More pets surrendered, NextStar confirms foreign worker count and man allegedly bear sprayed by car break-in suspect

Animal rescues say the cost of living is causing more people to give up their pets, NextStar confirms foreign worker count and a Windsor family is shaken after a man was allegedly bear sprayed when confronting a car break-in suspect. 

Here’s a look at the top stories on ctvnewswindsor.ca this week: 

More people giving up pets due to increased cost of living

Melanie Coulter, Executive Director of the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

The Windsor/Essex County Humane Society and nearby animal reuses report an increase in animal surrenders this year as Canadians grapple with inflation and the cost of living.

Finances have always factored into the decision for some to surrender their pets, said Humane Society Executive Director Melanie Coulter, but it has become a more common motivator.

“Whether the animal’s sick and they can’t afford it or they just can’t afford care, we have been seeing more of that being a factor in people’s decisions,” Coulter said. “And we’ve been getting more and more calls about people needing to have options because they’re close to that point.”

NextStar Energy confirms foreign worker count at Windsor battery plant

The future site of an electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Windsor, Ont. Stellantis and LG Energy Solution made the announcement alongside government officials on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (Rich Garton/CTV Windsor)

NextStar Energy has confirmed the number of foreign workers coming to Windsor to help get its new electric vehicle battery plant up to full operation.

On Thursday, a statement from NextStar Energy in response to questions from CTV News indicated approximately 1,600 technicians will “assemble, install and test” the specialized equipment required to build the batteries; and up to 900 of those technicians are predominantly from South Korea.

“They have specific knowledge of the equipment, having been part of the team to build it and disassemble it for shipping, and will therefore see the installation through,” reads the release.

Windsor-Detroit border crossing being monitored after explosion at Niagara border

The Canada/U.S. border at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont. on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (Lindsay Charlton/CTV News Windsor)

Windsor-Detroit border crossings are being monitored after an explosion at the Rainbow Bridge Canada-U-S. border crossing in Niagara.

According to multiple reports, two people who were in the vehicle have been pronounced dead. A U.S. border patrol officer injured in the explosion is also being treated at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center in New York with non-life-threatening injuries, an official with the hospital confirmed.

Surveillance footage, released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shows the vehicle speeding down a road leading up to the border checkpoint. The vehicle then leaves the roadway, crosses over a median and appears to go airborne.

‘I couldn’t get a breath’: Windsor man allegedly bear sprayed by car break-in suspect

Connor Ryersee’s Jeep was parked outside the Hanna Street east in Windsor when it was broken into. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

A Windsor family is still shaken after a pair of suspects allegedly smashed their way into one of their vehicles early Monday morning, using bear spray when confronted.

Connor Ryersee’s Jeep was parked outside the Hanna Street east home he shares with his partner and her father.

He said he was woken up around 5 a.m. to find it being ransacked by two guys dressed head to toe in black.

“I opened the window and shouted at him,” he said.

Man arrested for child luring in Chatham-Kent

Chatham-Kent police cruiser in Chatham, Ont., on Thursday, June 16, 2022. (Submitted to CTV News Windsor)

After a concerned parent discovered ‘disturbing’ messages on their child’s phone, they contacted Chatham-Kent police.

Police were contacted at about 10:20 p.m. Friday and spoke to the parent.

Officers determined that a 40-year-old man had been messaging the complainant’s 12-year-old daughter, attempting to solicit intimate images.