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Jon Woodward

@jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social

900 followers 580 following 27 posts

CTV News and W5 investigative reporter, generalist muckracker and dad joke enthusiast

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Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · 2d

New investigation from me!

We took a look at who the lobbyists are whose clients are getting those Skills Development Fund grants...

‘Something doesn’t smell right’: $100 million in Skills Development Fund grants traced to lobbyists with ties to Ontario premier

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/poli...

‘Something doesn’t smell right’: $100 million in Skills Development Fund grants traced to lobbyists with ties to Ontario premier

Clients of lobbyists with ties to Ontario's premier and his office snagged at least $100 million in Skills Development Fund grants, according to an analysis of the data by CTV News.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · 18d

New investigation from me!

It seems the Ontario government gave $9 million to a spa and casino company whose CEO is a PC donor, as part of its embattled Skills Development Fund program.

Niagara spa, casino company among those getting SDF grants

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · 18d

New investigation from me!

Our FOI means we can quantify how often this happens — after we saw it in real time in the Umar Zameer trial.

Crown has reported 28 cases of ‘deliberately untruthful’ police officers in a decade: documents

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti...

Crown has reported 28 cases of ‘deliberately untruthful’ police officers in a decade: documents

Ontario prosecutors have highlighted almost 30 cases in the past decade of police officers who were 'deliberately untruthful' on the witness stand, according to documents obtained by CTV News.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · 21d

New investigation from me!

We uncover how a simple but consequential mistake by police appears to have led officers to accuse two car salesmen of selling stolen cars.

Now -- the charges have been dropped -- and they are speaking out.

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti...

‘Botched from the word go’: How W5 uncovered a police mistake — and authorities dropped charges against car salesmen

A simple but consequential mistake by police that was uncovered in a W5 investigation is among the reasons that crown prosecutors dropped nearly 200 charges against a pair of car salesmen accused of s...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · 27d

And our follow story:

bsky.app/profile/jonw...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · 27d

New from me!

A day after our story about millions in grants going to a company with ties to the PCs, we can confirm the Auditor General is looking into the fund.

Ford government: Auditor General looking in Ontario Skills Development Fund grants

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/poli...

Ontario’s Auditor General to probe $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund amid questions about grants

Ontario’s Auditor General has quietly started a probe into a multi-billion dollar provincial program that writes big cheques to organizations offering to train workers – but couldn’t answer questions ...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · 27d

New from me!

A day after our story about millions in grants going to a company with ties to the PCs, we can confirm the Auditor General is looking into the fund.

Ford government: Auditor General looking in Ontario Skills Development Fund grants

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/poli...

Ontario’s Auditor General to probe $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund amid questions about grants

Ontario’s Auditor General has quietly started a probe into a multi-billion dollar provincial program that writes big cheques to organizations offering to train workers – but couldn’t answer questions ...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · 29d

New investigation from me!

Are there “shades of the Greenbelt” scandal in a program that doled out grants to private training companies amid a crisis in public colleges?

Questions raised about Ontario’s $2.5 billion private career training fund

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti...

‘Shades of the Greenbelt’: questions raised about Ontario’s $2.5-billion private career training fund

An Ontario public-sector union is crying foul about grants given out from a multi-billion-dollar provincial fund for private career training, even as the province’s public colleges face unprecedented ...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Jun 18

Here’s the story!

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

‘It never comes back to you’: Corrupt Service Ontario worker brags about her role in a scheme to sell stolen cars

A W5 investigation is shedding light on how at least one corrupt employee of the agency that licenses vehicles has been helping thieves steal cars.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Jun 18

Note to bad guys — when the reporters ask you questions… it never looks good to put your hand on the camera!
 This is from part 3 of our series on the ways thieves disguise stolen cars for re-sale in Canada. We focused on how an auto-body shop owner conspired with a corrupt Service Ontario employee.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Jun 16

New investigation from me and W5!

Imagine going to a car dealership -- buying a car -- and then finding out it's stolen.

We looked into how it allegedly happened almost two dozen times in one dealership -- and the regulations that may make it easier for fraudsters.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Apr 3

Part two of our series on technology in Canadian prisons airs tonight!

This time -- we take a look at virtual reality -- and what role it can play in rehabilitating inmates.

Story tonight!

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Apr 2

Here's the online version of part one:

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

Canada’s federal prisons introduce limited internet to prisoners for first time

Canada’s federal prisons are introducing the internet to their prisoners for the first time, in a limited way geared to providing some inmates with educational courses and even virtual reality, W5 has...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Apr 2

NEW investigation from me!

We went inside the prison walls to find out about a new initiative that's giving federal inmates limited internet for the first time. Looked at the opportunities -- and the risks.

Airing today!

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Mar 24

And we saw cutting edge technology play a role in how any wars of the future could be fought in the Arctic, from new cold weather ATVs to diesel drones to machine-gun mounted snowmobiles:

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

How cutting edge military tech tested in the Arctic could change northern warfare

This is the fourth part of a multi-part series by CTV W5, embedded in the Canadian military’s Operation Nanook, as international interest by adversaries in Canada’s Arctic ramps up.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Mar 24

Neither we nor any of the soldiers went anywhere in the tundra without the help of the Canadian Rangers, which are a crucial tool for the military in the north, though expanding them faces several obstacles:

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

A closer look at the Canadian Rangers, the military’s ‘eyes and ears’ in the North

There are only about 2,000 Rangers, who must cover a vast territory – some 40 per cent of Canada’s land mass.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Mar 24

The challenge in the harsh, sparsely populated area is how to project power. One way: to turn any of the frozen lakes into an airstrip that can handle enormous military planes -- and we saw that process from beginning to end:

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

How the Canadian and U.S. militaries turned a frozen lake into an airstrip for an enormous plane — in just days

This is the third part of a multi-part series by CTV W5, embedded in the Canadian military’s Operation Nanook, as international interest by adversaries in Canada’s Arctic ramps up.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Mar 24

Training up there is crucial to gear up to defend the Arctic, and we saw missions like blowing up a snow defense fortification with C4.

We also saw soldiers who were surprised how well prepared they were for the cold:

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

‘The cold doesn’t like you': soldiers test gear and mettle in Arctic exercises

This is the second part of a multi-part series by CTV W5, embedded in the Canadian military’s Operation Nanook, as international interest by adversaries in Canada’s Arctic ramps up.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Mar 24

A warming arctic means accessibility by vessels from adversary nations like Russia and China -- and also becomes harder to defend with the recent posture of the U.S.
www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

Canada faces dual adversaries on its northern frontier: W5 embeds with the Canadian military in the Arctic

For the first part of a multi-part series, CTV W5 was embedded in the Canadian military’s Operation Nanook, as international interest by adversaries in Canada’s Arctic ramps up.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Mar 24

New from me!

I went with CTV's W5 to embed with the Canadian Armed Forces north of the Arctic Circle for a look at the emerging threats facing Canada there -- and see how our military is evolving.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Dec 16

New investigation from me!

We unmask a convicted con artist running repeated fake landlord scams -- and that's just part 1!

Part 2 and 3 coming Tues. and Wed.

Connecting the dots on a landlord scam: how clues revealed a prolific con artist at work

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/conne...

Connecting the dots on a landlord scam: how clues revealed a prolific con artist at work

In part one of a three-part investigation, W5 correspondent Jon Woodward reveals how a convicted con artist bilked dozens of people in a landlord scam.

Reposted by Jon Woodward

Bruce Arthur @brucearthur.bsky.social · Nov 29

This piece is as good as everyone says it is. It’s incredible.

Jana G. Pruden @janapruden.bsky.social · Nov 28

A devatasting piece of writing by a journalist who becomes homeless. www.esquire.com/news-politic...

My Life As a Homeless Man in America

An extraordinary firsthand account.

www.esquire.com

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Nov 18

New from me!

There are new calls to crack down on the sale of high-tech devices that can be used to clone key fobs and steal cars, in the wake of a W5 investigation that found devices that were designed for locksmiths have fallen into the hands of thieves.

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/it-s-...

'It's a bad look': Calls grow to restrict high-tech car theft devices in wake of W5 investigation

There are new calls to crack down on the sale of high-tech devices that can be used to clone key fobs and steal cars, in the wake of a W5 investigation that found the devices are falling into the hand...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Nov 16

That’s one thing that Ford is doing - they showed me a video of their FordPass app. The challenge is to roll it back to models that rely on only a key fob for security because just one device rather than some kind of dual authentication is fundamentally insecure.

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Nov 15

Part three of our auto theft investigation is now live!

We followed a York Regional Police bust of stolen cars to see firsthand evidence of how they are stolen -- and the role these high-tech devices must have played.

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/polic...

Police bust reveals stolen vehicles en route from Canada to Africa – with reprogrammed key fobs

In part three of a CTV W5 investigation into how car thieves are able to drive off with modern cars so easily, correspondent Jon Woodward accompanied York Regional Police on a bust to find clues in on...

Jon Woodward @jonwoodwardreports.bsky.social · Nov 15

Hey thanks!