Premier Doug Ford said Thursday that he plans to visit some areas affected by prolonged power outages since a powerful ice storm hit central and northern Ontario over the weekend.  Hydro One said that of the approximately 175,000 customers without power as of late Thursday afternoon, nearly 45,000 lost power in the previous 24 hours […]

St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe used municipal assets and senior staff to coordinate his attendance in a staged campaign event for Doug Ford during last month’s provincial election campaign. The apparent violation of rules that govern Siscoe’s conduct was revealed in documents obtained by The Pointer through a Freedom of Information investigation. The documents show […]

For years, St. Catharines residents living near the former General Motors industrial site have raised concerns about potential health and environmental risks posed by the contaminated 55-acre property. For just as long, their concerns have been met with vague assurances from officials, insisting there is no cause for concern.   Nothing underscores the ongoing worry more […]

Ontario’s NDP and Liberal leaders tried to keep voters focused on health care Monday, even as actions by the U.S. president threatened to once again draw attention elsewhere in the provincial election campaign. Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford has tried to make dealing with President Donald Trump the ballot question in the snap Feb. 27 […]

Twenty-two days after being compelled by Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner to release environmental reports related to the former General Motors site in the core of the city, St. Catharines officials addressed the matter publicly, admitting they have had the disturbing reports that show dangerous contaminants at levels thousands of times above set limits, since […]

PERTH COUNTY – Perth County councillors might have been mistaken for a group of epicures with a refined taste in food, as they unanimously voted to increase the meal reimbursement policy to $85 per day.  The amount represented an increase from a staff recommendation of $70 per day.  While presenting the changes to the reimbursement […]

Recognizing the central role of accountability and transparency at City Hall, Ontario’s Municipal Act grants municipalities powers to ensure good governance.  Councils have the responsibility to ensure the operations of the municipality, run by senior management, are conducted openly and subject to public scrutiny. According to the City’s website, St. Catharines is committed to organizational […]

A Catholic school board chair who went on a contentious art procurement trip to Italy says he won’t step down — but won’t run again. “I have made a decision to complete the balance of my term and not run in 2026,” Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board chair Rick Petrella told The Spectator […]

Ontario failed to meet its own legislated target this past year for the average number of hands-on hours of care that long-term care residents receive, a newly updated document shows. The province says it has since reached its goal for the 2023-24 fiscal year, but that happened outside of the timeframe the Progressive Conservative government […]

Milton Public Library (MPL) has announced expanding its reciprocal borrowing program to include Guelph Public Library. This new partnership allows library cardholders from both systems to borrow materials at any participating location without paying the non-resident fee. “This initiative underscores our commitment to enhancing resource accessibility and supporting our community’s educational and recreational needs, especially […]

“Where’s the beef?” an iconic little old lady demanded to know in a 1984 commercial. According to local farmers, the questions many of us need to consider 40 years later are “Where did the beef come from? How did the beef get here? What’s in the beef?” and “Will the beef still be available tomorrow?” […]

Mississauga’s already late Hurontario LRT project is now “incurring concurrent delays on multiple other fronts,” according to a recent credit rating report that highlights some of those “multiple” problems. The “project has discovered issues with track tolerances for already installed sections that are out of compliance with specifications.” The credit downgrade report by S&P (Standard […]