Ahead of the 2022 Ontario election, opposition party leaders keyed in on one of Doug Ford’s main re-election planks.  “Doug Ford’s developer buddies are the ones that are going to gain the most from the 413,” Andrea Horwath, the NDP leader at the time, said.  “Doug Ford is not interested in building this highway, the […]

Many of the toxic risks posed by the former GM site on Ontario Street in St. Catharines are clear.  As previously reported by The Pointer, Environmental Site Assessments obtained after a two-year fight with the City and GM officials who fought to keep the documents hidden from public view, revealed contamination of a number of […]

When Melinda Lortie became a mother, her perspective on much of her surrounding world shifted.  “Motherhood really has made me mad at the world. I love my daughter more than anything in this world, there truly is nothing else that tops her importance to me. I love every part of being a mom. My anger […]

Three weeks have passed since the release of the environmental site assessments (ESAs) for the former GM site on Ontario Street, and the task of fully understanding the implications of the report’s findings is far from complete. After more than two years of resisting disclosure, the City of St. Catharines was ordered by the provincial […]

The former General Motors site on Ontario Street in St. Catharines slated for homes contained toxic chemicals at alarming levels, detected just two years before a developer purchased the former heavy-industrial property.  Despite efforts to find out what the condition of the site is, residents concerned about the potential presence of hazardous industrial waste where […]

The City of St. Catharines has been ordered to release all documentation detailing the toxic substances beneath the former General Motors site on Ontario Street where developers have planned to build residential units without disclosing the potential health risks to future residents. On November 12th, an adjudicator from the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of […]

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 […]

It’s déjà vu for citizens of St. Catharines. A joint statement has been released announcing that after good faith negotiations, Atria Development (owner of the former Walker Family YMCA facility) and the City, have decided that the future of the site will not include the existing recreation facility which will instead be redeveloped into housing.   […]

Twenty-eight months after a Freedom of Information  request was submitted to the City of St. Catharines, officials have yet to release crucial reports detailing the presence of chemicals on the former GM site along Ontario Street that the previous mayor pushed to get developed behind the scenes.   These reports, Phase I and II Environmental Site […]

Sunday, September 1st will mark the final day of the 2024 season for Marineland, the Niagara Falls theme park that has arguably been the second most noteworthy attraction in the municipality, only surpassed by the famous cataracts that give the city its name.  With dwindling attendance, persistent protests from animal rights activists and what the […]

A packed Thorold Council Chambers broke into applause on June 18th following a decisive 7-1 vote.  It had nothing to do with any controversial development application or the approval of a badly needed neighbourhood park — the type of council matters that often galvanize the general public, and their elected representatives. The vote was to […]

David MacKay is 81-years-old and has lived at 507 Balmoral Drive for four years.  He likes his current living space. He likes the community and being able to walk his dog with his neighbours. And he likes that he is able to afford his accommodation, where rent is slightly lower than other units currently on […]