Ontario now offers an 18-hour course that teaches police recruits how to deal with people suffering from a mental health crisis, marking the first time such training has been offered to the province’s law enforcement cadets. The three-day training session was introduced last week […]
Tag: Ontario
‘An outhouse is one of the best things’: Temporary homeless depots begin in city parks – CTV News [2023-07-04]
A meal, water and a portable washroom was a nice surprise for Neil Hammell, who is living in an encampment off Wellington Valley Park in London, Ont., near the Thames River. “There’s no clean down here, there’s just different levels of dirty,” said Hammell, […]
City council votes yes to fund homeless encampment ‘service depots’ – CBC News [2023-06-28]
London city council is moving ahead with a plan to create four service depots for homeless populations in the downtown core. As London faces an escalating homelessness crisis, the plan to ramp up emergency response supports was pushed forward by city council at a […]
City of Barrie backs down on plan to ban giving food to homeless people on its property – CBC News [2023-06-21]
The city of Barrie, Ont., has backed away from proposed bylaws that would have made it illegal to distribute food, literature, clothes, tents and tarps to unhoused people on public property. At a meeting on Wednesday night, council decided unanimously to refer bylaws 67 […]
London councillor called out by colleagues over light workload – CTV News [2023-06-21]
Simmering tensions about how the workload is being divided between councillors boiled over at city hall. On Tuesday, the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee was tasked with nominating two councillors to sit on the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority, and another to join the Lower […]
Ontario the latest province to stop imprisoning migrants – CBC News [2023-06-16]
Ontario has joined seven other provinces in announcing it will no longer incarcerate migrants detained for administrative reasons in its provincial jails. Earlier this week, a Radio-Canada/CBC report revealed that Quebec and New Brunswick had ended their contracts with the Canada Border Services Agency […]
London police not doing enough to tackle systemic racism, policing expert says – CBC News [2023-06-16]
London police officials are not doing enough to analyze their own race-based use-of-force numbers to start tackling systemic racism within their organization, an expert in police data says. London police numbers crunched by researcher Tandeep Sidhu show Black people in the city experienced force […]
London’s opioid users say street drugs are getting stronger, cheaper and deadlier – CBC News [2023-06-16]
People who use fentanyl on the streets of London say the deadly opioid is becoming ever cheaper and more powerful, delivering higher highs, while simultaneously raising the risk of overdose death. Without widespread testing, there’s no way of knowing, but the city’s drug problem […]
Mental health ‘on the go’ coming to midwestern Ontario – CTV News [2023-06-13]
In a few weeks, a black van with tinted windows will be rolling into communities across midwestern Ontario, offering help for people dealing with everything from anxiety to addictions. “You’ll see the clinic doesn’t have any logos or any identification on it. We want […]
Are drag queen storytimes worth fighting for? These people think so – CBC News [2023-06-07]
As pushback and protests continue over drag storytimes across Southwestern Ontario, advocates say making those experiences available is a way to teach understanding and accepting differences. Adam Davies, the co-chair of the Anti-Oppression Rainbow Research Lab at the University of Guelph — who is […]
More highly supportive, deeply affordable housing units coming to London this fall – CBC News [2023-06-05]
The city has approved a deal with charity Indwell for 44 deeply affordable, highly supportive housing units, a step toward London’s promise to open 100 such apartments by the end of the year. City councillors approved the plan for the supportive housing units last […]
Advocates blast Barrie city council for greenlighting ban on donations to people experiencing homelessness – CBC News [2023-05-21]
Advocates are blasting the City of Barrie for approving a slew of policies that, if put in place, could outlaw giving food or money to people in the city who are experiencing homelessness. In a city council meeting Wednesday, councillors approved a range of […]
Ontario government, Bell won’t say how much money they made from inmate phone calls – Global News [2023-05-16]
Neither Bell Canada nor the Ontario government will say how much money they made from a jail phone system that charged what lawyers describe as “exorbitant” rates for inmate calls over eight years. Bell operated the Offender Telephone Management System from 2013 to 2021 […]
Officers’ focus should be policing, not social work: New St. Thomas chief – London Free Press [2023-05-15]
Prioritizing the health and well-being of police officers is fundamental to improving the way police serve the community and build trust with the public, says the incoming St. Thomas police chief. Acting Chief Marc Roskamp, who will be sworn in Tuesday, outlined his vision. […]
Ontario law federation raises alarm over dwindling number of lawyers in remote areas – CBC News [2023-05-10]
The Federation of Ontario Law Associations (FOLA) is raising concerns over access to justice as the number of practising law professionals in rural and remote areas of the province dwindles. FOLA, which represents 46 district and county associations in Ontario, put forward a motion […]
Northern Ontario’s 5 largest cities continue to have highest opioid death rates in province – CBC News [2023-05-10]
Dallas Kosy says he isn’t surprised to hear that northern Ontario continues to have the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the province. Last week, the Office of the Chief Coroner released preliminary figures showing five cities in the region —Thunder Bay, Sault […]
Inside lobbying efforts to fund London’s new homelessness strategy – CTV News [2023-05-08]
Almost three months after it was announced, London’s long-term strategy for addressing homelessness is coming into focus. In a letter to his council colleagues, Mayor Josh Morgan provides an update on lobbying the federal and provincial governments to financially support the Whole of Community […]
70-year-old Ontario biker makes it her mission to protect people at drag queen storytimes – CBC News [2023-05-08]
If public libraries have become the battleground for LGBTQ rights, Patricia Ginn of Strathroy, Ont., is on the front line. At 70, Ginn, who regularly sports a black leather vest, says she doesn’t scare easily. She rides a 2023 Indian Dark Horse motorcycle and […]
Resident dog Scout helps heal patients and staff at Hamilton mental health hospital – CBC News [2023-05-07]
Six months on the job and the “bestest boy” at St. Joseph’s hospital is already unleashing a sense of hope and inspiration among patients and staff. His name is Scout — a gentle 125-pound Leonberger who spends his weekdays visiting about 30 forensic unit […]
Ontario introducing mental health education for students – CBC News [2023-05-01]
The Ontario government announced Monday it will introduce a new mandatory education curriculum for elementary and high school students that aims to increase mental health literacy, in the wake of continued challenges that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new curriculum will be introduced […]
New London police chief named, first with a racially diverse background – Global News [2023-05-01]
For the first time in the city’s history, the next police chief will come from a racially diverse background. Thai Truong was introduced Monday morning at London police headquarters as the next chief of police for the city. He is set to assume the […]
Violence in libraries is on the rise across Canada. How London, Ont. is responding – Global News [2023-04-25]
As libraries across Canada see an uptick in violence, the London Public Library is taking a compassion-first approach through a dedicated social worker for the downtown branch. The random acts of violence happening on our streets and in our transit systems in cities across […]
Ontario to pay $33M in proposed settlement for class actions over London jail conditions – Global News [2023-04-25]
A proposed settlement has been reached in two class action lawsuits against the province over conditions at London’s Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, and allegations that thousands of inmates were deprived of their Charter rights while at the troubled provincial jail. Under the proposed settlement, still […]
Mental-health services come too late, experts say, after uptick in violence – CTV News [2023-04-25]
Recent cases of violence across Canada demonstrate a clear need to treat mental illness early instead of waiting until a serious crime happens, says an executive with the Canadian Mental Health Association. Jonny Morris, the CEO of the B.C. division of the association, said […]
MLHU to province: Social assistance rates too low as some scramble to afford food – Blackburn News [2023-04-25]
As an affordability crisis continues to impact people all over the region, the board of the Middlesex-London Health Unit is asking for help from the provincial government. After reading a report outlining the health impacts of the struggle to afford food, the board voted […]
