More than 5,000 people in Ottawa had their basements flooded in a Canada Day torrential rain storm and now many are finding they have limited or no insurance coverage. Vassy Kapelos is joined by one of the victims, Jennifer Johnston, who is urging homeowners everywhere to check their policies.

Listen to The Vassy Kapelos podcast on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @VassKapelosShow and on Instagram at @VassyKapelosShow.

More than 5,000 people in Ottawa had their basements flooded in a Canada Day torrential rain storm and now many are finding they have limited or no insurance coverage. Vassy Kapelos is joined by one of the victims, Jennifer Johnston, who is urging homeowners everywhere to check their policies.
Listen to The Vassy Kapelos podcast on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @VassKapelosShow and on Instagram at @VassyKapelosShow.

All the best audio from Vassy Kapelos on CFRA.

All the best audio from Vassy Kapelos on CFRA.

The Vassy Kapelos Show - Sound Bites

Top sound bites from all of 580 CFRA's programming

Top sound bites from all of 580 CFRA's programming

580 CFRA Top Sound Bites

Audio from the Vassy Kapelos Show on 580 CFRA.

Audio from the Vassy Kapelos Show on 580 CFRA.

The Vassy Kapelos Show

580 CFRA

VKS: This Ottawa homeowner has a warning about insurance after finding out she's not covered for Canada Day flooding

Watching your property and your possessions fill up with water often brings a very specific kind of helplessness. When you are standing in rubber boots, waiting on a claims adjuster to show up to your front door, only to find out that you have no coverage – it’s demoralizing pain. Nearly 6,000 basements have been impacted by this year’s Canada Day floods. Kristy’s basement is one of them, and that statistic is climbing. Insurance companies call this an ‘Act of God’ – a legal phrasing for something completely out of humanity’s control. So how do we cope when our safety net abruptly evaporates? That’s up for discussion in this week’s Self-Help Tuesday with psychotherapist Benslyne Avril. Meantime, after the U.S. launched a trade war with Canada last year, one of the first statement actions from Ontario’s Premier was a purging of U.S. liquor. Doug Ford yanked every single American bottle in sight off the store shelves. But now, the province is doing a tango with expiration dates and rising storage costs. Will it cost us more to run out the clock, or is the Buy Canadian movement too meaningful to waste away? We dig deeper with Michael J. Armstrong, an Associate Professor of Operations Research at Brock University.

Watching your property and your possessions fill up with water often brings a very specific kind of helplessness. When you are standing in rubber boots, waiting on a claims adjuster to show up to your front door, only to find out that you have no coverage &ndash; it&rsquo;s demoralizing pain. Nearly 6,000 basements have been impacted by this year&rsquo;s Canada Day floods. Kristy&rsquo;s basement is one of them, and that statistic is climbing. Insurance companies call this an &lsquo;Act of God&rsquo; &ndash; a legal phrasing for something completely out of humanity&rsquo;s control. So how do we cope when our safety net abruptly evaporates? That&rsquo;s up for discussion in this week&rsquo;s Self-Help Tuesday with psychotherapist Benslyne Avril. Meantime, after the U.S. launched a trade war with Canada last year, one of the first statement actions from Ontario&rsquo;s Premier was a purging of U.S. liquor. Doug Ford yanked every single American bottle in sight off the store shelves. But now, the province is doing a tango with expiration dates and rising storage costs. Will it cost us more to run out the clock, or is the Buy Canadian movement too meaningful to waste away? We dig deeper with Michael J. Armstrong, an Associate Professor of Operations Research at Brock University.

Hour 2 of Ottawa Now for Tues. July 14th, 2026

Canadians are hitting the open road, and some are heading South after an 18-month staredown with Trump. That’s according to new data from Statistics Canada, which is displaying a steady return to U.S. travel. Return trips by Canadian residents ticked up 3.2 percent this past June compared to June of 2025. That also marks 3 straight months of growth – highlighted by a massive 9.5 percent jump in May. Are you still buying Canadian, or is the American itch slowly creeping back? More importantly, what is fueling this trend? Kristy Cameron picks the brain of Wayne Smith in Hour 1. He is the Director of Toronto Metropolitan University's Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research. Meantime, the wildfire smoke is billowing in Ottawa for the first time in 2026, as indicated by today’s Yellow reading. How long could it persist? And as we brace for another heavy dose of rain, is there a chance that this cloud of smoke could thwart Mother Nature’s downpour? CFRA’s Andrew Pinsent has the latest on that. But first, we bring you up to speed on today’s top headlines.

Canadians are hitting the open road, and some are heading South after an 18-month staredown with Trump. That&rsquo;s according to new data from Statistics Canada, which is displaying a steady return to U.S. travel. Return trips by Canadian residents ticked up 3.2 percent this past June compared to June of 2025. That also marks 3 straight months of growth &ndash; highlighted by a massive 9.5 percent jump in May. Are you still buying Canadian, or is the American itch slowly creeping back? More importantly, what is fueling this trend? Kristy Cameron picks the brain of Wayne Smith in Hour 1. He is the Director of Toronto Metropolitan University's Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research. Meantime, the wildfire smoke is billowing in Ottawa for the first time in 2026, as indicated by today&rsquo;s Yellow reading. How long could it persist? And as we brace for another heavy dose of rain, is there a chance that this cloud of smoke could thwart Mother Nature&rsquo;s downpour? CFRA&rsquo;s Andrew Pinsent has the latest on that. But first, we bring you up to speed on today&rsquo;s top headlines.

Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Tues. July 14th, 2026

Vassy Kapelos hosts ‘The Daily Debrief’ political panel discussion with Jamie Ellerton, Principal at Conaptus, Dan Moulton, Partner at Crestview Strategy and Nojoud Al Mallees, Reporter covering the Canadian government for Bloomberg News.

Today's focus:
The feds, Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance have an MOU on the Pathways carbon capture project. Does it matter politically?
Will transparency around spending become a liability for the Carney government?

Listen to The Vassy Kapelos podcast on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @VassKapelosShow and on Instagram at @VassyKapelosShow.

Vassy Kapelos hosts &lsquo;The Daily Debrief&rsquo; political panel discussion with Jamie Ellerton, Principal at Conaptus, Dan Moulton, Partner at Crestview Strategy and Nojoud Al Mallees, Reporter covering the Canadian government for Bloomberg News.
Today's focus:
<ul>
<li>The feds, Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance have an MOU on the Pathways carbon capture project. Does it matter politically?</li>
<li>Will transparency around spending become a liability for the Carney government?</li>
</ul>
Listen to The Vassy Kapelos podcast on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Follow us on Twitter at @VassKapelosShow and on Instagram at @VassyKapelosShow.

VKS: This Ottawa homeowner has a warning about insurance after finding out she's not covered for Canada Day flooding

In 3 playlist(s)

580 CFRA

Social links

Recent clips