Top stories of the week: ‘A mockery of democracy,’ Conestoga College layoffs, and family mourns loss of 3-year-old daughter

Playing null of undefined

Calling for change after child killed in collision

Vote change causes late night drama at regional budget meeting

Support staff laid off at Conestoga College

Kitchener apartment residents wake up to flooding

Almost 200 full-time Conestoga College employees lose their jobs ahead of the holiday break

Conestoga College has made more job cuts, just days before Christmas.

Layoff notices were issued to 181 full-time employees on Dec. 16.

Most were based in Kitchener, but there were also some from the school’s Waterloo, Cambridge, Brantford and Guelph facilities feeling the sting, according to Leopold Koff, the president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 237. The union represents faculty, librarians and counsellors at the school.

“They’re colleagues. They’re professionals,” Koff said, visibly emotional as he spoke with CTV News. “They’re dedicated, committed individuals.”

The recent layoffs represent the latest workforce reduction at the college after months of cutbacks.

Koff confirmed the union learned of the impending job cuts in September. At same time, the college offered a voluntary exit incentive program to more than half of its 700 full-time faculty members as part of its downsizing efforts.

“Due to the declining enrolment within our sector and specifically at the college that are the result, in part, of changes to Canada’s international work permit program, the college is in a period of significant restructuring, including intake suspensions, program suspensions, and ongoing staff reductions across all employee groups,” a memo, sent to the 373 full-time employees in September, said.

Eligible employees had until Oct. 20 to decide if they wanted to accept the college’s offer, and anyone who was accepted into the program would officially leave their role on Dec. 19.

In an update in November, the union said 75 faculty members were on the chopping block and could lose their jobs by the end of the year. Eighty programs were also expected to be cut by the next fall.

At the time, Koff said 15 people were being laid off, 37 were taking early retirement, four people had resigned and 19 were taking voluntary exit packages.

Representatives for Conestoga College have repeatedly insisted the school is facing financial pressures due to the federal government’s changes to international student visas.

The federal government announced in early 2024 it was slashing study permits for international students and Ontario’s allotment was reduced by almost half. Schools were told applications could not exceed 2023 permit levels, and international permits must be less than 55 per cent of the school’s first-year domestic enrolment.

The province specifically called out Conestoga College, stating it would see the “largest decline.” That was not surprising, since the school had one of the largest international student populations in the province.

In a report sent to students and staff on July 28, Conestoga College said 8,584 international students were enrolled in its 2025 spring semester. That marked a 62 per cent drop from the year before, when it totaled 22,633.

Despite the drop in international enrolment, the school reported a surplus of more than $121 million for the fiscal year ending on March 31. That still represented a significant decrease from the $252 million surplus from the previous year.

Conestoga College said revenue from tuition dropped to $563 million, $119 million less than it reported in 2024, while it spent $436 million on salaries and benefits, an increase of $37 million from the year before.

Koff believed some of those financial pressures were to blame for the layoffs.

“Because it’s simple. It’s cheap. They’re replacing full-time [employees] with a lot of part-time,” he said. “It’s a simple solution, but it’s not the right one.”

Almost 200 now-former employees are facing the prospect of celebrating Christmas with the specter of layoffs hanging over the festivities, while John Tibbits, the president of the college, pulled in a salary of $636,107 in 2024, according to Ontario’s latest Sunshine list.

There will be some support for the former employees as they try to find their feet again.

“They still have benefits for 90 days, which will expire March 16,” Koff explained. “At which point then they’ll be in layoff mode, which means they could be recalled. But if they choose to take the severance package available, then they lose the recall rights for two years.”

In a statement to CTV News on Dec. 17, a representative for the school said Ontario’s college sector is facing “unprecedented financial challenges” due to the decline in international enrolment.

“At Conestoga, international enrolment dropped nearly 80 per cent in 2025, compared to 2023. Winter 2026 total enrolment is projected at just over 15,000 students – down from nearly 29,000 in winter 2025 and approximately 43,000 in 2024. The situation remains evolving as the college and the sector navigate the impact of external factors shaping international enrolment beyond our control. Further declines remain possible,” an emailed statement said, in part.

“Without significant reductions in operating costs, the college faces a fiscal deficit. To achieve a balanced budget, we must align our resources with the reality that we have lost thousands of international students. Simply put, we no longer require the same complement of faculty, staff and administrators as in 2024,” the statement continued.

The college said it is fully complying with the layoff procedures set out in the union’s collective agreement.

“These decisions are difficult but necessary and reflect our responsibility to align resources and ensure long-term sustainability. We remain committed to supporting our communities through programming, workforce development and industry-focused research that meets local, regional and international demands,” the college said.

The union will be giving employees affected by the layoff financial advice and guidance for accessing counselling services.

Parents mourn loss of three-year-old daughter killed in Cambridge crash

A Cambridge family is grieving the loss of a three-year-old girl who was hit and killed in a collision on Dec. 11.

“She was our angel, she was our everything,” her mother, Shihan Shea, said Monday. “My heart hurts more than I can bear.”

At the request of her family, as well as Indigenous cultural practices, CTV News Kitchener is not identifying the girl.

“For the next year we won’t say her name because we want her to continue her journey with the creator,” explained Serena Wesley from The Healing of the Seven Generations, an Indigenous-led organization serving the Region of Waterloo and surrounding areas. “We want her to be able to move on and be in peace.”

Shea and her daughter were hit by a vehicle as the pair were walking on Cedar Street, near the Westgate Centre plaza. At the time, the three-year-old was seated in a stroller. She was rushed to hospital where she died from her injuries.

The driver of the car, 75-year-old man from Cambridge, was not hurt.

CTV News reached out to the Waterloo Regional Police Service on Dec. 15 for an update.

“The investigation is ongoing by members of our Traffic Services Unit and there are no new details to provide,” they said in an email, adding no charges have been laid at this time.

Meantime, on the morning of Dec. 15, a sacred fire ceremony was held outside the Ga’nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre in Cambridge.

“We usually start a sacred fire and we have it going for about four days,” Wesley explained. “This is to help that spirit pass on.”

Even though the circumstances leading up to the crash have not been revealed, the girl’s family is pushing for healing.

“This is about preventing another family from standing where we are today and having to go through this horrific pain,” said Spencer MacDonald, the girl’s father. “We’re speaking today not out of rage, but of love for our child and concern for public safety.”

Shea, MacDonald and Indigenous leaders are calling for tougher road safety laws.

“We’re hoping to have a law enacted that will require an automatic temporary licence suspension for any driver involved in a collision that results in death, until a full investigation is completed,” MacDonald explained, insisting, “This is not a finding of guilt. This is a safety measure.”

For her parents, the loss of their daughter is indescribable.

“Your smile lit up our world, and you’ll be deeply missed. I remember your laughter, your curiosity, your sassy side. Rest peacefully my little unicorn, my princess,” Shea said. “I love you always and forever, my sweet baby girl.”

‘A mockery of democracy’: Changed vote causes division at Region of Waterloo council

A decision to change a vote during a Region of Waterloo special council meeting had colleagues around the horseshoe calling the process into question.

It happened after North Dumfries mayor and regional Councillor Sue Foxton asked to change a vote she made on the Waterloo Regional Police Service’s 2026 budgets.

The police service’s capital and operating budgets had been discussed earlier in the day during a meeting of the Strategic Planning and Budget Committee. During that meeting, Foxton had voted in favour of approving the budgets.

However, on the night of Dec. 16, when it came time for councillors to vote on the capital budget during the special council meeting, Foxton voted against the decision made at committee.

Councillors Pam Wolf, Jim Erb, Doug Craig, Michael Harris, Joe Nowak, Dorothy McCabe and Regional Councillor Karen Redman voted in favour of accepting the capital budget.

Councillors Sue Foxton, Matt Rodrigues, Joe Gowing, Chantal Huinink, Natasha Salonen, Jan Liggett, Colleen James and Berry Vrbanovic voted against approving the police’s capital budget.

Councillor Sandy Shantz was not at council at the time of the vote.

The result meant the motion to approve the police’s capital budget did not pass by a slim margin of 8 – 7.

Before council voted on a bylaw that would enact the results of the budget deliberations, Regional Chair Redman called for a five-minute break.

When council reconvened, Councillor Foxton spoke.

“I’d like to reconsider my vote and move it back to what I voted before, which is the positive for the police capital forecast,” Foxton said.

“My understanding is Councillor Foxton would like to change her vote, having voted in error,” regional clerk Tim Brubacher explained. “In this situation we would correct her vote.”

The change meant the police’s capital budget would then be approved by a vote of 8 in favour, with 7 opposed.

Previously in the meeting, another councillor was allowed to change their vote because they immediately brought up that they had voted in error.

“I am challenging that a little bit in terms of what was the intent behind – did you mean to actually vote opposed or was it in error?” Councillor Salonen said.

“I am staying with my original vote [at committee],” Foxton responded.

Councillor Vrbanovic was also clearly upset with the change.

“I think this is really calling into question the way the democratic process runs, and I am just going to be noted on record that this is really making a mockery of democracy,” Vrbanovic said.

Chair Redman moved to call for a vote on a bylaw that would enact the proceedings of the meeting. Brubacher said the vote would be recorded as opposition to the bylaw, but the interpretation of what that action meant would be up to each individual.

Council was given the option to reconsider the vote on the police capital budget, but instead decided to proceed with voting on the bylaw to accept the results of the meeting. That vote was done orally due to continued technical issues with eScribe.

The vote to approve the bylaw, and therefore, the budget, passed by a vote on 9 to 7. Those in favour included Chair Redman and Councillors Craig, Erb, Foxton, Harris, McCabe, Nowak, Shantz and Wolf.

The budget includes a 5.1 per cent tax increase for regional services, including the Waterloo Regional Police Service. It means an increase of $142 per year for the average household.

Support staff laid off by Conestoga College

Just days after almost 200 full-time Conestoga College employees were laid off, CTV News Kitchener learned even more people who had been working at the school have also been given their walking papers.

Conestoga College support staff learned they were being laid off on Dec. 18. CTV News Kitchener learned 197 people were laid off.

“I am deeply angered by the decision made by Dr. John Tibbits and senior leadership to send notices of layoff and reassignment during the holiday season,” wrote Vikki Poirier, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 238, in an email to members.

In an interview with CTV News later that day, she shared her frustrations.

“I, myself, as a college employee, I am angry. I’m angry that these cuts don’t make sense,” Poirier said. “As the president [of OPSEU Local 238] I’m disappointed as well as angry for our members.”

Poirier was one of the employees who received a layoff notice on Dec. 18.

“These are people, it’s before Christmas, and they just lay them all off with no consideration or understanding of how this will impact people other than the fact that it gets it done before the fiscal end of year,” she said.

In an emailed statement to CTV News on Dec. 18, Conestoga College said they had given the support staff union a notice of layoff on Dec. 3, ahead of the formal layoff notices going out on Dec. 18.

“These difficult but necessary decisions are not taken lightly and reflect our responsibility to align resources and ensure long-term sustainability,” the statement said.

One of the people who has been laid off is Ian Jenkins. He said after nearly three years of teaching at Conestoga College, he received an email around 10 a.m. Thursday from the school’s human resources department. The email asked him to join a virtual meeting at 2:30 p.m.

“I was not allowed to have my camera on. I was not allowed to have my microphone on. Somebody read from a script saying that my position was being terminated,” Jenkins told CTV News.

For months, Conestoga College officials have said they are facing financial hardships and blamed declining international enrolment for the troubles.

After 181 full-time faculty members were given layoff notices on Dec. 16, Conestoga College told CTV News it came down to finances. They reiterated that stance in their statement on Dec. 18.

Tenant says there was no help on site during apartment building flooding in Kitchener

Flooding has damaged several units at an apartment building in Kitchener.

Some of the people living at 2969 Kingsway Drive said the damage stretches all the way up to the tenth floor, but some units were able to escape unscathed.

When Ryan McMaster, a tenant, woke up on the morning of Dec. 15, he thought it was raining.

“I looked out the window, there was no rain and then I realized there was water coming in through the outlets of the living room,” he said.

The problem spread as he quickly tried to contain the mess.

“I realized [water] was also coming in my kitchen, my first bedroom, the hallway and started leaking shortly after, maybe an hour later, into the bathroom,” McMaster said.

While McMaster said the flooding is unfortunate, the real frustration stems from the response of the building management team.

“I called our building management, and they said they were going to take a report and send it to the office for when the office opened at 9 a.m.” he said. “I was trying to explain to him it was more than just a small leak and the hallways were also flooded with at least an inch of water at that time.”

The building is managed by Homestead Land Holdings, a large landlord and housing rental company with properties in over a dozen cities in Ontario.

McMaster said he was told by building management that the building does not have a superintendent on site who can handle plumbing and electrical issues.

Homestead Land Holdings said, “We are aware of an isolated water leak originating from a residential unit at this property. The source of this leak has been addressed and we are working with any impacted residents.”

McMaster hopes building management will be better prepared in the future.

“They say call if it’s an emergency. It was an emergency and they didn’t do anything until the actual office here in the building opened.”

Although it’s unclear how many units were impacted by the leak, or what the full extent of the damage is, McMaster said most of the damage in his home appears to be superficial, but has not been fully examined by a professional.