City council approves $6.78 million grant for Regina's second Costco development
Regina City Council approved an incentive package for a new Costco in Westerra. Mayor Bachynski on why it made sense plus an update on construction season.
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CTV News
34 minutes ago
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Greater Sudbury sells lot to Habitat for Humanity for $5
Greater Sudbury will transfer a vacant Melvin Avenue property to Habitat for Humanity for just $5 as part of its land bank strategy. The home, designated for a veteran's family, is near a park and bus stops. The non-profit says construction is expected within the year.
CTV News
34 minutes ago
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‘No one wants to see that on their credit report': Direct Energy customers frustrated after being mistakenly reported to credit bureau
'I was so stressed out,' said Terri Wattie, a Calgary resident who recently found a derogatory mark on her credit report, courtesy of Direct Energy. She said she received an email from her credit monitoring app on May 30, alerting her of the mark. 'It didn't equal up,' said Wattie, adding that she always pays her bills on time. 'No one wants to see that on their credit report. It's quite humiliating to get an email like that.' Wattie didn't know the derogatory mark on her credit report was a mistake until she read CTV News Edmonton's story about the incident. 'If it wasn't for that, I honestly would not have had any idea what was going on because Direct Energy did not reach out to me,' said Wattie. In a statement, Direct Energy confirmed that during a reconciliation with its third-party collections agency, ICE Collections, a 'subset' of customers were 'inadvertently' reported to the credit bureau. CTV News Edmonton reached out to ICE Collections but did not receive a response. Kristy Kolodychuk also received a notification from her credit monitoring app, alerting her that a Direct Energy bill had gone to collections. The Fort Saskatchewan resident hasn't been a Direct Energy customer since February 2024. 'I never got any correspondence from Direct Energy,' said Kolodychuk, adding that the company sent her an email after she had called them and asked for one for her records. 'I'm just very surprised that a company like this has some kind of privacy breach and doesn't actually individually reach out to their customers or at least send a mass email the moment it happens,' said Kolodychuk. Direct Energy said the incident was not a breach. 'We want to assure customers that they were not subject to any collections activities,' said Megan Talley of Direct Energy. Had she been trying to get a mortgage or a loan, Kolodychuk said she would be in some 'serious trouble.' Wattie and her husband were planning to buy a new car in the coming weeks. The couple was worried the derogatory mark on their credit report would impact their interest rates. 'If we were applying for a mortgage, everything could have gone out the window,' said Wattie. 'I don't think they realize how much of a stressful situation this is for people.' Direct Energy plagued with problems Since moving customer service centres to foreign countries, customer complaints have ballooned. Lea Williams-Doherty reports. Since the incident on May 30, both Kolodychuk's and Wattie's credit reports were wiped clean of the derogatory mark. 'All erroneous entries have been completely expunged from customers' credit reports,' said Talley. 'It's as if it was never there.' Talley said only those who were actively monitoring their credit reports would have noticed. Direct Energy did not make reports of the incident, and said it was made aware by customers contacting the company directly. Since Kolodychuk hasn't been a Direct Energy customer for over a year, the utilities company agreed to send her a cheque with the $200 credit. But she was perplexed as to why they would still have her information on file. 'Our record retention policy is informed by legal and audit obligations,' said Talley. 'For former Direct Energy customers, that ranges from three to seven years, depending on the type of record.' Wattie was told she would receive a $200 credit to use on her bill as compensation for the incident. But she doesn't think it's enough. '$200 in this day and age is nothing,' said Wattie. 'Half the time, $200 doesn't even cover half of a month's bill.' 'For the stress and anguish I went through over the last week, I really don't think that's sufficient.' She said she might consider a different provider after this incident. Direct Energy said it was sorry for the inconvenience, and if customers still have concerns, to contact its customer service team. Equifax Canada encourages consumers to request and review their credit reports on a regular basis. 'By doing this, consumers can ensure that their report contains accurate and complete information,' said a statement from Equifax Canada. Equifax said if a consumer finds information on their credit report that is believed to be inaccurate or incomplete, they can file a dispute with Equifax and/or the company that reported it.
CBC
36 minutes ago
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Windsor explores modified schedule, possible new privately run home for curling
The city of Windsor is moving ahead with a handful of directives aimed at finding solutions to an ice shortage stemming from a fire at an arena earlier this spring. Most notably, city officials will consult with the curling community about possibly modifying their 2025-2026 schedule at Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex. On Monday, city council heard several ideas concerning ice time reallocation. One that will be explored could see curling pushed back until next spring — allowing for both ice pads at Capri be used for hockey during the fall and winter. This after curling's entire season was originally on the chopping block to make up for ice time lost with the fire above one of the rinks at the WFCU Centre. It's expected to take more than 10 months to fix the damage there meaning the one pad is completely unusable. The loss of the rink has ice schedulers scrambling to find roughly 50 hours of ice time for local hockey and figure skating. Privately run option? Central Park Athletics (CPA) is a privately run multi-sport complex just east of the Windsor assembly plant and close the E.C. Row Expressway. Owners James and Leigh King say they have around 20 hours of ice-time available on weekends across their two skating rinks. They're also willing to discuss the possibility of converting one of their indoor soccer spaces — directly beside their two ice pads — into four curling sheets, as a long-term investment for the city. James King told council the space is big enough and requires the necessary refrigeration. And that's something, he says, could be done before October. "We would have an isolated facility next to the ice rinks — it would be a separate pad," said King. "It would have its own amenities, washrooms … parking. Everything you need to have in a standalone facility." The facility is also licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. Kipp Van Kuren, representing Windsor Minor Hockey Association (WMHA) at the meeting, has worked with the Kings for a handful of years because the association runs out of CPA. "I've seen it in action how quickly James King can get things going," he said. Coun. Fred Francis supported exploring the idea further with ongoing discussions between city administration and the Kings. However, he thought doing so for this year wasn't possible. "That is what I would consider an act of God," he said, referring being able to have a new curling rink up and running by October. Whatever timelines end up being sorted out between the local curlers and city, one municipal staff member suggested "ice could be converted in a week," back to curling sheets. Terry Fink, who represents a Windsor group focused on saving the sport long-term in the city, called a modified curling season at Capri as a "fair resolution." "In principle, I think that may be a wonderful opportunity for us to continue to curl," he said before city council.
