KASHECHEWAN, Ont. - Hundreds of people have been forced from Kashechewan, a northern Ontario native community, because of the rising waters of the Albany River, and many more could soon be on their way out, a spokesman for the Ministry of Natural Resources said yesterday.
"The situation is accelerating," said Barry Radford, who noted 256 elderly and infirm people were airlifted on six separate flights between Thursday and yesterday. "That`s Stage 1, by Sunday, we could be in Stage 2."
Algonquin still waits for skilled-trades building funds
The first round of funding for skills training and infrastructure, promised in last month`s provincial budget, has resulted in $1 million for Ottawa`s community colleges.
The bulk of that funding, $696,000, will go to Algonquin College, with another $243,000 going to La Cité collégiale. The money is part of a three-year, $60-million commitment to upgrade aging equipment at Ontario colleges.
Rising prices and an inventory shortage are making it even tougher for first-time home buyers to get a foot on the property ladder.
Ottawa is among cities across Canada where a shortage of entry-level homes was identified as "a major obstacle impeding buyer intentions," according to the Re/Max Affordability Report released this week.
When it comes to electricity consumption, Windsor is a city largely populated by free thinkers who make up their own minds about energy conservation and what impact it will have on them as individuals, according to a new survey released by the Ontario Power Authority.
Designed to identify what drives people to take action on electricity conservation, the survey found that Windsor has more than the provincial average of pragmatic conservers, people willing to take conservation measures so long as there are no personal sacrifices attached, and also more than the average of "live-for-today" types who believe they didn`t cause the problem and therefore can`t fix it.
Gentrification squeezes revived, arts-driven city neighbourhoods
Thousands, if not millions, of Hamilton dollars have been spent over the years seeking the Holy Grail that would pull the city out of its inferiority complex. Consultants from around the world have analyzed, measured and called hundreds of meetings. Without fail, they came to the same conclusion: Feed the arts and they will nurture you.
Business owners protest proposed Brock Road median
DURHAM -- More than a dozen angry business owners turned out for Wednesday`s works committee meeting to protest a plan by the Region to build a concrete median on Brock Road between Bayly Street and Hwy. 401 in Pickering. The Region is proposing to widen the stretch of road to three lanes in each direction with a raised median in the middle with no openings. The project has been in the works since 2000 and, after completing environmental assessments, the Region was set to begin the $4-to-5 million construction this year.
Region looks at alternatives for Scugog wastewater problem
DURHAM -- Durham Region is taking a step back and re-examining its options for dealing with high ammonia levels in wastewater being discharged into the Nonquon River from its sewage treatment plant near Port Perry. The decision was made by the works committee on Wednesday and followed a recommendation from staff and will have to be approved by council. The Region will focus on three options: the previously favoured Breakpoint chlorination which uses chlorine to neutralize the ammonia; Envapocrystallization (EVC), which would see the wastewater turned into snow and sprayed on a nearby field; and, building a pipe from the plant to the Whitby or Courtice wastewater plants and discharging into Lake Ontario.
WHITBY -- The ball is rolling on a project to make the four corners intersection a focal point of downtown, but not without some opposition.
A plan came forward to planning and development committee on Monday that includes beautification measures like trees, shrubs and vines. New trash receptacles and a custom-designed planter are slated to be added.
Big Arts centre touted; Proponent wants city to committ
Build it big and they will come.
That`s the message Bruce Owen will deliver to Barrie councillors Monday about a new performing arts centre in the city`s downtown.
But Owen, chairman of the Greater Barrie Centre for the Performing Arts, wants a commitment from city councillors this time.
"If they do not think that is the direction we should be going, what is the point of us existing?" Owen said of his group. "They have to tell us whether to go ahead."
County growth put to the public; Forums give residents a chance to have a say
Area residents wanting to know more about the Simcoe County area draft growth plan attended a public information open house yesterday.
More than 100 people filled a room at the Simcoe County Museum to hear how the county will grow to about 667,000 people by 2031 - a population figure arrived at by the province in its Places to Grow strategy - from its current population of about 438,000.
"Our job is to put a plan in place to control how that happens," Simcoe County Warden Tony Guergis said.
Some of the growth priorities he`s heard about from residents include traffic and gridlock, housing choices - including the intensity targets meant to include more people in smaller spaces - and the flexibility being allowed municipalities to do their own local planning.
Reserve to double in size; Nature organization looking to acquire parcel near Washago
A dedication ceremony for a donated nature reserve is usually a way for the Couchiching Conservancy to publicly thank and honour the gift.
But, today at 2 p.m., the ceremony, which will include Severn Township Mayor Phil Sled and Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop, will do more than that for the Alexander Hope Smith Nature Reserve near Washago.
Could Brantford become a "no-go zone" for developers and companies looking to expand or relocate operations?
Probably not, say those associated with housing, commercial and industrial development in Ontario.
But they say the spectre of dealing with protesters from Six Nations at job sites in an effort to bring attention to unresolved land claims is a major topic of conversation these days.
"I think it means people will be thinking twice about whether they want to make any huge investments right now," says David Zurawel of the Council of Ontario Construction Associations. "It`s the uncertainty that goes along with these kinds of disruptions and there is a growing frustration within the industry about what`s going on.
An Orangeville landlord was fined $825 last week and ordered by the court to bring his Bythia Street property up to legislated standards.
Shelburne-area resident Kevin John Brett pleaded guilty April 16 to one count of creating a hazard under the Ontario Fire Code. The charge was laid after firefighters responded to a small oven fire in a basement apartment the evening of March 11. The fire was contained to the oven; damage was minimal and nobody was hurt.
York Region residents get a tax increase in this year`€™s budget, but savings from pooling money make it a smaller dent on your wallet than first predicted.
Regional councillors passed the 2008 budget Thursday for a 3.9-per cent tax increase, equal to $72 on an average York Region home assessed at $371,070.
The drop from initial estimates of a nearly 6-per cent increase is being attributed to the use of $13.2 million in provincial tax pooling money.
City staff are trying to convince the province that Guelph can`t grow as much as the province wants it to.
But they`re working on contingency plans just the same.
Staff met with the province this week to explain why they think Guelph`s growth should be limited to 165,000 people.
"They didn`t give us an answer," said Marion Plaunt, the city`s manager of policy planning. "We`re waiting to hear back from them. They`re seriously considering our position."
You can fly around the world from Breslau, but you need a car or cab fare to access the airport.
The expanding Region of Waterloo International Airport is not on a bus route. Grand River Transit has no plans to launch one.
"Right now, it`s a little premature," says John Cicuttin, regional manager of transportation planning. "The cost of running a bus is fairly expensive. For a handful of riders, it`s difficult to justify."
Teddy Dong contends the airport deserves a transit route. He works for the University of Waterloo, shuttling over 30 aviation students between the campus and the airport, for pilot training.
More than 70 crumbling sections of streets will be repaved this summer, thanks to a $1.6 million provincial grant and federal gas-tax money. The city had budgeted $300,000 to start the resurfacing jobs. The paving plan includes parts of Queen, Cedar and Elgin streets and Speedsville, Blair and Townline roads.
There is finally hope for crystal-clear waters for a west end lake.
This week, city council approved an unbudgeted plan put forward by Ward 2 Coun. Jacques Barbeau to buy a coherent water resonator for $670,000 to reduce problems from algae blooms, a green, non-toxic algae species with an unpleasant odour, on Simon Lake.
"Anybody that`s seen Simon Lake in the last number of years understand the need," said Barbeau, whose ward includes the lake.
City council is making the Levack Water Supply Project their top infrastructure priority for federal and provincial initiatives.
Meeting Wednesday night, councillors also awarded the engineering contract to Dennis Consultants.
The city agreed to a repayment plan where they would have to foot the bill for the $18.5-million project if necessary.
Greg Clausen, general manager of infrastructure services for the city, recommended a plan in which water rates would not increase for Greater Sudbury residents to help pay for the project. Sudbury water rates are already the highest in the province for a city of its size.
Ottawa is chipping in $2.9 million to clean up the Niagara River, says Niagara Falls MP Rob Nicholson. The federal justice minister announced $2.9 million for cleanup work on the river at an event Wednesday in Fort Erie.
