Lookahead ’21: Finding funds during pandemic poses key challenge for Rouge River protection group
The Rouge Valley Conservation Centre’s focus for 2021 is to shore up much-needed funding and restarting projects put on hold by the pandemic. The Toronto-area RVCC is a registered not-for-profit charity funded by grants and public donations. The organization, which promotes protection of the Rouge River Valley on its course from the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill to Lake...
COVID consequences: Placed in the orange zone, Timmins hopes to go green soon
As 27 public health units transition out of lockdown measures into the Orange Zone, the northern community of Timmins hopes to return to Green Zone they achieved prior to lockdown.
Lookahead ’21: Organization seeks volunteers to help foster cycling culture, improve infrastructure in GTA suburb
Markham Cycles is searching for volunteers to help expand cycling culture in the Greater Toronto Area community of Markham.
Lookahead ’21: Pandemic has Toronto rugby group scrumming to keep building skills, knowledge virtually
The pandemic has forced a Toronto rugby organization to move online to continue its work with disadvantaged youth and to building community through sport.
COVID conflict: Skaters face bylaw scrutiny at Mississauga pond popular for pandemic exercise
Communities are wrestling with the conflict between pandemic protection and the public's desire to get outdoors and skate, play hockey or slide down hills.
Pandemic pressures have added to the struggle for newcomers and refugees in Ottawa
Data shows that refugee communities in Ottawa are being harder hit by the COVID-19 pandemic
Hazel McCallion’s 100th birthday bash to showcase arts council’s virtual transition during pandemic
When the curtain came down on live performances and other in-person cultural events because of the pandemic, the Mississauga Arts Council immediately switched gears. MAC has been navigating a virtually supportive environment since March 2020 and continues to bring artists and audiences together as best they can. Executive director Mike Douglas says he hopes people will embrace the arts more...
Canada’s child welfare system needs to be torn down and rebuilt to end its anti-Indigenous racism, critics say
The overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the Canadian welfare system accelerated throughout the 1960s, as a result of the Sixties Scoop. This is where Indigenous children were ripped away from their homes and placed into the child welfare system. The goal was to assimilate Indigenous children by placing them into white homes.
Plan to scrap ‘racist’ streaming in Grade 9 hailed as major step for Black students in Ontario
Beginning in Grade 9, all the way through his high school career, Ethan Itwaru had a ritual of visiting the guidance counsellor once a year. His annual battle to secure the grades he needed to earn in some of his classes had him regularly questioning whether to switch to the hands-on applied stream or stay in the post-secondary-track academic stream....
Lookahead ’21: Niagara conservation group aims to revitalize region’s tree cover
Growing up in the Niagara Region, Barry Porter has watched as the land he has lived on over the years has seen increased commercial and residential development, which in turn has caused a lot of deforestation. Porter is today the stewardship director for Land Care Niagara. This year he has a goal to identify and revitalize those areas in the...
Lookahead ’21: Youth mentorship program in Peel partners with Tim Hortons for virtual fundraiser
Big Brothers Big Sisters in Peel Region partners with Tom Hortons for virtual fundraiser
Tracking COVID-19: Feb. 8
Ontario has reported it has now seen 278,207 total cases of COVID-19, adding 1,489 infections today. The death toll rose by 22 to 6,505. There are 926 people in hospital, down 95, with 335 in intensive care, up 10, 233 on a ventilator, up five. There are 517 new cases in Toronto, 261 in Peel and 121 in York Region....
Lookahead ’21: With domestic violence rising in pandemic, Ontario charity provides shelter for South Asian victims
The organization Hum-WE is working hard to help South Asian women facing domestic abuse find ways to feel safe.
Ontario’s opioid crisis worsens as pandemic deepens: experts
As the pandemic rages, Ontario is seeing another crisis grow — that of opioid overdose deaths.
Lookahead ’21: 4-H Ontario to boost rural internet links to keep youth engaged through pandemic
The organization, 4-H Ontario, is trying to give rural youth better online access to their programming.
Pandemic intensifies silent sorrow of Canada’s asylum seekers
Depression, anxiety, the pandemic is intensifying the mental stress already faced by refugees who have landed in Canada.
Ottawa outperforming other Ontario cities in containing COVID, but that may not matter with lockdown looming
Ottawa's management of COVID-19 is drawing praise from outside the city, but that won't keep the region out of an impending province-wide lockdown.
Locked down in lockup: Prisoners’ mental health suffers as visits, volunteer groups suspended during pandemic
Volunteer-led activities in prisons across Canada have been shut down because of the pandemic, leading to a decline in already-difficult conditions that strain mental health.
‘Names Hurt’: Confronting the embedded racism in Ottawa streets and landmarks linked to slavery
In the wake of the North America-wide anti-racism protests spawned by the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, Canada has seen a growing movement to highlight systems of oppression and systemic racism. As a part of this, citizens have begun to question the symbols around Canadian cities that honour racist figures and they are pushing for renaming's.
COVID-19 restrictions are causing a surge in cannabis sales and changing consumer habits in Ottawa
Learn how COVID-19 restrictions are causing a change in local cannabis retail sales and consumer habits.
COVID is reshaping holiday traditions, shopping
Like many things in 2020, the holiday season will look a little bit different this year as COVID-19 cases continue to hit record highs all across the country.
For the love of Ontario Parks, pick up your garbage
As more people discover a love for camping during the pandemic, Capital Current's Samantha Pope writes let's all remember the basics of helping preserve nature: leaving no trace.
Tracking COVID-19: Dec. 1
The prime minister said today that Canada will not agree to lifting a ban on non-essential travel with the United States until the coronavirus outbreak is significantly under control around the world. The Liberal government is preparing legislation to begin implementing the fall economic statement. As such the measures could trigger a confidence vote and the toppling of the government. Justin...
Ontario moves to make daylight savings the only time — eventually
A brief look at Ontario's new Bill 214, passed Nov. 25, seeking to permanently make daylight saving time the standard for the province.
Ottawa’s 2020 Brian Kilrea Award winner is so much more than a football coach
The story of Jean-Sorphia Guillaume goes beyond the football field and into the community where he has helped many succeed in football, but more importantly in life.
As COVID-19 drags on, traffic collisions are way down but dangerous driving may be up
Business closures and working from home during COVID-19 has reduced traffic across Ontario. How is this impacting road safety for Canadians?
Ford locks down Toronto, Peel; Ottawa remains in orange zone
Rising COVID-19 numbers has forced Doug Ford to lock down Toronto and Peel Region health units. The new rules begin Monday.
Post-secondary students hoping for tuition break as ‘virtual learning’ continues
Post-secondary students all across Ontario have now experienced online schooling and the question still remains, will tuition fees ever be lowered?
Ottawa’s hard-hit tourism sector faces an uncertain future amid pandemic
Tourism spending in Canada is down, leaving Ottawa's tourism industry in crisis. The city is positioned to lose $1.4 billion in tourism spending in 2020.
Ottawa pagans prepare to observe a physically distanced tradition on Oct. 31
Samhain, a Celtic holiday from which Halloween originates, normally involves witch balls, parties, and group rituals for Ottawa pagans. Pandemic restrictions mean community members must stay home.
Many students losing an economic lifeline as restaurant jobs in Ottawa hit hard by COVID-19
Life is tough for Student employees and students seeking work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spooky attractions across Ontario haunted by pandemic rules
How local businesses are adapting to pandemic guidelines in attempt to provide the haunted Halloween experience this year.
Halloween isn’t cancelled, Ford insists — ‘just don’t go door-to-door’ in Ontario hotspots
Premier Doug Ford is recommending that children in Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa refrain from door-to-door trick-or-treating this year, but that doesn't mean the spooky day is cancelled.
Tam gives general go-ahead to trick-or-treat, but Etches says COVID hotspot Ottawa needs safer Halloween
With Halloween fast approaching, many families are still wondering what their Oct. 31 will look like this year as they wait for official guidelines from the province about a COVID-safe Halloween.
Ontario students face critical gaps in Holocaust education and awareness
In the wake of a widely shared report on Holocaust awareness in the U.S., there are growing calls for what many have been saying for years: there is a desperate need for comprehensive Holocaust education in schools.
Faces of change: Louisa Taylor helps newcomers navigate 2020, COVID-19
This Ottawa refugee advocate is working to ease newcomers into a post-COVID Canada.
Governments ‘not doing enough’ to control Canada’s worst invasive plant, experts say
Experts say Ottawa is not doing enough to control the spread of Canada's worst invasive species, despite economic incentives
Ontario to begin largest flu immunization campaign in ‘Canadian history’
The province will spend $70 million in the country’s largest flu immunization campaign, ordering 5.1 million flu vaccines.
Opioid overdose crisis outstrips COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, frontline workers say
The rules of physical distancing and recommended isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a spike in overdoses across the country. According to drug policy experts and advocates, the opioid epidemic has overshadowed the pandemic while also increasing the risks faced by drug users.
Smaller fields, more biodiversity, research by Carleton professor shows
Lenore Fahrig, a biology professor at Carleton University, has found that dividing large fields into smaller ones helps provide habitat for native wildlife.
I downloaded the ‘COVID Alert’ app: Here’s how it went on the first day
Tracking whether you’ve been exposed to someone who has COVID-19 in Canada became a lot easier on Friday. Well, only if you’re in Ontario. On Friday, the federal and Ontario governments launched COVID Alert, the app which notifies users if they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 within the past 14 days. “Together, let’s limit the spread of COVID-19 and prevent future...
Amid COVID devastation, staffing crisis, ‘unacceptable’ service in Ontario’s long-term care homes persists, survey shows
Ninety-five per cent of respondents in a new survey of long-term care homes in Ontario say they're short staffed and therefore unable to properly care for residents.
Ontario to spend $309M to enhance safety as two million students return to 4,800 schools across province Sept. 8
Ontario will invest more than $300 million as part of their plan to reopen all public elementary and secondary schools across the province starting starting September.
Ottawa records Ontario’s highest daily total of new COVID-19 cases as young people continue to drive surge
Ottawa saw 25 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday the most in the province today.
As thefts surge, police remind cyclists to lock up and upload
Bike theft is on the rise, and the city is hoping people will register for a program aiming to have their bikes returned to them.
Comic relief: Local comedians happy to be back with live performances under Ontario’s Stage 3 reopening
As comedy clubs begin to reopen during Stage 3 of Ontario's reopening, comedians must start getting used to the new normal when it comes to performing.
Virtual theatre and online cooking class: How hands-on college programs are adjusting
The closure of schools in March and the pandemic’s lasting impact are forcing colleges to adjust their programs. But some of the most hands-on college programs are finding new ways to help students learn.
City council votes to suspend Rick Chiarelli’s pay after “disgusting” actions
Ottawa City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to give College Ward Coun. Rich Chiarelli the most severe punishment possible following the release of a report into allegations of sexual harassment. Chiarelli’s salary will be suspended for nine months, a total of about $79,000. A report by the city’s integrity commissioner found that Chiarelli had violated several city policies when, Robert Marleau says,...
Most of Ontario, including Ottawa, in Stage 3 of reopening on Friday
Stage 3 will see most businesses and workplaces reopening and larger indoor and outdoor gathering sizes.
COVID-19 is clouding the future of available affordable housing
Statistics Canada released numbers saying spending on residential construction building projects has dropped drastically. What impact is this having on affordable housing?