Nestled between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout appears to be a typical northern Ontario town. It’s made up of a few roads and a newly minted roundabout. A hunting shop, a coffee spot and an LCBO fill out its downtown core. The quiet […]
Tag: Ontario
Calls for more training after assault charges dropped against Hamilton man Tasered by police during a seizure – CBC News [2024-01-31]
A Hamilton man who was slapped with assault charges after he suffered a seizure and then was Tasered by police in October 2022 is extremely happy the Crown dropped the charges this week. The incident involving Marcus Charles, however, has prompted calls for more […]
Officer training, mental health support among proposed recommendations in Yatim inquest – CBC News [2024-01-30]
Jurors at an inquest into the death of a teen shot by a Toronto police officer more than a decade ago were asked Tuesday to consider dozens of recommendations related to officer training and monitoring, peer intervention and mental health supports in an effort […]
Homeless data for London, Ont. and the bleak picture it continues to paint – Global News [2024-01-26]
At any given time in London, Ont., there are roughly 1,700 to 2,100 people confirmed to be experiencing homelessness. Of those, about 600 are considered “high acuity,” meaning they require a high level of supports. Meanwhile, the number of encampments in the city nearly […]
Doubling social assistance rates would make ‘life-changing difference,’ recipient says – CBC News [2024-01-25]
Whether she’s riding the bus to an appointment, packing her son’s school lunch or taking courses so she can get a good job, Tia is constantly running numbers in her head. “I crunch numbers all day long to figure out what I have, what […]
First Nations leaders say mental health crisis worsening at emergency meeting – Global News [2024-01-24]
First Nations leaders held an emergency meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday to discuss a mental health crisis they warn could get even worse without government help. Nishnawbe Aski Nation says there has been an alarming spate of suicides and suicide attempts in the northern […]
In Canada’s capital, an opioid epidemic and housing crisis collide – Global News [2024-01-20]
On a cool Thursday afternoon in Ottawa, veteran police officer Sgt. Avery Flanagan approaches a man hunched over in a downtown parking lot. He has crushed opioids in one hand and a needle in the other. Flanagan tells the man, who appears to be […]
Number of dementia patients in Ontario has risen 48% since 2010, new data released by OMA shows – CBC News [2024-01-18]
New data shows that the number of people with dementia is rapidly growing in Ontario and doctors are urging the province to invest in home care now to meet their needs. There has been a 48 per cent increase in the number of patients […]
Council urged to support permanent funding for public washrooms downtown – CTV News [2024-01-18]
Coun. Skylar Franke said a movement towards ‘needs-based budgeting’ at city hall must include support for basic human needs like public washrooms. “A lot of places require that you purchase something like a coffee or a bagel to use their washrooms and that’s not […]
How a steady place to live helped this Londoner find sobriety and meaningful work – CBC News [2024-01-16]
For a decade, Korrine MacCormick didn’t have a steady place to live. She couch surfed, spent time in jail, and bounced between homeless shelters and living on the streets of London and Stratford. She was using drugs and getting into trouble, watching some people […]
Peel Region considers fines for those who misuse 911 – CBC News [2024-01-12]
People misusing 911 could soon face fines in Brampton, Mississauga, and Caledon, after the Peel Region council voted this week to explore whether fines or other penalties can be issued. Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown introduced the motion, citing Peel police data on emergency calls […]
He slept on night buses and in a storage locker to avoid homeless shelters – CBC News [2024-01-04]
Three days before Christmas, John Grant Yusak was evicted from the closest thing he’d had to a home in months. It was a storage locker. At six feet tall, he could barely squeeze into the space. He piled up his bins, laid an air […]
How does Ontario enforce its accessibility legislation? It doesn’t, advocates say – CBC News [2024-01-04]
In her years of advocating for people with disabilities, Alex Wilding says complaints to the province about organizations failing to comply with its accessibility law have gone nowhere. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was meant to remove barriers for those with […]
High levels of carbon monoxide, mould found in homes on Ontario reserves: study – CTV News [2023-12-28]
A study has found air inside homes on four remote First Nations in northwestern Ontario contained carbon monoxide, fine particles, mould and other substances that increase the risk of respiratory infections. The report’s author, David Miller, a distinguished research professor at Carleton University, says […]
Niagara police officer asks trans woman for ‘deadname’ while questioning her filming at bus terminal – CBC News [2023-12-23]
Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) says it is reviewing an incident from Dec. 17, after an officer asked a transgender woman for her “deadname.” It comes after the woman, Sabrina Hill, posted a video of the incident on social media. Hill, a prominent local […]
A killer is found not criminally responsible. The Crown and defence agree the system is broken – CBC News [2023-12-16]
For defence lawyer Marni Munsterman, the “discomforting and alarming” detail that stood out in the large volume of evidence about Adam Rossi — who was found not criminally responsible on Friday of the second-degree murder of Sommer Boudreau, and interfering with her remains, in […]
We want to keep people alive’: Outreach workers call for tools to combat toxic new street drugs – CBC News [2023-12-14]
Walking through the Glengarry non-profit housing complex in Windsor, Ont., harm reduction outreach co-ordinator Lacie Krzemien is exhausted. The recent news that Windsor’s only safe consumption site, Safepoint, will pause operations at the end of December has left her despondent. “I’m upset, because it’s […]
How tiny shelters in Ontario are looking to fill the gap for those in need of housing – Global News [2023-12-08]
Rows of tiny cabins across a Kitchener, Ont., neighbourhood have been catching the eye of several communities across the province that’ve begun duplicating the model, hoping to bridge the gap between homelessness and permanent housing. A Better Tent City (ABTC) co-founder and chair Jeff […]
Police fear ‘they’ll be seen as weak’ bringing up mental health struggles: Ontario union – Global News [2023-12-01]
A police union in a major Ontario city made a push this fall for better mental health supports for its front-line officers. Hamilton Police Association (HPA) president Jaimi Bannon faced the city’s police board in October and called for an end to a stigma […]
Growing number of homeless people turning to ERs for shelter and warmth in Ontario, study says – CBC News [2023-11-28]
When Dr. Carolyn Snider arrives for her early morning emergency room shifts, she regularly sees between five and 10 people in the waiting area who don’t need medical attention— just a safe place to stay warm. “[They’re] truly there to just stay out of […]
Doctor points to gaps in London area child and youth mental health care – CBC News [2023-11-27]
A doctor in Alymer, Ont., is speaking out after facing barriers to get outpatient mental health care for a 12-year-old patient identified as being at high risk for self-harm. Dr. Michael Fernando is a general practitioner who took over as the family doctor for […]
Autism Ontario troubled by Veltman defence team’s use of autism in criminal case – CTV News [2023-11-20]
Autism Ontario is deeply troubled by the fact that the defense for Nathaniel Veltman tried to cite autism as a mitigating factor in the June 6, 2021 attack on the Afzaal family(opens in a new tab). The advocating body for people on the spectrum […]
Crisis worker with London Children’s Aid urges province to step in as agency places kids in hotels – CBC News [2023-11-15]
A crisis intervention specialist with the London, Ont. branch of the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) says there are currently no beds available for some of the city’s most vulnerable youth. Pre-existing gaps in services have only grown wider in the city and across the […]
SafeSpace London’s landlord has message for property owners considering homeless shelters as tenants – CTV News [2023-11-01]
“Do it. This will help us find a longterm solution [to homelessness],” urged Rashad Ayyash when asked what he would tell other property owners considering homeless shelters or frontline agencies as tenants. Ayyash and his business partners are proud to be landlords for SafeSpace […]
Ontario inmates saw higher risk of overdose death as COVID-19 emerged: study – CTV News [2023-10-28]
Former Ontario inmates saw their risk of dying from a toxic-drug overdose jump as much as 50 per cent at the start of the pandemic compared to the years before COVID-19, says a study. The study in the medical journal PLOS One compared pandemic […]
