Top stories of the week: Local bar’s liquor licence suspended, driver charged in fatal crash, and inmates launch lawsuit following prison break-in

Playing null of undefined

Lawsuit launched after prison break-in

Union urges province to step in at Conestoga College

Kitchener bar’s liquor licence suspended

A Kitchener business’ liquor licence has been suspended for 45 days.

According to a news release published on Tuesday, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) made the decision after inspectors went to Zara Lounge and Bar on Sept. 21 around 5:30 a.m.

They said the bar was allegedly over capacity at the time and workers had failed to maintain control of the premises. The AGCO also said alcohol had not been removed by 2:45 a.m. and a drunk person was inside the business.

The release also accused the bar of interfering with inspectors, including by locking doors, delaying entry into the building and refusing to provide information relevant to the inspection.

They add the suspension came after repeated similar violations were made and a previous 10-day suspension was issued.

“These violations collectively demonstrate a pattern of non-compliance and raise serious concerns about the licensee’s ability to operate responsibly and in accordance with the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019,” the news release read.

Driver charged in fatal Highway 401 crash that killed tow truck operator

A 32-year-old from Mount Hope has been charged after a tow truck operator was killed on Highway 401 on Dec. 3.

According to the Ontario Provincial Police, officers arrested and charged 32-year-old Sandeep Singh on Dec. 22. Singh is charged with dangerous operation causing death and failure to stop after an accident resulting in death.

Singh was released from custody and is expected to appear in court in Woodstock on Jan. 27.

A tow truck operator from Kitchener, Ont. was killed on Highway 401 the morning of Dec. 3. The vehicle that hit the operator did not remain at the scene. Police released an image of a transport truck which was believed was involved in the collision. On Dec. 4, police shared they had identified a driver and were looking to speak with them.

“We just want to thank the public for their assistance and providing information [the] that they did,” OPP Const. Matthew Foster said. “And again, [we] just want to share our thoughts and condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones during this tragic time.”

Police said they are not looking for any other persons of interest in this case.

Kitchener driver charged for allegedly going 62 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 401

A novice driver from Kitchener is facing several charges after police said they were caught speeding on a major highway.

Oxford County Ontario Provincial Police stopped the driver on Highway 401 on Dec. 21 around 9 a.m. They said the driver was speeding at 162 km/h in a posted 100 km/h area.

The 33-year-old was charged with stunt driving, driving a vehicle without insurance, failure to surrender an insurance card and failure to notify change of address. As a G1 driver, they were also charged with driving without a qualified driver in the vehicle and driving on a prohibited highway.

Their licence was suspended for 14 days and their vehicle was impounded for 30 days.

Lawsuits filed after break-in and assaults at women’s prison in Kitchener, Ont.

Ten inmates at Grand Valley Institution for Women have filed civil lawsuits after a November incident where a man was able to get into the medium security section of the prison.

The claims raise concerns not only about how an intruder was able to get inside in the first place, but also the response by Correctional Service of Canada employees.

Lisa, who asked that her last name not be shared, is one of the inmates seeking damages.

“It was terrifying. It was absolutely terrifying. I mean, we’re in prison, we’re expecting to be safe,” Lisa told CTV News.

“I’ve never heard of anyone attempting and succeeding breaking into a prison,” lawyer Jeffrey Hartman from the Toronto-based firm Lockyer Zaduk Zeeh, who represents the ten inmates, said.

The statements of claim describe how the man got into the medium security compound on Nov. 2, chased inmates who were outside and attempted to get into two of the houses where prisoners live.

After the incident happened, Waterloo Regional Police Service said two inmates were assaulted.

A 28-year-old man from Kitchener was arrested; he was charged with break and enter, two counts of assault and mischief under $5,000.

“It’s simply astounding that anyone was able to gain access to a federal prison for any duration of time,” Hartman said.

No statements of defense have been filed yet and none of the claims have been tested in court.

But Hartman said what happened is a violation of the inmates’ human rights, and re-traumatized women who have already experienced horrific abuse throughout their lifetimes.

Some inmates said they felt they were making progress before the incident happened, and have now been set back again.

Lisa, who was released on parole two days after the break-in, said she is struggling.

“I don’t know how to pick back up and start again. Every time I go out, I’m looking over my shoulder. And it’s not because I think this man is going to come and attack me, but it’s reactivated all the traumas that I went through,” she said. “I really don’t know how to move forward from it at this point.”

Combined, the inmates are seeking nearly $3.5 million in damages.

Hartman said the incident calls into question one of the stated purposes of prisons: to rehabilitate offenders so they can reenter society.

“When you have an event like this that just re-traumatizes people, it really calls into question the qualitative experience that they’ve had in prison, and whether those goals have been achieved or are even still valid.”

The statements of claim offer new details about what the inmates said happened on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.

It’s believed the breach occurred around 8 p.m. The intruder was able to get into the minimum security unit of the prison without detection. It’s not known how long he was there.

The statements of claim allege that the intruder left four empty tallboy beer cans in the minimum security area, before scaling a fence and getting into the medium security compound.

The lawsuits state the fence that separates the two areas is approximately six feet tall and topped with razor wire.

There are fifteen houses in that area for women in medium security.

Two inmates were on a walk that evening and saw the man scale the fence. At first, they thought he was another inmate, but quickly realized otherwise.

“You realize you just broke into a federal prison?” one of the inmates said.

The intruder said he did, and would wait at a nearby table for police to arrive.

The claims said the intruder then chased some inmates and tried to get into one of the houses.

The documents describe the man trying to violently force open the doors while inmates inside tried to hold the doors shut.

Two inmates were struck while they tried to keep him out of their house. One woman later found out she ripped a tendon in her foot.

Another woman tried to use a baking pan to protect herself as she barricaded the door.

The women were able to lock the door, but then saw more inmates outside, so one went to warn them about the man.

Lisa said she was walking with another inmate that evening when other inmates began screaming at them to get inside.

That’s when she said she encountered the man, who came from behind one of the other houses. She said he was wearing a grey track suit similar to what is issued to inmates.

“This man comes running from behind house 12, dashing as fast as he could toward us, and we just kind of stopped and turned and just started to run as fast as we could, with him on our heels,” Lisa told CTV News.

Lisa said she ran faster than she ever has in her life to get into her house, which the man also tried to enter.

“We slam the door shut and he jumps over the barrier and just smacks the glass with his palm. And I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. His eyes were like bloodshot. It took four of us to hold the door shut.”

The claims allege that some inmates tried to call the prison’s Main Communication Control Post for help, but were hung up on or the calls were not answered. One woman ended up making a call to a friend outside prison instead.

The claims say that when guards did come to the medium security compound, they walked and did not seem to be in a hurry.

Some allege the correctional officers did not seem to realize the man was an intruder, until inmates yelled, “He’s not an inmate!”

The man was detained.

How long the man was in the compound before he was arrested is unclear, but based on the sequence of events and details such as the time it takes to make a call to a person outside the institution, Hartman estimated it was at least 15 minutes.

Some inmates, including Lisa, reported seeing the guards later laughing about the incident.

“We could hear them making jokes and thinking it was funny, like, ‘Oh who wants to break into a prison.’ But not thinking about the trauma that it just inflicted on us women,” she recalled.

One inmate was left with the intruder’s blood on her hands.

When that inmate went to get medical help, she said initially no one took photos of her hands even though it was important evidence. It wasn’t until she refused to wash the blood off that a correctional manager used her own phone to take pictures.

The inmate also began taking medication as a precaution against possible HIV transmission, and experienced significant side effects.

The claims also detail the inmates being brought into a meeting several days later, where Correctional Service of Canada staff described details of the incident differently than what the inmates said they witnessed. Some inmates also felt it was an effort to discourage them from exploring civil litigation.

The claims also said that while Correctional Service of Canada now has a vehicle stationed in the area where the intruder scaled the fence, they saw a staff member inside sleeping at one point.

“The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) takes the safety and security of the offenders in our care, our staff, and the public very seriously,” a Correctional Service of Canada statement sent to CTV News said. “We remain committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment at all our institutions.

“As this matter is currently before the courts, we are unable to comment on the specific allegations or the ongoing legal proceedings,” the statement concluded.

Union asks the province to step in amid layoffs at Conestoga College

The union that represents faculty and support staff at Ontario colleges has officially asked the provincial government to step in after hundreds of people who had been working at Conestoga College lost their jobs.

The now former employees received their layoffs notices just days before the holidays. All told, 181 full-time faculty and 197 support staff were impacted by the change.

“We’ve just lost over 20 per cent of our experienced, full-time faculty right before the holidays,” Leopold Koff, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 237, which represents faculty at Conestoga College, wrote in a news release. “And the chilling reality is that college leadership is restructuring the workforce to push precarity.”

“It’s inhumane, it’s union-busting, and we aren’t willing to tolerate this any longer,” Koff said.

Koff worried full-time responsibilities would be handed to contract faculty who do not have the same level of job security.

“Where’s the human element in all of this? It doesn’t seem to be existing. Just before Christmas - people are angry,” Koff said in an interview with CTV News on Dec. 24.

The union is planning to hold a vote of non-confidence in college leadership in the new year.

“This is a deliberate move to ensure we foot the bill alongside students for management’s fiscal irresponsibility and lack of transparency,” Vikki Poirier, the president of OPSEU Local 238, the union representing support staff, said. Poirier was one of the employees who received a layoff notice before the holidays.

“It’s time to, as a union, hold the province accountable and ask them to step in and really take a look at what is going on at Conestoga College,” Poirier said in an interview with CTV News on Dec. 24. “I’m not sure how they can turn a blind eye to what has been going on.”

“We all want to be proud of where we work and what we represent and what the institution has represented in the past,” Koff said. “But now there’s a stain on it and we know what that stain is and we want that stain to be removed so we can move forward and change Conestoga and try to return it back to what its role and its objectives should be. The only way to do that is to replace, certainly, the executive and possibly even the board.”

Conestoga College representatives have repeatedly insisted the school, and many other colleges across the province, are facing financial hardships brought about by a decline in international enrolment. That change is being blamed on the federal government’s cap on international student visas.

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.

However, union representatives have repeatedly blamed the hardships on John Tibbits, the school’s president, and accused him of mismanagement. Under Tibbits’ leadership, the college’s enrolment numbers soared, largely due to international students. He also faced criticism for how those soaring enrolment numbers impacted the surrounding communities, including concerns about housing options and employment opportunities.

“John Tibbits broke trust with the college community and violated every social contract governing ethical student recruitment,” said JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO. “The fact that he has not been removed from his post reflects poorly on Ontario’s international reputation.”

Tibbits pulled in a salary of $636,107 in 2024, according to Ontario’s latest Sunshine List.

In September, Conestoga announced the first steps had been taken in the search for a new president and CEO. It will be the school’s first leadership change in nearly 40 years as Tibbits has been at the helm of the college since 1987. An internal notice to staff said the goal is to have a new president appointed in March 2026.

The union did not say specifically what they want the province to do, but called for “immediate intervention.”

“All decisions related to staffing, human resources, operational and budgeting lie solely with each institution,” Bianca Giacoboni, press secretary for the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, said in a statement.

Koff called the response from the province “shameful” while Poirier said, “That’s ridiculous. Way to pass the buck yet again.”