Tensions high as community weighs in on supportive housing project in Sarnia
That was the scene Monday as a special meeting of Sarnia City Council briefly devolved into a loss of public decorum.
The meeting was supposed to be an opportunity for the public to weigh in on a proposed supportive housing project for the city.
'I would bet you dollars to doughnuts that if this project were put into their neighbourhood, they would be against it,' commented city Coun. Bill Dennis.
While attending the meeting virtually, Dennis used his opportunity for questions to call out speakers who do not live in the neighbourhood where the project is being proposed.
'It's very hypocritical, and it's not right,' he said, with some members of the public sitting in the council chamber and the overflow in the lobby applauding with approval.
SARNIA COUNCIL MEETING - LONDON
Former Sarnia Coun. Nathan Colquhoun addresses special Sarnia City Council Meeting on Aug. 11, 2025. (Source: YouTube/city of Sarnia)
The meeting further took a turn when former city Coun. Nathan Colquhoun shot back at those opposing the development, including Dennis himself.
'And to you Bill, you don't live in this neighbourhood either, so you can (expletive) off,' he said in the public meeting.
When speaking later to CTV News, he was unapologetic.
'Basically, to shame anyone that is in that building that is trying to stop the city from building houses for people that need it. I think it's pathetic, it's gross,' he said.
Lambton County has donated land at 333 George St. for a supportive housing development.
SARNIA COUNCIL MEETING - LONDON
Signage on George Street, Sarnia, on Aug. 11, 2025. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)
Non-profit community housing provider Indwell is proposing a building with 50 deeply affordable apartments with wrap-around supports. Indwell CEO Jeff Neven addressed the special council meeting virtually.
'We have homelessness, we have chronic homelessness, we have encampments, and we need a solution, and we want it. We believe that you are the best to help us deal with that,' said Neven.
The project has divided the community. Supporter Jennie Das, who spoke at the meeting, credits Indwell for helping her daughter in Hamilton get back on her feet when struggling with mental health.
'Through Indwell, she was able to rebuild her life, complete her studies, and is now successfully working at a wonderful job,' said Das.
SARNIA COUNCIL MEETING - LONDON
Overflow crowd in Sarnia City Hall lobby on Aug. 11, 2025. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)
Some residents of the George Street neighbourhood have undertaken a campaign, complete with lawn signs, saying they're already doing their part when it comes to homelessness. Some point to an existing homeless shelter nearby, including speaker Chris Beausoliel.
'Because these are people that are trying to recover from drug addiction, they're trying to recover from mental health issues, they're trying to get their lives straight after being involved in incarceration. And sometimes trying doesn't work, so the behaviours still persist,' he said.
According to Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, the city has not yet received a formal planning application for the Indwell project.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
20 minutes ago
- CTV News
Federal Liberals looking to provide ‘certainty' to investors in fall budget
MP Ryan Turnbull responds to a question in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 13, 2025. Turnbull said the Liberals are looking to provide 'certainty' to investors in the fall budget. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — Major institutional investors are asking the federal government to give them a reason to invest more at home in the upcoming fall budget, says the Liberal MPs leading budget consultations across Canada. The federal Liberals are in the midst of consultations on the upcoming 2025 budget. While federal budgets typically are tabled in the spring, this one is set to land during the fall session of Parliament. The budget — which doesn't yet have an exact release date — will be the Liberals' first under Prime Minister Mark Carney and the first tabled by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who was appointed to that cabinet position in May. The minister and some Liberal MPs are touring Canada to solicit feedback as part of the federal government's typical pre-budget process. 'From our standpoint, it's our first budget. We want to get the big things right,' said Wayne Long, MP for Saint John—Kennebecasis and secretary of state for the Canada Revenue Agency and financial institutions. The Liberals are hosting roundtables with CEOs from various Canadian industries, heads of chambers of commerce, union leaders and First Nations groups to feed their concerns into the fall budget process. Long has criss-crossed the country since mid-July — part of a plan to visit 45 cities and every province and territory over a two-month span. Long said the fiscal update will be 'defence-centric' and 'housing-centric' — reflecting commitments from the early days of the current government — and will expand on themes laid out in the Building Canada Act passed in June. That legislation, which came with a push for major infrastructure projects, arrived against the backdrop of Canada's trade war with the United States and calls to build up the domestic economy and global trade routes to diminish reliance on the U.S. Long said that in meetings with representatives from Canada's Big Six banks and the Maple Eight large Canadian pension funds, he's heard a desire to invest more at home. He said those large institutional backers want the upcoming budget to help build the long-term confidence they need in order to put their money behind years-long infrastructure projects. 'I almost sense the frustration that they're like, 'Look, we want to invest more in Canadian industry, in nation-building projects and energy projects, but regulatory-wise, it hasn't been effective for us to do so,'' Long said. Putting new rules in place and issuing other signals that show where the federal government wants to focus its efforts could be cost-effective ways to spur investment, Long argued. 'These are tweaks and changes we can make that I think can result in billions of dollars being reinvested back in the country,' he said. Also meeting with industry stakeholders across Canada is Whitby MP Ryan Turnbull, parliamentary secretary to Long and Champagne. He said that in the course of those conversations, he's hearing that stakeholders want to be part of the solution to Canada's trade woes and economic uncertainty. 'We're looking to provide certainty through this budget process,' Turnbull said. He said stakeholders from the energy storage and nuclear industries are looking for Ottawa to commit to expanding investment tax credits for their sectors in the coming years. Such signals from government can convince a business that it's worth investing in themselves, or attempting to lure outside capital, in order to build in Canada, Turnbull said. He said he's also hearing concerns about the state of transportation infrastructure, particularly around Canada's ports. Businesses that want to diversify into global markets need to feel confident that the federal government is going to keep critical infrastructure running at key ports like Vancouver, Turnbull said. 'If (Canada) has bottlenecks and congestion within its transportation system and can't get products to market at the scale and scope that we're going to need to in order to respond to the challenges we face in dealing with the United States, we're going to have to address that port infrastructure,' he said. Carney's mantra throughout the spring election campaign and in the early days of his leadership has been to 'spend less' and 'invest more.' The 'spend less' side of the equation comes from his pledge to balance the operating side of Ottawa's budget in three years. Ministers have been asked to come up with savings of 15 per cent in their day-to-day spending by the end of that period. The Public Service Alliance of Canada has warned of possible job cuts through the spending reductions and has said Ottawa ought to work with unions, not around them, to achieve its savings goals. Turnbull said he's met with public sector unions as part of the consultation and acknowledged that there's 'fear and uncertainty' among bureaucrats. 'And yet I think they also recognize that there are opportunities for improvement and efficiency and to serve the public even better,' he said. 'We don't want to compromise on quality. But I do think it's a very healthy exercise for the federal government to say, where is there duplication? Where is there redundancy? Where can we get better results for Canadians?' While it's Long's first budget at the federal level, he said he does have some experience with budgeting in general. Not in Parliament, mind you — in a Canadian junior hockey league. 'I've never been involved in a budget for a process of this magnitude. But in previous lives, for me, when I was president of the Saint John Sea Dogs, we would go through a budgeting process also,' he said. 'And a lot of the decisions we made in that budget we recognize fully would set the tone for the future. So this is the opportunity we have with this budget.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025. Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
CTV News
20 minutes ago
- CTV News
Petition revives campaign to award Victoria Cross to Afghan war veterans
A Canadian soldier surveys the landscape during a dawn patrol in the Dand district near Kandahar, Afghanistan on Monday, June 8, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel OTTAWA — A petition sponsored by a Liberal MP is reviving calls for a fresh look at whether veterans of the Afghanistan conflict should be reconsidered for Canada's top military honour. Liberal MP Pauline Rochefort is sponsoring the new petition in Parliament. It calls for the creation of an 'Independent Military Honours Review Board to review Afghanistan veterans' cases' to determine whether any of them meet the bar for the Victoria Cross. The federal government says the Victoria Cross is reserved for soldiers who demonstrate 'the most conspicuous bravery, a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty, in the presence of the enemy' It has never been awarded to any Canadian for service in any conflict since the end of the Second World War. Rochefort is MP for Nipissing—Timiskaming, which was home to the late Jess Larochelle, an army private whose actions under fire in Pashmul, Afghanistan in 2006 have inspired a movement to award him a posthumous Victoria Cross. She said many of the Afghanistan veterans she meets at Legion events feel that their contributions during the conflict have not been fully recognized or appreciated, and 'there's a reason they're not backing down.' Rochefort said it seems like the right time to make this renewed push, as the federal government moves to reinvest in the military and boost recruitment. 'HR gurus will tell us the first thing you must do is appreciate your personnel because if you don't, they're not going to stay. So if we want to attract young people to our military and qualified personnel, the first thing we must do is to show appreciation,' she told The Canadian Press. 'When you have a significant component of the people that have been there, who have fought there, 40,000 of them, and they're saying, 'We're not sufficiently recognized,' I think that that's something to be paid attention to.' Retired corporal Bruce Moncur, who started the petition, is part of a group called Valor in the Presence of the Enemy. He said his group has identified roughly three dozen soldiers it believes could stand for the medal. He said Larochelle's story stands out as a shining example due to the courage it took to hold off a Taliban attack on an observation post while badly wounded. 'I like to think that there's four parts to it — you changed the course of the battle, you saved lives, you're killed or wounded, and you did an incredible act of bravery. In my books, Jess clicks all those boxes,' Moncur said. 'What Jess did that day was nothing short of superhero.' Retired lieutenant-general Omer Lavoie, who led the counterattack that day and wrote a citation for Larochelle, remembers well what happened when the platoon came under fire. 'Two soldiers were killed almost immediately based on explosions from the rocket-propelled grenades,' he said. Larochelle was struck with shrapnel in the back and neck as he defended the strategic position. He remained in his position with a broken back, firing handheld rocket launchers and a machine-gun at the attacking insurgents. 'There's no doubt in my mind, having seen it first hand, that his immediate actions, fighting while being wounded, certainly cracked the momentum of that Taliban attack and bought us time to counterattack,' Lavoie said. 'Incredibly, he did this while being pretty seriously wounded.' Larochelle was awarded the Canadian military's second-highest honour, the Star of Military Valour, in 2007. He died in 2023 at age 40. Moncur pushed in 2021 for a review of Larochelle's actions. He said he wants to press the case for a wider review under Prime Minister Mark Carney's government. He said Ottawa should consider new evidence indicating that Larochelle had volunteered for the assignment. 'They knew an attack was coming and he put his hand forward and volunteered to man that observation post instead of being ordered to man it,' he said. 'So, that is just a perfect recipe for a Victoria Cross and I don't think anybody could convince me otherwise.' A motion by former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole in 2022 sought to press the government to launch a military honours review panel. It failed in the House of Commons when Liberals opposed it. 'The continued inaction on this issue by the Liberal government speaks for itself and veterans are fed up,' Conservative veterans affairs critic Blake Richards told The Canadian Press in an emailed statement. 'Conservatives will continue to advance the case for Jess Larochelle to be awarded the Victoria Cross and will always stand with Canada's veterans to ensure that our heroes and their sacrifice for our country are not forgotten.' The Department of National Defence did not respond to a request for comment by deadline. Ottawa has said that the system for awarding national honours is designed to be insulated from political influence and public pressure campaigns. 'To ensure fairness and that honours were awarded according to the appropriate criteria, National Defence conducted an in-depth review in 2012 of all of the 20 Stars of Military Valour that were awarded in relation to the Afghanistan campaign,' said a government response to a previous petition effort on Aug. 17, 2022. 'The review committee found that the process was fair and consistent, that none should have received a different decoration, and that all awards respected the intent and criteria for the Star of Military Valour.' Moncur said that response felt like a 'punch to the stomach.' He said the statement — released 'in the middle of the summer' when it would get little attention — 'didn't actually mention Jess by name.' This time around, though, he has found a champion on the government bench. 'Why as a country have we not been awarding Victoria Cross medals? That's the highest order. If we're not going to do it, take it away,' Rochefort said. 'I don't want to minimize what this award represents, but it's there for a reason. It's important and therefore it should be awarded in times when it's necessary.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025. Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
James Moore: A reaction plan to the Trump tariffs
James Moore is a former federal cabinet minister under prime minister Stephen Harper, and a columnist for When observing governments and political leaders, it is always wise to heed the counsel of the great poet and wordsmith Maya Angelou when she suggested that 'When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.' Regarding President Trump and his belief in tariffs, we must never forget that his belief in tariffs is not a bug of his economic world view, it is the central feature of his 'America First' agenda. His passion for tariffs reaches back to old interviews that you can find on YouTube of him from the 1980s with Phil Donahue, Larry King and Oprah Winfrey, where Mr. Trump passionately made his case for tariffs against Japan. Whatever one thinks of President Trump and his actions, one cannot challenge the persistency of his view that tariffs are a weapon to be wielded aggressively in America's defence. So, it did not come as much of a surprise that after weeks of clandestine talks between ministers of Prime Minister Carney's government, senior officials and interlocutors, that Canada was struck with tariffs by President Trump. We all know the index of tariffs by now: the 35% 'fentanyl' duty; the 50% sectoral tariffs on steel and aluminum; a 50% tariff on some copper products; and the 25% tariff the non-CUSMA parts of the auto sector that are all now in place. The pain of the tariffs for Canadians varies, naturally, based on your proximity to effected industries or if you live in the geographic economic blast radius of the impact. And while some analysts emphasize that the average effective tariff rate on goods exports to the U.S. rose just slightly to around seven per cent because only a small share (perhaps 10%, 20%, we don't quite know yet) of the goods exported to the United States are not compliant with the still in effect CUSMA, that is very cold comfort to frustrated and anxious Canadians. Further, there is no reason to believe that the current index of tariffs will be the end of the Trump offensive. After striking a 'deal' on tariffs with Japan, the president circled back less than a week later, broke his agreement, and increased tariffs on Japan once more. Uncertainly will continue to be the only certainty on this front and our governments cannot be passive about our obligation to effectively respond to the latest tariff news. So, what ought we do? I humbly offer a seven-point reaction plan: 1. Constantly assess the impact of these tariffs on Canadian exporters and their workers. Establish what has yet to be established under this government: Working roundtables and structured feedback loops involving impacted sectors of the Canadian economy Prime Minister Carney can't continue to (seemingly) do all this work on his own. Stephen Harper; Manuel Barroso; Herman Van Rompuy File photo of then prime minister Stephen Harper, centre, waving with Herman Van Rompuy, left, President of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, right, President of the European Commission at the Canada-European Union Summit in Toronto on Sept. 26, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Under former prime minister Stephen Harper we had effective working groups and a stakeholder management process that buffeted our government from poor decision making through our negotiations of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). There is never full consensus on contentious matters, but deep and structured engagement with those sectors that are experts in real life global commerce is fundamental to their consent to negotiate on their behalf. To their credit, prime minister Trudeau and his then trade minister Chrystia Freeland saw the virtues and benefits of this approach, and engaged broadly on the NAFTA renegotiation process that led to a CUSMA agreement that had overwhelming agreement across Canada. This structure does not exist today and needs to be re-animated. Justin Trudeau; Donald Trump; Pena Nieto; Chrystia Freeland; Robert Lighthizer; Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal Then prime minister Justin Trudeau, right to left, foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, and then Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto participate in a signing ceremony for the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 30, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick) 2. Consult broadly and consider reasonable and creative public policy options to support unfairly targeted industries in the gap between the implementation of these tariffs and the end of the coming CUSMA renegotiations. Some very good ideas have surfaced in reaction to the new tariff dynamic; some truly awful ones have as well. The government should consider all options and invite this to be a central debate when Parliament resumes next month. Members of Parliament have a key role in this process of bringing forward grievances of their impacted constituents and suggesting appropriate remedies. In these tense times, there is a cathartic need for Canadians to know that their anxieties are being heard and expressed in the Parliament of Canada. 3. Consider reciprocal tariffs in the short term to support industries that are unfairly impacted by the tariffs, but also; 4. Drop the unrealistic belligerence of the dollar-for-dollar trade warfare angle and tack towards a lowering of temperatures between our countries – for now. 5. Stand-up significant business leadership, diplomatic capacity and governmental horsepower to genuinely build out export markets beyond the United States for Canadian-made products, resources and services. Canada is blessed with incredible leaders of enormous capacity who know how to engage successfully in markets around the world. Let's tap into some of that talent and re-imagine what our diplomatic strategy looks like in this moment. For decades, our diplomatic focus has been insufficient in its mandate to exploit global markets. We need to create Canadian jobs and prosperity through global sales, and we need to redirect the footprint of Canada abroad with this new agenda. We genuinely need to do all that we can to find ballast in diversified global alternative markets so as not to be held hostage by the whim of the current president. 6. 'Build, baby, build' were Prime Minister Carney's words on election night as he summarized his mandate. Bill C-5, also known as the One Canadian Economy Act, was a step in the right direction. The meetings with premiers since the election have raised expectations and hope that something meaningful is going to happen. Show us meaningful progress. Do it now. Mark Carney, Doug Ford, Scott Moe Premier of Saskatchewan Scott Moe, left to right, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier of Ontario Doug Ford speak to media following the First Minister's Meeting in Saskatoon, on Monday, June 2, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards) 7. Continue to firmly, clearly and tirelessly advocate for the virtues of the North American trading alliance that has created more wealth than any other economic partnership in human history. From the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement, to the Canada U.S. Mexico Agreement, the evidence is everywhere of the success and stability of the North American economic alignment to protect our collective and individual interests. And we must never tire of reminding Americans that the North American trading alliance has been – and must continue to be – the critical counterbalance to the rise of China and their too-often defiance of rules-based, good faith, reciprocal trade with their trading partners. Canada can't stand still and hope for better days or that the president will reverse his lifelong romance with tariffs. The president believes in wielding the tariff weapon and America is thirsty for the revenue the tariffs return. The tariff reality – in a mild or severe form – is here for years to come. Much of what happens may be beyond our control, but what is within our control needs to be pursued ferociously by our political leaders.
