crescent home wasn’t far from the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

Days later, he learned the metal object had actually come from Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort. Crews there were clearing trees from the property, and it was believed one of the blades from a grinding machine broke off and went flying over trees, a street and another house before crashing through the roof of Caluian’s home.

#3 – Tenants’ right union calls out Ontario’s largest renovictor

Michael Klein was named the “largest renovictor in Ontario” by a tenants’ rights organization in October.

ACORN claimed Klein owned multiple buildings in Waterloo Region, London and Toronto.

“Michael Klein tends to buy older buildings where the rents are lower because they’re rent-controlled, where there’s been tenants that have been living there for years, if not decades. Many are low income, retired on fixed income, workers and families,” explained Jacquie Wells, co-chair of ACORNS’s Waterloo Region chapter. “[He] starts off by renaming the company owning the building. It’s often either a numbered company, or a company that is just named after the address. And he separates himself. So it’s very hard for tenants to actually know who the owner is of their building.”

CTV News’ efforts to contact Klein were also unsuccessful.

#2 – Child dies after contracting rabies from a bat

A child in Brantford died in October after coming into contact with a rabid bat.

According to the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit, the child woke up to find the animal in the room. As the parents did not see any signs of a bite or scratches, they did not seek out the rabies vaccine.

Rabies is almost always fatal if not treated immediately after infection.

Public Health Ontario said it was the province’s first case of domestic human rabies recorded since 1967.

#1 – Bad gas blamed for damaging vehicles in Guelph

Dozens of drivers faced hefty repair bills after filling up at a Guelph gas station in January.

According to a local auto shop, contaminated fuel in the combustion engine caused the vehicles to stall while still on the road.

One driver told CTV News she put in $20 of gas at the Mobil station on Woolwich Street before her car broke down. She was then told it would cost $1,200 to fix the engine.

A fuel analysis company tested the gas and determined it had been mixed with windshield washer fluid.

The gas station closed shortly after the problem was discovered. In February, the company overseeing the Woolwich Street property told CTV News the station operator was evicted by their mortgagee.

Travelers Canada, a Toronto-based insurance company, offered a financial settlement to drivers in April.