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TO JOURNEY, SEARCH AND FIND

KW AUTHOR PAMELA MULLOY EXPLORES THE INTROSPECTIVE AND SOLITARY ASPECTS OF TRAVEL

The COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying years of varying quarantine forced the world to slow down. It confined those privileged enough to afford it into our homes. The sudden stillness after decades of moving as fast as possible caused a sort of metaphorical whiplash in many. 

Pamela Mulloy appreciates stillness while moving forward. Her book, Off the Tracks, is an ode to train travel, where she can achieve this state most readily.  

“What I know about train travel is that it gives me a much-needed sense of propulsion while allowing me to be still,” she writes. 

Mulloy spent her quarantine yearning for the chance to travel again. When she could not physically, she travelled in her memories. In her book Mulloy takes us along with her on her journey of remembrance—of journeys past, missed, imagined and planned.  

The meandering path is undertaken at a sauntering pace where we can appreciate the beauty of travel.  

“This is the way you should enter or exit the portal of travel, through a corridor of beauty with a lingering story of its past, and a sense of slow and melancholic ease,” she writes.  

In a loosely chronological order, Mulloy begins with her solo travels shortly after university through Europe. She remembers these earlier trips in the earlier part of the pandemic, reflecting on the solitude and stillness in motion that train travel offers.  

She recalls her expanding world alongside the expansions of the railways as she travelled alone. This eventually transitions into a more familiar and routine sort of travel–her annual trip to Moncton with her daughter, family trips to Europe with family friends. And then, in the midst of these routines, her daughter’s fresh perspective as a child brings new wonder to old sites.  

Alongside her love for travel, Mulloy’s love for her daughter is ever-present in this book.  

I appreciated Mulloy’s acknowledgement of the hurt that travel causes. At different parts, she delved into the impacts that the expansion of railways had on Indigenous and Chinese people, the exploitation of Black porters who were formerly enslaved, trains as part of gentrification and the impacts of not having a powerful passport.  

Especially in her discussion of Black porters, Mulloy demonstrated the complexity of any history. While formerly enslaved Black people from the South were given paying jobs and a certain dignity through their porter positions, they were still exploited heavily. This continued exploitation influenced the Civil Rights Movement.  

Mulloy draws these connections through history and imagination, painting a vivid tableau of ordinary life alongside the extraordinary development of trains. She draws the reader into her genuine love for both travel and trains.  

However, she does not view either through rose-colored glasses. Instead, she writes a love letter to train travel that also gently reveals its flaws. Her criticisms are firm and well-researched, but her love for travel endures.  

Like love, travel is about both the external and the internal world. The traveler is a key part of both the journey and the destination.  

“…because that is what can happen when you embark on a journey. You find you are closer to yourself than you have ever been,” Mulloy writes.  

In all of her writing, there is a sense of a melancholy and nostalgia, a wistful appreciation of passing scenery.  

Once, as I walked along Ring Rd. during a particularly warm sunset, a dandelion seed walked alongside me for a short while. I remember clearly the golden light, the uncanny shadows of the buildings and the fleeting companionship of the seed.  

In the chapter, “Women and Travel,” Mulloy describes how seeds travelled on trains, with new fauna growing alongside the tracks. Like those seeds, some of her reflections settle into the reader’s mind and some float gently.  

I thought, as I slowed down during the pandemic and regained myself, that I would never let that go. While quarantine was ongoing, one of the common messages in the zeitgeist was that we cannot return to normal.  

As Mulloy notes, as soon as restrictions began being lifted, we returned to our old ways with fervor.  

“So eager was our return that we forgot what those days of reflection had revealed…That our way of living, our way of thinking was not as static as we might have believed,” she writes.  

Off the Tracks is a hygge book. It ties coziness, melancholy and nostalgia. In Mulloy’s meditations, the reader is inspired to remember their own experiences of quarantine—of slowing down, of restlessness, of all the things we said we would never do again.  

I cannot decide whether this was a sad or a hopeful read, perhaps it was both. But it was worthwhile and Off the Tracks is a book I will come back to again. f all the things we said we would never do again.  

I cannot decide whether this was a sad or a hopeful read, perhaps it was both. But it was worthwhile and Off the Tracks is a book I will come back to again. 


The Community Edition

KITCHENER WATERLOO’S BELOVED IRON HORSE TRAIL

Since moving to downtown Kitchener in 2001, I find myself absolutely smitten with the Iron Horse Trail. This unique, paved pathway is an inner-city trail system that connects downtown Kitchener to Uptown Waterloo through spectacular treed areas, quiet neighbourhoods, bustling city streets and some industrial spaces.  

Running from Ottawa St. in southern Kitchener to Erb St. in northern Waterloo, this trail is easily accessible for walkers, wheelchairs, baby strollers, bikers and runners alike.   

The 5.5 km trail opened on Oct. 5, 1997 on anabandoned section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is part of the Trans Canada Trail.   

As a regular user of the trail, I believe that the trail is an inclusive landmark utilized daily by folks traveling to work or school, cross country runners, bikers, those training for hikes/walking events and leisurely walkers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one could even see cautious people on a date sauntering side by side.   

Memories of the trail span to my time as a young parent navigating life and the trail system as a biker. My family was active and always looking for ways to expand our energy.   

Back in the day, my husband, three children and I would bike from Willow River Park out to Waterloo Park and beyond. Our kids were consistently excited to spend a day riding the trail and playing in the playgrounds found in both Willow River and Waterloo parks . Exploring the city on bikes led to a positive feeling of activating fitness and being connected to the land.   

As a lifelong runner, in my early 50s I decided to try my legs at running marathons. The Iron Horse Trail was the most natural place to run; listening to Queen’s ”Another One Bites the Dust” and Tokyo Police Club’s ”Wait Up” helped the miles fly by.   

Knowing all the turns and corners of the trail led to a familiar feeling of peace and comfort. Some of my longer runs included starting at Willow River Park, running along the trail into Uptown Waterloo, heading through Waterloo Square and across King Street onto The Spur Line.   

People on the trail tend to be friendly and approachable. While on a run one day, I stopped to wait for the traffic to clear on Victoria Street. A fellow runner was standing beside me. I decided to start up a conversation—turns out this friendly fellow was a marathon runner; we jogged together chattingfor a few kilometers.  

Traffic usually stops for trail users at all major roadway crossings. A slight wave from a walker will encourage traffic to respectfully yield to those crossing the road.   

As a present-day retired individual, I love meeting new and old friends for a hike on the trail. A typical jaunt for me includes meeting up at Willow River Park and walking along the trail, circling around the condos, getting back on the trail and stopping for a coffee either at Vincenzos, Tim Horton’s, Graffiti Market, Belmont Village or The City Cafe.    

The trail is accessible year-round, but especially beautiful to walk on from April to December. Snow is cleared and maintained by The City during the winter months; if you wear a decent pair of boots with treads, you will have no problems walking safely.    

You can access the trail from many points including the parking lot near Dill St. at Willow River Park, City Cafe on West Ave., or Waterloo Town Square in Waterloo.   

I love the Iron Horse Trail. From the canopies of colourful trees created in the spring to the icy, fresh snow trodden trails in the winter, this trail has something to offer everyone.   


Global News: Kitchener

Bodycam video of Ontario murder victim asking for restraining order played in court

A young woman can be seen on police body-worn camera video telling police that her on-and-off boyfriend of five years harasses her, and she is afraid.

The Community Edition

A LITTLE WALK THROUGH A LITTLE TOWN: REFLECTIONS ON GALT

The philosopher Immanuel Kant lead a life of immutable rituals, walking a particular route around his home city of Königsberg for an hour at exactly 3 p.m. every day for 40 years. The city was unexceptional and mundane—his walk was too; not a sublime connection with nature but a short and plodding reminder of the outside world, his neighbours and his surroundings in this life.    

This feat of eccentric discipline is a little off-putting to us now, a little depressing. But walking around Galt on a frigid Saturday in January, I feel some connection to this ritual.   

When my partner comes down to Galt for work, I try to carve out time to accompany them. I like Galt. More than the other townships in Cambridge it gives the impression of being a place, a location with some indelible character. I could imagine a thinker like Kant living here, its steady character complimenting their discipline. Today, despite the billowing snow and my snotty nose, I’ve settled to walk around the town and take it in for all I can.   

A lot of this character comes from the heritage buildings, their modest identity of endurance. The red-brick apartments on main street, embellished with subtle little cornices and circular windows. The original Bank of Toronto and Montreal buildings, no longer banks at all but hollowed-out monoliths holding dentists and attorney offices.   

It all still holds a certain gravitas. The businesses have changed, but the main strip seems as it would have in the mid-20th century. I walk through slowly, trying to admire the buildings without looking up and catching the wind’s edge.   

The Grand River runs through the centre of the town. In the fall the surrounding trees are roaring beacons of red and brown, beckoning from the hill above the town and around the river. Today the river is completely frozen over and the trees just twiddly husks.  

I stand on the bridge and watch the snowflakes, little ornate ghosts, disappear past me. How many people over the centuries have looked out on the Grand River and felt feeble before nature, as I do now?   

I sneeze and start walking again.  

I pass by the University of Waterloo School of Architecture next, an imposing former factory-turned-studio on the Grand River. It does not feel like it, but Galt is a grad-school town—some 350 students live here, mulling about, finishing off their theses.   

For a moment, I watch from outside the students hunched over their projects, a little envious of their warm, intentional world, before turning back—in need of shelter and a bagel.   

Every Saturday at 7 a.m, the Cambridge Farmers’ Market opens its stalls. When I pop by at midday it is still bustling. Children bounce around chasing each other, elderly couples sit in comfortable silence over coffee, vendors grin at me hopefully.    

I don’t mean to romanticise, but the market feels like a community idyll, a gentle reprieve of modernity. It has endured nearly 200 years, and since 1887 in the current building. At this rate, it may well outlive the mall.   

I pick up some fresh groceries for dinner.  

To truly understand my fondness for Galt, you must recognize what it is up against: Hespeler Rd, the concrete strip linking Galt to the neighbouring townships. This is a grotesque expanse of strip malls, fluorescent signs and condos, an incessant prairie of consumption. It is impossible to imagine what it looked like in any other time-period, it seems only to exist in the endless present.   

I’m not trying to be dramatic, but my weak-willed European mind feels bruised every time I pass through this un-walkable road. To me, it highlights the worst of North America, and Galt seems an oasis of resilient, unpretentious heritage compared.  

Despite the surplus architecture students, there isn’t a recognisable ‘nightlife’ in Galt. The Black Badger, an uncanny replication of a cosy British pub, almost fills this gap. My partner and I end our day here, sipping Guinness. It’s not busy, a few grizzled men sit apart, eyes glued to the TV.    

I’m tired and a little unsatisfied, finally up against the walls of possibility in a town like Galt. Despite my respect for it as a place, there just aren’t that many things to do, finite activities for young people.   

As much as I appreciate my walks, I’m a little apprehensive at the idea of being anchored to Galt for years. Would I just stagnate if I stayed here, lose my zeal, waste my time away without intention?  

This is the trade-off of town life: to be rooted in community, historical continuity and nature, while giving yourself up to often monotonous routines.   

I think about Kant’s mundane Königsberg walks, and how the comfort of repetition in a modest environment can leave room for unexpected clarity.   

In the face of our cities chasing unremitting expansion above all, Galt reminds me how important an enduring space can be.  

The Community Edition

A WALK IN THE PARK WITH BRENDA MABEL REID

It was a cold Saturday morning and George Lippert Park had not yet woken up. A pick-up hockey game at the rink would soon provide the soundtrack for the neighbourhood, artist Brenda Mabel Reid told me when they arrived for our walk. 

Our destination was the Spurl Line trail, a multi-use stretch running alongside the rail line.  

“This is our main connection between Kitchener and Waterloo that we’ve always used since being here,” Reid said.  

The trail provides more than just a path. Reid has a community garden plot with their partner in Uniroyal Goodrich Park. They often come to the trail to watch trains. And the trail has supplied materials for their art. 

“I was really interested in dying fabric with local plants, which I actually harvested from the Spurl Line Trail,” Reid said. 

Reid is an interdisciplinary artist. They started textile work, which continues to be a focus of artistic exploration. 

“I am working across and working through and combining multiple disciplines,” they said. “I have an insatiable energy for learning and trying new things.” 

“I’ve made several what I would call weird quilts,” Reid said. They explained their use of a variety of mediums including construction materials, cough drop wrappers and paper. 

“I made an argument [about] quilts as home, quilts as architecture, and now I’m really looking at quilts as the body,” they said. 

Reid is days away from opening their newest exhibit, Lead Lines, an exploration of the life of their grandmother and their family history. They interviewed their grandmother’s five children, uncovering information that was surprising, conflicting, and at times devastating.  

Reid used this information to construct five quilts made of washi paper to accompany the audio installation based on the interviews. 

“I love printmaking, and I wanted to bring print and quilting together,” they said.  

Themes of comfort and discomfort converse through Reid’s work.  

“There is something going on in my art practice around talking about hard things through soft media that I find is working,” Reid said. 

We stopped at the Café Pyrus Outpost for some comfort of our own in the form of warm drinks before continuing along the trail. Public space and land use are important to Reid. They grew up on a farm near Lake Erie. They moved to the KW region to study architecture, and their master’s thesis was a community quilt project with nearly 600 participants. 

“We were just outside all the time,” Reid said. “My summer job was picking berries on a neighbouring farm. Best job I’ve ever had.” 

“I’ve been interested in community activated art for a while,” Reid said. “[Community] connects you to a place and makes it…worth living there.” 

Last year Reid exhibited Underlay, a public-installation modular quilt piece where they invited participants to experience collective napping. 

“Engaging in rest in public space…[is] an incredibly politicized thing,” Reid said.  

“Public space has such a political bend to it,” they said. “I’m interested in…the nuance and politics of who is allowed and who isn’t.” 

We veered off the trail to see their garden plot, dormant for the winter. A friendly dog greeted us, its owners clearing the frozen storm water pond for skating. 

“[The space] is well used,” Reid said. “Lots of people taking good care of it.” 

Reid’s educational background provided a foundation for their art, imparting a practice of determination and rigor, but that rigor can lead to a grind culture where pace is overlooked in favour of productivity. 

“I’m, ironically, burnt out from doing a nap tour,” Reid said. “It turns out napping is very hard work.” 

Once Lead Lines is launched, Reid plans to prioritize rest and joy. 

“I’m a big fan of napping in public space,” they said. “I feel like more of us should actively and politically take up space to nap in public. And there is some truly silly stuff coming up [for me] which I’m very excited about.” 

Lead Lines runs from Feb. 4 to Mar. 30, 2025, at Homer Watson House and Gallery. 


The Community Edition

FROM KITCHEN TO OIL RIG: JOURNEY OF BRODIE SORBARA

I had the privilege of speaking to Brodie Sorbara about his tumultuous career in the food industry as well as his dramatic exit into a surprising new field: oil rigging.  

At a very young age, Brodie had the opportunity to witness the inner workings of a commercial kitchen. He watched the cooks in awe. There is  excitement in his voice, even decades later.  

“There was fire everywhere and an intensity in the air,” Sorbara said. “That was it for me—I knew what I wanted to do!”  

As someone who was never comfortable in school, he found the strategic call and response of an organized kitchen to be just the right amount of exciting structure he needed.  

At twelve years old, Sorbara went to work at his brother’s restaurant. Proud to have his first official job in the food industry, he began to learn the principles of commercial food preparation.  

When grade eight rolled around, still enthusiastic about being a part of the industry, there was a tough decision to be made. Sorbara could either go to the high school in his district or fight to be accepted into a school that had a cooking program.   

For Sorbara, it did not feel like a choice: he had to cook. After a mountain of bureaucracy, he was accepted to the school that would help establish his culinary dreams.  

After a high school cooking co-op—which he may or may not have lied about his age to attend—he was fully committed to the industry.    

Sorbara said he was hot-headed and found himself working throughout the region in many restaurants, always striving for excellence, lobbying for safety and searching for the right team.  

Now a full-timer in the food game, Sorbara realized that this was an industry plagued with abuse and corruption.   

From nepotism to manipulation, with a good helping of verbal and even sexual abuse, Sorbara has witnessed it all. He recounts one position in which he spoke out against a specific case of sexual abuse and was met with threats to his job and life.  

In an environment with so many intrinsic problems, it is hard to pinpoint the biggest one. However, many problems can be attributed to either owners, management or both.  From abuse to unsafe working conditions, owners have the power to make the necessary changes throughout the industry.   

“I shouldn’t be scared to lose my job over the price of beef,” said Sorbara.  

Fed up with a profession he once loved, Sorbara decided to take a step back and took a job at a Boston Pizza.   

Christina Sorbara, his wife. had a bit of a laugh as he explained.  

“I’m leaving the industry the way I started,” he said.   

Realizing that the gruesome aspects of the trade have remained unchanged in 20 years, despite his best efforts, Sorbara decided to search for a new career to support his young family.  

Now, Brodie works on an oil rig approximately 3,200 kilometres west of where he first began his career in the kitchen.   

“[Team mates on the oil rig] are like family, people have your back and safety is number one. In many ways, it’s the opposite of the food industry!”  

If you love something, set it free. After decades of cooking, learning, grinding and fighting through the abuse and the bureaucracy, Sorbara did. 


The Community Edition

THE REVOLUTION IS NOT COMING

When reading Florence Ashley’s “Gender/Fucking”, a book of essays largely about navigating the world as an openly promiscuous transfeminine person in a society that both fetishizes and reviles you, I never expected I would come across a term that wholly encapsulated my philosophy and the work I’ve been doing in this community.  

Yet, in the last chapter, Ashley opines on the concept of palliative activism and how we can maintain compassion after losing hope that the revolution may one day come.   

Palliative activism is an idea that recognizes the importance of revolutionary thought and goals throughout history but posits that, given the solidification of power and capital, the idea of the revolution and the revolution has become a commodified identity one puts on rather than an ideology upon which one makes radical change. 

It resets the goals of activism and radical action: from being used as building blocks to some far-off mythologized revolution, to improving the material conditions of those around. Fighting for change at a smaller scale to make the lives of the marginalized and downtrodden more livable and enjoyable.   

A palliative activist may believe that ideas like the revolution can blind us to the little victories we have, as they have become abstracted and turned into a stepping stone on the path to something greater—causing us to always feel the need to do more.  

But the truth is sometimes all you have is a band-aid, and while you may think to yourself that the band-aid is not enough—do you refuse to use the band-aid on because of that? No, of course not. You wash the wound and put the band-aid on; you do what you can with what you have available.   

Through my work with FightBack! KW at the 100Vic encampment, palliative activism has been a guiding principle. While we are a group of radicals and revolutionaries with differing ideas of what a just state may look like, we still come together every day to make the lives of the residents a little better and to reduce the amount of violence enacted upon them by the state.   

We know that handing out harm reduction supplies, coordinating donation deliveries and monitoring police presence is not glamorous or going to build to a revolution, but it makes the community at 100Vic a little safer and the people there less hungry and a little warmer.   

We have made deep personal connections with residents. We hurt when they hurt, we smile when they smile, and we attempt to empower them in everything we do.   

We also engage at the municipal, regional, provincial and federal level, but we realize that many of those efforts are ultimately in vain and will result in minimal change—if any.   

Even so, through our mutual aid and direct-action approach we have seen changes at 100Vic that we could not have predicted and did not intend to create.   

Most encampments have a mayoral system, a resident who essentially acts like a sheriff and settles disputes and keeps the order. Residents at 100Vic have consciously moved away from this model, instead creating an open committee of people able to take on different aspects of this role at different times.   

Residents have begun attending City and Regional Council meetings, have developed systems in which food can be shared evenly, and altogether have created a community in which they are able to keep each other safe and accountable.   

This is the true power of palliative activism, of seeking to soothe the pains of those downtrodden and forgotten. When you have no expectations, when you do the work because it fills you and the people you help with a sense of community and safety, the work begins to self-replicate.   

Perhaps the old saying is true and hurt people hurt people—but healing people heal people.  

The revolution may not be coming, the time for that may have passed and it may be too late to dismantle the forces of capital and fascism before they doom us all. But that does not mean we throw our hands up. It does not mean we must turn cold and hardened to the suffering of our fellow man.   

Instead, we must double down and devote ourselves further to creating spaces in which all are safe, in which we can lick our wounds and take solace in caring for each other. It is too easy to give in, to give up, and that gets us nowhere.   

Palliative activism gives us a framework for a truly restorative approach to mutual aid and direct action in which we can accept the limits of our power and still do the work we must with compassion and empathy.  

Get involved, bring some food or clothes to the encampment, host community cooking, check in on your neighbour, join a community garden—find what fills your heart and share it with the world, and you may be surprised what results spring forth. 


The Community Edition

STUDIO 27 CREATES NEW SPACE FOR ARTISTS

Artists have a new place to connect with the community at Studio 27 in Kitchener’s Civic Area district. The studio, located in a renovated heritage house at 27 Roy St., opened on Oct. 5, 2024. It features a gallery and workshop space and is home to Holly’s Neighbourhood Cafe.   

Studio 27 is the first commercial project for RFB Development, a Kitchener-based property development company focusing on restoring heritage homes. Brent Murphy, the community and creative lead at RFB Development and the manager of Studio 27, says he joined RFB to help bring Studio 27 to life.  

“RBF hired me to do something here that would have a community impact and be a flagship model for what we hope to see in other heritage home developments, be it from us or from someone else,” Murphy says.  

Studio 27’s mission is to create more opportunities for artists to showcase their art. Instead of charging artists fees for gallery or workshop space, Studio 27 uses a commission-based payment system.   

Artist’s hosting workshops pay a 20 per cent commission, and artists displaying in the gallery pay a commission on pieces sold.   

Murphy says he wants Studio 27 to be as financially accessible as possible.   

“We want artists to come with their ideas, and we’ll try to make it happen. We have a good little library of tools to use, too. We want to alleviate that initial barrier to hosting a workshop and have a space that is pretty and intimate,” he says.  

Studio 27 has hosted a collage workshop with artist Nicole Beno and an introduction to leather craft workshop with Adam Zrebiec from Barber & Craft.   

Before its opening, Murphy contacted some artists to pitch workshop ideas. Since then, he has received pitches from artists he knows and ones he has never met.   

“We want to make sure it is going to match the vibe and that we can do as much as possible to make sure it sells. We have people who have fully sold-out workshops that I’ve never met. They just slid into our emails and said, ‘I have this great idea,’ and people came and scooped up their tickets right away,” Murphy says.  

Beno hosted a collage workshop on Nov. 22, 2024. She said she did not realize how much she would have hosting a workshop.   

“Seeing everyone’s scraps on the table afterwards was magic. It felt like everyone needed that night. I’m not sure if it was a long work week, or what it was, but it felt like a relief to just sit down, elbow to elbow with your friend or new acquaintance in the ambience of the cafe, and let yourself play a bit,” Beno said.  

The gallery space rotates artists on a quarterly basis. Murphy says that timeframe gives artists a chance to sell their work while keeping the gallery fresh for frequent cafe visitors.   

Murphy leads the curatorial process and works to find artists who complement each other during their time on the walls. He says one challenge is educating people on the costs of purchasing art.  

“The people that we’ve picked are working artists. So, when you come in and see the prices, yes, it includes that we have a commission on it, but that is just the price to be paid for an original work by working artists,” Murphy says.  

In addition to connecting with artists, Murphy says neighbours are already recognizing the impact of Studio 27 on the area. Roy St. is part of the City of Kitchener’s Encouraging and Directing Growth for Efficiency (EDGE) strategy. EDGE provides incentives to developers to promote the re-urbanization of properties, which can create more cultural opportunities in urban neighbourhoods.   

“They’re all excited to see people come up the street more often. We’ve had a comment in our little neighbourhood Slack group that break-ins have been down generally because there are so many people around on Roy St. now,” Murphy says.  

Visit studio27dtk.ca to learn more about upcoming workshops and gallery exhibitions.


The Community Edition

MAKING A MIDNIGHT RUN FOR EVENTS

Midnight Run Cafe in Waterloo is serving more than coffee and cocktails. The uptown staple, located at 84 King St. N., is making a name for itself as an event space with comedy shows, live music showcases and poetry open mics. The eclectic mix of events is the work of Midnight Run’s event manager, Nathan Savoy. 

Booking events and creating community was not a part of Savoy’s plan after graduating from the University of Waterloo in 2022. Savoy is a musician and took a job at Midnight Run to support himself while working on his music. 

“The cafe was sort of just a chill job that I could do while I was doing that. It’s a great space, and then I found out that the ownership was excited about the idea of doing live music and different events, so I offered to start running them,” he said. 

Savoy began programming open mic nights, which he said brought in an eclectic mix of talent to the cafe. Following the success of the open mic nights, he started to book in music acts, poetry open mics, DJs, and comedians.  

“It’s definitely community-driven. People will come in with an idea for an event, and if it’s not completely crazy, we can make it work,” Savoy said. 

Midnight Run is filling a void in smaller event spaces in Waterloo. Savoy said it can accommodate audiences of 40 to 100 people, depending on the event. He added that the audiences for the shows are as eclectic as the shows themselves. 

“That’s been the other cool thing. It is a lot of students, but it’s also a super diverse crowd. There are all ages. People come and they’ll bring their parents out to shows,” he said. “It’s become a place for people to out.” 

While live music events have been popular at Midnight Run, Savoy said he has been surprised at the popularity of the venue’s comedy shows. He has partnered with Shocked & Appealed Productions to program comedy open mic nights and shows with professional comedians from across Ontario. 

“Comedy is definitely the most surprising to me in terms of the level of success we’ve been having with it. I was never involved in that scene before working with Eric and Bob to run those shows,” he said. 

Savoy is still pursuing his musical passions and has played shows at Midnight Run. He is excited about seeing the community of local musicians grow and connect with each other. 

“I’m a musician and I’m in a band called Avro Arrows and we’ll play in other venues in town. But then we’ll see people meet at our open mics and sometimes people will spontaneously form a new band and then we’ll see them coming back to perform,” Savoy said. 

Helping musicians and bands build their audiences is another way Savoy said Midnight Run is helping to build community. 

“We’ve tried to bake into the events a sense of progression. You can come out to the music open mic and then from there we can book you into a show or get you on the band showcase. There’s kind of room to grow within the events we host,” he said. 

With a lineup of events in February, from a folk night to a pro-am comedy show, Savoy hopes more people will come out and discover something new. 

“Midnight Run is still very much a coffee shop first. Then people come in, see the stage or the PA system and ask if we host events. It feels like a place that people have started to adopt as their own,” Savoy said. 


The Community Edition

DROP-IN SPORTS A HOME RUN

Spectrum Multi-Sport Drop-In is making a positive impact on stress levels, mental health and overall wellbeing for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, a recent study shows.   

Spectrum first launched the Multi-Sport Drop-In program in 2022. The program, which runs weekly, is free to 2SLGBTQIA+ adults 18+ in the Waterloo region. The program aimed to provide an accessible and inclusive opportunity for 2SLGBTQ+ adults to participate in sports. Most importantly, the goal was to provide an opportunity for participants to find a sense of community.   

“We know that, being an adult, it is already hard to make friends, but being a queer adult adds a whole other layer to that,” Troy Dettwiler, sports coordinator with Spectrum, said.  

Multi-Sport Drop-In started on a volunteer basis at the Stanley Park Community Centre and later expanded to the Cambridge Kinbridge Community Association. It began to grow after receiving a grant from Sport Canada which funded the program from Apr. 1, 2023 to Mar. 31, 2024.   

During this time, the program expanded to Kitchener’s Downtown Community Centre, and they hired a Sports Coordinator and co-facilitators to lead the weekly sessions.   

At the same time, Spectrum partnered with the Wilfrid Laurier University Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social work to conduct a research study to assess the impact of the program on participants.   

The study was inclusive of 87 sessions and 210 participants across all three sites.    

For Dettwiler, having a space where he could connect with like-minded people that enjoyed sports regardless of skill level was a key focus.   

Growing up, he said some of the only options for building a queer community was to meet people online or within the club scene.   

“I wanted a space that I could connect with people in a more organic and fun way,” Dettwiler said.  

Often, the few queer spaces in a community can become homogenous environments, which either only gay men or only lesbian women tend to occupy.   

In contrast, sports and physical activity has been a unifying activity for a diverse mix of identities, bringing together folks that identify with every letter of the 2SLGBTQIA+ acronym.   

“This space is something where it feels like it brings like everyone together,” Dettwiler said.   

“Especially now with how the world is changing, I think it’s more important than ever that we are representing gender diverse individuals in sports. I think it’s critical that we are here and queer and representing people,” Dettwiler said.   

Dettwiler’s sentiment regarding the importance of creating community spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ people was echoed through the results of the data captured to assess the impact of Multi-Sport Drop-In on participants.   

The study, which surveyed participants at the beginning of the program and again at the end of the program several months later, found that participants’ overall wellbeing and mental health had improved as a result of the Multi-Sport Drop-In.   

The data also showed that most participants joined the program to spend more time with other 2SLGBTQIA+ people as opposed to physical activity being the main driving force.   

“The sports drop-in has created a new sense of community for me and is a space where I feel like I really belong. I look forward to seeing the familiar faces and making new connections. I always leave feeling fulfilled and seen,” Jordan Betancourt, a participant of Spectrum Multi-Sport Drop-Ins since winter 2024, said.  

Looking forward, Dettwiler hopes the program continues to develop twofold. Firstly, he hopes that the community grows beyond Spectrum as a facilitator. Secondly, he hopes the program becomes sustainable instead of relying on the uncertainty of funding that is allocated on a yearly basis.   

“The vision is to try and keep this sustainable. So [we’re] doing a lot of work to make it financially sustainable and stable because it is so important for people to have this meeting space,” Dettwiler said.   


The Community Edition

REGION’S FIRST HART HUB OPENS IN KITCHENER, CTS SITE CLOSURE IMMINENT

Waterloo Region has received funding for a new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub.   

The provincial government’s decision to fund HART Hub’s across Ontario came alongside the decision to close Consumption and Treatment Service (CTS) sites across Ontario within 200 meters of schools or child-care centres.  

The Kitchener CTS site—operated by Sanguen Health Centre—falls under this category and will have to close its doors by Mar. 31, 2025 as a result.   

At the beginning of January, the provincial government announced that the Waterloo Region was among 9 locations to receive HART Hub funding—each of the nine locations have CTS sites facing closure at the end of March.  

Later in January, the government announced 18 more locations that would receive HART Hub funding, bringing the total to 27 hubs across Ontario, to fulfil their plan to invest $529 million to address homelessness and improve access to mental health and addictions services.   

The region’s HART Hub, which will be located at 44 Francis St. S., is set to open by Mar. 31, when the Kitchener CTS closes. The Hub will be co-operated by House of Friendship and Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo.  

“As co-leads, Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo and House of Friendship are working closely with the Region and Sanguen Health Centre as the community prepares for the scheduled closure of the Kitchener CTS site. It is our desire to mitigate the impact experienced by those affected by this closure as much as possible,” Tara Groves-Taylor, CEO of Community Healthcaring KW, and John Neufeld, executive director of  House of Friendship, said in a joint statement.  

Some of the services at the region’s HART Hub will include primary care, mental health and addictions care, housing, employment, and social services amongst other basic needs. The HART Hub will not provide harm reduction supports.   

In the joint statement, Groves-Taylor and Neufeld wrote that the HART Hub has been designed to augment and add resources to the services that already exist in the community.  

“The anchor site is at Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo with other locations and pathways for HART Hub services across Kitchener and Cambridge, including a rural outreach pathway, that leverages existing service providers, and focuses on outreach to existing spaces and places where individuals already congregate,” the statement said.   

While the HART Hubs will not offer consumption services or harm reduction, the HART Hub will offer some services provided by the CTS such as rapid access, addictions, medicine, peer support and primary care.   

In addition, the HART Hub will offer addictions counselling, something not currently offered through the CTS.  

The closure of the Kitchener CTS has been heavily criticized by local advocates. In addition, community members have questioned why the current CTS site on Duke St. is not transitioning to a HART Hub.   

Rhonda Nicholls, director of strategy, performance and partnerships at Region of Waterloo Public Health and Paramedic Services, said that there were several eligibility criteria to be an operator of the HART Hub, such as a multi-service accountability agreement (MSAA) with Ontario Health, which Sanguen does not currently have.  

“Additionally, Sanguen Health Services is really focused on their mandate, which is harm reduction services, and not necessarily the full suite of services that are required within the HART Hub, which is mental health and addictions, counselling, housing and all of those other pieces,” Nicholls said.   

Nicholls noted that Sanguen, public health and other organizations have been meeting on a regular basis to discuss the closure and its impact on the community.  

“Those conversations remain active. Several conversations and strategies are emerging, and there will be more shared about that in future,” Nicholls said.   

Sanguen Health Centre were unable to comment about the upcoming closure of the CTS site.   


The Community Edition

TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF OLD GOAT BOOKS

Old Goat Books, a fixture of Uptown Waterloo for more than two decades, however, a fire in an adjoining unit in December caused the business to temporarily close.   

Starting Feb. 1, the store is launching a temporary location at 35 King St. N. The original location is projected to re-open in March.  

The store was started in 2001 by Michael Loubert and Scott Wicken. At the time, they had been working at a second-hand bookstore in Kitchener and decided that Waterloo was in need of its own used bookstore as well.   

In 2023, the store was taken over by Erica Nikolaus, a former elementary school teacher who has experience in the publishing industry.   

Though the fire in December forced the store to close, there was no damage to the store itself. However, the books were subject to a lot of smoke damage.  

“Books have several enemies. One of them is smoke,” Nikolaus said.   

The affected books are in a restoration facility, where they first have the soot cleared and then are placed into an ozone chamber to remove the smell of smoke.  

“I’ve actually gone and smell tested a couple of batches of books at the facility, and they smell great. They smell like books again,” said Nikolaus.  

While the store waits to reopen, Old Goat Books has held pop-ups at the Princess Cinema.   

“They have a gallery space in the basement, so they’ve kindly let us use that space. And the pop-ups have been lovely. It’s been nice to chat with people,” Nikolaus said.   

“The last thing we want is for people to forget about us, or for the rumor to get around that we’re closing for good or something like that. It’s just a way of staying current and in contact with our customers and the community.”  

A lot of the store’s clientele are students from the University of Waterloo, Laurier and Conestoga, but they also have a crop of regulars that have been going to the store for years.   

“We’ve had a good mix of younger clientele and older clientele, the people that have always lived in the neighborhood and always shopped at the store,” Nikolaus said. “I get to meet a lot of nice people.”  

In her role as owner, Nikolaus curates the store’s collection and offers recommendations to patrons.   

The store purchases most of their books directly from members of the community. More information about this process can be found on the Old Goat Books website. Purchases are based primarily on what the store thinks the community will be interested in and what genres are currently in demand.   

“The community has been so supportive—and that’s really the silver lining to this all. The thing that keeps me going is that I can tell that Waterloo is very focused on keeping arts alive and keeping community businesses alive and keeping bookstores alive,” Nikolaus said. 


Global News: Kitchener

Reports: Raptors sign Ingram to 3-year extension

The Toronto Raptors have signed Brandon Ingram to a three-year, US$120-million contract extension, according to multiple media reports.

The Community Edition

FIVE WAYS TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY IN KW

Another February rolls around the corner, bringing Black History
Month. This is also when we typically review our anti-racism
goals for the year.It is never too late to create systems for the advances of equity and inclusion. The first-ever proclamation for Black History Month in Canada was made in 1979 thanks to the efforts of the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS).
Whether scheduling an Anti-Racism workshop for work or reading more books from Black authors, Black History Month should not stop on Feb. 28. It should be the start or continuation of anti-racist and anti-colonial practices.
The following are educational resources in and around Waterloo
Region.


ART FROM THE HEART
Art from the Heart creates spaces for healing, connection and joy. Local artist Alana Decker will lead in designing postcards that reflect participants’ personal stories. The postcards will be displayed at Lands Community Health Centre and showcase the creativity and strength of the local Black community.


KANOPY: BLACK HISTORY MONTH FILMS AND KANOPY KIDS
Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform that can be accessed with a Waterloo Public Library Account. Stream films by Black filmmakers and movies and shows about the Black experience. For the kids there are a wide collection of tv shows and read- along storybooks about Black
History Month.


CBC GEM BLACK STORIES COLLECTION
CBC Gem has a wide collection of Black movies, documentaries and television series all available for free.


KW CARIBBEAN CANADIAN CULTURAL ASSOCIATION
Discover the Waterloo Public Library’s Local History collection featuring the KW Caribbean Canadian Cultural Association’s photos, flyers and other
documents from 1975 to 2015.


ANANSI AND DI SNOWSTORM PERFORMANCE
Featuring an original story by the University of Waterloo’s Clive Forrester and a performance by Letna Allen-Rowe, engage in this enriching exploration into local Black art.


The Community Edition

​​Ga’nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre​ 

Waterloo Region’s first Indigenous childcare centre celebrated its grand opening on Jan. 30, 2025. The Ga’nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre at 30 Christopher Dr. in Cambridge has space for 65 children up to four years of age who are First Nations, Métis or Inuit. The licensed childcare centre is a project of The Healing of the Seven Generations. Applications are managed through the Region of Waterloo’s OneList system.

The centre prioritizes admission for children who are First Nations, Metis, or Inuit. Official status is not required; parents or guardians only need to provide proof of lineage to their band. Renata Richards, the centre’s executive director, is from the Haudenosaunee Mohawk Turtle Clan of the Six Nations. She said the centre is an important step in reintroducing culture and teachings to Indigenous children and their families.

Richards’ father spent nine years in a residential school, and she
said the loss of cultural identity extended to her and her children.
“Our culture and teachings were never talked about because
the residential schools took that away from him. Then I raised my
children the same way,” she said.

“Now at 50, I’ve spent the last five years reconnecting with my
culture, and I am a firm believer that it’s an inherited right for our
children to their culture—that is why we thought the centre was a
very important thing needed for our community,” Richards said.
The centre includes an infant room, a toddler room and two preschool rooms. Richards said they have taken a community-
driven approach to develop the centre’s Indigenous curriculum
with the support of its staff of early childhood educators (ECEs).
Traditional smudging practices will be part of the initial
teachings offered to children at the centre.

“We’re going to be doing the basics of smudging and circle each morning to say good morning and goodbye or a smudging if they’re feeling anxious,” she said.

The centre’s name, Ga’nigǫhi:yo, means “carry the peace” in Mohawk. However, Richards said Mohawk will not be the only language offered, as the options will depend on the languages requested by families.

“It very well could be multilingual down the road. You have to have a feel for what the community wants their kids to learn,” Richards said. In addition to supporting the cultural and language needs of its children, the centre will also be a space to train the next generation of Indigenous educators. Six Nations Polytechnic is offering the 16-month Indigenous Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) course at the centre.

“The course teaches the Indigenous ways, knowings and beings. It’s a different way of how the classroom is managed. It’s more child-led. If they’re building a house, then they talk about tepees. It teaches them how to bring it back the Indigenous ways,” she said.

Staff worked throughout January to complete the centre’s renovations, including the first phase of its playground. Once its licensing has been finalized, Richards said they hope towelcome the first children and their families to the centre by Feb. 10, 2025. For Richards, those first students are the beginning of a generational change for Indigenous families.

“We want to see our children flourish in the community and know their culture and traditions. We held our culture camp last summer and it was shocking to see how many of our youth don’t actually know their culture,” she said. “Ten years down the road, we’ll see our children knowing their traditions and ceremonies and being proud to say they know them.”

Waterloo Region’s first Indigenous childcare centre celebrated its grand opening on January 30, 2025. Located at 30 Christopher Drive in Cambridge, the Ga’nigǫhi:yo Indigenous Child Care and Family Centre has space for 65 children up to four years of age who are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.  

The licensed child care centre is a project of The Healing of the Seven Generations. Applications are managed through the Region of Waterloo’s OneList system.

The centre prioritizes admission for children who are First Nations, Metis, or Inuit. Official status is not required; parents or guardians only need to provide proof of lineage to their band.  

The centre’s executive director is Renata Richards, from the Haudenosaunee Mohawk Turtle Clan of the Six Nations. She said the centre is an important step in reintroducing culture and teachings to Indigenous children and their families. Richards’s father spent nine years in a residential school, and she said the loss of cultural identity extended to her and her children.  

“Our culture and teachings were never talked about because the residential schools took that away from him. Then I raised my children the same way. Now at 50, I’ve spent the last five years reconnecting with my culture, and I am a firm believer that it’s an inherited right for our children to their culture—that is why we thought the centre was a very important thing needed for our community,” she said. 

The centre includes an infant room, a toddler room, and two preschool rooms. Richards said they have taken a community-driven approach to develop the centre’s Indigenous curriculum with the support of its staff of early childhood educators (ECEs). Traditional smudging practices will be part of the initial teachings offered to children at the centre. 

“We’re going to be doing the basics of smudging and circle each morning to say ‘good morning’ and ‘goodbye’ or a smudging if they’re feeling anxious,” she said. 

​​The centre’s name, Ga’nigǫhi:yo, means “carry the peace” in Mohawk. However, Richards said Mohawk will not be the only language offered, as the options will depend on the languages requested by families. ​ 

“It very well could be multilingual down the road. You have to have a feel for what the community wants their kids to learn,” Richards said. 

In addition to supporting the cultural and language needs of its children, the centre will also be a space to train the next generation of Indigenous educators. Six Nations Polytechnic is offering the 16-month Indigenous Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) course at the centre.  

“The course teaches the Indigenous ways, knowings, and beings. It’s a different way of how the classroom is managed. It’s more child-led. If they’re building a house, then they talk about tepees. It teaches them how to bring it back the Indigenous ways,” she said. 

Staff worked throughout January to complete the centre’s renovations, including the first phase of its playground. Once its licensing has been finalized, Richards said they hope to welcome the first children and their families to the centre by February 10, 2025. For Richards, those first students are the beginning of a generational change for Indigenous families. 

“We want to see our children flourish in the community and know their culture and traditions. We held our culture camp last summer, and it was shocking to see how many of our youth don’t actually know their culture. Ten years down the road, we’ll see our children knowing their traditions and ceremonies and being proud to say they know them,” Richards said.  


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Wellington Advertiser

Incumbent Perth-Wellington PC candidate will attend debates

PERTH-WELLINGTON – It appears incumbent Perth-Wellington PC candidate Matthew Rae, unlike other candidates from his party, will attend debates in his riding leading up to the Feb. 27 provincial election.

Rae told the Advertiser on Monday that he plans to attend all-candidate events in Palmerston and Stratford next week.

However, PC candidate Joseph Racinsky, who is running in the nearby Wellington-Halton Hills riding, has thus far turned down all debate invitations there.

He is one of several PC candidates planning to forego local debates in favour of door-to-door campaigning.

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“Ontario PC candidates will spend every day of the campaign at people’s doors, speaking to voters about our plan to protect Ontario,” a PC Party media spokesperson stated via email on Feb. 10 when asked if the party was instructing candidates to skip debates.

The party refused to confirm or deny the existence of such a policy, and Racinsky’s campaign in particular also sidestepped direct questions about his attendance, even though three debate organizers told the Advertiser he had turned down their invitations.

“Our plan to protect Wellington-Halton Hills means being present in our community, at people’s doors and listening to concerns about the unprecedented economic uncertainty Ontario is facing,” stated Racinsky’s campaign manager Evan Holt when asked specifically about attendance at debates. 

Perth-Wellington debates

Residents in Perth-Wellington can expect two debates in their riding.

The first, hosted by chambers of commerce in  Minto, Mapleton and Mount Forest, is on Feb. 19 at the Norgan Theatre in Palmerston. Doors open at 6:30pm with the debate at 7pm. 

Another debate being hosted by the Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce will take place on Feb. 20 from 7 to 9pm at the Stratford Rotary Complex. 

“I believe I am attending,” stated Rae. “I am going door to door, as majority of candidates of all parties should be. It’s the most effective way to meet people.”

He noted the response has been “good” with “a lot of good conversations.” 

According to Rae, many voters raised concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s possible tariffs. 

“The election is very important to ensure that we have a strong, stable majority government to outlast President Trump in his threats and chaos that he’s causing right now in Ontario and Canada,” said Rae.

Candidates 

Other candidates in the Perth-Wellington riding have confirmed their attendance at all future debates, including Ashley Fox of the Liberal Party, Ian Morton of the Green Party and Jason Davis of the NDP.

“It (debates) gives people the chance to have that voice,” Fox stated. 

Davis said, “I think a lot of people need to start caring about who your local representative is going to be before we start talking about which party is going to be in power.”

On Feb. 11 an informational session was to be hosted by The Local Community Food Centre in Stratford.

According to Morton, the discussion was to focus on housing affordability, health care and education. 

“It’s a hard time in the world right now and we need serious people who are going to take these concerns and help to solve problems, and we just don’t have that right now,” he opined.

The Ontario provincial election is to be held on Feb. 27.

The post Incumbent Perth-Wellington PC candidate will attend debates appeared first on Wellington Advertiser.


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‘Cold, callous’: Ex-Ontario fire captain who murdered wife handed life sentence

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Wellington Advertiser

PC candidate Joseph Racinsky not planning to attend local debates

WELLINGTON-HALTON HILLS – It appears Joseph Racinsky, the Progressive Conservative candidate for Wellington-Halton Hills, will not attend any debates or all-candidate events hosted by local organizations leading up to the Feb. 27 provincial election.

Racinsky declined to attend two events planned in Georgetown, causing one debate to be cancelled and another to be “rejigged” into a meet and greet.

He has also declined an invitation to an Optimist Club of Puslinch debate in Aberfoyle.

That event will proceed without him, with at least four other candidates having confirmed their attendance.

According to his campaign manager, Racinsky will instead be focusing on door knocking during this election campaign.

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Several other PC candidates have also publicly stated they will concentrate on door-to-door visits instead of attending debates.

While some have suggested the party has directed candidates not to attend debates, PC officials refused to confirm or deny the existence of such a policy.

“Ontario PC candidates will spend every day of the campaign at people’s doors, speaking to voters about our plan to protect Ontario,” a PC Party media spokesperson told the Advertiser via email on Feb. 10.

MPP Matthew Rae, the incumbent PC candidate in nearby Perth-Wellington, has confirmed he will attend debates in Palmerston and Stratford next week.

Georgetown debate

Margaret Teasdale, president of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Georgetown unit, said her organization was planning a debate but regretfully cancelled it when Racinsky declined to attend.

Teasdale said the group booked the John Elliott Theatre in Georgetown for Feb. 12 and invited all the candidates.

Racinsky’s campaign manager said he would be “unable” to attend, she said.

“You can’t have a debate without the two main parties being there. So, we made the decision to cancel,” Teasdale said in a phone interview, noting the riding has voted “Blue” for more than 30 years.

She noted the CFUW is a non-partisan group, and has held debates before every federal, provincial, and municipal (mayors only) election for more than 50 years.

“I can’t believe that after 50 years we’re not having a debate,” she continued. “People need to be informed, and this was a service we offered to the community.”

Teasdale said current MPP Ted Arnott always attended debates – even during the previous election campaign, when some of the party’s candidates did not – “so we have never faced this before.

“It’s strange that they don’t want to be part of these things.”

Arnott, a Conservative, has held the seat for some 30 years and announced last fall he is not running again.

The PC Wellington-Halton Hills Riding Association had planned a nomination event so party members could choose the new local candidate and three nominees had been approved to run by the nominating committee.

But after the writ was dropped and with such a short campaign window, Racinsky was appointed the Wellington-Halton Hills candidate by the party.

Racinsky is a first-time councillor in Halton Hills, winning his seat in 2022.

Halton Hills meet and greet

Melanie Frazer, president and CEO of the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber was contemplating a debate but “rejigged” its event to be “more of a forum,” once Racinsky confirmed he will not be attending.

The chamber event is planned for Feb. 19 from 9 to 11:30am at the Club at North Halton, 363 Maple Ave. W. in Georgetown.

Frazer explained each candidate will have 10 minutes to explain their platform and answer a few prepared questions from the chamber. Following that will be an informal meet and greet.

The event is open to the public, but attendees are asked to pre-register at business.haltonhillschamber.on.ca as space is limited.

The Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce is not planning an all-candidates event, but CEO Brock Aldersley said he’s preparing questions to pose to each candidate to relay to the membership.

The Wellington Federation of Agriculture (WFA) and the Optimist Club of Puslinch are also hosting debates, on Feb. 18 and Feb. 20 respectively.

Racinsky has confirmed he will not attend the Puslinch event. It’s not known if he will attend the WFA event, which is virtual.

‘This is coming from the top’

Asked why Racinsky is not attending these events, especially in Wellington County where he is largely unknown, his campaign manager offered the following explanation:

“Our plan to protect Wellington-Halton Hills means being present in our community, at people’s doors, and listening to concerns about the unprecedented economic uncertainty Ontario is facing,” stated the email from Evan Holt.

“Joseph will spend every day of the campaign doing just that.”

Green Party candidate Bronwynne Wilton said she is disappointed the debate in Georgetown isn’t going forward, and “disappointed for democracy, really.

“Georgetown doesn’t know me that well and I was looking forward to the debate,” she said.

“If the PC candidate is not going to participate, how much can people in Wellington County get to know who he is?”

Liberal candidate Alex Hilson said he feels the same way.

“I think public discourse is a huge part of the democratic process,” Hilson said in a phone interview.

“(Racinsky) is a first-time candidate appointed by the party and he’s not even willing to show up for the job interview.

“That doesn’t speak to democracy. It should be a ground-up process, and this is coming from the top.”

New Blue Party candidate Stephen Kitras said he was out of town when the writ dropped and has only recently returned.

So, he wasn’t too bothered that he had not been invited to the CFUW or Halton Hills chamber events.

“I am in the Puslinch and [WFA] one and I would very much like to have a meeting in my hometown (Fergus) where I have lived for 37 years,” he stated in an email.

NDP candidate Simone Kent confirmed she will be at the Puslinch event and Consensus Ontario candidate Ron Patava stated in an email he will be at the WFA debate.

Puslinch debate

The Optimist Club of Puslinch is hosting a candidates’ night on Feb. 20 at the Puslinch Community Centre in Aberfoyle.

Candidates will be on site beginning at 6:30pm to mix and mingle.

The formal part of the event begins at 7pm with opening remarks from each of the candidates in attendance.

They will then be asked questions from the floor through the event moderator.

WFA event

The Wellington Federation of Agriculture has a Q and A planned for Feb. 18 from 7 to 9pm. This event will be virtual.

Candidates will share their vision for Ontario and answer questions from attendees about agricultural concerns, organizers say.

Email wellington@ofa.on.ca for the zoom link or for more information, or phone 519-323-7294.

*With files from Georgia York.

The post PC candidate Joseph Racinsky not planning to attend local debates appeared first on Wellington Advertiser.


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London Knights player, NHL prospect Cam Allen charged with impaired driving

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Battle between Ontario Liberals, NDP heats up in battleground Toronto-St. Paul’s

For nearly two decades, the riding was considered a Liberal stronghold. That changed in 2018, when New Democrat Jill Andrew won with a roughly 2.5 per cent lead, flipping the seat.

Observer Extra

Police Continue to Investigate an Armed Robbery in Cambridge


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Vancouver goaltender Thatcher Demko left early in the first period of the Canucks NHL game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Global News: Kitchener

Defenceman Hughes to miss Canucks game vs. Leafs

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes will miss a fourth straight game Saturday when his team hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Global News: Kitchener

Fast-moving snow storm brings ‘hazardous’ conditions to parts of Ontario

A fast-moving low-pressure system moving into parts of southern Ontario is expected to create “hazardous” conditions, Environment Canada says.

Global News: Kitchener

Could Ontario’s snap election break records for low voter turnout?

Election experts say Doug Ford would likely benefit from low voter turnout in Ontario's upcoming election, as low turnouts tend to show people are comfortable with the status quo.

Global News: Kitchener

This Toyota brand is disappearing from driveways in Ontario. It’s not the only one

Police in several Ontario communities have recently reported a large number of Toyota Tundra thefts from people's homes — but there are ways to protect your vehicle.

The Community Edition

LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS ADDRESS THE TAX HOLIDAY

Canadians received a temporary GST/HST tax break from Dec. 14, 2024 to Feb. 15, 2025. The Tax Break for All Canadians Act (Bill C-780) received Royal Assent as of Dec. 12, 2024, and is now recognized as a law.  

During the tax break, no GST or HST is charged on qualifying items including but not limited to; food, alcohol and cannabis products, beverages, children’s clothing and restaurant dining/catering. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have opted not to participate and were required to notify their customers.   

This program is set to help Canadians feel relief from inflation and the cost of living, according to a statement put out by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  

The holiday was announced in November 2024 and some small business owners have criticised the program due to how little notice they received. Due to the timing of the Bill’s release, consumers were encouraged to hold off their holiday shopping until Dec. 14. 

“The issue that we have with that is that when they [the customers] held out, it means we lost sales for like a week and a half beforehand in December,” Mandy Brouse, co-owner of Wordsworth Books in Uptown Waterloo, said.   

Words Worth Books has been open for nearly 40 years in the Kitchener Waterloo Region. The store carries many genres of fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, puzzles, toys and more. Many of their products fall under what is covered in the tax holiday.   

Brouse said even waiting until after the holidays would have helped. 

“[Small businesses] make all of our profits during that time, it’s really core and essential for keeping our business open for all year round. So that time is very key,” Brouse said.  

Statistics Canada’s consumer price index report in December said Canada’s annual inflation rate fell to 1.8 per cent as opposed to the projected 2.3 per cent without the tax break. In 2022, inflation in Canada reached rates mirroring the 1980s with prices paid by consumers rising by 6.8 per cent.   

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) members up to date on what small businesses need to do.  

The organization recommends business owners to do their best and follow the guidelines published by the Department of Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Consumers and businesses that have mistakenly paid the GST/HST on eligible good can go to the CRA for a refund.   

“[CFIB] did kind of a little survey that went out through their membership, just to find out about what people were thinking about this rollout at the time…I feel like they informed us as soon as they found out too,” Brouse said.   

Hundreds of business owners called CFIB with worries about the holiday implementation. Many are concerned about making a mistake in interpreting the rules, especially given the rushed nature of the change.  

Because Bill C-780 received Royal Assent in a short amount of time, many businesses were left to change their point-of-sale systems in a rush. Businesses not able to participate are urged to document why this choice was made and to follow normal practices by remitting all GST/HST to the government.   

“The evening of Dec. 14, I was frantically working through my point of sale to take the taxes off all of these items. My point of sale was friendly in terms of doing that in a bulk manner, but it still took, a number of hours,” Sylvia Horn, owner of Gifted, said.   

“Now the other end, putting it all the taxes back on Feb. 15, is going to be, kind of a bigger headache,” she said.   

Gifted is a gift boutique in Belmont Village which opened in 2015 and recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. It sells a variety of fun and practical items including puzzles, lip balm, candles, home decor and more. Horn noted it was difficult to measure its effect on sales due to the busy holiday season. She employs seven staff members and trained them quickly on the guidelines.  

“Some customers thought it applied to everything across the board, and so they were confused why they were being charged tax on certain things. I feel like it was a little bit rushed through, so maybe they weren’t able to communicate it [properly],” Horn said.   

Due to the rushed nature of the bill’s implementation, small business owners are worried about making mistakes and triggering an audit.   

The main risk would be collecting the taxes and not remitting it to the government. Even if the tax is collected in error, businesses must remit all GST/HST as normal. Many have resorted to creating their own procedures for dealing with the tax holiday.  

“I basically just had a little point form sheet at the at the till so that people could reference it if anybody asked questions. And then also any incoming inventory, because all of the staff inputs the incoming inventory, they would then have to know whether or not it was a taxable item or not,” Horn said  

From Nov. 26 to Nov. 27, CFIB conducted a flash member survey about the proposed bill and found only four per cent of small businesses expected stronger sales. Most small business owners are opposed to the measure, including 62 per cent of respondents that were required to implement it.  


The Community Edition

WR OPENS NEW SHELTER AT 84 FREDERICK

On June 19, 2024, the Region of Waterloo purchased the shelter at 84 Frederick St. from YWCA Waterloo-Kitchener. The shelter will act as emergency housing for women and gender-diverse individuals experiencing homelessness in our community.  

In response to the ongoing need for shelter, the operating model of the facility will serve single women and gender diverse adults without dependents with an initial occupancy of 66 beds. In addition, other initiatives are underway to increase emergency beds within the facility.  

The Region of Waterloo’s emergency shelter system is under significant pressure due to chronic homelessness, which increased by 129 per cent since 2020. If the current pace of growth continues, it will triple by 2028. 

“The number of individuals experiencing homelessness in the Region is unprecedented,” the Region of Waterloo said in a statement. “We are seeing the effects of poverty, mental health issues, rising housing costs and impacts of the opioid crisis first-hand in our community.”  

According to the Region of Waterloo’s 84 Frederick St. remodelling report, the new operating model prioritizes harm reduction, restorative justice, relational models for support and 24/7 access to support and services for individuals experiencing homelessness and the extended community. Support provided on-site will include emergency shelter services, food and clothing and case management.  

Initially, the region aimed to open the shelter by early December last year, but they are still renovating the site. While renovations are ongoing, Services and Housing in The Province (SHIP) is operating the facility with 37 emergency beds.  

“The new shelter is needed, but it isn’t enough—37 beds aren’t enough. It’s a drop in the bucket of the true need,” Codi Loker, a member of Fightback KW, said.  

SHIP runs the facility while the Region of Waterloo completes construction on the rest of the building. They plan to finish renovations by March.  

Bonaparte said the shelter’s opening and the decision to close the first shelter at 84 Frederick St. reflect deeper systemic issues.  

“People become homeless and in need of shelter beds for a myriad of reasons, but it ultimately comes down to a systematic failure,” Loker said.   

“The mechanisms in place could not or would not provide them with the appropriate help they require.”  

Loker also said the Region of Waterloo’s decision to close the first shelter was a short-sighted, money-focused move.  

The new shelter will replace the King St. Emergency Shelter on 1668 King St. E., Kitchener, scheduled to close in March 2025, coinciding with the opening of the Frederick Street shelter. 

Codi Loker is a contributer with TCE.  


The Community Edition

COMPANY ASKS FOR RIGHTS TO REMOVE MILLIONS OF LITRES OF WATER

Should citizens of Wellington County have to compete with gravel companies for a reliable supply of drinking water?  

In the groundwater-dependent Township of Puslinch, this has been a controversial topic for decades, with the new year bringing renewed demands for stronger drinking water protections.   

The citizens of Puslinch township and Cambridge and water advocates across the province are raising concerns over a massive water-taking application submitted by John Dick Construction Limited.   

This application requests permission to extract 13.7 million liters of water per day, for 120 days per year, for ten years from Lower Quarry Lake. Additionally, they intend to extract 1 million litres per day, every day, for ten years from a second source called Quarry Sump.   

This application is currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks, which has classed this proposed “Permit to take Water” as “anticipated to have the highest potential of causing unacceptable environmental impactor interference.”  

John Dick Construction Limited is a gravel supplier, also known as an aggregate extractor. These companies sell aggregate materials like gravel, sand and crushed stone for use in the construction of roads, buildings and concrete.   

To mine gravel pits, they must be kept dry. Aggregate extractors achieve this by pumping water out of the area and lowering the local water table: a process known as “dewatering.”   

Puslinch township is an aggregate hotspot. The towering mounds of gray rocks are impossible to miss on an otherwise densely forested drive through the area.  

While aggregate mining has brought employment and industry to Puslinch, dewatering practices are threatening the area’s wetlands, water table and, in turn, its supply of drinking water.   

In 2022, Puslinch council sought a pause on aggregate extraction after the Roszell wetland dried up, following years of dewatering by the Roszell gravel pit. At the time, Puslinch council’s consultant hydrogeologist Stan Denhoed believed that “groundwater levels are forty to fifty centimetres lower than they would be in the absence of aggregate extraction.”   

According to The Ripple Effects of Draining Ontario’s Wetlands, published by Environmental Defence in 2024, the province has lost 72 per cent of its original wetlands since colonization and cannot afford to lose any more. Wetlands clean water, protect from floods and provide a habitat for many of Ontario’s endangered flora and fauna.   

The “Permit to take Water” submitted by John Dick Construction Limited was discussed at the Jan. 15 Puslinch council meeting. Hydrogeologists from Wellington Source Water Protection (WSWP) raised concerns that the proposed site is in a “Highly Vulnerable Aquifer”, a “Significant Groundwater Recharge Area,” and a draft “Wellhead Protection Area,” making this a particularly damaging dewatering operation.   

Several groups have come forward with alternatives and recommendations. WSWP has recommended shortening the permit to five years instead of ten to give ample time for experts to review the impacts on the area.   

On the other hand, local water advocacy group Wellington Water Watchers has recommended “denying or rejecting this Permit to take Water altogether” until the Aggregate Act, Ontario’s legislation to control and regulate aggregate operations in the province, is updated with stronger protections.  

“All applications to take water must be subject to robust environmental impact studies,” Arlene Slocombe, Executive Director of Wellington Water Watchers, said.   

“It is too late once negative impacts to local drinking water are experienced and, arguably, these are the current conditions in Puslinch,” she said.   

The Reform Gravel Mining Coalition (RGMC) believes there is a better way to mine gravel. Their Municipal Action Plan is a handbook for residents to work with their councillors on how to strengthen bylaws for aggregate extraction.   

Until there are more robust protections for our wetlands, drinking water, and water tables, the RGMC is calling for a moratorium on all new gravel mining approvals in Ontario.   

In the words of Arlene Slocombe, “money isn’t life, but water is life and needs to be prioritized as such.”  


The Community Edition

BREAKING THROUGH THE MONOTONY OF ONLINE DATING

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit businesses and individuals alike, Samantha Bendo made the effort to help her friend’s business and regular folks connect.   

“I started it because, one: that [the bar] was dead on Wednesdays; two: mental health at the time was very, very low,” Bendo said.   

“I’m kind of a hopeless romantic, so I kind of like…in person before you’re like, internet stalking them, I think it’s meaningful,” she said.  

Eventually, the event grew to Happy Hour Events, an events organizing business for speed-dating events in Hamilton, Kitchener, London and Guelph.   

The events, which are age-divided, draw diverse crowds.   

“I take out anyone that’s come to more than one event, and we were over 2400 people that came last year,” Bendo said. “It must have been over 100 events.”   

At the event for singles aged 25 to 35 that took place on Jan. 30, 2025, at The Waterloo Brewery, it was a packed house with 31 attendees. Attendees included local business owners, academics and friends supporting friends.   

Every five minutes, women would rotate to the men at separate tables and have a short conversation. Each attendee would write yes or no beside the names of their dates on a sheet that would be submitted at the end of the night. If two people said “yes” to each other, the hosts would connect them in the following days.  

Ivy McSwain, a 25-year-old outdoor recreation worker attempting dating for the first time, said attending the event was part of her resolution to focus on love in all its forms this year.   

“I’m coming into this with the hope that it allows me to be more vulnerable in the future, to have more confidence in the future,” McSwain said. “This might not be for me and it might not be for a lot of people, but…we gotta try things, so I’m just gonna keep trying.”  

Sebastian Valero is a pilot and a repeat attendee of Happy Hours Speed-dating events. He said men often have the expectation of approaching women placed on them, which can be overwhelming.   

“You’re kind of in the perfect setting to talk with a woman, as opposed to having to approach the woman like you know, the approach is done for you,” Valero said.  

Attendees and hosts alike shared that speed-dating was preferable for them to online dating. Krystal McFadden, host for the Kitchener events, said the five-minute face-to-face interactions encourage open, honest and vulnerable connections.   

“I think people are just nervous. It’s easier to be behind a keyboard in the apps where you can think about your answers. You’re put into a vulnerable situation, being in front of the person where you’re not normally,” McFadden said.  

In addition, ghosting cannot be an issue.   

“A lot of people ghost,” McFadden said. “[When] you’re kind of forced to have that five minute interaction with everybody…it kind of lets your guard down and see that everybody’s here for the same thing, it’s not a scary place.”  

Bendo and McFadden said they value creating safe spaces for attendees to meet and grow their social circles.   

“I think it’s just, I think it’s really important to me to create these safe spaces where people have an opportunity to meet people in real life,” Bendo said.  

“I really do cherish a safe atmosphere for people to meet,” McFadden said.  

Attendees said the event was an opportunity to step out of their comfort zones.   

Valero said people should attend more than one session. He said people should grasp the opportunity presented to them and take chances.   

“If you think that something might happen, just say yes. It doesn’t hurt. Just say yes, because it doesn’t matter…you never know, the person might surprise you,” Valero said.  

McSwain said that doing things that may seem scary are necessary for growth.   

“I think anyone looking like outside in on these events, it’s like, if it scares you, that’s a good thing. If it terrifies you, it’s okay,” she said.  


Global News: Kitchener

Guelph is “a city of resilience,” mayor says in state of the city address

In a state of the city address, Mayor Cam Guthrie said he is confident Guelph can work through current global instability. He also cited the city's efforts to improve housing.

The Community Edition

THE HYPERNORMAL NOW

Valentine’s Day is in February, so some of our content naturally skews that way—see our Tiny Love Stories on the center spread—and the original idea was that we use this space to elaborate on romance.  

But, as I was patiently watching global events unfold from the convenience of my iPhone, an opportunity to shift trajectory presented itself to me.   

And then, the next day, everything changed. Yesterday’s notions started sliding away like sand around the feet of some desert wanderer. But I still had to write about something.  

I was going to write about the trade war. I had the entire train of thought mapped out in my head, but when I checked the news the next day everything had changed.   

If the reality we are currently experiencing had a solid foundation, here is where I would say all the sensible things: support your community, support your friends, support your family, support your country (depending on which country, I guess).  

This would come from a place of conviction. I would say it with my whole chest—and then the next day everything I put forward would become irrelevant and lose the context of currency.  

Doesn’t this feel like the point? The confusion, the lack of certainty. Hanging off every word and piece of news.  

I am going to ask someone who knows about game theory to elaborate on this for me, but for now I will keep pushing the outrage button and scrolling to the next thing on my phone.  

I told a handful of people that my New Year’s resolution was to watch 1,000,000 Instagram reels.  

This was a joke about depression and brain rot, how they work in tandem to ensure suffering that is vacuous and inescapable. Like a lot of jokes—the good ones anyway in my opinion—this one is built upon a dark premise with a kernel of truth.  

I am addicted to my phone; I am addicted to outrage and too aware of how it is impacting my existence.   

We are viewing a large part of the world through a very distorted lens. We look up to the sky, into the void, whatever metaphor, and then we don’t look down at the soil where we must tend to our roots.  

The term “hyper-normalization” was coined by Alexei Yurchak, an anthropology professor born in Leningrad who later taught at Berkeley. The term describes the paradox of Soviet life in the middle of the Cold War.   

In Yurchak’s words, the failure of the Soviet system was palpable, but with no tangible alternatives, politicians and citizens were “resigned to maintaining the pretense of a functioning society.”  

Yurchak’s theories have been used to describe a destabilizing of the Western psyche, and I think they are an excellent jumping off point for anyone who seeks to peel back the layers on what is happening.  

For now, yes, drink beer they make in Canada etc. But also, tend to your roots. We are not useful to ourselves when constant uncertainty makes us complacent. That’s kind of the point. The power you have is in the community you nurture around yourself.  

And in the worst timeline, that’s pretty much all that we’ve got left.