Prosecutors are expected to make their final submissions this afternoon at the trial of a teen girl accused of fatally stabbing a homeless man in Toronto two years ago.

A woman who ran down an Ottawa residential street with a loaded gun after ditching a car last year — and who was later shot by an Ottawa police officer — has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The 2025 Housing Forecast by Central Mortgage and Housing, suggests pent-up demand for housing  should start to reverse the current slump in demand, but when things improve it will be a much different-looking market than pre-pandemic. Single-family homes will make up a smaller portion of overall housing starts and sales At the present, however, there are continuing challenges– local market intelligence suggests many rental projects in the GTA aren’t viable at current rents and would require property taxes and development charges to be waived, along with the current HST waiver.

The share of apartment starts in the GTA made up by the 905 (the area code denoting the region’s suburbs) is likely to continue at higher levels than history due to that area’s cost advantage over the 416 (the urban core). Ground-oriented starts (detached, semi-detached and row homes) will continue to feature more prominently in the 905 due to the 416 having limited and costly land, greater population density, as well as land-use planning measures favouring denser housing types.

Following 3 years of very low sales volumes, pent-up demand is expected to increase MLS® sales in 2025, aided by ample choice, lower prices and new insured mortgage rules. However, investors are unlikely to return to the market as they won’t see rates low enough to make up for significant negative cash flow positions. Fewer investors and persistent affordability challenges will hold MLS® sales below their 10-year average.

The MLS® average price is projected to rise slightly in 2025 due to increased borrowing capacity but high supply and cautious buyers will keep growth contained. Ground-oriented homes are expected to see higher prices due to greater pent-up demand while condominium prices will likely face continued downward pressure. CMHC expects price growth in the GTA to remain in the single-digit range through 2027, with potential escalation near the end of the forecast horizon due to limited new construction of all home types.

Auto thefts are down by 16 percent this year according to a government release, and one of the reasons for the drop is the number of large-scale swoops by area police working together. It’s getting more dangerous for would-be traffickers in stolen vehicles. In the latest operation,  Hamilton Police have arrested eight individuals after a year-long investigation into an auto theft ring operating in Hamilton and Southern Ontario. The investigation, dubbed Project Polar Bear, was conducted in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario and Équité Association.

This organized criminal activity targeted high-end vehicles, distributing the stolen cars both nationally and internationally. At night, crews would steal vehicles and load them into shipping containers. Most were shipped to Montreal and destined for Ghana, Iraq, or the United Arab Emirates. Nationally, the vehicles were re-vinned and circulated back into the domestic market. The investigation is ongoing regarding trying to lay charges against people who knowingly purchase these hot cars.

Over the course of the investigation, police were able to recover nearly 88 per cent of the stolen vehicles and return them to their owners. Over 200 vehicles were recovered, which were valued at approximately $15 million.

From February 14 to 18, Hamilton Police seized an additional 14 vehicles and executed nine search warrants to private residences and businesses. Throughout the project, in addition to the vehicles seized, police recovered half a kilogram of cocaine, several kilograms of psilocibyn, two loaded handguns, $35,000 in proceeds of crime, as well as several devices designed to steal key fob signals, reprogram car key fobs, and alter vehicle identification numbers.

Charged:

Hamilton Police have charged a 25-year old female of Hamilton with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of counterfeit money.

Bashdar Kader, 26 years, of Hamilton faces a string of car theft charges as well as bail violation.

Didar Kader, 34 years, of Hamilton faces car theft related charges as well as a drug trafficking charge.

Faris Al-Hakim, 19 years, of Burlington faces car theft charges as well as bail violation.

Dhergham Al-Hilo, 26 years, of Hamilton in addition to auto theft also faces a gun charge and a drug trafficking charge.

Hawker Manmi, 43 years, of Niagara Falls in addition to trafficking in stolen vehicles is also charged with attempting to export property obtained by crime.

Hasanin Mosa, 26 years, of Haldimand

Hasan Sulaiman 19 years, of Hamilton and remains at large, faces vehicle trafficking charges and a gun charge.

Approximately half of the vehicles recovered were stolen from Hamilton, while the rest of the vehicles were taken from across the GTA. Although the criminal network was active in Hamilton, the group operated beyond the city.

Hamilton Police continue to work collaboratively with other policing partners to tackle the rise in auto theft. According to Equite Association, more than 57,000 private passenger vehicles were stolen in Canada last year, down from over 70,000 in 2023. These concentrated law enforcement efforts are making a difference.

In Hamilton, 1612 vehicles were stolen last year.

Project Polar Bear investigators are collaborating closely with the Provincial Asset Forfeiture unit on all property seized and investigated during the project, as well as working with the Major Auto Theft Prosecution Response Team from the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Hamilton Police thanked Halton Regional Police Service, Niagara Regional Police Service, OPP, and Waterloo Regional Police for their assistance during the project.

Anyone with any information that could assist Police with the investigation into this crime, are asked to contact Detective Emerson Heaslip at [email protected].

To provide information anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit anonymous tips online at www.crimestoppershamilton.com.

Eight Hamilton-area people face charges related to an alleged auto-theft ring Hamilton police say they spent a year investigating alongside other organizations.  

A 78-year-old man is dead after being struck by a car while trying to push his own vehicle out of a snowbank in Markham Monday afternoon.

On February 18, 2025, Essex County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received multiple calls for service for theft from vehicles occurring sometime overnight.

OPP advise the thefts occurred between 8:00 p.m. February 17, 2025, and 9:00 a.m. February 18, 2025, on Nicholas and Gary Streets in Leamington.

The OPP is reminding and urging the public to remove valuables from their vehicles and lock them to deter would-be thieves.

If you have any information on these incidents or observe any suspicious activity, please call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

If you have any information and wish to remain anonymous you can contact Windsor-Essex Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.catchcrooks.com where you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2000.

The post OPP Warns Of Theft From Unlocked Vehicles Overnight appeared first on Kingsville Times.

Emily Clark had a two goals — including one into an empty net — and an assist, powering the Ottawa Charge to a 3-1 win over the visiting Montreal Victoire Saturday.

At the Leamington Council meeting of February 11, 2025, Council:

• Approved a by-law to rezone a portion of 409 Talbot Street West to allow for a liquid soil reuse facility.

• Authorized severing 376 square metres of land, to be added to the adjacent property at 479 Talbot Road East.

• Approved a by-law to rezone the severed lands from an Agricultural General Zone to an Agricultural Residential Zone.

• Approved a by-law to secure land or financial contributions for future parkland acquisition, the development of recreational infrastructure, and related improvements.

• Authorized entering into a renewed licence agreement with Maryvale Adolescent and Family Services for the use of space in the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre.

For further information, please refer to the Council agenda and minutes at leamington.ca/Meetings.

The post Leamington Council Matters – February 11, 2025 appeared first on Kingsville Times.

Prime Minister Trudeau and Transportation Minister Anita Anand announced that Canada is developing a high-speed rail network in the Toronto-Quebec City corridor. According to their news release, the rail network will span approximately 1,000 km and reach speeds of up to 300 km/hour, with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City. Once operational, current travel times would be cut in half – making the trip from Montréal to Toronto in three hours. The official name of this high-speed rail service will be Alto.

High-speed rail proposals have been unveiled at intervals in Canada, since the introduction of the Montreal-Toronto Turbo Train in the late 1960s. Various studies and proposals have been announced in 1995, 1998, 200, and 2005. Things got more serious in recent years with On July 6, 2021, a procurement for the Via Rail’s High Frequency Rail was announced. The service is planned to operate between Toronto and Quebec City partly along newly constructed tracks that would run pass through Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, and Trois-Rivières, and partly along existing right of way.

Finally on October 28, 2024, it was confirmed that High Frequency Rail would be built as fully high speed rail, with fully grade-separated trains capable of travelling up to 300 km/h (186 mph). The winning bid was expected to be announced a few weeks later, with design of the system expected to take approximately four years. CAD$3.9bn were pledged for the design phase of the project, after which construction is expected to begin. Todays reannouncement by the Prime Minister and Transport Minister, reaffirms that earlier announcement with the caveat that neither Trudeau nor Anand are seeking re-election in a contest expected as soon as this coming spring.

The consortium selected to take the project to the next step is Called Cadence, whose members include:

• CPDQ Infra: The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a major pension fund with over $400 Billion in assets
• AtkinsRéalis: The former SNC-Lavalin
• SYSTRA Canada : A Canadian rail engineering company
• Keolis Canada—a company specializing in urban transit, who current operate the ION LRT in Waterloo
• Air Canada
• and SNCF Voyageurs—The French national railway

As to cost of the project, Transport Canada pegged it at $80 Billion. But European Countries such as Spain and France have built high speed systems at a per kilometer cost that if translated to the 1,000 kilometer Canadian system could come in at $26-$38 Billion.

Ontario's police watchdog says it's charging a former officer with the London Police Service (LPS) with two counts of historical sexual assault.

The key witness in the case of former Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding will no longer be testifying at trial, an Ontario court has heard. The revelation comes after U.S. prosecutors recently warned of risks to the safety of witnesses in the case.

With two runways still closed, Pearson is advising passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport on Wednesday.

The Invasive Species Centre (ISC) is pleased to celebrate excellence in invasive species prevention and management through the 4th Annual Invasive Species Awards Ceremony. The ceremony took place during the ISC’s annual Forum – one of Canada’s largest invasive species events.

The 6th Annual Invasive Species Forum is being held virtually from February 18 to 20, in partnership with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources.

The Forum brings together invasive species researchers, managers, policymakers, and community members to learn from more than 50 expert speakers with presentations calling attention to issues, research, and advances in prevention and management of invasive species across Canada, neighbouring U.S. States, and beyond.

Winners of the 2025 Invasive Species Centre Awards are:

·       Dr. Taylor Scarr of the Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, for the Career Achievement Award

·       Mallory Carpenter and Peyman Saidi of Ducks Unlimited Canada and Saiwa, Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa, for the Innovation Award

·       Jessie McFadden and Michelle Willows from Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, for the Leadership Award

·       Kallum McDonald of the Government of Alberta, for the Young Professional Award

“We are thrilled to be celebrating people moving the bar on invasive species during a record-setting event with more than 1,700 people scheduled to attend the Forum,” says Colin Cassin, Invasive Species Centre Executive Director.

“We thank and commend all award nominees and event attendees for their important work on invasive species, which have a $3.6-billion-dollar annual impact in Ontario alone on forests, fisheries, agriculture, infrastructure, public health, recreation, and tourism.”

Invasive species are plants, animals, insects, and pathogens that are introduced to an area and cause harm to the environment, economy, or society. Invasive species are the second most significant threat to biodiversity. As a result of these threats, many beloved pastimes in Canada are impacted such as hiking, swimming, fishing, boating, and visiting local parks.

There’s still time to tune into the Forum, with sessions on aquatic invasive species, innovative solutions, terrestrial invasives, and biodiversity and climate change still to come. Session recordings will also be available on the Invasive Species Centre’s YouTube Channel.

The post Invasive Species Centre Recognizes Leaders Protecting Land and Water appeared first on Kingsville Times.

York University is temporarily suspending new admissions to 18 programs due to low enrollment and financial pressures, a spokesperson said. 

Snow removal operations are continuing this week, the City of Hamilton says, following significant snowfall over the weekend that dumped about 31 centimetres of snow in the area in two days.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority Board of Directors has unanimously approved its 2025 Budget. A few highlights for the year include initiating management plans for the new Collavino Conservation Area and the CASO Greenway trail, planting at least 50,000 trees and creating two new wetlands to improve habitat and biodiversity.

Water quality monitoring will continue at greenhouse-influenced streams and a region-wide nutrient reduction program will be implemented. Restoration of the historic horse barn at the John R. Park Homestead is anticipated, and the grand re-opening of the restored museum will be celebrated.

A joint labour-management team will be engaged in a pay equity compliance review and the cloud migration of various information systems and data repositories will be completed early in the year.

The 2025 budget totals $12 million and will be funded with approximately $3.5 million in municipal cost apportionment, approximately $7.9 million in non-municipal sources, $223k from previous years’ revenues, and $587,000 in transfers from reserves. Of the municipal cost apportionment, $3,053,491 is required to fulfill the Authority’s mandatory obligations.

“The budget also reflects significant multi-year capital and water quality projects,” said Tim Byrne, ERCA CAO.

“Grants exceeding $15 million over four years will fund the Hillman Marsh coastal erosion and restoration project, two Detroit River erosion and wetland protection and creation projects, Kingsville-Leamington nutrient research study and region-wide water quality improvement incentives to rural landowners.”

Historically, the local investment of municipal cost apportionment and municipal special project funding has been matched dollar for dollar and significantly exceeded for some programs. Between 2018 and 2024, the Authority received municipal funds of $12.4 million for programs and projects that are categorized as non-mandatory under the Act.  During that time, additional non-municipal funds of nearly $15 million were secured to support those very same initiatives.

A recent report to Board outlining the 20-year investment in the Clean Water~Green Spaces initiative has highlighted that since 2003, municipalities have contributed $14.8 million to finance the protection of vulnerable lands of ecological importance; the restoration of habitat and green spaces; and the improvement of water quality in the region.

Over the two decades of this program, significant environmental progress has been made, and ERCA obtained an additional $15.2 million dollars in external funding, primarily from the Federal and Provincial Governments along with grants from non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and the Essex Region Conservation Foundation.

“As an integrated watershed management agency, ERCA’s service delivery areas have developed over decades, and include beneficial programs and services that support our collective goals related to ecological, social, and economic health,” added Byrne.

“While the Province has identified the core services it deems mandatory, ERCA has secured agreements with each of its nine member municipalities to ensure the suite of Category 3 non-mandatory services it offers to achieve a future of environmental sustainability, will continue to be delivered.”

Some examples of these non-mandatory services include tree planting and restoration on non-conservation authority owned lands, education and outreach programs, museum operations at the John R. Park Homestead and water quality monitoring and reporting.

The total cost apportionment toward creating a future of environmental sustainability will increase only 30 cents per household, to $21.21, based on a home assessed at $300,000. For those municipalities that have demonstrated leadership in signing Cost Apportioning Agreements that include a voluntary contribution to a land securement and protection fund, the total cost apportionment is $24.35.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority is a public sector organization established by the Province of Ontario and governed by local municipalities. For more than 50 years, it has provided the organization and delivery of programs and services that further the conservation, restoration, development and management of natural resources in watersheds in Ontario.

The post ERCA Approves 2025 Budget appeared first on Kingsville Times.

Margaret Thatcher, the resolute British Prime Minister known as the “Iron Lady” famously said, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” But for the millions who endure the excruciating torture of passing a kidney stone, just once is enough. About 50 per cent of those who form one stone will feel the pain again within five years. Those who develop two or more stones will form others on an average of every 2.5 years.

Kidney stones are crystals that develop on the inside lining of the kidney. The chronic irritation of these crystals may cause blood to appear in the urine. But major trouble begins when the accumulated deposit, the “stone,” breaks loose.

If big enough, it becomes trapped in the ureter, the small tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder. Renal colic is the term used to describe the sudden, acute pain that occurs when the stone blocks the urinary tract and the muscles of the ureter contract in an attempt to move it along.

Heredity plays a major role in the formation of kidney stones. The vast majority are composed of calcium salts. These are necessary for normal body metabolism and must be flushed out in the urine every day.

Due to heredity, some people absorb more calcium from food, causing a high concentration of urinary calcium and the potential for stone formation. But calcium consumption is not generally the problem. Rather, high salt intake is more frequently associated with increased stone formation. Obesity, diabetes, and recurrent urinary tract infections are also risk factors.

Treatment of kidney stones depends on the type. The less common stones of uric acid are, as stones go, rather friendly. The crystals are so soluble that even a big stone can be dissolved with oral bicarbonate (main ingredient of baking soda) and drinking plenty of water. No other stone is so cooperative, and an attack of great pain is the unwelcome onset of a crisis.

People suffering from renal colic usually require hospital treatment. With medical assistance most stones are eventually passed in the urine. Trapped stones are located by an optical instrument called the cystoscope which is inserted into the bladder. A basket-like device is then threaded up the ureter to grab the stone. If this fails surgery is required.

What else is to be avoided? It’s the use of antibiotics for longer than three weeks. This may cause an overgrowth of bacteria that possess a special enzyme, urease. This enzyme makes the urine very alkaline and may trigger the formation of struvite stones. This type of stone can fill the entire kidney causing severe renal damage.

Vitamin C does not cause kidney stones

There’s been an ongoing myth for years that large doses of vitamin C cause kidney stones. It’s hard to know how these falsehoods get started. But the very opposite is true. The fact is that vitamin C increases urine flow, results in a slightly acidic urine, and prevents calcium from binding to oxalate causing calcium oxalate stones, the most common type of kidney stone.

Experts in nutrition may know this interesting finding. In 1946, Dr. William McCormick wrote, “I have observed that a cloudy urine is generally associated with a low vitamin C status. But as soon as vitamin C is given (500 to 2,000 milligrams) the urine sediment clears in a matter of hours.”

Because of this myth some people are missing out on the other benefits of vitamin C.

Benjamin Disraeli, another former charismatic Prime Minister, once remarked, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” There should be a fourth: “myths.”

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The post Common Sense Health: Facts and Myths about Kidney Stones appeared first on Kingsville Times.

Provincial police are praising the efforts of a person who stopped to help at the scene of a crash outside of Norwich that left one person dead.

Riders may see delays up to 10 minutes on the TTC's Line 1 and part of Line 2 between Woodbine and Kennedy stations due weather-related issues, the TTC said on Wednesday morning. 

A new independent commission tasked with monitoring, for the very first time, the activities of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has still not been established, almost four months after the adoption of legislation.

A new report by INFORMAS Canada found that children see more than 4,000 digital food ads a year, with teens seeing double that number, and the vast majority is for unhealthy food. Experts say it's becoming harder for parents to cut through the social media noise to help kids make healthy eating choices.  

A swift response by flight attendants, crews and emergency workers was among the key reasons why no one died in Monday's plane crash at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, an expert and officials say.

The owner of a Kanata nuclear facility whose workers have been on strike since last May scheduled negotiations last month. Then he cancelled a call with one union and began introducing new demands with a second union.

Access to health care has been a headline-making issue in the rural ridings of Huron-Bruce and Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, leaving some to wonder why PC candidates in those ridings have skipped recent all-candidates debates on the issue.

Cutting off money for programs that help get medicine, food, and other necessities to the world's most vulnerable people could lead to thousands of deaths and allow destabilizing forces to gain control in volatile parts of the world, London-based researchers say.