2 former migrant workers detail their experiences living on Ontario farms
Tyrell Mills and his uncle Clifford McLiesh have worked as migrant workers for multiple years on Ontario farms. They spoke to CBC K-W's Aastha Shetty about their experience living in on-farm housing they say was dirty and unkempt. Mills and McLiesh were at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo on Friday to hear more about a new guidance document called the National Housing Standards for Migrant Agricultural Workers. It was put together by a team of researchers and experts from across the country who want all levels of government to read the report and take action on the recommendations to keep migrant farm workers safe.
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
You'll soon need an access card to dump bulk waste in eastern Newfoundland
The old-fashioned clipboard and pen is slowly being replaced at the entrance to waste recovery facilities in eastern Newfoundland, as the board running the sites implements an access card system so it can collect better data on who's using the facilities, and what they're dropping off. But full implementation of the system has been paused for nine months to allow more time for residents to complete the card application process. Stephen Tessier, president of the Eastern Regional Service Board, said "we came to realize fairly quickly" that some people, especially those in unincorporated areas and those with limited access to — or knowledge of — the internet, were having trouble applying for the cards. "They're the ones struggling to get access to the cards," Tessier said on Tuesday during an interview at the bulk drop-off site in Whitbourne. In order to address some of the confusion and help those struggling with their applications, board members will attend a public meeting in North Boat Harbour on Thursday hosted by Placentia-St. Mary's MHA Sherry Gambin-Walsh. "We'll bring some applications with us. And if people are struggling, we'll help them fill them out," said Tessier. The board delivers regional services such as waste management, water and sewer and fire protection to communities that are not able to do it on their own. The board serves more than 100 communities and 27,000 households east of Clarenville — not including St. John's and its larger neighbours. Each household pays $225 annually for a weekly curbside garbage service, bi-weekly recycling collection, and an annual bulk garbage pick-up. Separately, the board operates 10 waste recovery facilities where residents can drop off — at no cost — bulk items such as furniture, mattresses, appliances, construction debris such as shingles, tires and tree branches. The sites are located in places such as Clarenville, Old Perlican, Harbour Grace and Bay Bulls, and are open in the morning and afternoon on Saturdays, and in the afternoons from Tuesday to Thursday. Last year, the sites recorded more than 34,000 visits, with the waste material eventually ending up at the Robin Hood Bay waste management facility in St. John's. For years, users of these waste recovery facilities would be greeted by an attendant with a clipboard, who would record the user's name and log the type of items being dropped off. That information would then be manually inputted into a computer. The board announced in late 2024 that it was adopting an access card system — each with a unique QR code — that would be issued to each household, again at no cost. The card is scanned by an attendant before entrance to each site, and all the necessary data is automatically uploaded. The card can be used a maximum of 16 times per year, which is a safeguard against commercial users accessing the sites. "It gives us some data that allows us then to operate our facilities in a more efficient way because we are not-for-profit," Tessier explained. "We need to make sure that we're doing the best we can to offer the best services to the residents." Initially, the system was scheduled to become mandatory on April 1, but the board was forced to hit the brakes following feedback from users. The new implementation date is Jan. 2, 2026, but many users have already started scanning their cards, said Tessier. Users have to complete an application in order to receive a card, and more than 5,300 have so far been issued, with several thousand more being processed, said Tessier. Applications can take up to six weeks to process. Applicants must include a civic address on their application as proof that they reside in the area served by the board, and this is causing some headaches for those living in unincorporated areas where civic addresses do not exist. "We've worked with them. We've changed how we accept their ID now," said Tessier. For example, he said applicants can provide a copy of a land deed, or an Amazon delivery receipt, as proof that they own a property in the board's coverage area. "We're pretty flexible on what you could show us," he added.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Months after transport truck crash, Swift Current resident still living with mess
A Burin Peninsula resident has been counting the days since a transport truck crashed near her home, still waiting for a proper clean up while living with the debris it left behind. A truck, owned by Ontario-based Ollie Transport, went over an embankment near Nancy Barrington's Swift Current home on Feb. 4, spilling diesel and leaving behind parts of the wreckage. While the truck was quickly removed from the site, Barrington says the hood, fender, bonnet and broken glass are still scattered in the area. "Every day I go out, you know, to the side of my home and all of the debris is there. You can still smell the diesel fuel out there," Barrington told CBC News. She says Ollie Transport is responsible for the clean up and site remediation but as of Friday — 122 days since the incident — the company hasn't completed the work. In fact, Barrington said, last month there was a community clean up initiative that helped her get rid of some of the smaller pieces of debris like glass, plastic and other contents that spilled out from the truck's cab during the crash. "It's just nice to have people come together to help to clean it up and try to get it rectified and try to get some normalcy, I guess, back to where my property lies," said Barrington. However, some of the larger pieces were too big to be removed and are still there, she said, and she can't afford to pay for them to be removed. Barrington said oil also spilled from the truck, and some ended up in the ocean. She said she's worried about environmental damage. Barrington said she has reached out to the Department of Government Modernization and Service Delivery about delays in the clean up. She said she was told the situation has become a legal issue. "It's still an active case. [The government is] still actively involved, but the company is just not co-operating," she said. Legal action Government spokesperson Gina MacArthur told CBC News Ollie Transport had begun the clean up process but then stopped. Then, in early March the company was directed by a ministerial order from the Department of Environment and Climate Change to resume the clean up in a timely manner. "This process includes a 60-day window within which the polluter may appeal the ministerial order. As this 60-day period has now expired, the provincial government has begun the steps required to pursue legal action against the polluter through the court system," MacArthur wrote. CBC News has repeatedly attempted to reach Ollie Transport for an interview. The company has not replied. Barrington said she's frustrated by the lack of action. "It's like something that you keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get answers and to get done, but it's like nobody is taking responsibility for it," she said. The experience of having a truck crash near her home has left Barrington worried whenever she hears the sound of vehicles driving on the highway nearby. With greater economic activity expected in the next few years in her region, she's concerned there will soon be more trucks zipping along the stretch of roadway.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Stewiacke property bylaw ruffles feathers of chicken keepers
Social Sharing A Stewiacke resident wants the town council to change a bylaw she says has people who raise chickens walking on eggshells. Two weeks ago, Lynann Wamboldt received notice that she had 15 days to remove the 10 chickens she keeps on her property because they contravene a town bylaw. The bylaw requires that anyone keeping chickens must have a property of at least one acre (0.4 hectares) and can have no more than five chickens on the property. "The panic kind of set in for everyone when they found out. And we thought, OK, maybe we should start some action and see if we can maybe start talking with council and see if we can change to match what we have in HRM and Digby County and Chester areas," said Wamboldt. In the Halifax Regional Municipality, residents on land amounting to less than an acre are allowed to have up to 10 chickens. Wamboldt has started a petition seeking support for a new bylaw she intends to propose to council that emulates HRM's rules. Marc Seguin, Stewiacke's chief administrative officer, says council will respond to complaints about the bylaw at its meeting on Thursday. He said the town doesn't actively seek to enforce the bylaw but in this situation was responding to a noise complaint about a rooster on Wamboldt's property. Roosters are not permitted according to the bylaw. But other chicken keepers in Stewiacke who live on small properties are concerned. "I think it's quite silly, actually. When I heard that Lynann was starting a petition, I was very excited to go out in the community and get as many signatures as we could," said Amber Ratté, who also raises chickens in Stewiacke on a lot that's less than 0.4 hectares. Ratté said tending to her chickens brings her and her neighbours a lot of happiness, as she shares the eggs they produce. "They're my favourite part of my day," she said. "Currently my husband's away on deployment and they really keep me company and they keep my son engaged and they just are very educational." Wamboldt shares her passion for poultry and wants to continue what she's doing in the community as well. "I sell the eggs to co-workers, I gift them to families in need. If I know that someone's having a tough time, I may show up at their door and surprise them with a dozen of eggs and have that conversation starter," she said. Wamboldt said she hopes her proposal to council will start productive conversations. But as the 15-day deadline to remove her chickens looms this week, she said her options are limited. "I don't want to euthanize my animals. I've had them for over four years. Some of them are older and no longer laying and I'm just giving them this place to live until their time comes."
