Hour 1 of Ottawa Now for Fri. October 3rd, 2025

From next Tuesday to next Friday, online shoppers will be gunning for some bargains, as Amazon Prime Days return for 96 hours. Some flock to the site to snag any deal they come across, while others might drop in for the occasional must-have item. Regardless of a customer’s best intentions, retail and online experts are warning them to stay vigilant, with scams secretly lurking around every corner. Kristy Cameron digs deeper with Brian Vendramin, a Business Professor at Cambrian College. He outlines the warning signs, breaks down the most common scams, and explains how customers can protect themselves. Meantime, a new report from a Canadian financial lender shows that the country’s small business sector continues to struggle in a variety of areas. According to Merchant Growth, roughly 75 percent of Canadian small businesses feel abandoned by the Canadian government, citing inflation as their biggest and most persistent obstacle. We dig through the data in Hour 1. But first, we bring you up to speed on today’s top headlines.