Here are five stories to know today, with the focus first on Cornwall, SDG&A and Akwesasne, then on the high-speed rail debate in Prescott-Russell and a U.S. flight stop felt at Canadian airports.
Cornwall says no basis to doubt certified election results
The City of Cornwall says there is no basis to doubt the certified results of the October 26 municipal election, despite reporting errors on election night and concerns raised by residents, Cornwall Seaway News reports. Unofficial results that night gave Mayor Justin Towndale 2,141 votes, while his certified total is 4,559; the City says staff mistakenly copied figures from the online system’s “Decline to Vote” column into the spreadsheet used to publish results, and that the votes themselves were counted correctly. A separate compilation error left out Glengarry results in the English Catholic school board trustee race, so Krista Ryan was first listed as elected, but the certified results show Donna Nielsen won the seat. Both errors were fixed before certification, and Sarah Good won the mayoralty with 7,545 votes. The City says it has received one email requesting a recount, sees no grounds for one, and has not decided on an independent review, while a breakdown of votes by polling location will be released after a report goes to council. Source: Cornwall Seaway News.
Towndale’s term as mayor ends after 12 years at Cornwall City Hall
Justin Towndale’s time at Cornwall City Hall came to a close with the end of his term on November 14, after eight years as a councillor and four as mayor, Cornwall Seaway News reports. First elected to council in 2014, he defeated incumbent mayor Glen Grant in 2022 and lost his bid for a second term to Coun. Sarah Good on October 26. His time as mayor included the Massey Commons redevelopment, the purchase of Parisien Manor and Sunday transit, which he advanced using strong mayor powers, while a proposal for about 30 bridge-housing cabins was paused in 2026 after public consultation. The 2026 budget raised the municipal tax levy by 5.41 per cent, and a KPMG long-term plan projected average yearly levy increases of 5.9 per cent through 2035, pressures the incoming council inherits. The City has scheduled the new council’s inauguration for November 23 at 7 p.m. at the Dev Hotel and Conference Centre. Sources: Cornwall Seaway News and City of Cornwall.
EPA documents repairs to PCB cap on the Grasse River
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued an Explanation of Significant Differences for the Grasse River Superfund site, documenting repairs to the stone and gravel cap that keeps PCB contamination isolated in the river bottom, NNY360 reports from Massena. Three weather-related events between 2022 and 2024 damaged small portions of the cap, which was placed during dredging and capping work Alcoa carried out from 2019 to 2021. Alcoa made initial repairs in 2022 and 2023 and finished the rest in 2024, under the oversight of the EPA, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. EPA officials say the job is not finished, because the cleanup plan requires long-term monitoring, including water sampling, fish sampling for PCB levels and surveys of the cap. For communities across the river region, that monitoring is how the recovery of the river will be tracked. Source: NNY360 (Watertown Daily Times).
Anti-Alto walkers take Prescott-Russell concerns to Rideau Hall
Opponents of the Alto high-speed rail project ended a walk of more than 100 kilometres through Prescott and Russell at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on November 12, delivering a symbolic petition addressed to King Charles III, The Review reports. The walk, led by East Hawkesbury residents Kristin Muller and Kathleen O’Connell Renaud, began November 8 in St-Eugène. They are asking for meaningful consultation with affected communities, open parliamentary discussion, attention to the project’s long-term cost to Canadians and a full understanding of its impacts before any land is acquired. A Rideau Hall spokesperson said the petition was received and will be forwarded to the appropriate government officials. A corridor for the Ottawa-to-Montréal line is expected to be announced before the end of 2026, and the new executive director of the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail, Laura Beauchesne, says talk of the route’s effect on the trail is still “conjecture.” Sources: The Review and The Review.
U.S. flight stop leaves Canadian airports clearing a backlog
A nationwide U.S. ground stop ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday, November 13, halted air traffic for more than four hours and left Canadian airports and airlines working through cancellations into Saturday, The Canadian Press and BNN Bloomberg report. Montréal-Trudeau had 61 flights cancelled Friday and 40 on Saturday, and Air Canada said it cancelled about 250 flights Friday, affecting about 27,000 passengers. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a faulty copper wire in an old telecommunications system may have caused the problem, and said a cyberattack is not likely. The FAA expects full recovery by the end of Sunday, while Porter Airlines said getting back to normal schedules would likely take the whole weekend and it will refund customers who cannot use rescheduled flights. Cornwall and SDG residents flying from Montréal or Ottawa this weekend should check their flight status with the airline before heading to the airport. Sources: The Canadian Press (via CTV News), CTV News and BNN Bloomberg.
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