Late last year, Mario Zelaya never expected his TikTok post would stir such emotion across an upscale east-end Oakville neighbourhood. Nor did he anticipate being targeted by the town’s mayor. It has been seven months since that initial post, when Zelaya detailed what he believes to be a serious public health threat linked to decades […]

The number of property tax accounts in arrears has risen sharply in St. Catharines since 2022, according to documents obtained by The Pointer through a Freedom of Information request. The disturbing increase aligns with the controversial hikes in municipal tax rates introduced by the current City Council. Residents of Niagara’s largest city were shocked in […]

In what turned out to be a much closer two-way race, Mississauga will send six Liberal MPs back to the House of Commons.  After being shut out in the last three federal elections since 2015 the Conservatives thought they could break through, especially with popular longtime Mississauga councillor Sue McFadden carrying the flag in one […]

Peel’s supervised consumption site is no longer offering harm reduction services as of Tuesday despite an injunction granted by the Superior Court of Justice last week that would allow similar facilities to continue operating for the time being.  “Peel’s supervised consumption will NOT be providing safe consumption services or drug checking services past March 31, […]

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 […]

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 […]