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CTV News
16-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
A new store brings a taste of Newfoundland to Cambridge, Ont.
A new store in the Galt area of Cambridge, Ont., is offering customers unique food items you can usually only find in Newfoundland. Off The Rock on Oxford Street is selling different types of meat and pantry goods. 'Salt beef, salt riblets. You've got the frozen cod and the capelin, everything,' said Dale Skanes, a customer originally from Bell Island, Newfoundland. The original plan was to open the store on Wednesday, but the owner, Eric Hutchings, was sitting on his stock and decided to open up early on Monday. 'Everybody has to drive out of town to pick up what they want. And sometimes it's a bit far. Because I know it took me a while to get to where I was going to get some product, so I decided, why are we all leaving town? Let's just stay here. Put a Newfy store back here, so that's what I did,' Hutchings said. off the rock cambridge The owner, Eric Hutchings, with a customer at Off the Rock. (CTV News/Colton Wiens) Hutchings was born in Bell Island, Newfoundland. He's lived in Cambridge for 19 years and said Newfoundlanders in the region have been struggling to find the products they love ever since Stoyles Food Market closed. 'Hard to get would be the Cheetos Nachos, (Lays) Fries and Gravy. All the Purity stuff. I mean, it all comes from Saint John's, Newfoundland or Mount Pearl. Beets and pickles and stuff, that all the Newfoundlanders love. It's all from Saint John's, so, I mean, they have to travel out of town to get it now, but we can get it. We'll stock it up and we'll do the best to have it here all the time,' Hutchings said. Hutchings said one item that's already hard to keep in stock is pineapple flavoured Crush pop. '. It sold out first day. Sold out yesterday. And it's sold out again today. And now I can't find any more anywhere around here. So I'm hoping that when the truck comes next week that it will be lots on there,' Hutchings said. Hutchings is taking requests from customers wanting certain items. 'I'm adding probably $0.50 to some things. I'm not making a whole lot off it, but I have to make something. Otherwise, why am I doing it right? I have to sell a lot of stock in order to make anything. So I'm not really in it to get rich. I'm just trying to provide for local people, local seniors and stuff that can't travel or whatever the case may be. So it's all in one place,' Hutchings said. Customers at the store on Wednesday said while it's already a source for them to get some of the items that are hard to find. 'There's certain items, like the Purity's and the fresh cod and fresh seafood and stuff like that. Hopefully they'll reach out to more than just the Newfoundlanders with all these great products,' said Jackie, a customer originally from Bell Island. The store is also already becoming a source for finding other people. 'We miss Stoyles, you know they closed up a few years ago. So this brings the culture and the heritage back. People are meeting, seeing each other that we haven't seen forever. I went to school with Janet, who is right there. I know Eric's mom and dad from Bell Island. It's just fabulous. We're so excited. All of us. The whole Newfoundland community,' Jackie said. off the rock cambridge Off the Rock in Cambridge, Ont. seen on July 16, 2025. (CTV News/Colton Wiens) Hutchings said it's been a busy first week. At one point there were about 40 people in his store. 'And it's such a small place. And, you know, it's not even about the products or selling the products or the money. For me, it's seeing all the people that come together. They're talking to each other, and they meet old time friends and family. Like I met some family I never even knew I had this last couple days. And It's crazy to see that,' Hutchings said. Hutchings also does have another full-time job and he's going on vacation next week, so he wanted to get the rush of first-time customers out of the way so his employee next week isn't overwhelmed. A grand opening is being planned for September. Hutchings is also thinking about expanding to offer things like fish and chips, burgers and ice cream. But until it expands, the current setup already has customers feeling best kind. 'Next week I'll be coming back. When I come to pick my mom up. We're coming back to buy some more,' Skanes said.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah lawmakers look to reverse 2019 law to make it easier to deport people for misdemeanors
Utah lawmakers are considering a bill that increases the possible jail sentence for a class A misdemeanor to 365 days, while directing state law enforcement to hand over an undocumented person once they have served their sentence to federal immigration officials, where the deportation process will begin. (Photo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Utah lawmakers are eying a change to the state's criminal code that would make it easier to deport undocumented people who commit low-level offenses, undoing a 2019 law that passed unanimously. Per federal law, if an undocumented immigrant is sentenced to at least one year of incarceration for a crime, it would initiate their deportation proceedings. So to prevent noncitizens from being deported for a misdemeanor offense, the Utah legislature in 2019 decided to lower the maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor from 365 days to 364 days. The law, HB244, passed the Utah House and Senate without receiving a single 'no' vote. 'People with misdemeanors are getting caught up in that net, and there are automatic deportation proceedings as a result,' said former Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, in 2019. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Now, lawmakers are reversing course. On Monday, a bill undoing that 2019 law got initial approval from the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee after a 9-1 vote. Sponsored by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, HB226 tackles a number of immigration-related policies in an attempt to facilitate cooperation between Utah law enforcement and federal immigration policies pushed by President Donald Trump, who promised to ramp up deportations. The bill increases the possible jail sentence for a class A misdemeanor to 365 days, while directing state law enforcement to hand over an undocumented person once they have served their sentence to federal immigration officials, where the deportation process will begin. 'After serving your full 365 days, then you would be released to ICE,' said Pierucci on Monday, referring to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. 'There is nothing humane about having people in our country without having a legal way to work. And the way that the system is set up right now, or has been for the past four years, has not set our country up for success.' The bill would also prohibit nonprofits from paying to have undocumented people resettled in Utah, allowing the Utah Attorney General's Office to dissolve organizations that 'knowingly' transport undocumented people into the state. Pierucci said that applies to nonprofits that 'verified that someone doesn't have a legal status and they still paid to transport them into Utah. Nonprofits that are set up here that are providing services, this wouldn't impact.' Republicans begin rolling out public safety and immigration bills ahead of session The committee's lone Democrat, Millcreek Rep. Andrew Stoddard, was the only 'no' vote on Tuesday. His opposition stems from the blanket approach to increasing the penalty for class A misdemeanors — some crimes are worthy of deportation, like assault or other violent offenses, but not all, he said. By allowing a one-year sentence for all class A misdemeanors, Stoddard said the bill 'creates a whole wave of collateral consequences that, regardless of your belief of immigration and being here illegally, really can cause a lot of problems.' 'Not all class A misdemeanors are the same,' he said. That was the sentiment shared by the 10 people who spoke against the bill on Tuesday during the meeting's public comment period. Mark Moffat with the Utah Defense Attorney Association said if the law passed, low-level offenses now could break up families. 'Some of these crimes are crimes that may be driven by necessity. Maybe they're stealing food because they don't have any, and they commit a class A misdemeanor level offense,' Moffat said. 'A class A misdemeanor level offense, at a 365-day sentence, will result in them being deported from the United States. These may be people who have been in our community for a very, very long time, who have children who have been born here in the United States. This move has the potential to disrupt families.' Other activists speaking against the bill worried it could have a dangerous impact on some of Utah's hispanic communities. Utah leaders, including the governor and Senate and House leadership, have repeatedly said the state will focus its efforts on deporting people who have broken the law. But on Monday, a number of advocates and immigration experts say the ripple effect could go beyond criminals. If their friends or family could now face permanent consequences for a minor offense, people might be hesitant to interact with law enforcement at all, regardless of their immigration status. It could result in witnesses not cooperating, or victims of domestic violence or other unsafe situations not seeking help, advocates argued. 'HB226 doesn't make our communities safer,' said Linda Stone, a Herriman resident who works with the group MomsRising. 'It just adds permanent consequences to a system that already punishes people harshly.' The bill, having passed the committee with a 9-1 vote, will now be considered by the entire Utah House. It would then be required to go before a Senate committee, then the full Senate, before before it could be sent to the governor's desk. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
