Northeastern Ontario food bank doubles storage as need soars
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
OPSEU says support staff at Ontario colleges vote to authorize strike, if necessary
FILE - JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO, stands with supporters outside of Centennial College in Toronto, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young The union that represents thousands of support staff at Ontario's colleges says the workers have voted to authorize a strike. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says in a news release that members voted 77.3 per cent to authorize a strike, if necessary, to 'secure respect at the bargaining table' and secure a contract the workers deserve. It says the vote arms the bargaining team with a historic strike mandate as it heads back to the table on Wednesday for conciliation talks. The College Employer Council, the bargaining agent for the province's publicly funded colleges, did not immediately respond to the strike authorization but referred to an earlier news release which stated the union's demands would expose colleges to more than $900 million in additional costs. The council said the union's wants include include six additional paid days off and 10 paid days off for family care. The union, which also represents faculty at Ontario colleges, said last month that close to 10,000 college faculty and staff have either been let go or are projected to lose their jobs amid hundreds of program cancellations and suspensions since last year. 'As we head back to the table on August 20th for conciliation, we need to make real progress. And now, you've armed your bargaining team with a historic strike mandate to demand it,' OPSEU wrote Friday when it announced the results of the authorization vote. The union has accused Ontario's colleges of inflating the costs of the union's proposals. An arbitrated faculty contract between the union and the employer council released last month said the federal government's 2024 cap on international students led to a dramatic decline in enrolment and tuition revenue. The employer council said in a statement Wednesday that it was the union that was misrepresenting demands, and that the dispute was occurring 'in the context of the worst financial crises that colleges have faced in decades.' 'A strike is unnecessary and a strike cannot make unrealistic demands affordable for colleges,' the employer council said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2025.
CTV News
10 hours ago
- CTV News
Northeastern Ontario food bank doubles storage as need soars
Cochrane Food Bank expands warehouse to meet rising demand, doubling storage to serve northeast Ontario from Hearst to Haileybury. Officials aim for Thanksgiving opening amid record usage of 300-400 locals a month.
CTV News
10 hours ago
- CTV News
Some grocery stores could stop selling alcohol ahead of new Ontario recycling program rules
A person carries in empty cans to The Beer Store in Ottawa on Aug. 16, 2025. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa) Some grocery stores could soon stop selling alcohol in response to a looming rule. Stores that sell liquor will be required to start accepting empty liquor bottles and cans through the Ontario Deposit Return Program starting Jan. 1, 2026, but the Retail Council of Canada is warning that some members say they aren't equipped to do that. In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, Michael Zabaneh, vice-president of sustainability with the council, says the current compensation model, which gives retailers two cents for every container, isn't enough to offset costs. 'Given the cost and operational complexities of managing alcohol returns, some retailers are reassessing whether it remains viable to continue selling alcohol at all under current or proposed deposit-return conditions,' he writes. He says the plan poses health and safety risks and is costly. Some stores also don't have the space and staff to accept beer and wine bottles. 'While retailers support improving collection and recycling rates, this must be done through well-funded and scalable alternatives,' reads the statement. Returning a few dozen beer bottles to The Beer Store on Saturday morning, Peter Finnie says he often sees firsthand how much workers handle. 'I can't think of any stores that would be set up to do what these people do,' he said. He brings cans multiple times a week to raise money for the charity he works with, the Bytown Association for Rescued Kanines – or B.A.R.K. He says the job does not look easy for those inside. 'You have people who professionally collect bottles, and they'll show up and maybe have a couple of thousand beer cans and hundreds and hundreds of wine bottles,' he said. 'Now, if they showed up at some other place, it would jam them up pretty quickly and then you got the awful smell.' In a statement to CP24 this week, the Ontario Ministry of Finance says more than 400 grocery stores and convenience stores are already participating in the recycling program with more expected to join in the coming months. The Beer Store has an agreement with the provincial government to keep at least 300 locations open until the end of 2025. It will be allowed to close an unlimited number of stores starting in the new year when the new recycling rules take effect. Those like Martha Fenton say they hope it remains easy to bring back empty bottles and cans. 'If it does close, then I don't know what I would do,' she said. 'Might have to go in my recycle bin if grocery stores or corner stores don't offer that option.'
