Author: Sam Allcock

Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner has scheduled a December inquest into the death of David Johnson, nearly a decade after he died following injuries sustained while in custody at the Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton. The proceeding, announced Wednesday by the Ministry of the Solicitor General, will examine the circumstances surrounding the 67-year-old’s death and consider potential systemic recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents. Dr. Kenneth Peckham, Regional Supervising Coroner for Central Region, Central West Office, said the inquest will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 16, 2025. It will be presided over by Dr. David Eden, with…

Toronto-born, Ottawa-based vocalist, composer/arranger and tuba player Kim Kaskiw is turning a career-altering diagnosis into artistic momentum with the release of her new album, The Latin Jazz Fusion Project, a collection that blends jazz, Latin jazz, funk and fusion influences into an emotionally charged and deeply personal body of work. The album marks a major milestone for Kaskiw, whose lifelong attachment to music began in infancy. She recalls one of her earliest memories as sitting in a playpen, watching her mother play the piano and “shaking the bars of her play pen in frustration,” desperate to reach the instrument herself.…

TRUE Sports has moved to strengthen its executive ranks as it advances an aggressive growth strategy, naming former NHL goaltender and long-time hockey industry executive Geoff Sarjeant as its new president. The Toronto-based company announced the appointment Wednesday, describing it as a key step toward becoming “the #1 recognized hockey brand in the world.” Sarjeant, who joins the firm immediately and will report directly to TRUE Sports CEO, chairman and owner W. Graeme Roustan, brings more than three decades of experience spanning professional sport, major retail operations and high-performance athlete development. His career includes NHL stops with the San Jose…

Brantford City Council has approved a comprehensive business plan that will transform a former long-term care facility into a multi-stage housing hub, marking one of the most significant steps to date in the city’s long-term Housing and Homelessness Strategy. The ratification, made during Tuesday night’s council meeting, authorizes the City to move forward with a phased redevelopment of the 4.82-acre Fox Ridge site at 389 West Street. The Fox Ridge Business Plan lays out a three-phase roadmap intended to expand emergency shelter capacity, introduce transitional and supportive housing, and ultimately deliver new permanent affordable housing tailored to community needs. City…

Peterborough Musicfest is rolling out its largest Diner’s Book to date, offering local residents a way to explore the region’s culinary scene while helping sustain one of Ontario’s longstanding free summer concert series. The 2026 edition, released November 28, features 85 dining offers from restaurants, cafés, pubs and food establishments across Peterborough, the Kawarthas and surrounding communities. Priced at $30, the Diner’s Book provides more than $1,000 in potential savings through “buy one entrée, get the second half price” promotions and additional special offers. Revenue from every book sold is directed toward funding Musicfest’s free-admission concert model, which relies heavily…

Ontario is expanding its efforts to recruit the next generation of skilled trades workers with a $2.6-million investment aimed at bringing hands-on training directly to students. The provincial government announced Wednesday that the funding will allow Skills Ontario to add two new trades and tech trucks to its existing fleet, broadening access to interactive learning at a time when employers face mounting labour shortages. The investment, unveiled in Mississauga, comes as part of the government’s long-term workforce development strategy and its broader plan to support Ontario’s growing need for skilled trades talent. The new mobile units—essentially technologically equipped classrooms on…

Ontario has approved a multibillion-dollar refurbishment of four reactors at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, a move the provincial government says will secure tens of thousands of jobs, bolster energy reliability, and strengthen the province’s position in global nuclear markets. Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce announced Wednesday that the government has given Ontario Power Generation (OPG) the green light to overhaul the station’s “B” units—reactors 5 through 8—in a project expected to extend the facility’s operating life by as much as 38 years. The work is slated to begin in early 2027, pending final licensing by the Canadian Nuclear…

A new entrant is preparing to disrupt the rapidly expanding mobile entertainment market. Chera TV, a female-founded streaming platform based in Los Angeles, is gearing up for its 2026 debut with a model that blends cinematic production standards with vertical, mobile-optimized content designed for modern viewing habits. Positioning itself as both a content producer and a creator-support ecosystem, Chera TV is targeting an underserved segment of the streaming landscape: high-quality, vertically formatted programming built specifically for smartphones. The company says its approach reflects a shift in how audiences consume media, with mobile-first platforms driving more daily viewership than traditional streaming…

The Village of Sayward is maintaining water conservation measures while continuing to assess the impacts of an October landslide that has caused intermittent turbidity in the community’s drinking water source. In partnership with the Strathcona Regional District (SRD), officials issued an update Tuesday outlining system performance, response actions and next steps toward long-term water supply protection. The update follows a landslide that occurred on October 23 at approximately 9:15 p.m. in Newcastle Creek, roughly one kilometre outside the village boundary. The event was heard by residents throughout Sayward Valley but caused no injuries and did not affect homes or private…

The Ontario government is moving to expand Barrie’s municipal boundaries through new legislation that it says will unlock thousands of homes, accelerate job creation and support long-term economic development across Simcoe County. The Barrie-Oro-Medonte-Springwater Boundary Adjustment Act, 2025, introduced Tuesday, would transfer approximately 1,673 hectares of land from the Townships of Oro-Medonte and Springwater to the City of Barrie. If passed, the adjustment would provide Barrie with developable land needed to accommodate significant projected population and employment growth. The province estimates the shift could enable the construction of up to 8,000 new homes and support planning for a community expected…