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CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
City to consider turfing curling season amid shortage of ice rinks
A new report to Windsor City Council could derail the upcoming season for the region's curling community. The report aims to address a shortage of ice space following a fire at the WFCU Centre. Staff are recommending Rink A at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex, which is used for curling, be converted to a typical skating rink. The news was much to the surprise of Terry Fink, the chairman of a group looking to save curling in Windsor. 'We've sort of been hit, blindsided, by the report and, because we feel it's incomplete, there needs to be consultation, and we think that that has been absent a lot,' Fink told CTV News. 060125_curling arena windsor fink Terry Fink, the chairman of a group looking to save curling in Windsor, June 1, 2025 (Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor) Curling was already displaced last year after the council elected to move the sport from Roseland Golf and Curling Club because the aging rink was slated for demolition. 'It was council by resolution that said, you know, come to South Windsor Arena and, curling will be bigger and better than it was at Roseland,' Fink said. Following a fire on April 28, the roof above the AM800 rink has been compromised and added work is needed to investigate subsequent water damage at the WFCU's other two community rinks. As a result the AM800 rink, which is primarily used as the home of the Riverside Minor Hockey Association, could be closed for an entire year, a staff report states. The report highlights by eliminating the curling season at Capri, the city could accommodate the loss of prime ice time, which are high use times on weekends and weeknights, at the WFCU Centre. At Capri's Rink A, curling used 14 of the possible 53 hours of prime ice time available. 'So a lot of the curlers are retirees, and so they're curling during the day when you and other people are at work, and all the children are at school,' Fink explained. Fink added the sport does have a strong contingent of adult players who are on the ice after work hours. 'Going into this, we all knew what the hours of curling were going to be and it was not an issue, so I don't understand,' Fink added. The report has also received criticism from Fred Francis, Ward 1 City Councillor, who feels the proposal is 'disappointing.' Coun. Fred Francis An undated photo of Windsor's Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor) 'Council's being put in a tough spot, asking essentially to choose between hockey and curling, and that's bad policy,' Francis told AM800 CKLW. Francis previously advocated for a continued curling presence at Roseland and wonders if the predicament could revive that dream. Regardless, he added the city needs better plans to increase its rink capacity and avoid future shortcomings. Francis warned by displacing curlers for the year, the city risks never seeing the sport return. 'I think if the city gets out of the curling game right now, I don't think we'll ever get into it,' Francis said. Since moving from Roseland, Fink noted they've added about 60 curlers, but he echoed that a one-year hiatus could kill interest in curling. 'As something ends, we'll find something else to do, and it may be very difficult and challenging to bring the volume of curlers back after your year of not curling,' he added. Before a decision is made, Fink said he wants council to explore further opportunities and consider how they would support curling if it does disappear for a year. - with files from AM800's Dustin Coffman
CBC
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Shouts of 'shame' disrupt Windsor council meeting after flag policy decision deferred
Social Sharing Shouts of 'shame' disrupted Monday's Windsor city council meeting after councillors deferred a decision on changing the city's flag policy. The proposed amendments to the policy would limit the types of flags that can be raised outside Windsor city hall to official government flags, and flags associated with formal delegations or events sponsored by the city. But 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy groups such as Windsor-Essex Pride Fest want clarity on whether the policy will allow them to raise the Pride flag at city hall — something the municipality has supported in the past. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens attempted to clear up those concerns during Monday's meeting. "Even if the council accepted the proposed amendments to the policy, it does not impact the flag-raisings that have already happened," Dilkens said. A list of delegates were scheduled to speak the meeting — some of whom shouted in protest. "We don't believe you," one member of the crowd yelled at Dilkens. Another person in the crowd accused councillors of homophobia. Council voted to defer a decision on the matter until more information could be received from staff. Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis defended councillors during the disruption, saying "No one's homophobic here," and explaining when the policy is expected to return to council. Delegates and their supporters left the chambers when council moved on to the next agenda item — but more than a dozen people stood outside the building in protest, continuing to wave Pride and transgender advocacy flags. The protesters did so at a window in direct view of councillors. Building security drew the window blinds, blocking council's view of the protest. One of the people who had signed up as a speaking delegation — Adam Bergamin, a.k.a. "Disco Jesus" — said council's deferral of the discussion felt like "deflection... which does not come off as wanting to actually talk about it." "We want a commitment," Bergamin said. "We do not know if we're allowed to fly a flag or not." Bergamin described himself as "Windsor's leading theatrical drag performance artist," but said his concerns about the proposed new policy aren't just regarding the Pride flag. "We want other flags to also be honoured," Bergamin said. "We are also fighting for other people's right to fly a flag." Windsor-Essex Pride Fest writes to council On May 21, CBC News sought clarity from city administration on what exactly the amended policy would allow — asking if the changes would affect raising of the Pride flag, the Detroit Lions flag, and the Pan-African flag. All three flags have flown at Windsor city hall in past years. A City of Windsor spokesperson did not directly answer the question. "Until such time as council provides direction, it would be premature to speculate on individual eligibility under the proposed framework," wrote Michael Janisse, the city's acting manager of communications. David Lenz, a member of Windsor-Essex Pride Fest's board of directors, was among those who wrote to city council urging that city hall continue to raise the Pride flag. "The City of Windsor, mayor, and council have been strong supporters of the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community in many ways," Lenz wrote. "With that in mind, we ask that Mayor Drew Dilkens and members of city council not eliminate the opportunity for our organization and our community to proudly raise the Pride flag, as we have done since the year 2000." The proposed revision to the flag policy is expected to return to council at a future date.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Windsor mayor points to tariff threat as reason to kill Tunnel Bus
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens pointed this week to the threat of tariffs as a reason to kill the Tunnel Bus service connecting his city and Detroit. President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to place a 30-day pause on imposing tariffs on Canadian products after threatening to move forward with them, but Dilkens indicated in a note to the Free Press that the mayor would not reverse course at this time. "As long as that severe economic threat hangs over our heads, I cannot in good conscience subsidize a transit service that brings 40,000 Canadians to the United States to spend their money every year. The Tunnel Bus is almost exclusively an economic engine for Detroit and sees very little U.S. visitors coming to Canada," he said Tuesday. "It costs us $1.6 million each year to provide this service." Posting Monday on the social media site X, Dilkens had said he intended to veto a Windsor City Council decision to continue the service, asking "Why would we want to subsidize economic development in the United States when their president is assaulting our communities? We receive almost no benefit in return." He also posted that if the 25% tariffs (10% for Canadian energy products) are imposed, the city would pull its sponsorship of the Detroit Grand Prix and review other spending to focus on Canadian-made goods. Trump had threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico but opted to pause the tariffs after conversations with leaders of both countries, who reportedly pledged to boost resources at both borders. Trump went ahead with imposing additional tariffs on products from China. The threat of tariffs from the White House has prompted worries about the impact on U.S. consumers from higher prices and the possibility of retaliatory tariffs decreasing demand for U.S. goods abroad. The fate of the Tunnel Bus, however, was in question before the tariffs appeared imminent. The service has been the subject of wrangling in Windsor, with city officials concerned about how changes to Canadian federal sick time requirements were blowing a hole in the budget. The changes targeted only the Tunnel Bus service, as a cross-border operation, but affected all employees at Transit Windsor, which oversees it, city officials previously told the Free Press. The Windsor Star reported Monday that council had voted to save the service on Jan. 27, "which Dilkens threatened to eliminate in his 2025 budget," but that Dilkens said he might veto that budget amendment. Transit advocates, who have called the bus service essential, expressed skepticism about the mayor's explanation on social media. 'The mayor has been clear from the start that his opposition to worker rights was the primary motivation behind ending the bus service, and has since championed its privatization. This is opportunism at its worst, and the mayor intends to use our state of national unity to harm the lower class and privatize vital service. He should be ashamed of himself,' Josh Sankarlal, a steering committee member for the advocacy group Activate Transit Windsor Essex, said in a post on Facebook. Windsor officials told the Free Press previously that without budget changes, taxes would need to be increased to an unpalatable level and that tunnel bus ridership had declined from years ago. A fare increase was not considered realistic to cover the budget gap because it would price out users. The service, which runs on an hourly schedule, is currently $10 to ride each way. It's not clear how soon the service could end. Steve Habrun, acting executive director for Transit Windsor, told the Free Press previously that preliminary 2024 numbers put the Tunnel Bus at 85,000 rides for the year, with Transit Windsor as a whole at about 9.6 million rides. Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@ Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Windsor mayor says tariff threat reason to kill Tunnel Bus
USA Today
05-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Windsor mayor points to tariff threat as reason to kill Tunnel Bus
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens pointed this week to the threat of tariffs as a reason to kill the Tunnel Bus service connecting his city and Detroit. President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to place a 30-day pause on imposing tariffs on Canadian products after threatening to move forward with them, but Dilkens indicated in a note to the Free Press that the mayor would not reverse course at this time. "As long as that severe economic threat hangs over our heads, I cannot in good conscience subsidize a transit service that brings 40,000 Canadians to the United States to spend their money every year. The Tunnel Bus is almost exclusively an economic engine for Detroit and sees very little U.S. visitors coming to Canada," he said Tuesday. "It costs us $1.6 million each year to provide this service." Posting Monday on the social media site X, Dilkens had said he intended to veto a Windsor City Council decision to continue the service, asking "Why would we want to subsidize economic development in the United States when their president is assaulting our communities? We receive almost no benefit in return." He also posted that if the 25% tariffs (10% for Canadian energy products) are imposed, the city would pull its sponsorship of the Detroit Grand Prix and review other spending to focus on Canadian-made goods. Trump had threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico but opted to pause the tariffs after conversations with leaders of both countries, who reportedly pledged to boost resources at both borders. Trump went ahead with imposing additional tariffs on products from China. The threat of tariffs from the White House has prompted worries about the impact on U.S. consumers from higher prices and the possibility of retaliatory tariffs decreasing demand for U.S. goods abroad. The fate of the Tunnel Bus, however, was in question before the tariffs appeared imminent. The service has been the subject of wrangling in Windsor, with city officials concerned about how changes to Canadian federal sick time requirements were blowing a hole in the budget. The changes targeted only the Tunnel Bus service, as a cross-border operation, but affected all employees at Transit Windsor, which oversees it, city officials previously told the Free Press. The Windsor Star reported Monday that council had voted to save the service on Jan. 27, "which Dilkens threatened to eliminate in his 2025 budget," but that Dilkens said he might veto that budget amendment. Transit advocates, who have called the bus service essential, expressed skepticism about the mayor's explanation on social media. 'The mayor has been clear from the start that his opposition to worker rights was the primary motivation behind ending the bus service, and has since championed its privatization. This is opportunism at its worst, and the mayor intends to use our state of national unity to harm the lower class and privatize vital service. He should be ashamed of himself,' Josh Sankarlal, a steering committee member for the advocacy group Activate Transit Windsor Essex, said in a post on Facebook. Windsor officials told the Free Press previously that without budget changes, taxes would need to be increased to an unpalatable level and that tunnel bus ridership had declined from years ago. A fare increase was not considered realistic to cover the budget gap because it would price out users. The service, which runs on an hourly schedule, is currently $10 to ride each way. It's not clear how soon the service could end. Steve Habrun, acting executive director for Transit Windsor, told the Free Press previously that preliminary 2024 numbers put the Tunnel Bus at 85,000 rides for the year, with Transit Windsor as a whole at about 9.6 million rides. Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@ Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at
