Latest news with #St.Thomas-based
Vancouver Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
FlixBus launching London-to-Niagara Falls route for summer
Londoners planning a summer staycation can skip the Toronto transfer and head straight to Niagara Falls as FlixBus launches a new direct route. The intercity bus service is offering a seasonal London-Niagara Falls service as part of its expansion across Southwestern Ontario. The service begins June 9 and will run five days a week – Thursday through Monday – until Sept. 28. 'As more Canadians opt to stay local this summer, we're focused on creating better regional connections to iconic destinations like Niagara Falls,' Karina Frayter, head of communications for Flix North America, said in a statement. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'This new line makes it easier for travellers across Southwestern Ontario to enjoy spontaneous day trips or weekend escapes, without the hassle or high costs of driving.' Schedules for the route won't appear in searches until the launch date. Tickets start at $28 and include free Wi-Fi, guaranteed seating and luggage. Stops along the route include: FlixBus launched a London-Toronto route in 2021 after Greyhound shut down operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The European-owned company, which bills itself as 'North America's fastest-growing intercity bus service,' expanded again in 2023 with a London-Detroit line. That route, an extension of the Toronto-Detroit service, includes stops in Scarborough, Hamilton, Brantford, Chatham-Kent and Windsor. Other companies have entered the market to meet demand. In 2021, St. Thomas-based BadderBus partnered with Megabus, a division of Coach Canada, to offer London-Toronto service. That same year, Mississauga-based Onex Bus also launched a Toronto route. bbaleeiro@
Toronto Sun
23-05-2025
- General
- Toronto Sun
Turtle Taxi volunteers lend a hand to injured animals
Pilot Wayne Harvey poses next to his plane with containers full of turtles. The St. Thomas-based pilot volunteers his time with the Turtle Taxi initiative, taking turtles to and from the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough. Supplied photo/Wayne Harvey Photo by Supplied photo/Wayne Harvey Slow and steady is a great way to travel if you're a healthy turtle, but for injured turtles, where time is of the essence, hitching a ride to the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough can make all the difference. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Enter the Turtle Taxi volunteers – a network of turtle guardians across the province who help get our four-legged amphibious friends to the care they need at Ontario's turtle hospital. As we celebrate World Turtle Day on May 23, the Turtle Taxis will be loading up and heading to the centre with patients awaiting care. Turtles on the move While most of the Turtle Taxis work on the ground, Wayne Harvey, of St. Thomas, loads up his personal plane with turtles to travel to and from the centre. Several times per summer, Harvey, who flies his own private plane, will meet other volunteers at various airports around southern Ontario, load up boxes, bins, and other containers with injured turtles. 'A lot of people are content to just go flying in circles. That doesn't work for me. I need a purpose,' Harvey explains of his work with the turtles. 'I'm looking for any excuse, so if I can tie this in with going for lunch in Peterborough or something like that, that's what I'll do.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In addition to helping the injured turtles get to the centre, Harvey will also often return some healthy turtles to their native wetlands on his route home – and honour the friend who introduced him to the Turtle Taxi program in 2019. 'I was actually at a friend's funeral, sadly enough, and I found out in retirement, he was volunteering as a Turtle Taxi. I went to my car afterwards and googled it … so that's when I contacted them and said, 'Hey, I'm willing to do this if I can use my airplane.' So, actually, every time I've released turtles – which has been maybe a half dozen times – I name one Larry. I don't even know if Larry is a male or female, but I say, 'Larry, be free, buddy.' And off he goes.' Steve Elford of Oshawa, who also runs the Turtles of Durham Region & Northumberland County Facebook group, is a former truck driver who started volunteering with the Turtle Taxi during the pandemic as a way to get out of the house. 'I used to work in Mississauga and I lived in Port Hope. So I was a commuting every day, and it worked out that I was willing to take a turtle for the drive, whichever way it was, and kind of got me more and more into doing that, and then COVID during lockdown, you're not allowed to go anywhere, but I had a reason to go for a drive, taking a turtle back to wherever its wetland was, so it was nice.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Executive and medical director at the centre, Dr. Sue Carstairs, explained the Turtle Taxi program, which began in rough stages back in 2009 and evolved over the years, is a collaboration of many networks of volunteers across the province: The Turtle Taxi drivers, first responders, who are veterinarians across the province who will provide medical care and sometimes hang on to a turtle until it can catch a lift to Peterborough, and another set of volunteers who help with releasing the healthy turtles back into their home wetlands. 'The great thing about the Turtle Taxi is there's no actual required commitment,' said Dr. Carstairs. 'You can do as much or as little as you want. There's no required set days or hours, you don't need special training, it's just like delivering a package.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Turtle Taxi volunteers are alerted via email blasts, and whoever is in the area and can assist that day can respond to the email. Sometimes, if a turtle is far away, a relay will be set up where each driver will do a set leg of the turtle's journey. Elford, who is very familiar with southern Ontario's roadways from his work, says this helps with setting up some of the relays getting turtles to and from their home wetlands. 'If you're able to bring it back from Peterborough to Ajax, and then someone else can go from Ajax to Mississauga, or Guelph, or wherever they're going, there's all the little parts that all helps out.' Elford also noted the Turtle Taxi can always use drivers who are free on weekdays, so the injured turtles don't have to wait for the weekend to get to the hospital. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Containers of turtles are ready to be loaded onto Wayne Harvey's plane, bound for the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, located in Peterborough, Ontario. Photo by Supplied Harvey lauds the organizers for keeping everything running smoothly with the various handoffs. 'If it's a long distance, let's say the turtle's in Sudbury, and needs to get to Peterborough, that turtle might change hands three or four times — or more — before it gets there. So, it takes a crazy amount of coordination on their part. How they keep that straight is beyond me, because there's times I'm picking turtles up and I have trouble coordinating with the three stops I'm making. I can't imagine when there's juggling all these people that are all over the place.' The network of turtle helpers is vast, and both Harvey and Elford have met others from across the province in their time volunteering. On his farthest flight so far, en route to visit his daughter in Winnipeg, Harvey touched down his plane in Dryden, dropping off turtles for release to a volunteer there. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. While snapping turtles make up the most common passengers (snapping turtles often walk farther on land to nesting sites, so are more prone to car strikes) other turtles the Taxi drivers might encounter are Blanding's, and painted turtles. Harvey said he once had a big snapping turtle chew through the cardboard box it was being transported in and take himself for a tour of the plane. 'I met the person from the center, she brought a wagon to put all the turtles on. As we're loading up the wagon with the turtles, I go to grab the last box at the bottom, and it's empty. The whole side of the box was torn open and the turtle got out! I looked and I looked, and the turtle was underneath the back seat. 'It was kind of funny because the person from the center, she just said, 'Oh, there he is. Can you just grab him and we'll put him inside this bin?' He didn't look happy. He was snapping his head off, and I said, 'I'm not going near that thing!' She just goes and grabs it from behind, one one hand on either side of the tail.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The moral of the story, Harvey says, 'I always make sure when I travel now, I always bring an extra bin with me.' Watch for turtles With turtle nesting season just beginning, Dr. Carstairs says the centre has already seen 300 patients come through the doors of its brand-new facility. Last year, the total number of turtles was more than 2,300, which is expected again this year. When heading out on roadways, keep an eye out for turtles, as the most common injury for turtles taken to the centre are being struck by vehicles. (Another common injury is fish hooks.) If it is safe to do so, you can help a turtle cross the road, if it doesn't appear to be injured. If you find a turtle that is no longer alive, Dr. Carstairs says to call the centre and they will arrange to collect it. Eggs from inside a deceased female turtle can be extracted, hatched at the centre, and returned to the mother turtle's home wetland. The Turtle Taxi squad is always looking for more help, and Dr. Carstairs said the best way to join is to email info@ to get on the Turtle Taxi list. She also added that it's not necessary to make a special trip, so those travelling to a cottage or visiting friends in the area who may have room for a turtle passenger are welcome. 'It's something anyone can do to make a difference,' she said. The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre's new location is 2785 Television Rd. in Peterborough and is open 7 days a week. lnelles@ Twitter: @ Toronto Maple Leafs Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Tennis
CBC
21-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Tariff tension felt by southwestern Ontario fisheries
Social Sharing Southwestern Ontario's commercial fishing industry is feeling the pressure of looming U.S. tariffs expected on April 2 on all Canadian goods. That includes fish caught and processed in Ontario, a vast majority of which comes from Lake Erie and is exported south of the border. A 25 per cent tariff on Ontario fish would deal a significant blow to the region's commercial fisheries and processors, said Vito Figliomeni, executive director of the Ontario Commercial Fisheries' Association (OCFA). "First off, you're going to have a lot of inward cost-cutting, right? I imagine layoffs, things of that nature," he said. "U.S. consumers won't be able to buy our goods at higher levels, they'll find alternative proteins to buy that are cheaper, and we will definitely struggle." It's a concern Matt McTaggart has been hearing from the fishermen he works with. McTaggart's company, St. Thomas-based Steelhead Food Co., processes fish caught by commercial boats in Lake Erie and Lake Huron, including pickerel, whitefish, and yellow and white perch. The firm also packs the fish and sells it, which includes exportation to the U.S. "We've told our fishermen ... 'no worries,' you know. We work hard on getting all the fish sold, keeping the boat prices where they're at," he said. Like everyone else, fishermen have already seen their margins eaten away by inflation, raising the cost of operational necessities, such as netting, he said. "It's up to us to manage and work with U.S. customers and explain to them that, 'Hey, these tariffs are simply a tax that your government has put onto you, and we just have to add them on. There is no room to suck up any of these.'" China hits Canada with 25% tariffs on seafood exports 15 hours ago Duration 7:53 Seafood businesses here in BC are bracing for impact as Chinese tariffs come into effect. The 25 percent tariff is in response to Canadian tariffs on Chinese aluminum, steel and electric cars. Canadian seafood exported to China worth $1.3B On Thursday, a new concern arrived in the form of Chinese tariffs on Canadian seafood — retaliation for Canada's 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, and 25 per cent on steel and aluminum. Around 19 per cent of Canadian seafood, about $1.3 billion worth, gets exported to China, mostly from the Maritimes including lobster, crab and shrimp. Another 64 per cent goes to the United States, three-quarters of which are lobster, crab and salmon, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said. That means at least 83 per cent of seafood exported by Canada will be tariffed as of April 2, with the Maritimes hit the hardest. Most fish produced by Ontario commercial fisheries, 80 per cent, goes stateside, and little of it goes to China, so those tariffs won't have a significant impact on the roughly 100 producers OCFA represents, Figliomeni said. However, he worries if U.S. tariffs force Ontario fisheries to sell more product at home, a glut on the market could drive prices and revenue down. The same could also happen as those in the Maritimes make up for lost sales to China and the U.S. "Freshwater fish producers already have enough challenge moving products into Canadian markets without competition, let alone with competition from the east and west coasts," he said. McTaggart says he saw the anxiety of east coast producers up close at the recent Seafood Expo North America in Boston. "They're really hoping we can move a lot more east coast seafood locally in Ontario. I had offerings for 10 pound [4.54 kg] boxes of live snow crab. They're very scared of what's happening," he said. Markets beyond the U.S. have an appetite for Canadian seafood 3 days ago Duration 3:23 The seafood world is in Boston this week for Seafood Expo North America. But as fears over tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump continue, there is talk from Atlantic Canadians about what business could look like beyond the U.S. The CBC's Leila Beaudoin reports. It's also a worry to Ontario fish farmers, who sell most of their product in Canada, said RJ Taylor, managing director of the Ontario Aquaculture Association and co-owner of Springhills Fish in Hanover. "We don't export a lot of Ontario trout and steelhead, [but] other trout and salmon producers across Canada do. If they don't have a market, they have to find a way to sell it at home," he said. "They're different fish species, but at the grocery store ... [shoppers] can substitute either or based on price and quality and availability." Although anxious about tariff-related market interruptions, and longer-term supply chain interruptions and inflation, there is still optimism in the wave of 'buy Canada' patriotism that has bloomed across the country, he said. "We're getting a lot more inquiries for people taking the time to understand where their seafood is coming from, and trying to make Canadian-sourced decisions," he said. For OCFA, the focus right now is building a marketing strategy around supporting local and buying Canadian, Figliomeni said, adding that more work is needed. "We need help from the government in trying to explore other markets like in Europe," he said. "We need to build better trading partnerships with Europe, I think right now, that's for sure."
