The Pointer

The Pointer


‘We’re not going away’: Erin residents still waiting for Canada’s first municipal effluent cooling system to protect Credit River

When Belfountain resident Ann Seymour was a child, her “lovely parents” would pile the entire family in the car for weekend adventures along the green canopies of Niagara Escarpment following a giddy anticipation that lingered all week long. It was a time for the family to be one, happy and carefree. Their favourite destination?  The […]

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‘Cannot believe COVID-like outbreaks don’t happen far more often’: Canada’s role in animal trade driving pandemic risks

British Columbia conservation biologist Chris Shepherd has spent more than three decades, oftentimes undercover, inside wildlife markets across the globe.  The gruesome sights he has witnessed make it hard to believe that “outbreaks like COVID don’t happen far more often”. In the early 90s, Shepherd had just completed high school, unaware of the world he […]

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‘Legacy undone by terrible decisions’: Caledon reacts to Annette Groves’ upcoming exit after turbulent term

Aly Livingston stood outside the Mayor’s Gala hosted by Caledon’s Annette Groves in bright yellow stockings and black boots, “like a bumblebee” in the cold, holding a “STOP THE 413, DON’T PAVE THE GREENBELT” sign as she spoke out for the natural world.  The protest was the latest action taken by Caledon residents against Mayor […]

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After cancelling investigations into their own conduct, Patrick Brown & Rowena Santos ignore Ombudsman’s direction to reopen probes

Despite direction by the Ontario Ombudsman to reopen forensic investigations into alleged financial wrongdoing by Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, his closest councillor ally Rowena Santos—after they cancelled the probes—and City staff, no one on council has taken action on behalf of taxpayers demanding accountability.  “There is no accountability at City Hall,” Azad Goyat, a Brampton […]

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‘Budget you’d pass if climate change wasn’t a problem’: Ford doubles down on highways

Dark clouds hovered over Queen’s Park. Thunder cracked and the sky wept as Caledon grandmother Betty de Groot and Stouffville grandmother Victoria Creese waited anxiously for what this year’s budget might bring. On March 26, they stood alongside fellow members of Grand(m)others Act To Save The Planet (GASP) with a single, urgent plea for the […]

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Peel’s public schools record second and fourth-highest lead levels in Ontario drinking water

Children are sent to school every day without any thought of systemic and prolonged harm to their long-term well being.  But in more than half of Ontario schools, it’s not just bullying or the increasingly worrying fear of an active shooter in the hallways that students have to be wary of—the safety of the water […]

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David Barrick gone after less than 3 months in latest municipal CAO role, weeks after banning Pointer reporter

Less than three months after starting the job, despite his scandal-plagued past and lack of proper experience, David Barrick is no longer the Chief Administrative Officer for the Township of South Stormont.  His abrupt departure from the small eastern Ontario township, quietly announced Tuesday, March 24, has left residents, municipal officials and media outlets familiar […]

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Records reveal murky ownership of former GM site after years of failed rehabilitation

As emails to the City, provincial ministries and the property’s owner go unanswered, residents concerned about the former General Motors property in St. Catharines say they are growing increasingly frustrated about the derelict, contaminated site next to the heart of the city.  The giant 55 acre former GM plant has been decommissioned and out of […]

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‘The RCMP has a number of ongoing investigations pertaining to this type of activity’: Mounties confirm government of India linked to criminal probes

After claims by a senior federal government official last week that the Indian government is no longer involved in criminal activities on Canadian soil, the RCMP has informed The Pointer of ongoing investigations involving New Delhi’s links to criminal networks here. “The RCMP has a number of ongoing investigations pertaining to this type of activity,” […]

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After guilty plea in Indian plot to kill Sikh activist, Ottawa condemned for push to withhold ‘sensitive’ information in Nijjar murder trial

The man who U.S. prosecutors allege conspired with an employee of the Indian government to kill the leader of a Sikh separatist movement in New York pleaded guilty on February 13 to his role in a foiled assassination plot that Canadian government officials say is part of a wider, transnational effort by the Hindu nationalist […]

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Five heroes celebrated for defending nature against unchecked development in Caledon

Hat on. Glasses lowered. Notes in hand. Ian Sinclair moves toward the podium with the deliberate steps of a man who has come prepared, not just to speak, but to challenge. Conversations hush and heads turn, intently. In Caledon’s council chamber, his confident walk and heavy voice are a familiar sight, and a comforting one […]

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Patrick Brown can’t explain how his pared down shell-game budget will be funded; 4.36% tax increase almost double the inflation rate

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who has left a trail of controversy on each stop of his tumultuous political career, just pushed through a now approved 2026 financial blueprint that delays critical infrastructure work, lacks spending on major city building projects like the downtown flood plan, leans heavily on new debt and relies on unsecured grant […]

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