Top 10 most notable stories of 2022 in Windsor-Essex

Demonstrators block traffic on Huron Church Road near the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. (Bob Bellacicco / CTV Windsor)

The CTV News Windsor team has compiled a list of the Top 10 most notable stories on our website in 2022.

#10: Dog custody battle for Lemmy

A four-year dispute between Greg Marentette and Samantha Roberts went to court in 2022. Marentette hired Roberts to “dog sit” his Newfoundland named Lemmy. Roberts alleges she had the dog more than Marentette and told the court she now relies on the dog as an emotional support animal. Marentette disputes this. He has not seen his dog since 2019. Marentette successfully argued through three small claims court hearings, the dog belongs to him but Roberts has not returned Lemmy. Marentette had criminal charges filed against Roberts and the matter will go to trial in 2023.

#9: Murder-suicide in LaSalle

The Ioannidis and Blair families in LaSalle suffered a tremendous shock in March. Police say Amanda Ioannidis-Lyons was killed by her husband Blair Lyons. They also allege he took his own life by jumping off the Ambassador Bridge. His body was found in May in the Detroit River. LaSalle Police say the investigation is now closed.

#8: Donation disappoints girl battling cancer

In April, the Agostinis family was gifted a camping trailer through the Make-a-Wish foundation. Amirah Agostinis is fighting cancer. Her dream was to experience the great outdoors, close to home. Her mother Liz alleged the RV smelt like cat urine and had hair all over the floor. The Tilbury dealership that sold the RV to the Make-a-Wish foundation disputed the claim, noting they replaced the floor of the camper but did not detect any serious problems. A different company, this one based in London, donated a new camper to the family in June.

#7: Allegations of racism at Rogers store

Anthony Engelbrecht alleges he and his coworkers were the victims of racism at a Rogers retail store in Chatham this past September. In an exchange he captured on video, Engelbrecht is denied entry into the story because he is not from the region. And, even after showing his identification he says he was not allowed into the store. Rogers’s officials confirm they have a new policy requiring customers show ID before they are allowed into retail locations in an attempt to curb robbery. However, they say, customers do not need to be from the area to access a Rogers store. Rogers’s officials tell CTV News they are offering enhanced training to teach employees about the new policies. Engelbrecht says he was offered an apology and a discounted phone plan which he turned down.

#6: Local reaction to the death of Queen Elizabeth II

The death of Queen Elizabeth the second was worldwide news. In Windsor, residents reflected on her life and her impact on this community. Elizabeth visited Windsor three times: twice as queen and once when she was still a princess. In the days after her death in September, dozens of stories emerged by local royal watchers, including never-before-seen video of one of those visits. The City of Windsor commemorated her life in many ways, including creating a book of condolences and putting up memorial banners around the city. It even hosted a viewing event for the Queens’ funeral.

#5: Pandemic restrictions at the border

2022 started with ongoing restrictions at the border, including use of the ArriveCan app, negative covid testing requirements and vaccination mandates. By March, the advisory against all non-essential travel and mandatory PCR testing was lifted. Travellers could choose for themselves if they wanted to do a test. By the Spring, when international flights returned to YQG, Mayors from border cities including Windsor started to aggressively campaign for Ottawa to remove all remaining restrictions, most notably the ArriveCan app. In April, the Algonac ferry resumed cross-border service and small vessel reporting centres reopened soon after. Despite repeated calls for it all summer, the ArriveCan app wouldn’t be dropped until October. As of this writing, the last remaining cross-border pandemic restriction is the United States still requires proof of vaccination to cross the border.

#4: Terrorism charges against Windsor man

Seth Bertrand, now 19, was charged by the RCMP with terrorism in May. They allege Bertrand filled out an online application to join an entity called the Atomwaffen Division, which is a listed terrorist group in Canada. The charge has not been proven and will return to the courts in 2023. In August, Bertrand pleaded guilty to inciting hate for separate acts of vandalism at the offices of a transgender advocacy group and for acts of vandalism against a same sex couple in the community. Bertrand was sentenced to five months house arrest.

#3: Wheatley explosion developments

In January 2022, surveillance video was released by a resident, of the August 2021 explosion that rocked the small fishing town of Wheatley. Throughout the year, the municipality of Chatham-Kent offered numerous updates on the work to locate, identify and cap the gas that is in three wells below the surface. By the time of the one-year anniversary of the explosion, many families and business owners were still prevented from returning to their homes and buildings. Slowly over the year the evacuation zone was slowly reduced as the gas wells were capped. The community commemorated the anniversary with a small event in town. Regardless, the municipality still cannot assure the community the area is safe. In November, a $100 million lawsuit was launched by a Windsor law firm to help people impacted by the explosion.

#2: Windsor lands battery factory

It was a banner year for the local manufacturing sector, when in March the city landed a $5 billion dollar investment for a battery factory. Stellantis (formerly known as FCA) and LG Energy Solution are teaming up with NextStar Energy to build the biggest battery factory in Canadian history. It is slated to open in 2024 and will employ 2,500 workers. Stellantis also announced this year they will invest $3.6 billion into Windsor Assembly to ramp back up to three shifts, building electric vehicles. They also intend to hire 700 people at the company’s new battery research and development hub in Windsor. The supply chain also started to take shape in 2022. South Korean battery casing manufacturer Dongshin Motech is investing $60 million and creating 300 new jobs. And construction moved rapidly at the battery factory site at Banwell Rd. and E.C. Row Expressway.

#1: Ambassador Bridge blockade

The number one story in Windsor was the unprecedented closure of the Ambassador Bridge for a week in February. On Feb. 7, a Freedom Convoy slow-roll came to a dead stop at Huron Church Rd. and College Avenue. Protestors were upset with pandemic restrictions and called for an end to vaccine mandates for truck drivers. Initially, it choked off all but one lane of traffic going in both direction between Windsor and Detroit. Within a day, the protestors shut the bridge down completely, leading to gridlock on both sides of the border. As predicted by auto analysts, within a few days manufacturing facilities in Ontario and Michigan were idled. The Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association and the City of Windsor went to court, and got a judge to sign an injunction, ordering the protestors to leave. But when they remained in place, after six days, police officers from across Ontario came to Windsor to dismantle the blockade. Most of the protestors who created the blockade left on their own without force. Officers pushed the remaining people away from the bridge and waited for the growing crowds to die down before beginning arrests. On Sunday Feb. 13, 42 people were arrested by police. Just after midnight, on Feb. 14, one week after the blockade started the Ambassador Bridge reopened to traffic on both sides of the border. Police had barricades installed at all cross streets on Huron Church road and forced all traffic into the United States for another week to protect the border crossing. Over the weeks that followed, police slowly removed the cross-street barricades. All of the people charged during the blockade will have their day in court in 2023.