Hamilton experienced a summer’s worth of days above 30 degrees in May and June
A summer’s worth of heat this spring
Tag Archives: Ontario
Man charged after walking off with ‘ghost bike’ memorial on Claremont Access
Hamilton Police apprehended a man walking down Claremont Access with the memorial for Jay Keddy
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What you need to know about possible work stoppage at Canada Post
Posted: Jun 29, 2016 updated June 30, 2016
The CUPW expects that Canada Post management will lock its members out.
Here is what you need to know about the contract dispute between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal workers.
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Tim Hortons Field ready for Ticats home opener on Canada Day
The Tiger-Cat stadium is ready for the home opener Friday, following speaker collapse
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Hamilton housing market shows no sign of cooling down
Posted: Jun 28, 2016
Seller’s market continues as prices rise and listings fall in the city.
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A tropical take on ice cream made fresh in Thunder Bay
Singing Poplars Ice Cream offers non-dairy ice cream made local, just in time for summer
CBC News Posted: May 04, 2016 7:30 AM ET
Singing Poplars Ice Cream was started three years ago in Thunder Bay, Ont. by mother-daughter duo Mary and Ayla Ludwig. Their coconut-based non-dairy ice cream has now become a popular frozen alternative in the city.
“I was a little unsure of how it would be received in the community,” said Ayla, who’s been “getting the ball rolling” before her mother moves to the city in June.
“There seems to be a lot of people who are excited to have an alternative product.”
Ludwig has been at the weekend market in Thunder Bay for a month now, and works with Espresso Joya, a local coffee shop. All of the ice cream and products are made and packaged out of her home kitchen.
To get her kitchen certified to make ice cream for sale, Ludwig “went through the process with our local health unit, you just have to meet certain requirements they laid out… the space is clean, you can’t store food on the floor and stuff like that,” she said. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
The honey Ludwig uses comes from her sister in Southern Ontario, and once she runs out she said she’s going to turn to local farmers. “I really want to support my local community,” she said. “That’s how our local economy works, we all work together to support one another.” (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
On an old freezer in Ludwig’s ‘Ice Cream Parlour’, she has a sign made for her by an 8-year old friend. “She wanted to come and make ice cream with me,” she said. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
Each ice cream maker will produce 1.5 litres of ice cream, enough for three pints. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes for the cooled ice cream mix to freeze and be ready for packaging. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
“My mom got into ice cream, and was really enjoying making it, and started buying equipment,” Ludwig said. “So I said okay, well I guess I’ll start making ice cream too!” Her mother’s retirement dream is to run a small business, “I’ve just been getting the ball rolling,” says Ludwig. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
In the room where Ludwig makes and packages the ice cream a picture of her mother sits on the shelf. “We’ve been working on this together over the phone and the internet, but we haven’t actually physically worked together yet,” says Ludwig. “I’m super excited, my mom is a very passionate, zany woman. She’ll be fun to work with.” (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
Each week Ludwig brings plenty of options to the Country Market in Thunder Bay, offering vanilla bean, chocolate, raspberry, vanilla strawberry, and toasted coconut ice cream flavours. They also sell Ice cream bars dipped in dark chocolate, two kinds of ice cream sandwiches, and “Yummy-Nummy” bites, small pieces of ice cream frozen and dipped in chocolate. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
Each pint is packed and labelled by Ludwig herself. “When we make our ice cream, we’re using really good ingredients. Every batch is hand crafted,” she said. “We’re used to going to the grocery store and paying X-amount for something, but it’s a very different product.” (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
“It feels good when people who haven’t had ice cream in a very long time because they haven’t found an alternative they enjoy, and then they like our product, that sort of pushes you to keep going,” Ludwig said. “It’s really encouraging.” (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
Ludwig is excited to share her products with her mother this summer. “Getting to share the product is exciting, but I also get a high off of getting to meet new people, and hearing stories, and getting to act silly with some of my customers,” Ludwig said. “I’m really looking forward to this season.” (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
And the final product is something Ludwig can really get behind. “It tastes amazing,” she said. “Orange is my favourite flavour.” (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
The majority of customers they get at the market are people who are looking for a dairy alternative for their dietary requirements. But Ludwig said others show interest as well. “Once I lure them in with a sample and get them to try it, they enjoy it and can have dairy, but opt to get the non-dairy.”
Running a small business has been her mother’s retirement dream, and Ludwig is excited to start working with her in the kitchen, but also nervous.
She said, “I will report back and let you know how it is in a month.”
Thunder Bay paramedics 1st in Canada to try Yoga for First Responders
Yoga for First Responders now a crucial part of Superior North EMS mental wellness strategy, paramedic says
By Clare Bonnyman, CBC News Posted: Apr 25, 2016 9:59 AM ET
Paramedics in Thunder Bay, Ont. are the first in Canada to take part in a wellness program that aims to help them reduce their stress load.
Called “Yoga for First Responders“, the city-sponsored program was introduced in December of last year, said Marika Listenmaa, acting superintendent of professional standards at Superior North EMS.
Each week, two classes offer breathing and stress relief exercises to help paramedics deal with stress on the job — and in the office.
“[It’s] helping us to deal with a lot of the traumas that come with the workplace, as well as the political problems that we’re having with call volume, labour disputes, and issues like that,” Listenmaa said, adding it’s proving to be “a wellness program that’s well rounded.”
Paramedics in Thunder Bay will be in a legal strike position as of April 28. They recently voted 100 per cent in favour of going on strike.
“Nobody wants to have that sort of labour dispute,” said Listenmaa.
As discussions continue, she said it’s important to have a positive space for paramedics to meet outside of work and engage in healthy activities. But for shift workers, it’s often hard to find the time to do so.
The program offers “a nice place to work together in wellness with people you don’t often see,” she added.
This is a positive step for first responders like paramedics, who are all too often associated with negative news.
Listenmaa said it’s important to recognize the positive work going on in Ontario for these crises workers.
“Paramedics are often times not in the news when there are good things happening,” she said.
“This is a good thing for paramedics. We are trying to move forward in a proactive approach, and yoga for first responders is one of those approaches.”
On May16, Superior North EMS will be kicking off EMS Appreciation Week with yoga class led by acting chief Wayne Gates.
Check out this video of Yoga for First Responders at the Los Angeles, CA Fire Department
Thunder Bay students learn farming from the Pizza Project
A cheesy tradition introduces students to agriculture
By Clare Bonnyman, CBC News Posted: Apr 14, 2016 7:30 AM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/i/caffeine/syndicate/?mediaId=2686886767
One of the eight stations the children got to visit was the sausage station, where Sam Milne, of Edgewater Park Public School, got to help turn a crank to make sausages. (Amy Hadley/CBC)
The Pizza Project has been running for 24 years in Thunder Bay, welcoming grade three students to take part in the ‘eight slices of learning’, including everything from vegetables and grains to machinery and nutrition. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
For a lot of students, meeting the cows was a highlight of the trip. They learned about taking care of cows, when they produce milk, and the production process for dairy farmers. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
Local farmers were on hand to help guide students in agricultural practices, and bring the farm to the city. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
Students got the chance to learn where milk comes from, and try out a milking machine with their thumbs. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
For Oakleigh Yesno, he said the day was ‘pretty cool, I’ve never seen anyone milk a cow before.’ Along with other students in his class, he learned that there are different ways to make pizza. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
There were eight stations for students to explore, including one which featured a cow and her newborn calf, with the opportunity to learn about cow nutrition. (Clare Bonnyman/CBC)
For Ella Code, 8 and Marcus Dahlin, 9, of C.D Howe Public School, it was a fun opportunity to get out of the classroom and learn. The students got to plant a tomato plant while they were there, something Ella enjoyed. She said she’s not a fan of pizza, but ‘I like growing stuff’. (Amy Hadley/CBC)
All students who attended walked away with a carton of milk, a slice of pizza, and their very own potted tomato plant. (Amy Hadley/CBC)
Grade 3 students from Thunder Bay are learning where all the ingredients for pizza come from at the annual Pizza Project Wednesday and Thursday at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition.
It’s a tradition for Marian Benka, the honourary director of the CLE, who has been running the annual event for 24 years.
It’s an important way to educate students and bring the farm to the city, she said.
“They have to know that there are a lot of things that go into [pizza] before they can get it,” Benka said.
Benka expects more than 600 children to attend this year’s two day event.
Students go through eight stations to learn about agriculture, including dairy, sausage, vegetables, machinery and nutrition.
Along the way they plant their very own tomato plant to take home, and at the end they get to savour a hot a slice of pizza.
Tobacco sales banned on post-secondary campuses
(Originally posted on November 18, 2014)
By Clare Bonnyman
New provincial anti-smoking regulations ban the sale of tobacco products on post-secondary campuses. The legislation comes into effect in January, removing tobacco products from the shelves of campus retailers across Ontario.
For most Ottawa institutions, the regulation won’t change anything. Algonquin College and University of Ottawa removed tobacco products from campus retailers’ years ago, meanwhile Carleton University has not.
Of the Carleton retailers, no vendor overseen directly by the university sells tobacco products. However, retailers run by the student groups the Carleton University Student Association and Rideau River Residence Association, do.
“This is something that’s been coming for quite some time,” said CUSA Business Operations Manager Rod Castro. “We just never really knew what the time frame was.”
Castro oversees Henry’s convenience store on the Carleton University campus, a centrally located spot for students to pick up a snack, and where they used to be able to buy cigarettes.
Castro said that they are not the stores top-selling item, as “cigarettes are more of a traffic creating item, sort of like gas is at a gas station.”
However the legislation will have a significant financial effect.
“Cigarette sales is probably 20-25% of our total sales, and there really is no replacement for that type of revenue” said Castro.
“Literally I expect a drop in sales of about 20 or 25 percent, instantly.”
CUSA’s cigarette sales for the 2014-2015 school year were estimated at $53,000 in profit. As the legislation is only in effect for one of the three semesters, a profit-loss of approximately a third, or $17,666, could be predicted for CUSA.
Students forced to search off campus for a pack of smokes.
Other institutions in Ontario have already implemented bans on the sale of tobacco products and even smoking on campuses, some leading up to the expected regulations.
“We’ve definitely been preparing for it,” said CUSA President Folarin Odunayo. “There were discussions when we first heard about the law coming about, and other situations on campuses across the country.”
But unlike other campuses, Odunayo and CUSA chose not to make a decision for the Carleton community.
“We can certainly encourage students to not smoke and inform and educate students about the health hazards of smoking, but I don’t really think it is in our position to ban things from the campus,” said Odunayo.
He said CUSA “can only provide the information, students are mature enough to make decisions on their own.”
CUSA welcomes initiatives onto campus to educate students about the hazards of smoking, like Leave The Pack Behind, a youth-oriented tobacco control program that has had a presence on campus throughout the fall.
International student Ivana Kolkovic came to Carleton from Serbia, and as a smoker says she is against the new regulations.
“I just feel that there are so many other things that are as dangerous as smoking,” said Kolkovic.
She says it is a personal choice whether or not to smoke.
“There are many issues around it,” she said. “People think that you smoke because you cannot cope with your problems and things like that, but I think that things are more complex.”
Odunayo says that unlike other Ottawa campuses that have more strict rules around smoking, CUSA didn’t feel that it was in any position to restrict students.
“You’ve got to ask yourself, is CUSA in the position to ban anything from campus?” he said. “We only have to provide a safe environment.”
Cassandra Leblonde, a second year English major who lives off campus, said she doesn’t know if she’d walk from campus to Bank Street to pick up a pack.
“Depends how much I wanted some smokes,” she said. “It’s a pretty big addiction.”
facts sourced from:
A 2004 study by Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada and a 2006 report by the University of Waterloo.
Clare Bonnyman 