An occasional roundup of unusual events reported by the Ontario Provincial Police:

Counterfeiters often make large-denomination bills, but these guys set their sights much lower — $2 coins.

And what a terrible job they did.

On Jan. 11, police were called to a store in Hawkesbury, east of Ottawa, after counterfeit toonies were used to buy items.

Photos of the fake coins show a walrus (not the standard polar bear) on one side and a man (not the standard Queen Elizabeth effigy) on the other side. The value: “Z Dollard.” The fake coins are dated 1990; the first real toonie was minted in 1996.

“The OPP would like everyone to be aware of this and to be vigilant in assuring they do not fall victim to this fraud,” police said.

Dead gator in ditch

It’s an animal cruelty case with a twist.

Police were called on Dec. 26 after a dead alligator and five large exotic snakes, also dead, were spotted in a ditch in Caledon, north of Brampton.

“Unfortunately, this is not a unique situation in Ontario,” Toronto Zoo chief executive Dolf DeJong said in a police news release. “Many individuals are operating non-accredited roadside zoos or have exotic animals in private ownership.”

DeJong said the zoo is helping OPP in the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 1-888-310-1122.

Motorist wears bulletproof vest

Fair to say he was up to no good.

Police pulled over a speeding driver on Highway 401 in Kingston on Dec. 31. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and had a loaded prohibited handgun.

A Lachine, Que., man, 46, faces 15 charges, including several firearms offences.

Armoured car rolls over

An armoured car rolled over on Highway 401 in Toronto, but there was no windfall for motorists.

“All the gold and silver is accounted for and on the way to its intended destination,” OPP said in a tweet.

It happened on Dec. 31 in a westbound 401 lane at Renforth Drive.

Avoid these ‘deals’

It’s a warning one would think is unnecessary: “Don’t purchase electronics from the back of a vehicle.”

That’s the headline on an OPP news release after a man was seen selling electronics on Jan. 11 from a minivan in a parking lot in Simcoe, south of Brantford.

“Always purchase your items from a reputable business or local vendor, who will stand behind their products, their reputation and ensure that you get what you pay for,” OPP said.

Driver faces nine charges

Police tried to stop a car in Atwood, in Perth County near Listowel, on Jan. 2 at 1:30 p.m. In fleeing from police, the motorist drove across a lawn and struck a building.

“The heavily damaged vehicle then fled southbound onto Perth Road 164, and then westbound on Perth Line 72,” OPP said. “It continued into Huron County, where it failed to stop for stop signs and drove dangerously into Clinton.”

The driver abandoned the vehicle, fled on foot and broke into a shed near Hensall. The homeowner confronted him and called police.

The driver, 29, of no fixed address, faces nine charges, including impaired and dangerous driving, fleeing police, possession of methamphetamine and taking a motor vehicle without consent.

Five vehicles stolen

Thieves cashed in at a car dealership in Listowel.

On Dec. 31 at 2:30 a.m., two suspects broke into the business and stole car keys. They then stole two Dodge pickup trucks, a Chevrolet pickup, an Audi sedan and a Mercedes SUV. Total value: $140,000.

“The 2018 Audi and 2012 Mercedes-Benz were recovered in Wellington County but the three pickup trucks remain outstanding,” police said.

Gordon Paul is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on crime for The Record. Reach him via email: gpaul@therecord.com

KITCHENER — While most celebrated the Christmas season with presents and family dinners, George White received an eviction notice from his landlord.

White was expecting it, but he has to be out of his apartment by the end up September — two months earlier than expected.

The 61-year-old White, who has MS and needs a wheelchair to get around, has lived in a main-floor apartment in a house on Sullivan Street for the past 10 years.

“I’m still sitting here, I still don’t have a place to live after September and I am still scared,” said White.

After getting the letter of eviction, the Region of Waterloo rejected his application for a subsidized and accessible apartment.

The region sent White an email last Wednesday saying the region can’t find his original application from 2013. Neither can White, who has not been able to locate his housing application papers since his personal-support worker died in March 2020.

So the region’s email says 2017 will be used as the date of his original application, and that means White will have to wait years longer for one of the 20 subsidized and accessible apartments among the region’s stock of 3,000 social housing units.

“They are contesting the date that I applied,” said White. “I feel like I have hung on as long as I can, that I have done everything I can do.”

The email from the region was signed by two administrators, including Jennifer Murdoch, the manager of housing programs and development.

Those rent-geared-to-income units that are wheelchair accessible are among the most sought-after apartments at regional housing with a waiting list that is seven years long.

“That type of unit would not turn over as often as other affordable units,” said Murdoch.

Murdoch said she is not allowed to speak about a specific case, but in general, applications that went awry have things in common. The applications need to be updated annually, and sometimes that does not happen, she said.

Changes in an applicant’s personal support worker can lead to interruptions in the process, said Murdoch. If the applicant only selected a few locations instead of taking the first one available, that can lead to a longer wait too, she added.

“There should be an annual update happening on all our files, and if that is not happening we wait to be connected again, and review the file,” said Murdoch.

Reviews are done to find “a mutually acceptable” date for the original application, she said.

“Because our system is chronologically based it is important we have the right date of application for all of our files,” said Murdoch.

Since his story went public Dec. 24, White was contacted by regional housing. He’s been asked to make changes to his application, but needs help to complete the paper work.

The region says it can’t find White’s original application in their files or databases. White says he’s been searching for it and is worried it may never be found.

“I can’t find the paper work, they can’t find the paper work, so what does that mean? That I qualify to be homeless?” said White.

White knows the coming months will be stressful.

He receives a disability pension of $1,350 a month. Looking for an affordable-and-accessible apartment in record-breaking real estate market makes him feel, in his words, like he’s left to twist in a cold wind. The apartments he has looked at start at $2,000-a-month.

“Nobody can do anything, and the system is broken, and nobody wants to recognize that and fix it,” said White.

Terry Pender is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on arts and entertainment for The Record. Reach him via email: tpender@therecord.com

KITCHENER — A wedding venue. A warm place to sit. A place to collaborate with other artists.

The meaning of a library is constantly evolving, and Kitchener is at the forefront.

Twenty-seven-year-old Hana You goes to the library once a week with a young child she babysits so he can get a change of scenery.

“Because of the pandemic, he hasn’t been able to interact with other people other than family,” said You.

She’s only been in the region for about a year, but she said the library has been very inclusive because of all the events it stages.

“This is kind of the essence of community because a lot of people come here to do not just reading, but participating in activities,” said You.

“I think during a pandemic especially, this is what we really need.”

During Ontario’s vaccine mandate and recent modified Step 2 lockdown, Kitchener Public Library’s main branch at 85 Queen St. N. is one of many places that anyone can go — vaccine certificates are not required.

Although hours have shrunk from 12 hours a day (the library is now open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and capacity is at 50 per cent, the building offers a place to sit and bask in natural sunlight, pick up a book or instrument, or book out Heffner Studio space.

The branch has been home to weddings, two honey bee hives and nutritional programming, where vegetables are grown beside the building’s courtyard. It also offers technology like Zoom connection and printing facilities for those without a phone, computer or printer.

This has been important for people on low incomes who needed to make court appearances on Zoom or print important documents.

One of the jewels of the main branch on Queen Street is the studio spaces.

Nathan Stretch, the manager of community development, said one of the team’s goals is to have what’s inside the building represent the needs of people from all walks of life in Kitchener.

The three studio spaces are sound-treated and set up with recording equipment. The computers have music production software like Garageband and Logic and the whole Adobe Suite to use for creative projects.

“I found this a really admirable process, the idea that you would allow access to something that’s kind of seen as exclusive or just for experts,” said Stretch.

“To make high-end studio space and equipment available to the community at no cost is pretty exciting.”

Libraries were once seen as solely a place where you could borrow books, but places like KPL are trying to “move past normative concepts of what a library is,” he said.

Mary Chevreau started as the library’s executive director in 2015. With a background in technology, she offset many of the digital programs in the library.

“Libraries were sort of at the beginning of a renaissance, and part of the renaissance is creating library spaces that are these creative hubs,” she said.

The library recently partnered with The Working Centre where inventory and operations for its Commons Studios had been taken over by KPL. This has allowed the library to offer rentals, including video cameras, camera equipment and studio lights.

The library, which currently employs about 170 workers, also has an indoor theatre where in-person panels and events would take place before the pandemic. The library now offers virtual events such as an upcoming Latin film festival, resumé writing help and social knitting.

While book literacy is still a mandate, Chevreau said other forms are just as important, including art literacy, music literacy and technological literacy. During the pandemic, the library supported people who needed help attending virtual court appearances by having a private “Zoom room” with a computer they could use.

“There were many people out there who have no idea how to conduct a Zoom meeting, what that means, what they need to do,” said Chevreau.

“So we partnered with some of our legal aid folks to ensure that there were spaces and devices so people could meet their court appearances.”

The team has tried to keep up with current trends through programs, such as offering virtual reality and now working on integrating artificial intelligence.

Capacity has not exceeded or met the 50 per cent capacity since the pandemic, said Chevreau, adding that before the pandemic, hundreds would be in the building at one time.

This will bounce back when the pandemic restrictions and pressures ease, she said.

“Everyone coexisting in our space makes me the happiest,” said Chevreau.

“The fact that I walk in the library and I can see families with young children, and the children are delighted to be there. I can see seniors getting help with their new iPads. I can see people who are experiencing homelessness have somewhere they can sit and be respected and not told to move along.”

Cheyenne Bholla is a Waterloo Region-based reporter at The Record. Reach her via email: cbholla@therecord.com

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Tuesday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

10:21 a.m. Ontario is reporting 4,183 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 580 in the ICU; at least 7,086 new cases.

82.1 per cent of patients admitted to the ICU were admitted for COVID-19 and 17.9 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for COVID-19, according to tweets from Health Minister Christine Elliott.

10:16 a.m. Boris Johnson denied he was warned not to go ahead with a party in his office garden during the first pandemic lockdown in May 2020, after his former aide accused the U.K. prime minister of lying over the affair.

“I can tell you categorically that nobody told me and said that this was something that was against the rules, that was a breach of the COVID rules or you’re doing something that wasn’t a work event,” Johnson said in a pooled interview broadcast Tuesday. “Frankly I can’t imagine why on earth it would have gone ahead anyway, or why it would have been allowed to go ahead.”

Johnson is battling to save his political career, with members of his ruling Conservative Party furious over allegations Johnson and his staff broke the pandemic rules they had set for the British public to follow. The issue has dominated front pages for weeks, while support for the Tories has slumped.

9:45 a.m. Hong Kong will cull more than 2,000 hamsters and ban the import of small animals after a pet shop worker, a customer and at least 11 hamsters tested positive for the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Officials said Tuesday that it was not clear that the virus had been transmitted to humans from imported hamsters. But they called on residents to surrender hamsters imported since Dec. 22 to be tested and euthanized to prevent any further spread.

“They’re excreting the virus, and the virus can infect other animals, other hamsters and also human beings,” said Thomas Sit, assistant director of Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation department. “We don’t want to cull all the animals, but we have to protect public health and animal health. We have no choice — we have to make a firm decision.”

9:15 a.m. Australia recorded its highest number of daily COVID deaths of the pandemic Tuesday, 74, and the state of Victoria declared a state of emergency for its hospital system, which is buckling under the strain of staff illness and soaring coronavirus cases.

James Merlino, Victoria’s deputy premier, said the emergency measure could postpone leave for thousands of health care workers and defer nonessential services. It will take effect at noon Wednesday.

“We’ve got more than 4,000 health care workers unavailable right now, alongside a vast number of patients with COVID-19 who require hospitalization,” Merlino said.

On Tuesday, 1,152 people were hospitalized for the coronavirus in the state and 127 were in intensive care, with 43 of those on a ventilator. In the past two days, 11 people have died of the coronavirus, Merlino said, adding that cases were expected to spike in the next two to four weeks.

8:50 a.m. Russian authorities said Tuesday that the government is shortening the required isolation period for people infected with the coronavirus from 14 to seven days.

The move comes as Russia faces another surge of COVID-19 cases, this time driven by the rapid spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who runs the country's coronavirus task force, said health officials were “optimizing our approaches to quarantine and testing of our citizens, including shortening the quarantine period to seven days.”

8:30 a.m. When the Ontario government created a new law for alcohol sales to help restaurants and bars through COVID-19 lockdowns, it inadvertently led to a whole new type of business: bottle shops.

Restaurants and bars were able to pivot to selling take-out alcohol alongside food and snacks to stay afloat. And when indoor dining reopened, many continued the bottle-shop service. Now, new stand-alone bottle shops offering their own curated selection of alcoholic beverages are beginning to emerge.

Ontario consumers now have a wider variety of products to choose from, but industry experts say the regulations for this new frontier still need work, as many new bottle shops are operating in a grey area.

Read the full story from the Star’s Rosa Saba

8:20 a.m. A local cleanup and evacuation operation has begun in Tonga after an epic volcanic eruption set off a tsunami, as the island nation’s government, after days of silence, told of an “unprecedented disaster,” and the first aerial photos emerged showing the normally green and verdant isles blanketed with gray dust and ash.

International efforts to deliver aid were being hampered Tuesday by an ash cloud over the country’s main airport, damaged communication lines and one less obvious long-term threat: the risk of foreigners bringing COVID into a country without the virus.

The communications void three days after the eruption on Saturday night had left the extent of the damage unclear. But in the first official update on Tuesday night, the government in Tonga said it had begun assessing the eruption’s toll — confirming that three people had died, including a British national, a 65-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man.

7:47 a.m. Poland's health officials say that the country has entered a new, fifth wave, in the coronavirus pandemic, predicting that it it will peak in mid-February at about 60,000 new infections per day or even more.

Waldemar Kraska, the deputy health minister, said Tuesday that the highly transmissible omicron variant now accounts for 19% of the samples nationwide that have been sequenced, though 50% are in the Pomerania province along the Baltic coast in the country's north.

If the Health Ministry's predictions prove correct, the rate of infection in the coming wave would be more than double that of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2021.

On Tuesday, Poland recorded 19,652 new cases of COVID-19 and 377 deaths.

Poland's vaccination rate is at 56.5 per cent, significantly lower than in many other European Union nations, and the death rate is significantly higher in proportion to the population.

5:32 a.m.: While the most challenging days of COVID-19 are predicted to be ahead for British Columbia’s health-care system, representatives for doctors and nurses say their members are on the verge of a possible collapse.

Doctors of BC president Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh said it has been an overwhelming three years for her members.

“I am hearing from some doctors who are just ready to quit,” she said in an interview.

The organization represents 16,000 physicians in the province.

“People have shared their honest feelings with me and they’re feeling so consumed. They’re emotionally exhausted. They’re feeling depleted,” she said.

“They’re seeing their patients suffer. They’re also under such constraints.”

5:31 a.m.: From her Spanish-language Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok accounts, Colombian-born nurse Johana Botero makes her pitch to other South American health workers to come join her in Quebec.

Some 10 years after arriving in Canada and well-established in her career, she now tries to help others navigate the long, complicated process that will allow them to practise in Quebec. Their efforts, she assures them, will eventually pay off with better pay, work-life balance and opportunities than they have in their home countries.

“It’s win-win, both for Quebec and the people who want to immigrate,” Botero said in a recent interview.

As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, the Quebec government needs more nurses, and fast. The pandemic has exacerbated a nursing shortage that continues to grow in urgency as patient numbers rise and tens of thousands of nurses are off the job due to positive COVID-19 tests, other illness and burnout.

To meet the shortage, hospitals and health networks — with the support of the provincial government — are launching recruitment campaigns in Africa, Europe and Latin America. Some are enlisting the help of people like Botero, who is using her Facebook page with 43,000 followers to help a hospital on Montreal’s South Shore recruit up to 100 nurses.

But experts and nurses warn that recruiting internationally trained health workers is unlikely to change the situation in the province immediately, despite government efforts to speed things up.

5:30 a.m.: More schools across Ontario are set to reopen for in-person classes Tuesday.

Boards in some parts of the province including Windsor and Thunder Bay saw schools open on Monday after a two-week period of remote learning.

But the plan was set back for students and teachers in other areas of the province, including the Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa areas, because heavy snow halted school bus services on Monday.

Several boards in the Toronto area, like the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the York Region District School Board, said classes will go ahead remotely through online learning.

But the Toronto District School Board said there would be no live remote or virtual learning, either, noting in an online post that 36 of its schools still need to have snow removed from their roofs — a task it said couldn’t be completed Monday due to poor weather and road conditions.

Class are resuming with limited information about COVID-19 cases in schools.

The province has stopped sharing that case counts because PCR tests for the virus is now limited to those considered most high-risk for an infection, so most teachers and students can’t access them.

Teachers’ unions have warned families to brace for disruptions from anticipated staff shortages caused by the highly infectious Omicron variant.

Tuesday 5:27 a.m.: There’s hope that Health Canada’s approval of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 treatment will help ease the strain on the country’s health-care system, as hospitalizations continue their steady climb.

The pill uses a combination of two antiviral drugs to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from replicating once it has infected a patient, but health officials stress it is not a replacement for vaccinations.

Clinical trials showed treatment with Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 by 89 per cent when the medications were started within three days of the beginning of symptoms, and by 85 per cent when started within five days.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer, noted supply of Paxlovid will be an early issue, meaning the treatment is unlikely to have much of an impact on the current Omicron wave.

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Canada has already received its first shipment of 30,000 treatment courses of the Pfizer drug, with another 120,000 expected through March.

Read Monday’s coronavirus news.

When I woke up to piles of snow Monday morning, my heart sank.

Monday was supposed to be the day my four-year-old daughter went back to school, and the day our lives would hopefully go back to some semblance of “normal.” But like some cruel joke on parents of school-aged kids, this snow dump buried our hopes.

I stayed in bed a few minutes longer thinking about how I was going to manage another day of having my kindergartener — and probably also my almost three-year-old daughter — at home while working.

Like every work-from-home parent to a young child will know, having your children at home with you is like working two full-time jobs.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my children. But it has been nearly two years of having my then baby and toddler, and now toddler and kindergartener, home repeatedly.

Our routines have been inconsistent, and the constant disruptions have slowly worn me down. My kids have watched more TV in the past four weeks than they have in their entire lives. This is not how I want to parent, but I am stuck in a situation where the only way I can get an hour and 50 minutes of time to write and do interviews with few interruptions is to put on a Disney movie in the afternoon.

I didn’t always feel so overwhelmed about juggling solo-parenting while working from home. It was a bit easier when it was new and when we all thought it was temporary.

The first lockdown in March 2020 was a whirlwind. I had just gone back to work six weeks earlier after maternity leave, and I was so disappointed to be back at home again and not in the office. It has been a long time since I have thought about how I started my mornings in those days: I would nurse my 13-month-old baby and then quickly change gears into pandemic reporting mode as I logged into my morning Zoom meeting. I got most of my work done during nap time.

When my kids finally went to daycare again, they were back at home constantly as we suffered through days upon days of runny noses and coughs that plague all young families. The uncertainty of this chaos started to weigh heavily on me. When would this end?

Fast-forward to fall 2021 and my eldest daughter is in junior kindergarten. Just when we finally got used to a new routine as a family, it was disrupted by the most recent closures. Now my kindergartener has been home with me for four weeks, occasionally accompanied by her younger sister. I’m tired.

My spouse helps as much as possible but he cannot work from home, which leaves me in this situation of balancing work and child care over and over, and over again. I know my work has suffered, and what pains me even more is my split attention toward my children who deserve much more nurturing than I have been able to provide.

Even while I complain, I am very aware of my privileges: My family is financially secure and my work is mostly independent, so my schedule can be somewhat flexible to manage my kids when they’re unwell or when daycare, or school, is closed.

I know there are so many parents out there who have lost wages — and even jobs — because of this constant disruption to school and daycare schedules. I read the desperate posts in local Facebook mom groups, written by women venting about how difficult it is for them to get through the day. I feel sad for them, and very frustrated.

All parents are struggling right now but, as usual, it is mostly women who bear the burden of child care.

Even though I technically can do it all, I no longer feel like I can. I don’t want to do it all, yet I do, and it has left me feeling deflated. I know I am not the only parent who feels this way.

This last week has been especially difficult. My daughter couldn’t focus during virtual school — she is only four, after all — so we decided to skip it for the rest of the week. The decision to step away from virtual school meant I had to find more independent activities for my daughter so I could work but, of course, all she wanted to do was play with mommy. I was heartbroken.

I have taken days off when I can, but it doesn’t make up for nearly two years of distracted pandemic parenting.

On top of all the stresses of balancing work and child care, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has added another layer of anxiety for many parents worried about their kids going back into classrooms.

Every option for families of young children is wrought with caveats: What is the right decision for my family? For some, it is keeping their kids home. For others, it is sending their kids to school.

No one is right or wrong, and none of us want to be making these difficult decisions in the first place. We’re all trying our best in the most impossible parenting challenge of the century.

Maybe I put too many expectations on my daughter going back to school on Monday, hoping everything would get better if schools were open. But it’s not a bad thing to hope for a difficult situation to improve.

It has been a chaotic 22 months. I can no longer count the days I have worked at home while solo-parenting my kids — but I know I will remember these stressful experiences with fondness.

Like the time when my almost three-year-old climbed into my lap while I was trying to write on deadline and asked me which letter I was going to type next. Maddening, but adorable.

Or the time my four-year-old brought a little plush lizard to me and made it walk across my left shoulder and onto my head during a Zoom interview. I was mortified and forgot the question I was asking my subject but I just couldn’t help laughing out loud. Thankfully, my interview subject, who also had a young child at home, understood completely.

Anam Latif is a Waterloo Region-based general assignment reporter for The Record. Reach her via email: alatif@therecord.com

WATERLOO REGION — Monday’s snowstorm will go down as one of the biggest snow events the region has seen in decades.

“It’s a one-in-20-year storm,” said Frank Seglenieks.

The University of Waterloo Weather Station co-ordinator said the storm brought more than 30 centimetres of snow to the region, something that hasn’t been seen since the late 2000s, and before then, not since the 1970s.

When you look at the snowfall statistics collected at the university’s weather station, however, the number reported won’t reflect full depth of the storm.

“The official reading for today will be 22.5 cm, but there’s been another 10.5, almost 11 cm since then,” he said on Monday afternoon.

This is because the weather data was collected at 8 a.m. Monday morning, while the snow was still falling. The next measurement, taken Tuesday morning, will include the snowfall amount that accumulated after Monday’s measurement.

On March 8 and 9 in 2008, 36.5 cm fell in the region, Seglenieks said. “That was the last time there was a storm this big.”

The storm caused major delays along transit routes, closed schools and forced the cancellation of some regional and municipal services.

Vaccination clinics were either cancelled or shut down early. Waste collection was postponed. Regional fire services asked residents if they could dig out fire hydrants near their properties.

A snow event was declared by the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, and vehicles were prohibited from parking on the street until the end of day Tuesday.

Steven Flisfeder, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada said as of noon Monday, snowfall amounts were being reported in the 25 to 30 cm range, as measured at the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

“This is one of the bigger snowstorms that has occurred in the past one or two decades,” he said.

The largest snowfall amount ever recorded at the airport was on Nov. 24, 1950, when a whopping 61 cm of snow fell.

Chris Seto is a Waterloo Region-based reporter for The Record. Reach him via email: cseto@therecord.com

WATERLOO REGION — The Region of Waterloo is facing the risk of losing many older affordable housing units as their mortgages wind up over the next decade.

With the Region seeing soaring home costs, declining rental vacancy and more than 6,500 families on the wait-list for an affordable unit, housing officials want to do everything they can to retain existing affordable units and encourage new ones, said Jennifer Murdoch-Martin, manager of housing programs and development at the Region

About 3,200 community housing units (out of almost 10,000 in the Region’s affordable housing system) were built in the region about 20-30 years ago, as part of a construction boom in government-sponsored affordable housing.

Now, decades later, the mortgages are ending, ushering in a new era in community housing for those properties, which are run by 28 co-ops and non-profits.

The expiry of those mortgages is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, there’s the risk of losing some existing affordable housing: new provincial rules allow housing providers to opt out of the agreements they have with the Region once the mortgages wrap up.

But there’s also an opportunity. The Region will spend $24.7 million this year operating non-profit and co-op housing. The bulk of that — $17.6 million — goes to pay the mortgages. As those mortgages wind up, it frees up money that can be spent to strengthen and grow that housing, Murdoch-Martin said.

“We want to encourage and do everything we can to keep housing providers as part of the housing system,” Murdoch-Martin said. “Protecting and retaining existing community housing is as important as encouraging new development.”

Coun. Tom Galloway worries that some non-profits might choose to sell. “There are private investors who are very proactively seeking out these properties to turn them around out of affordable housing into profitable housing at market rent,” Galloway said when councillors got an update this week on the issue. “Anything we can do to forestall that would be great.”

“It’s a possibility,” said Ryan Pettipiere, the Region’s director of housing. “This is one of the concerns that we have. ... We’re trying to do our best to protect these community assets and community investments to remain in the system — and not just remain but to stabilize, and offer them the opportunity to grow and get back to really what their original intent was 20 years ago upon incorporating.”

Providers range from an 18-unit co-op to organizations like Kitchener Housing and Cambridge Non-Profit Housing which have hundreds of units in multiple buildings. Some providers may be struggling, while others are keen to expand, she said.

A top priority is ensuring the buildings are solid and safe — audits have shown there’s a shortfall of about $142 million for building repairs and maintenance. Money could also be used for tenant supports to address neighbour disputes, mental health, hoarding or other issues. It could also fund training to strengthen volunteer boards.

“Providing truly affordable housing is expensive,” said Coun. Elizabeth Clarke at the meeting. “I don’t think we can simply assume all providers are going to be fine when they’re no longer getting this (mortgage) assistance and can continue to deliver affordable housing.”

Catherine Thompson is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on urban affairs for The Record. Reach her via email: cthompson@therecord.com

WATERLOO REGION — The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has surged again to a record as the Omicron variant spreads through the community causing more infections and deaths.

Three hospitals in the region reported 136 patients with the disease by Saturday, the most by far since the pandemic began nearly two years ago. The high in a previous wave was 79 patients in May 2020.

Patients requiring intensive care climbed to 17, a high not seen since last July when the Delta variant of the coronavirus tore through the community.

Under provincial directive, hospitals have delayed non-emergency surgeries to maintain the beds and staffing needed to treat COVID patients.

Unvaccinated residents are placing a disproportionate burden on local hospitals, recent admission data shows.

Between Dec. 23 and Jan. 6, unvaccinated residents were almost four times more likely to be admitted for COVID treatment than people who are fully or partly vaccinated. Unvaccinated residents were almost 13 times more likely to require intensive care.

This is based on 42 hospital admissions and four intensive care admissions to Waterloo Region hospitals over a two-week period.

The regional public health unit reported two more COVID deaths Monday. That’s two deaths short of the number reported in provincial data. The numbers are based on different reporting periods and will eventually reconcile.

Another 1,272 cases were reported over three days which understates actual infections because of testing restrictions.

The latest data shows the disease is continuing to spread into nursing and retirement homes where there are now 38 active outbreaks. These outbreaks have now killed six people, one more than previously reported.

There are 28 active outbreaks in unidentified congregate settings and eight active outbreaks across various units in all three local hospitals.

In total that’s six more outbreaks than last reported Friday.

Jeff Outhit is a Waterloo Region-based general assignment reporter for The Record. Reach him via email: jouthit@therecord.com

WATERLOO REGION — The University of Waterloo is pushing back the date when in-person learning will resume at the school.

Earlier in the month, the university announced that most teaching, learning and work — with some exceptions, such as labs — would happen online until Jan. 27. On Monday, the school announced it would extend the current remote learning and working arrangements until at least Feb. 7.

The uncertainty brought by the latest wave of COVID-19 has contributed to this decision, the announcement said.

The university said it intends to provide notice of the return to in-person learning at least 14 days in advance. On Feb. 2, a president’s forum event will be held to discuss the latest information on the return to in-person experiences.

As of Monday afternoon, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College are scheduled to reopen campuses for in-person learning on Jan. 31.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the University of Waterloo has been running some in-person activities, such as labs.

On Christmas morning 2021, a light that shone brightly for two decades went dark, leaving a family, indeed an entire community, in mourning.

Adrianna Demrovsky, known as Adri, was only 22, yet the legacy she left is remarkable given the challenges she faced her entire life living with autism and epilepsy.

Adri was born into a family of deep faith. She often wondered why God would have limited her life in this way. She’d say, “why did God make me special needs?” remembered her brother, Alex Demrovsky.

The answer would come after she died, as countless people came forward telling stories of how Adri impacted their lives.

“The outpouring — we had no idea,” said mom, Donna Demrovsky.

You see, it was impossible to feel sorry for yourself or sink into sadness when Adri was around. Alex said his sister had exceptional emotional intelligence. She could cue in when anyone was suffering and would be the first to offer a hug.

“She loved everyone,” said Alex. “She always connected to other people, only accepting that people were loved, people were happy.”

Donna said Adri could not contain these emotions and often said, “I feel everybody in my heart Mommy.” It could be a friend or someone just met, a complete stranger.

Adri was born on May 15, 1999, to Peter and Donna Demrovsky, the youngest of three children. In her early years, Adri attended programs at KidsAbility, where therapists targeted her needs to help the child reach maximum potential. There would be several exceptional therapists and teachers throughout her life, and given her loving personality, Donna said everyone wanted to help her.

Adri was initially diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder, now known as an autism spectrum disorder. Around age eight, she was also diagnosed with epilepsy and would suffer seizures most of her life, sometimes going weeks without an episode. Other times, she’d be hit in rapid-fire succession.

This did nothing to diminish Adri’s desire to be engaged in her community. As a student in the special education program at Preston High School, Adri volunteered in the community with the assistance of a personal support worker. Alex said her favourite volunteer job was a day camp.

“She was happiest, so proud to have been given responsibilities,” said Alex. “It made her feel valued.”

What Adri wanted was to someday become a staff member, not just a volunteer.

Alex said his sister was aware hers was “not going to be a normal life,” and she watched her older brothers get married, start families. Though this wouldn’t be Adri’s path, she adored her nieces.

“Anything to do with family or friends got her super excited,” said Alex.

And as Christmas approached, was Adri looking forward to the celebrations? Alex said yes, but not because of presents.

Adri was “the least materialistic person I knew.” The only possession she truly valued was her phone and only because it gave her a tool to keep in touch with friends and family. Every day, all those in her circle received messages of love. The phone also helped improve her reading and writing skills, a bonus for a girl that had struggled in school.

Adri graduated from high school just before COVID-19 hit, so her first taste of adult life was subdued by all the restrictions. She was particularly saddened when the Kitchener Ice Pirates, a special needs hockey program, closed down.

Alex played Jr. B hockey, his jersey number, 44, the same number given to his sister when she joined the Ice Pirates as an 11-year-old.

Team coaches were united in stating that Adri exhibited inclusiveness and a compassionate and positive attitude. She was everyone’s friend, but Adri was also competitive, determined to match her brother Alex’s scoring abilities.

Adri was a determined young woman, teaching herself to use social media, to text, ride a bike, skate, ski.

“She wanted to be an artist,” said Donna, remembering her daughter was aware that her initial drawings were not good. So, she set out to change that, watching YouTube videos on how to draw a cat. Over and over, Adri would follow the instructions and practice.

“She became quite good, but she pushed herself,” said Donna.

Adri attended Light House Adult Day Program where she made even more friends.

Co-founder of Light House, Kyle Craig, recalled Adri “was a happy, positive person.”

Though he has worked with dozens of people over the years, Adri was special, particularly how she taught him about being selfless.

“She made me appreciate life,” he said.

Alex’s wife, Taylor Demrovsky, said “There were no boundaries when it came to her heart.

“Her purpose in life was to love everybody she met.”

Adri died on Dec. 25, 2021.

Freelance writer Valerie Hill is a former Record reporter. She can be reached by email at vmhill296@gmail.com

WATERLOO — Police are looking for three young suspects in connection to a reported assault that sent two people to hospital over the weekend.

On Saturday just before midnight, Waterloo Regional Police were called to Laurelwood Commons shopping mall at 600 Laurelwood Drive in Waterloo for reports of an assault.

Three male suspects used weapons during the incident before fleeing in a white, older-model sedan, police said. The two victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police describe one suspect as a white male, roughly six-feet-tall, around 16 to 18 years old, with a medium/muscular build. He was seen wearing a black jacket and light-blue jeans.

Another suspect is described as a Black male, standing six-feet-tall, 18 years old with a medium/muscular build, with facial hair.

The third suspect is described as a 16- or 17-year-old male, standing five-foot-eight, wearing a red hoodie with a black face mask.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact investigators at 519-570-9777. Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

CAMBRIDGE — A Kitchener man is facing charges in connection to a fatal collision on Shantz Hill Road that claimed the life of a 25-year-old in the fall.

On Oct. 21, police were called to Shantz Hill Road near Preston Parkway for a single-vehicle crash. At around 3 a.m., the driver of a white Lexus had lost control of his vehicle, left the roadway and struck a hydro pole.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Waterloo Regional Police said through an investigation, it was determined that two vehicles were involved in this collision. The two vehicles were travelling east when one of the vehicles left the roadway.

On Saturday, police arrested the driver of the other vehicle.

A 26-year-old Kitchener man is facing charges of stunt driving and dangerous operation — causing death.

He’s scheduled to be in court on March 4.

Chris Seto is a Waterloo Region-based reporter for The Record. Reach him via email: cseto@therecord.com