Category: Ontario

Ottawa Announces $390M in Funding for Anti-Gang, Gun Violence Program

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has announced $390 million in funding over the next five years aimed at preventing gun and gang violence, a near doubling of the money given to provinces through the Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence initiative in 2017. “These federal funds will be distributed to the provinces and territories…


Ontario to Launch Audits of Six Municipalities’ Housing Finances

Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs and housing is moving forward with audits of six municipalities to see if there will be any “potential or perceived” financial hits from a provincial housing law. Municipalities have been raising concerns about a housing law, that, in part, freezes, reduces and exempts fees developers pay on certain builds such…


‘Excruciating Delays’ at Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board: Ombudsman

A backlog of cases at Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board has grown to 38,000 and it is taking an average of seven or eight months—sometimes up to two years—for a hearing to be scheduled, the province’s ombudsman said Thursday. The findings are part of a large report from Ombudsman Paul Dubé, who has issued 61…


Ontario to Expand Gas-Fired Power Supply to Address Rising Electricity Demand

Ontario is preparing to expand gas-fired power supply as the province seeks to address rising demands for electricity. The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the Crown corporation responsible for operating Ontario’s electricity market, said gas-fired plants are needed as the province seeks to address the power shortage left by the retirement of a nuclear power…


Ontario Independent Schools More Affordable Than Commonly Believed: Study

A new report from an Ontario think tank challenges the common perception that independent schooling is “reserved for the rich,” looking at how the schools set their tuition fees and what they cost. The Cardus report surveyed principals from 21 schools in Ontario—representing more than 5,600 students—and found that there are at least five ways in…


Man Killed in Hwy 7 Crash Lost His Home to a Tornado Last Year

Cheri Guest of Tweed, Ont., “will never recover from this,” her daughter said after Guest’s husband was killed in a car crash just in front of their driveway on April 17. Ronald Guest, 47, was killed waiting to pull into his driveway on Highway 7. An initial police investigation suggests Guest was hit from behind…


Nearly 1,900 Ontario Nurses Commuting to Work in Michigan: Report

As Ontario faces an estimated shortage of 30,000 nurses and health care professionals, a new report finds that nearly 1,900 nurses living in the province regularly commute to work in Michigan. The report was published by the think tank Secondstreet.org, which contacted just over 3,000 Ontario nurses with active licenses in the U.S. state to learn about…


Ontario’s Education Minister to Introduce Legislation to ‘Refocus’ System

Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce is scheduled to introduce legislation Monday that will “refocus the education system on improving outcomes for students,” a release said. The tabling of the legislation follows an announcement he made Sunday that the government will invest $180 million in boosting math and literacy in schools. That includes bringing in…


Some Ontario Hospitals and Health-Care Centres Relax Masking Rules for Staff, Patients

Several hospitals and health-care centres in southwestern Ontario are relaxing masking requirements for staff, patients, and visitors to their facilities, saying that the change is in compliance with Public Health Ontario’s guidance. An April 13 statement issued by Windsor Regional Hospital said it, along with Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and the Erie Shores HealthCare, are modifying mandatory…


Ontario Catholic Student Vocal About Gender Beliefs Files Human Rights Complaint Against School Board

Josh Alexander, 17, has initiated a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario saying his Catholic school unlawfully discriminated against him for his religious belief that there are only two genders. He has been shut out of St. Joseph’s in Renfrew, Ont., for most of the school year on the grounds that his presence…