Nearly 200 volunteers are slated to sort and pack urgently needed food donations at the Daily Bread Food Bank's centre in Etobicoke on Saturday.

The 35th festival will take place in Kensington Market as a pedestrian street festival without its traditional parade component. More than 200 performers are expected to partake.

Uncertainty looms in Maniwaki, Que., as a Resolute Forest Products sawmill begins a temporary closure, leaving hundreds out of work and raising fears of spin-off impacts on the local economy.

A London dog owner is pushing for a bylaw change after his dog was bitten, and the owner of the other dog refused to provide him with their contact information. 

A coalition of mainly Black-led groups demanded on Friday that the city adopt recommendations from a report critical of its refusal to let refugee claimants access beds in its homeless shelter system in 2022 and 2023.

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed left-handed pitcher Josh Walker to a one-year contract worth $760,000 US, the team announced Friday.

A Cold Warning has been issued by the Hamilton and Halton Region Public Health units starting Saturday December 21, 2024. The Cold Warning is in effect until temperatures rise above -15°C (without wind-chill) or weather conditions improve, and the risks involved with prolonged exposure are reduced.

The severe cold snap will end Monday when temperatures return to around 0 degrees C. The forecast for Christmas day is partly sunny and 2 decrees C.

Anyone can be affected by extreme cold-related weather conditions, depending on length of time of exposure to cold and exertion levels. Those especially at risk include adults over the age of 65, infants and young children, people who have limited resources to house or protect themselves, people who work or exercise outdoors (hikers, skiers). Call or visit family, friends and neighbours who may be more at risk, especially those who live on their own.

Cold and winter weather safety tips:

Plan ahead and check the weather forecast.

Always wear clothing appropriate for the weather. Cover exposed skin using multiple layers of loose-fitting clothes with a wind-resistant outer layer, a hat, gloves, and scarf.

Always be on the lookout for signs of frostbite and hypothermia.

Prepare for winter driving conditions by keeping a Car Survival Kit in your car at all times.

Where pipes are close to exterior walls or basements or crawl spaces, ensure proper air circulation and adequate heat. Also, make sure your household temperature is not set too low when your house is vacant.

Weather forecasts and wind-chill information are available on Environment Canada Weather Conditions and Forecast webpage and by downloading Environment and Climate Change Canada’s WeatherCAN app. For more information on how to protect your health during extreme cold and to sign up for Cold Warnings, visit our Cold Warning webpage at halton.ca or call 311.

The London Children's Museum is ready to welcome kids of all ages at its newly-built location next week. Families and their children will get to explore, learn and have loads of fun.

The federal cabinet now has some new members. But the only minister who currently matters is the prime minister  And until the question of the prime minister’s future is answered, not much else matters.

Regardless of the outcome of the just-completed court proceeding challenging the City’s encampment enforcement policies, documents penned by the city’ legal team have provided the most credible portrait of encampment life that has been seen in any official report, including those generated by the city. The lawsuit was launched initially on behalf of 19 individuals, later reduced to 14. The 14 were all encampment residents between 2021 and 2023 who claim their eviction from their encampments was a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedom in the Canadian Constitution.

Some of the highlights of the city’s submission, referred to as a factum, include the following.

Rough treatment during evictions claimed in the complaints.

Claims made by some of the more than a dozen evicted about their units being “bulldozed” changed under cross-examination.

• One evictee claimed that her tent was “bulldozed”, but admitted on cross examination that she had been given a “couple days” notice, and did not take her tent with her, “[b]ecause I guess I gained too much stuff, and so I don’t feel like taking it all with me. Because I know I can get another tent somewhere.”
• Another admitted on cross-examination that when police or municipal law enforcement officers have told him to move, they did not take his tent, stating “We were always pretty civil about it.”
• At his cross-examination, a complainant despite being improperly prompted by his counsel to change his evidence—explained that on an occasion when he believes the City came with a Bobcat and removed his belongings, he did not actually witness this occur; he had actually been away for “a couple of days” and one of his friends had said that he did not think the individual was coming back.
• Another who had initially claimed that he was “bulldozed” out of a parking lot at Gage Park after having stayed there to end of winter 2022, but admitted he was not present when this alleged “bulldozing” happened; that he was aware notice had been given; and that he had left his tent over the weekend and went to stay at the Budget Inn with his girlfriend.

• Another complainant stated that, when the Ferguson encampment was dismantled in 2020, she lost her tent; but she also admitted she was offered a hotel and was permitted the opportunity to make arrangements for her other possessions to be stored.
• A complainant admitted he was given three days’ notice to move, and took no steps to move because he wanted to stay. Nevertheless, he accepted the City’s offer to store his belongings temporarily.

So called “barriers” are personal preferences

The city put forward the argument that what many of the applicants termed “barriers” to their using the indoor shelter system were actually matters of personal preference, writing, “these perceived barriers include shelter policies on bed checks, service restrictions, drug use, pets and couples. None of these perceived issues are actual barriers; they reflect personal preferences.” The city argued each of the so-called barriers, “reflects a necessary policy for indoor emergency shelter providers to have in place for their continued operation.” One of the Complainants expert witnesses (a fact challenged by the city)  agreed, on cross-examination, that the need for shelter takes precedence over other needs, such as wanting a feeling of community, or a feeling of autonomy, that are not as high priority. Dr. Sereda agreed that the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which concept she relied on in her opinion, also placed the need for shelter in priority to wanting to stay with a partner or a pet.  Speaking of partners, the city’s submission added, “ the Applicants’ experts take pains to try to paint every relationship between homeless individuals as a “survival” partnership, and every separation as traumatic, but the evidence shows that is not true. Two of the Applicants have reported being subjected to violence at the hands of their partners, which strongly suggests that being separated from these violent partners would in fact be better for their survival. The Applicants’ expert Dr. Sereda conceded on cross-examination that if there is abuse between a couple, separating them might aid that person experiencing the abuse to get help; and that an abusive relationship would not be accurately described as a survival partnership.”

Encampment residents refusing shelter and permanent housing

The city submission talked at length about encampment residents refusing not only shelter space, but actual housing. “Four of the Applicants have declined housing when offered, namely (named Applicant) admitted on cross examination that she has not made an Access to Housing application, which is a necessary first step to accessing supportive housing.”

“Another notable circumstance is that of (Applicant) who has obtained housing, with City supports, but who still prefers to encamp in public parks in the City at least some of the time. On her cross-examination she admitted that procuring drugs is part of the reason she prefers to encamp in a tent; and that she is neither in, nor intending to get, treatment for her substance use disorder.

“Some of the Applicants admitted declining to enter shelter when it was available: (four named)  or declining to seek shelter for reasons other than shelter capacity (four named).”

On a positive note, the city factum noted that “seven of the Applicants have obtained housing, with City supports. All but one of this group remain housed.”

Activists advising encampment residents to resist housing

Residents observing encampments question who is supplying the tents, propane tanks and other equipment that is regularly seen. The city submission noted that one City witness has observed encampment residents are being encouraged by organized groups to resist housing supports, and instead to insist on remaining in encampments. He has observed a prevailing view among people living in encampments (though not necessarily shared by all) that living in an encampment is the first resort when living unhoused, and is preferable to staying in an indoor shelter, whereas previously, living in an encampment was viewed as temporary measure of last resort. This poses difficulties in engaging people with housing supports.

City workers testifying under oath confirm many citizen observations

The tone of Hamilton staff reports on encampments tends to stress financial hardship as the prevailing element driving the growth of encampments and tend to downplay the crime and drug use that exists. In preparing the defence, the city lawyers took testimony from Hamilton employees. “City workers also gave evidence regarding the conditions and activities they have observed in encampments, which included: fire hazards; exposed wires or unauthorized access to electricity; encampments attracting drug dealing activity; drug use, hazards from discarded drug paraphernalia; people at encampments brandishing weapons; assaults or other violent crime, theft, poor sanitation (though noting that sanitation has improved via the City making 24/7 washrooms and showers available); people in encampments becoming a target for abuse, violence, or exploitation; and people in encampments threatening others, being verbally abusive, or exposing themselves to others.”

City claimed several of Applicant’s Expert Witnesses were advocates

Naming a number of the expert witnesses used by the applicants, the city said those witnesses “revealed themselves to be advocates for unhoused individuals rather than independent and impartial experts; should the Court allow their evidence in, it should be weighed in light of the ways in which advocacy taints it.

One witness acknowledged on cross-examination that “I am an international human rights lawyer and I use international human rights law to dispute forced evictions.” Of McMaster professor Prof. Ameil Joseph, the city lawyers wrote, “The Applicants have not established that any of Prof. Joseph’s purported evidence is relevant or that it is of any assistance to the trier of fact, much less that his various social science comments are necessary to the Court.” In paragraphs challenging several of the expert witnesses called by the applicant the city concluded, “to the extent that (witness’s) evidence is admissible, it should be given minimal weight.”

Refusing shelter vis a vis the Charter

The city factum challenged the notion that applicants are justified in refusing shelter. “while the Applicants claim that they are justified in declining indoor shelter and must encamp in public parks for numerous reasons—including not wanting to be separated from a partner or pet; finding shelter rules restrictive; or disagreeing with the policies at some shelters that do not permit drug use on-site—the Applicants have offered nothing suggestive of true inaccessibility or that there has ever been any threat to their life, liberty, or security of the person as a result. Nor is it true that (the Charter allows such a subjective test.) “If that were so, many personal preferences could suddenly attract Charter protection.”

Kitchener Court ruling may not apply to encampments in parks

For more than a year, municipalities across Ontario, including Hamilton have cited a Kitchener court ruling as the reason they had to tread gingerly with encampments in parks; but the Factum claimed the Kitchener ruling, did not have the widespread application that was generally claimed. The factum reads, “Applicants rely on the recent Region of Waterloo decision (“Waterloo”), but that case only recognized a right to erect temporary shelter beyond overnight hours where the encampment in question was located in an unused municipally-owned vacant lot and not in a public park… this case concerns parks, not a vacant lot.”

The city’s case appears to hinge on whether the court agrees that encampment residents’ reasons for refusing shelter (no drugs, pets, partners) can be considered barriers that violate the Charter of Rights, or whether they are matters of personal preference. Whatever the outcome, the city’s factum sheds a more candid light on the reality of the encampment situation, that had not been previously available in city reports to council or in many media accounts.

The full city factum can be accessed below.

The City of Hamilton issued a cold weather alert for Saturday night as temperatures are expected to drop to –15 C.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) is warning that travelers may have been exposed to measles on Dec. 8 on Emirates Airlines flight EK21from Dubai to Toronto, and at terminal one from approximately 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

York police are looking for witnesses after a man died in a collision near Highway 27 and Rutherford Road on Wednesday night.

London's Liberal MPs say they have no concerns for the future viability of their party even after the deputy prime minister's sudden resignation earlier this week.

A 47-year-old Lancaster, Ont., woman is facing numerous charges including manslaughter after she allegedly sold drugs to another woman who died of an overdose, Cornwall police say.

Newly sworn-in Housing Minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith says he plans to run in the next election even though he said previously he would not. Erksine-Smith said he wants to ‘protect the progress’ and make a difference in the short term.

Jonathan David and Vanessa Gilles have been named Canada Soccer players of the year. David also won in 2019 while Gilles's year was highlighted by scoring four goals in 14 games for the national women's team.

University Health Network (UHN) has bought a 15-storey building, located at 522 University Ave., to support its programs in cancer care, research and education, the hospital announced on Friday. 

Last month, detectives with the Sexual Assault Unit with the Niagara Regional Police Service began an investigation regarding historical sexual assaults that occurred involving young persons in the Region of Niagara.

Investigation revealed that a 52-year-old male had sexually assaulted 2 males under the age of 16 between the years of 1996 and 2016 in Niagara.

On Thursday, a suspect, Todd Douglas Williston, 52 years old, of Niagara Falls was arrested and charged with a string of sexual assault and pornography charges including sexual assault involving persons under the age of 14 and 16.

Williston was held in custody pending a bail hearing was to take place on December 19, in St. Catharines.

Williston is currently employed as a school bus driver in the City of Niagara Falls and is known to have been involved in the Martial Arts community as a Karate Instructor.

The investigation remains ongoing by detectives with the Sexual Assault Unit and the Child Abuse Unit with the Niagara Regional Police Service.

Detectives have reason to suspect there may be more victims.

Anyone who may have been a victim or anyone with information is asked to contact detectives with the Niagara Regional Police Service at 905-688-4111, option 3, ext. 1009535.

Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-8477.