Green Party candidate Aislinn Clancy has won yesterday’s Kitchener Centre byelection. Clancy held onto a large lead as votes came in yesterday evening, with Elections Ontario numbers being reported just before 10:30 p.m. 

Clancy previously worked as a social worker and as a Kitchener City Councillor from 2022 until November of this year, when her campaign with the Green Party began.

She will now join current Green Party MPP Mike Schreiner at Queen’s Park, increasing the current seats held by the party to two. Schreiner appeared with Clancy last night as the polls closed, saying he is “incredibly proud” of the work she has already done.

“I am so incredibly grateful to the Kitchener community for putting their trust in me,” Clancy told supporters at her election night party. “Now, it’s time to take our fight for better housing, childcare, transit and more to Queen’s Park as we continue to stand against Doug Ford and his destructive agenda.”

NDP candidate Debbie Chapman came in second with 26.73 per cent of the vote. This marks a change for Kitchener Centre, which has been an NDP riding since 2018. Yesterday’s election was also unique for the number of candidates that were on the ballot — a record-breaking number of 18 people ran for office, which is the largest number ever seen in an Ontario election. 

In third place was Progressive Conservative candidate Rob Elliott, and the Liberal’s Kelly Steiss came in fourth.

After last night’s victory, Clancy will be required to step down from her previously held position as city councillor. Council will declare her seat vacant, and will either hold a byelection or appoint someone to fill the position.

Cover photo courtesy of Rob Schreiner on X (formerly Twitter)

A UW math professor, David Wagner, recently appeared to retaliate after being warned that his introduction of an assignment not listed on the original syllabus could be deemed as “grounds for a grievance.”

Logan Batson, the MathSociety vice president academic, explained via email that according to students in the class, Wagner had added a “last-minute” additional assignment that was not on the syllabus. He posted on Piazza about the release of one assignment, and announced the new assignment at the same time with no indication he was going to do so.

Batson emailed Wagner on November 20 informing him that the action was grounds for a grievance due to its violation of the university’s policy 70 section 4 b. iii, which states that a student is able to submit a grievance based on “an error or injustice on grounds other than the academic judgement of work,” including an instructor “[deviating] substantially from the course outline without reasonable notice.”

Wagner responded to Batson’s email stating that there would be no additional assignment, but that the material would be included on the final exam.

Several hours later, Wagner posted on Piazza confirming that material from the last week of the course would be included on the exam, but that students would not receive feedback on solutions to similar problems, saying that students can “thank some anonymous whining slacker for that.” Wagner continued by saying that the additional assignment would not be counted towards course requirements and would not be graded.

The Piazza post is visible on the r/uwaterloo subreddit with nearly 350 upvotes.

Batson stated that Wagner’s reaction was “quite baffling,” citing the fact that he had Wagner previously as a professor and that he seemed to be “nice about the structure of the courses.”

“Reacting to the fact that they were breaking policy by name calling students is a little upsetting to see,” Batson wrote.

In response to request for comment, Wagner said via email that he wanted an additional assignment to give students practice with the material from the last week, and that after receiving the complaint that it “contravened some regulation,” he cancelled the assignment. “That’s all there is to it, from my point of view,” he wrote.

Cecilia Dean, Associate Dean for the Faculty of Mathematics, told Imprint via email that “[n]o formal grievance was filed in response to the posting of the new assignment. After this issue was brought to our attention, Prof. Wagner was reminded about policy and the importance of being professional in all forms of communication.”

A new Bollywood film, Tiger 3, directed by Maneesh Sharma, was released on Nov. 11, 2023, on the auspicious Indian festival of lights, Diwali. This film is a sequel to the famous movie Ek Tha Tiger. The film stars globally renowned and some of the wealthiest celebrities in the world, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Emraan Hashmi.

The film discusses India’s conflicts with neighboring nations and the clash between two armies. Khan portrays the movie’s main character, Tiger, who operates as an agent of the Indian army. Kaif is playing his wife’s role in the film, who used to be formerly associated with the enemy organization. Hashmi plays the main villain, operating on the sidelines with connections to corrupt individuals in Pakistan’s army.

A notable scene in the film involves Shah Rukh Khan rescuing Salman Khan from prison after he gets caught. The scene was almost ten minutes long, an eyegasm for people who love watching Bollywood movies.

 For those unfamiliar, Tiger assisted Shah on a mission in the film Pathan, so he had to return the favor and save his friend. “My favourite scene from the film was when Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan were fighting together; I really loved the film,” said Abhishek Beria, expressing his enthusiasm while standing outside the Cineplex Cinemas in Kitchener.

I saw the movie on its opening day, and the Cineplex theater was fully booked. I ended up getting B-row tickets and left with a sore neck. However, the movie was worth it, and I chose to see it on the first day since I’m a big fan of Khan and watched almost all his films on the first day.

 My favorite scene was when Khan and Kaif were in disguise fighting each other in a scene for the sake of their son’s life, without knowing that they were fighting each other.

At the end of the movie, Khan saves both his son and Pakistan’s prime minister from Hashmi’s plan to kill her while also defeating Hashmi. The film portrays the political conflicts between nations while highlighting that we are all human beings who bleed the same. It sends a positive message of peaceful coexistence and emphasizes the need for mutual understanding and acceptance between nations. I highly recommend the film to those who love Bollywood or want to see an action-packed movie.

Tim Hortons restaurants across the Kitchener-Waterloo Region have been selling Holiday Smile Cookies in support of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

Through a Tim Hortons application process, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region got selected to partner up for the first Holiday Smile Cookie fundraiser.

The campaign kick-off event occurred on Nov. 13 where locals could meet staff and volunteers, grab some coffee, and be the first people to try the new cookie.

Six meals will be provided to families and individuals within the community experiencing food insecurity for every four cookies sold and for every box bought, the food bank will provide 18 meals.

The food bank has been providing emergency food assistance and support throughout the region since the 1980s.

Distributing fresh, frozen, and non-perishable food to the Community Food Assistance Network, which is a system of more than 120 community programs and agency partners working together to provide food, support, and services to people in need.

“With food insecurity on the rise here, there is one in 10 households in Waterloo Region that are accessing a food assistance program so the need is definitely there,” said Michelle Rickard, Manager, Marketing and Communications of Waterloo Region Food Bank.

They are seeing the highest need for food assistance in our almost 40-year history. A few partners the food bank works with: House of Friendship, A Better Tent City, Salvation Army (Kitchener), Conestoga College, and many more important organizations.

With the Holiday Smile Cookies being sold, people not only will be helping kids go to camp through the Tim Hortons Foundation Camps but also individuals and families struggling to access the food they need.

The food bank will receive 50 per cent of the proceeds from the cookies sold at participating Tim Hortons restaurants in Kitchener-Waterloo.

“It’s the first time we’ve donated to a charity where they were so hands-on and so eager to help,” said the manager of a Waterloo-area Tim Hortons, who didn’t want her name used in the media for authorization purposes.

“They came into my store, decorated cookies, put up banners, and did a portion of the work that is involved with making the cookies too which is really nice to see.”

The campaign ended on Nov. 19, running for a week total. The sales for the campaign so far have beaten the original projected estimate and customers can look forward to the new Holiday Smile Cookies being around next year.

Ontario lawmakers will soon pass a new proposal that provides transparency between employers and job seekers in terms of salary disclosures. Job applicants will see a specific salary range when they apply for job positions. How will the job market in Kitchener-Waterloo be affected by this proposal?