Here are five stories to know today, with the focus first on Cornwall, SDG&A and Akwesasne, then on what Canadians are paying for Halloween chocolate this year.
Cornwall’s rideshare decision left for the next city council
Whether ride-hailing services can operate in Cornwall will be up to the next city council, after outgoing councillors voted to postpone presentations from Choice Taxi and Uride, Cornwall Seaway News reports. Coun. Carilyne Hébert moved the deferral, arguing the current council had already left the decision to its successors; the motion carried, though some councillors, including Coun. Denis Sabourin, opposed the delay. In its written submission, Choice Taxi questioned proposed changes to criminal record screening, asked to set its own fares and called for compensation for taxi plate owners if rideshare is legalized. Uride, a Northern Ontario company, argued that taxis and rideshare can operate side by side under a system that licenses platforms, vehicles and drivers, and pointed to a city survey in which 64 per cent of respondents said they would likely use ridesharing. Interim city clerk Tracey Beauregard said staff work on a proposed framework will continue regardless, so how local rides are licensed and priced remains an open question for the new council. Source: Cornwall Seaway News.
Health unit urges vaccines as flu, COVID-19 and RSV circulate locally
Influenza, COVID-19 and RSV are already circulating in the area as respiratory illness season gets under way, according to Cornwall Seaway News. Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, medical officer of health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, said flu arrived earlier than usual this year and RSV infections are expected to rise over the next few weeks. The EOHU says free flu and COVID-19 vaccines are available across Cornwall and the five eastern counties starting October 26 for everyone six months and older, through health-care providers, community health centres and participating pharmacies. Children aged six months to under five and their household members can book at the health unit, and people 65 and older, pregnant people and those with chronic medical conditions are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated. Adults 75 and older, and high-risk adults aged 60 to 74, can get a free RSV vaccine; details are at EOHU.ca or 613-933-1375. Sources: Cornwall Seaway News and Eastern Ontario Health Unit.
Steelworkers urge province to reject closure of Alexandria and Plantagenet care homes
The United Steelworkers, which represents about 135 front-line workers at long-term care homes in Alexandria and Plantagenet, has asked the province to reject Southbridge Care Homes’ request to close them, the union said in an October 26 release. According to the union, Southbridge has proposed closing The Palace in Alexandria, with 70 beds, and Pinecrest in Plantagenet, with 60, as part of a plan for a new 320-bed home in Cornwall. In its submission to the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s public consultation, the union says families who can now walk to visit would face a trip to Cornwall with no public transit, and that French-language services for francophone residents could be reduced. It argues provincial funding of up to $370,600 per bed should instead go toward modernizing the existing homes. Alfred and Plantagenet council has agreed to write to Long-Term Care Minister Natalia Kusendova-Bashta about the possible Pinecrest closure, The Review reports; the union’s release does not say when the ministry will decide. Sources: United Steelworkers (GlobeNewswire), Cornwall Newswatch and The Review.
Iroquois Caucus calls on Ottawa to withdraw major projects Bill C-39
The Iroquois Caucus, chaired by Grand Chief Cody Diabo, is calling on the federal government to withdraw Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, according to a release posted by the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne on October 30. The bill would set a one-year deadline for certain federal project decisions and let Ottawa designate regions of national interest with streamlined approvals, according to Local Journalism Initiative reporting published by Narcity. The caucus says faster timelines must not override First Nations’ inherent rights and jurisdiction over territories, lands, waters and wildlife, and it calls for respect for free, prior and informed consent under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Ottawa says the bill preserves the duty to consult and allows timelines to be suspended or extended for Indigenous consultation, but the caucus says those assurances do not resolve its concerns, with Diabo asking, “Will this bill respect FPIC and will First Nations have a Veto?” MPs voted 296 to 26 on October 8 to send the bill to committee, and as of mid-October it had not become law. Sources: Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and Narcity (Local Journalism Initiative).
Halloween chocolate costs more this year, experts say
Families buying Halloween treats are paying about 12 to 15 per cent more for chocolate than last year, Rotman School of Management associate professor Richard Powers told CP24. Dalhousie University’s Sylvain Charlebois said some chocolate prices are up 20 to 30 per cent, and Powers said high cocoa prices, after drought and extreme weather disrupted production, are being passed on to shoppers. Powers also said families spending the same as last year could get 8 to 10 per cent less chocolate by weight, and that while cocoa prices are starting to fall, lower costs could take 12 to 18 months to reach consumers. A Leger survey released October 28 found 72 per cent of Canadians expect their Halloween spending to stay about the same as last year, while 29 per cent plan to spend nothing on candy. Rotman marketing professor David Soberman suggests comparing the price per piece when choosing what to hand out tonight. Source: CP24.
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