Latest news with #Line2
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
3 tips to achieve tulip bliss — without the stress — this long weekend
Tulip admirers, assemble! But maybe not all at the same time, OK? This long weekend caps off the annual Canadian Tulip Festival at Commissioners Park in Ottawa. It's a beautiful space, resplendent in the bloom of variously coloured tulips — and a symbol of the enduring friendship between Canada and the Netherlands. The 2025 edition has some cool new features like the Big Bug Boardwalk along Dows Lake. Over 2,000 tulips are lit up with UV lights and surrounded by giant bugs. "You feel like you're shrunk down and you can see the pollen glow the way bees and butterflies see them," said the festival's executive director Jo Riding. But the festival area can get crowded, and this weekend is a holiday. To make the most of the occasion, without the stress, go to the park early if you can. If that's not possible, consider the following three tips. Take the O-Train Parking near Commissioners Park is "very limited," according to the festival's website. While Carleton University's P7 lot offers spots at a daily flat rate of $12 and is only an eight-minute walk to the park, you might consider hopping aboard OC Transpo's Line 2 instead. It practically deposits you right at the park. Dow's Lake station is the second stop after departing Line 2's northern terminus at Bayview. Dow's Lake station is located just north of Carling Avenue, a straight diagonal line to the park. Just ascend the steps at Dow's Lake station, cross Carling and then Preston Street, and you're in tulip heaven — two minutes faster than if you'd walked from Carleton, according to Google Maps. You can always go downtown This tip might sound counter-intuitive. After all, Commissioners Park is where it's at, right? But if the park is too crowded, you could do worse than hopping back on the LRT. Transfer to Line 1 Bayview, head east to Lyon station and explore the many other tulip patches along Wellington Street. The bright flowers abound between Library and Archives Canada and the Supreme Court, to name but one spot. You could walk the pathway behind Parliament and picnic at Major's Hill Park, which boasts its own healthy helping of tulips (and is a good people- and dog-watching spot to boot). Sure, there's no interactive walking tour like at Commissioners Park. But your step-counting app will thank you. Escape to the country Feeling adventurous? Hit the road. An Ottawa couple whose "u-pick" tulip crop was badly damaged by a fungal growth has relocated this year to their nephew's farm. Manja Bastian and Allan Groen of Green Corners Farm have planted 300,000 tulips at 640 North Russell Rd. in Russell, Ont., about 35 kilometres southeast of downtown Ottawa. Losing half a million flowers last year was "emotionally wrenching," Groen recently told In Town and Out host Giacomo Panico. Seeing people stream back this year has hit a different note. "It's something that makes it all worthwhile for us," he said.
CBC
02-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Thunder Bay's Alstom plant hit with layoffs
About 200 people at Thunder Bay's Alstom plant will be laid off in the coming months, the local union president confirmed. "The layoffs are scheduled to start mid-May," Justin Roberts, president of Unifor Local 1075 said. He said the layoffs will happen intermittently with the last round expected at the end of August. They coincide with the end of a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar contract. "We were expecting this, so it's it's not a surprise to our members," Roberts said. "That line currently employs over 200 of our members." There are currently about 500 employees in total at the plant, Roberts said. "I have heard word from management that there are a few smaller contracts that they are seeking," he said. "I don't have anything official on who or what." However, Roberts said, the union is hopeful the Thunder Bay plant will win the contract to construct 55 new subway cars for Toronto's Line 2. The $2 billion contract is being split between the City of Toronto, and provincial and federal governments. Last week, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria wrote a letter to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, requesting that the contract be awarded to the Thunder Bay plant, as a sole-source procurement with Alstom. Sarkaria's letter stated that the move "would support Ontario workers in Thunder Bay and across our province." Previously, when the federal government announced its share of the funding, then-Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland indicated the cars would be built in Thunder Bay. A TTC spokesperson told CBC News last week that the RFP has closed, and bids are being reviewed. "Seeing the bipartisan support for our facility is great," Roberts said. "It's definitely what we need, especially to have them work together and get us the project." "We're just hoping to God that somebody will speed this up and award it to us officially on paper." Sarkaria's letter came after Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois wrote him, requesting that the cars be built in Thunder Bay. "As far as I know, it comes down to Toronto council and the TTC's directors, which is interesting because it's a three-way funding project," Vaugeois said. "So it's clear that the federal government and the provincial government would like to see the contract go to Alstom." "There is this thinking that you want the cheapest deal, but the cheapest deal is not necessarily the best deal," she said. "As we know, the Ontario Line is being manufactured in the United States, the $9 billion contract, and all of that money is being spent on workers in the United States. So it's not being recirculated in Ontario." Vaugeois said her office has asked for an update on the RFP process from the TTC, and "we want to make sure that my statement goes before the board so that they have to actually discuss it." "We also want to make sure that it's included if (the Line 2 contract) is debated at council at Toronto City Council," Vaugeois said. "So we're doing what we can from from my office to bolster the argument, basically, that if the money stays in Ontario, it is benefiting all of Ontario."
CBC
25-04-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Ontario transportation minister requests Toronto award subway car contract to Alstom Thunder Bay
Ontario's transportation minister is asking the City of Toronto to consider a sole-source contract with Alstom that would see 55 new subway cars built in Thunder Bay. Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria made the request in a letter to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on Wednesday, stating it was prompted by economic uncertainty sparked by the Canada-U.S. trade war. "I am requesting that the City of Toronto recognize this historic opportunity and consider a sole-source procurement with Alstom, which would support Ontario workers in Thunder Bay and across our province," Sarkaria's letter states. "The Ontario government will work with the city and the federal government to ensure the successful delivery of the trains should this decision lead to any changes in the project scope." Ontario has contributed $758 million toward the building of the subway cars, which will be used on Line 2. The overall cost of the project is just over $2 billion, with the City of Toronto and federal government also pledging $758 million each. "We're in an unprecedented time right now," Sarkaria said in an interview with CBC News on Thursday. "President [Donald] Trump's tariffs and the uncertainty they have caused have really taken aim at Ontario's economy, and we've got to do everything in our power to support and protect Ontario workers and businesses." A request for proposals (RFP) for the construction of the cars was issued in December. A Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) spokesperson said Thursday the RFP has closed, and bids are being reviewed. The TTC is planning to award the contract early next year. When the federal funding was announced in November, Chrystia Freeland, then deputy prime minister, said the cars would be built in Thunder Bay. "Mayor Chow supports Buying Canadian whenever possible," Zeus Eden, spokesperson for Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow's office, said in an email to CBC News. "With President Trump attacking Canada's economy, we need to support local workers, jobs and businesses. We are working in collaboration with the provincial and federal government to deliver public transit for Torontonians and to support Canadian jobs." Eden said the mayor speaks regularly with Minister Sarkaria and will work with the province to see if there request is feasible. Sarkaria said he expects to find support for his request in the mayor's office. "Premier [Doug] Ford a couple of weeks ago announced a procurement policy which said we were going to not only ban American companies, but also look to existing contracts with which we can source more from Ontario," Sarkaria said. "The City of Toronto also did such a motion through their council, led by Mayor Chow." Kristen Oliver, councillor for Thunder Bay's Westfort ward — the ward in which the Alstom plant is located — and chair of the city's Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, said she was happy to see the provincial support.
Toronto Star
25-04-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Ford government asks Toronto to have new subway cars built in Thunder Bay amid Trump tariffs
The Ford government is putting some pressure on the city to ensure new, sorely needed subway cars for Line 2 are built in Thunder Bay. In a letter to Mayor Olivia Chow viewed by the Star, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria is asking the city — in the face of the economic uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs — to 'recognize this historic opportunity and consider a sole-source procurement with Alstom, which would support Ontario workers in Thunder Bay and across our province.'
Cision Canada
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Cision Canada
Unifor supports Premier Ford's push to build subway cars at Alstom Thunder Bay plant
THUNDER BAY, ON, April 24, 2025 /CNW/ - Unifor supports Ontario Premier Doug Ford's call for Toronto to have its Line 2 subway cars manufactured at the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay. This move is expected to secure jobs for workers represented by Unifor Local 1075. "Unifor backs the push to see our Thunder Bay members building subway cars for Toronto," said Unifor National President Lana Payne. "Ensuring different levels of governments are coordinating to put procurement dollars to work and maximize Canadian jobs is always good policy and, in these times, even more so." The Ontario government urged Toronto to consider a sole-source deal with Alstom to support provincial workers, amid Donald Trump's ongoing trade war. In response to U.S. tariffs, the city had already moved in March to bar American firms from bidding on contracts. If Alstom is awarded the contract, Unifor members would build the 55 new subway cars, intended to replace the current cars on the Bloor-Danforth line, which will reach their 30-year service line next year. "Every time such an investment gets the green light, it strengthens our Unifor Made-in-Canada fightback," said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi. "We have a pivotal moment to prioritize supporting our local industries and bolstering Canada's economy by creating sustainable, good-paying jobs right here in Ontario." In January, Ontario committed to spend nearly $500 million to refurbish 181 GO Transit bi-level rail coaches, which is expected to support hundreds of jobs for at the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay. "Our members are ready and eager to build these subway cars," said Unifor Local 1075 President Justin Roberts. "We're hopeful that we'll be given more opportunities, which in turn, will help our communities grow and thrive." Governments in Canada will spend tens of billions of dollars on transit vehicles in the coming years. In a sector valued at $2.9 billion GDP in recent years, leveraging this procurement to maximize Canadian content means procuring trusted, reliable vehicles that support Canadian jobs.
