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CTV News
22 minutes ago
- CTV News
Car struck by train in Brampton, no injuries reported
No injuries reported after a car was struck by a train near Mississauga Rd. and Bovaird Dr. on Wednesday evening.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Little action on Hwy 69 expansion as new bridges sit unused
Two brand-new highway bridges in the northeast remain unused, eight years after they were built for the future twinning of Highway 69. The highway runs from Sudbury to Nobel, Ont., where it turns into Highway 400. Some 68 kilometres of the route remain an undivided, two-lane highway. During a previous expansion, construction crews built two bridges south of Grundy Lake Provincial park. Those will carry the future highway over a re-alignment of the CN Railway mainline. But since their completion in 2017, the bridges have yet to carry car traffic, and the railway has not been re-routed. In the meantime, plants have started growing on the gravel highway right-of-way and on the bridges themselves. The unfinished railbed also has plants growing out of it, and there are places where erosion has worn away parts of the surface. Bridges in 'excellent condition' In a statement, Ontario's Ministry of Transportation said the bridges do not require maintenance because they are not open to the public. However, a spokesperson for the ministry said the bridges were in excellent condition when inspected last year. Plant growth can eventually harm the integrity of structures like bridges, said Scott Walbridge, the chair of University of Waterloo's civil and environmental engineering department. Walbridge said he couldn't speak to these bridges specifically, because he hadn't seen them in person. However, he said damages due to environmental exposure, like rusting and plant growth, tend to be a gradual processes that makes impacts over a long period of time. "It would be something a bridge owner would ideally want to stay on top of, if the intention is to eventually use these structures, in order to avoid potentially larger long-term costs," he said. Associate professor Rania Al-Hammoud, also from University of Waterloo, agreed that the plant growth has likely had a minimal impact so far, but it's hard to tell without inspecting the structures firsthand. She said if plant roots reach the steel reinforcements, the steel can rust and grow up to 10 times in size. That puts pressure and strain on the concrete. However, without any traffic on the bridges, Al-Hammoud said they are also subject to less fatigue stress, which could improve their lifespan. The MTO spokesperson said the bridges would be waterproofed and paved before they open, and the roadbeds would have their gravel replaced as necessary. The bridges are expected to have a lifespan of 75 years. CBC News asked CN about the erosion and plant growth on its future railbed, and why it hadn't yet shifted the mainline to the new alignment. A spokesperson declined to comment, saying all questions should be directed to the MTO. Lack of clear timelines 'frustrating' The New Democrat MPP for Sudbury, Jamie West, recently co-wrote a letter to the transport minister, alongside Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas. The letter expressed frustration over a lack of new action on Highway 69. West said they penned the letter after the premier's recent comment at a Thunder Bay press conference, that he was "all in" on highways in the north. MTO continues to say that expanding Highway 69 is a priority project. However, West said the province continues to be vague on its timelines for twinning the highway. "We need improvements across the north. But pretending [the premier] is talking about Highway 69 when he's 12, 13 hours away from Highway 69, you know, it's not really fair to get people's hopes up," said West. Last year, the province announced it had struck a tentative agreement with Shawanaga First Nation on expanding the highway through its territory. Earlier this year, the Chief of Henvey Inlet said he hoped to ratify a deal for his community by this summer. According to 2021 statistics, Highway 69 carried more than 11,000 vehicles per day at its busiest section, near Estaire. Those numbers trend higher in the summer.
National Post
3 hours ago
- National Post
Five auto CEOs warned Carney in May that EV mandate would 'inflict serious damage' across industry
Article content The CEOs said the drop was 'in direct response' to the federal and provincial governments either 'weakening or eliminating purchase incentive programs that had been supporting demand.' Ottawa ended its program back in January, as did Quebec, which has since introduced a rebate. Article content Flavio Nienow, a spokesman for Transport Canada, the department responsible for developing the rebate, said in a statement that the government 'understands that the higher purchase price of (electric vehicles) remains a key barrier to mass zero-emission vehicle adoption.' Article content Laura Scaffidi, a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland, said the government was looking at ways to reintroduce a rebate of up to $5,000, but did not provide a timeline. Article content In their letter from May, the CEOs cast doubt on the ability of a new rebate to cause electric vehicle sales to make a turnaround, citing other challenges such as 'natural consumer demand,' as well as the lack of infrastructure and challenges around affordability and slow adoption by commercial and government sectors. Article content These factors combined 'make the current targets unrealistic and unattainable.' The letter requests that the mandate be repealed, given there was 'no longer a pathway' to reach its first target of seeing 20 per cent of new vehicle sales be zero-emission vehicles by 2026. Article content Transport Canada defines a zero-emission vehicle as a fully electric, plug-in battery hybrid, or one powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Article content The mandate, which the federal government formalized in 2023 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the transportation sector, sets out sales targets companies must hit, beginning with 20 per cent in 2026 and then rising to 60 per cent by 2030 before hitting 100 per cent by 2035. Article content 'Given the impending 20 per cent requirement for 2026, the federal mandate is already forcing automakers to either limit combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid vehicle sales in Canada, or purchase credits from automakers like Tesla that do not produce vehicles in Canada,' the letter reads. Article content It warns that the regulation would result in lower vehicle sales and fewer jobs in the sector and higher prices for consumers. Article content 'This will undermine consumer affordability and choice at a time of rising costs, limited demand, and growing uncertainty about infrastructure readiness.' Article content It argues that existing regulations for greenhouse gas emissions would drive the transition to electric vehicles and provide more flexibility. Article content Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin and other ministers have been meeting with industry to discuss their concerns, with Dabrusin's office saying it was exploring 'flexibility.' Article content Spokeswoman Jenna Ghassabeh reiterated that position in a new statement, saying the government was engaging with industry to ensure measures 'reflect times we are in.' Article content Kingston, who met with Dabrusin last month, said the minister appears committed to the policy. Article content He said some at Environment Canada have been 'pushing back' against their concerns that the matter is urgent. Article content 'We need a clear public signal that it will be repealed, or automakers are going to continue to have to make disastrous choices, which is restricting vehicle sales and buying credits from Tesla.' Article content
