Ross Video expanding its operations in eastern Ontario, Ottawa | Your Canada for May 22, 2026

Añadido: 2026-05-23

[00:00:03]Welcome to CTV News your Canada. It is Friday, May 22nd. We'll bring you profiles of fascinating Canadians and stories about your community. Thanks for watching.

[00:00:17]There are a lot of hard bumps and some small crowds and even smaller paychecks on the independent wrestling circuit.

[00:00:27]>> We've wrestled in front of smallest crowd I've wrestled in front of is six people. Probably most of them not paid.

[00:00:33]>> But this weekend the Off the Ropes wrestlers will be in front of nearly 1,000 fans at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium for Slamdmonium 2. Going from working at Oktoberfest in front of couple people who just walk around drinking beer and having a good time to a bunch of wrestling fans who want to support charity. For the local wrestlers, it's a lifelong passion playing out in front of a crowd.

[00:00:57]>> wrestling when I was 18.

[00:01:00]I think I'm way older than that now. So I've been in the Ontario independent scene for about 20 years. It's a special kind of feeling and as many people say you're kind of crazy if you do wrestling and it's that like unique niche aspect of it that makes everyone fall in love.

[00:01:15]It's It's the weird kid. It's the drama kid. It's the It's all the athletic kids as well. Like it's got so much encapsulated into one thing and that's the part I love. The local wrestlers will be joined by some big names from south of the border like Rhino and Victoria Crawford.

[00:01:38]Okay. Well, that's great. We'll do a little little in in-ring interview. Uh Sydney Wild Wild West, what does it mean for you to be part of Slamdmonium 2?

[00:01:47]It's It means everything. To get that opportunity to wrestle someone like Victoria Crawford and really get to prove myself. It means the entire world.

[00:01:54]Awesome. Okay, and let's come down here to uh Jake Carter. Jay, uh what does it mean to you to be part of the ceremony in two? It's great, you know, >> [laughter] >> it's a big experience, a lot of fun.

[00:02:05]This weekend is also about giving back to the community. The event has raised $10,000 for Kids Ability.

[00:02:14]Saturday's event is nearly sold out, but some tickets may still be available.

[00:02:21]Jeff Pickel, CTV News, Kitchener.

[00:02:28]For the first time in a decade, the East Coast Music Awards have taken over downtown Sydney. We've been coming to ECMAs wherever they are for the last 10 years or so. This couple from Florenceville, Bristol, New Brunswick arrived here today. The last Cape Breton ECMAs were a virtual year during COVID, so they have been waiting a while to experience the festival in a place known for fiddle music and foot stomping.

[00:02:51]Absolutely, you know, it Cape Breton punches above its weight in the music world. Well, I mean, as a lot of locals know, it took us a long time to get to this point. This brew pub opened only 6 months ago. The CCMA weekend, it is a home base of sorts for live music and it should be plenty busy. So, for this to kind of be like the biggest event in Sydney um for this year, I think. Um and us to be a part of it, it it's really exciting.

[00:03:16]>> You know, Sydney is going to be alive with music this weekend, right? Like every venue, every restaurant. The new executive director of the East Coast Music Association is a former member of Great Big Sea, so he knows a real kitchen party type atmosphere when he sees one. That authenticity, that sincerity, man, we have it in spades.

[00:03:33]One of the signature events of this year's ECMA weekend is happening tonight here at Sydney Centre 200 with the gala awards show including a number of Cape Breton artists among the top nominees.

[00:03:45]Like our local hero Gordie Boutilier, Lisa Ann, and you know, Nick from Newfoundland, we've got the Barra MacNeils legends receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. As for why he's encouraging people to come downtown and take in a few tunes, he says it's better than staying home and taking, well, a great big seat. Our competition now, it's not other bands or sports or that, it's the couch and the phone, right? So, our whole thing is about remember what we have here.

[00:04:15]>> [music] >> The 2026 ECMA's in Sydney wrap up on Sunday.

[00:04:21]>> [music] >> Ryan MacDonald, CTV News, Sydney.

[00:04:31]>> [screaming] >> There were celebrations on the ice and in the stands. It is the team's first PWHL championship. And those celebrations continued this morning outside the Verdun Auditorium.

[00:04:48]Matt Gilmore was there.

[00:04:52]>> [cheering] >> A victorious Marie-Philip Poulin shows off the one piece of silverware she'd yet to win.

[00:05:00]>> It's so surreal. We have the most special fans here in Montreal, and they showed up again. They showed up, you know what I mean? They showed up all year long, so a big thank you.

[00:05:08]Outside the Verdun Auditorium, fans were there to welcome home the PWHL champions.

[00:05:14]>> I'm just so proud of them, and like Montreal is proud of them, so I'm just just really happy for them, yeah. And there's a community now that has been created with this league. It's a celebration, and I think we're going to be out there celebrating. It's going to be a positive celebration.

[00:05:32]>> [cheering] >> Inside the Montreal Alliance basketball team joined in on the celebrations.

[00:05:37]A party that's only just getting started.

[00:05:39]>> Last night was pretty fun. We had fun with the cup. We drank a lot in the cup, and we had our our time to shine, and we're back and we're ready to party again.

[00:05:49]>> [laughter] >> But for those who came out to experience the homecoming, the win means something more. I just think for girls this is like if you think of I think a lot of the players growing up and what they had to go through to get here and to see little girls now like here getting signatures it's inspiring, right? It felt amazing. I can't believe it. I got them to sign my um photo of my team and it was just amazing to just see them. I have a daughter myself, she's two and a half and all she knows is that she wants to be a Victoire and she wants to play hockey and I really find that super inspiring. An impact not lost on the captain. Yeah, I was that little kid back in the day where there's not many possibility for us. There was a lot of men's hockey but uh the Caroline Ouellette, the Kim St-Pierre, they paved the way for all of us and being able to do that and inspire the young generation uh being part of the CWHL. It caps off a special season for the Montreal Victoire finishing first place in the regular season and now celebrating the team's first-ever Walter Cup back home with their fans.

[00:06:53]Matt Gilmore, CTV News.

[00:06:58]This new soccer pitch has a prime location at Harbourfront Centre. It's part of Jumpstart's new soccer infrastructure initiative to help expand access to the game. Some local school children were thrilled to get a chance to try it out today. I like it. It looks like a a real like professional soccer pitch and it looks really cool. And there's nets too, the nets are big and these are like for like new players.

[00:07:19]>> On other turf pitches I usually slip and this one I don't. Everybody gets to play because everybody is having fun and summer's almost coming. Soccer remains the number one most played sport for youth in Canada. Jumpstart is a charitable program operated by Canadian Tire. It's committed to building 25 pitches like this one right across the country. It's important that we create these spaces in communities across Canada that don't have them so that kids can embrace that universal language, make friends, have fun, and learn new skills. The opening of the new pitch comes as we prepare for the FIFA World Cup next month. Former Canadian professional player Atiba Hutchinson joined the opening ceremony. He says it's important to give young kids the opportunity to play this game. This is you know something that we didn't really have. We had to kick the ball in the the goals that had no mesh in the back and had to chase it all over the place and I think this is the perfect way to really do it. And yeah, as I said, you know, what it does for the kids, it's it's amazing.

[00:08:24]I like that we get to pass to each other, we win, and we celebrate.

[00:08:30]>> That people are motivated, happy, and cheerful. Jumpstart says it plans to open eight pitches by the end of the year. John Musselman, CTV News.

[00:08:41]This is the first order storm trooper that I wore in the Macy's Day Parade back in 2021. That was Star Wars cosplayer Dean McIntosh front and center.

[00:08:51]>> I belong to three [snorts] Star Wars fan clubs. I belong to the Mandalorian Mercs, the 501st, and the Rebel Legion.

[00:08:58]So with them, we do a lot of charity events. We go to children's hospitals.

[00:09:02]All the money we raise goes to the charities. Dean has nine official Star Wars costumes including this Darth Vader one from The Empire Strikes Back.

[00:09:11]>> But it was his official fan club approved Din Djarin outfit which caught the attention of Lucasfilm.

[00:09:20]They flew him from Southwestern Ontario to Hollywood to be on the red carpet for the premiere of the upcoming film The Mandalorian and Grogu. We dressed up and went out on the red carpet. We met Pedro Pascal, Jon Favreau, and all the stars that were in the in the film, they signed our stuff and it was so great.

[00:09:41]And then right after that, we de-kitted and they waited for us to come into the theater and we went into the El Capitan and we watched the movie and it was fantastic.

[00:09:51]>> Strap in.

[00:09:55]There's something for everybody in this new movie that's out. We saw it. I was smiling for the first hour. Like I couldn't get the grin off my face sitting there watching it. I couldn't believe I was there. It's a dream come true for any Star Wars fan to go there, but to be that involved and to be that present with all the actors and Disney and LFL bringing us there to to do everything. It It's so fantastic.

[00:10:19]Thursday night McInnes will make the 1-hour drive to join 15 of his fan club friends in London, Ontario for the local premiere.

[00:10:30]I recommend people to go see it. It's an adventure from start to end and Grogu is the star. Brent Lale, CTV News.

[00:10:40]Ross Video's broadcast systems and software are world-leading technologies.

[00:10:45]>> This is where we do our research and development on our robotics products.

[00:10:51]>> [music] >> From Taylor Swift concerts to Super Bowls, the New York Stock Exchange and newsrooms nearly everywhere. For more than 50 years, teams have designed its tech in Ottawa and built it in Iroquois.

[00:11:04]And now the company is growing. With an investment of 122.5 million dollars through the Invest Ontario Fund, the province will provide up to $6 million toward expanding manufacturing and research.

[00:11:18]>> Ontario must and will continue to position itself at the forefront of industries that are defining the future.

[00:11:26]>> Company CEO David Ross says the investment will help create new AI-enabled technology along with 125 new jobs. We've worked really, really hard to get to where we are today. Uh I think we're we've been giving back into the community for years and years and creating jobs for many, many years.

[00:11:45]Uh it's it's just wonderful having this cooperation with the government to continue to see that happen. Ottawa's mayor calls Ross video one of the city's biggest success stories. And they're committed to this region. We we really appreciate that. They're investing in our city. They're creating jobs.

[00:12:01]>> Local business leaders in technology say the impact reaches far beyond the company. We have the top tech talent concentration in all of North America.

[00:12:09]That's because companies like Ross video anchor and grow with deep roots here.

[00:12:14]Today, Ross video is made up of 23 different companies and more than 1,300 employees around the world. Many of our people have built long, meaningful careers. And for David Ross, it comes back to the teams behind the many technologies. The innovations span everything from manufacturing and and and certain products with control panels and robotics and cloud technologies and software technologies in so many different market verticals.

[00:12:43]It's like say it's like having 10 kids and saying which one am I most proud of?

[00:12:46]I'm proud of all of it.

[00:12:49]Ross video has 17 global offices serving more than 10,000 customers in 120 countries. And with this new investment, expect those numbers to keep growing.

[00:13:02]Pounding the pavement to find a cure for cancer. I'm really proud of our school for raising so much money. DOLLARS FOR WALK FOR CANCER!

[00:13:11]ABOUT A THOUSAND students and staff at West Ferris Secondary School left their classrooms for the hour-long march to the Lake Nipissing waterfront. The walk inspires breast cancer survivor Amanda Etches. She was diagnosed two years ago.

[00:13:26]>> Many surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and it's been one just a little over 1 year with no treatment, no radiation, no chemotherapy. There's always follow-up things, of course. About a month ago, the students canvassed their neighbors, going door-to-door, collecting close to $61,000, a school record. Yeah, I think it's great, and I think we should keep doing it. Since its inception, over a half a million dollars has been raised for research and treatment. All donations stay local, going directly to the North Bay Regional Health Centre to buy a state-of-the-art vacuum-assisted breast biopsy machine, part of diagnosing breast cancer. It's a minimally invasive outpatient procedure used to examine suspicious breast abnormalities. It's allowing people to find out those answers sooner and to get the the treatment started, and and that's the biggest thing with cancer. This tradition started over three decades ago when a former student who had cancer began walking around the school's outdoor track, raising money for treatment. So many kids have been touched by cancer. It's combination of all those things together, and I think it just it keeps getting better year after year.

[00:14:38]>> Last year, our family friend got diagnosed with stage two breast cancer.

[00:14:41]Feels really good cuz she is in remission now.

[00:14:44]>> [screaming] >> Students hoping one day the sun will shine on a day when cancer will be a thing of the past. Eric Taschner, CTV News, North Bay.

[00:14:59]The 150-acre Colasanti Conservation Area along River Canard was donated to the Essex Region Conservation Authority in 2022. Over the past 2 years, walking trails, picnic areas, and public amenities have been added, while restoration work continues throughout the wetland.

[00:15:15]>> It's one thing to hang on to land and say, you know, it's mine, and no one else can can trespass, but when when I saw the the nature that was here, uh the possibilities of uh of uh people having access to this, it just made a lot of sense that uh it should be open to the public.

[00:15:33]>> Loris Colalivino, whose family made their wealth in construction, says he hopes exposing more young people to nature will help future generations better appreciate and protect the environment.

[00:15:43]>> It means everything to them. You see how excited they are just looking at these trays of the wildlife from the from the reserve. Students from Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School attended Thursday's opening, including some of Colalivino's own grandchildren. It just feels nice and it's really cool to be here at the grand opening. The conservation area is home to provincially significant wetlands and habitat for several species at risk, including Blanding's turtles and Eastern Fox snakes. Urca officials say projects like this highlight the importance of protecting natural areas locally, especially as conservation authority mergers move ahead across Ontario. It's extremely important to maintain local accountability, local transparency, and local relationship building. I think we all have that duty. Every person on Earth has that duty to protect the green places, all the wildlife, all the species at risk. We all have that duty, and I thank the Colalivino family and Urca uh for putting this front and center. You know, you not often you get a 50 acres and do something wonderful like has been done here. Colalivino says he hopes the conservation area continues growing as a place for education, recreation, and conservation for decades to come.

[00:17:04]I just think it's fantastic, you know, I it already sets them off to a path of uh appreciating nature now and into the future.

[00:17:13]Urca officials say continued restoration work here will help protect wetlands and biodiversity while giving residents another place to connect with nature.

[00:17:22]The conservation area already includes trails, picnic areas, and a pavilion with the Colavino family saying there are still plans for additional features in the future including a memorial forest.

[00:17:36]There is an air of excitement at the Edmonton Convention Centre.

[00:17:40]Thousands here learning about Canada's and Edmonton's place in a quickly changing artificial intelligence landscape. We've been leading for a while and so that means we're we're pioneering spaces and and ideas that other people aren't even looking at yet.

[00:17:55]>> Tens of millions of dollars have been given to local researchers to fund their work and hire more of them. They're now part of a national organization sharing AI innovation across Canada. It's literally just wild to be a researcher in a field that went from literally you don't even talk about it in tech to it's now in everyone's lives. If they out of order is in Edmonton thanks to another new funding pop with $30 million.

[00:18:21]It's being used by the U of A and AI research institute Amy to attract high-level AI researchers. She says Edmonton is on the cutting edge of a wide variety of fields. One of the things that stand out with Canada is the collaborative you know organizations like Cfar for example that is bringing together researchers AI will change how we deliver health care, change how we deliver service, change how agriculture, mining, everything's done. Artificial intelligence minister Evan Solomon says the U of A is at the forefront of development. You're seeing it on the research side, you're seeing it on the industry side, you're seeing governments coming here looking for Canadian companies to build and to buy from.

[00:19:04]>> It's just it's a realization of the potential that's been building for more than 20 years and it's it's going to keep growing for sure. White says Alberta has the tools to become a leading hub for AI and technology over the next 5 years. Curtis Gotziaman, CTV News, Edmonton.

[00:19:22]It's a big burden left in its travel crate to get used to its new surroundings at Frank Lake. Calgary Wildlife chose this spot because there's a flock of American white pelicans living here for the summer. Pelicans are group birds. They don't They don't particularly do well on their own. Um so we wanted to find a place that was quiet that he could have some time to strengthen his wings. Kyla Ray opens the crate so the pelican can stretch its wings, but it doesn't leave right away.

[00:19:47]I think he was just checking the space out, um looking around like he um feeling the wind, see which way it was going. But it's not long before it leans into the wind and then takes off. It's a happy moment for the people who nursed it back to health. There aren't even words to see the change in an animal, um especially through the winter. It was a long It was a long winter, and to to watch him slowly move from like a small quarantine space into a little bit of a bigger space and changing the substrate he was on and making sure his mind was being um being used.

[00:20:19]>> The resident pelicans take notice of the new addition as it swims in the background looking for fish. It was in bad shape when it arrived at the rehab facility in October 2025, full of parasites, underweight, and not moving well. He was found in Calgary during the migration south, got injured during that migration.

[00:20:39]Um we need to like get him back with a flock. So this is really helpful that there's a flock of pelicans here. This is great habitat for him, lots of food, and yeah, he should be good and on his way. Just beyond the island, you can now see two pelicans swimming together, and that's just what Waylon and Ray want to see.

[00:20:57]The pelican also showed signs of lead poisoning, and rehab specialists are asking the public to properly dispose of fishing material like lead weights to help protect waterfowl.

[00:21:08]Kevin Fleming, CTV News, Frank Lake.

[00:21:13]When Sara Reese was young, she felt like she was living in a real-life Disney movie.

[00:21:17]>> Actually, I wore a Cinderella dress throughout my entire kindergarten, like every day. And she would constantly carry around a toy tape recorder and microphone to sing along to all the songs from The Little Mermaid. But also, she had dreams of being something bigger.

[00:21:32]>> [laughter] >> So, Sara paused performing until after she realized her dream of becoming an engineer specializing in wastewater.

[00:21:40]It's super essential to to human health.

[00:21:42]And Sara was so passionate about working on her first big project, she decided to write a song about it.

[00:21:47]>> Like, I know that most people they just flush and no one ever thinks about it, so I thought this is a good opportunity.

[00:21:53]>> [music] [singing] >> So, Sara summoned up the courage to play her wastewater song at a local open mic night hosted by Jeff Johnson.

[00:22:04]>> She came in the first time and I'm like, "Oh, this is a little bit weird."

[00:22:06]>> But the next time, Jeff really listened to Sara's thoughtful lyrics, really noticed the enthusiastic response from the audience, and pitched the possibility of making a music video.

[00:22:16]There was a version of the video that had like laser sounds zapping bacteria and they would explode, um little poop emojis dancing around.

[00:22:23]>> But in the end, Jeff and Sara chose to produce a more professional product.

[00:22:29]>> [music] >> Wastewater management. [singing] Who's dealing with [music] your And the girl who grew up wearing fairy tale dresses and singing about under the sea, donned personal protective equipment to showcase the complex process of keeping human waste out of the sea. Where the organics get eaten in a vat [music] of bacteria. After Sara recorded the song in just a few takes, Jeff shot the video in about an hour.

[00:22:58]>> Then we blast it with UV for disinfecting. And while it's unlikely a song about number two will hit number one on the music charts, Sarah does hope, like those fairy tales with morals she loved, her and Jess' work both entertains and educates. For people to like have at least heard once how their waste water gets treated, I think it's more than many have heard before. How cool it [singing] can be >> Adam Sawatski, CTV News, >> [music] >> North Vancouver.