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mysticseasons · 6 years

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Virtue and Moir's 'Thank You Ilderton' bash was perfect welcome home

ILDERTON — They met in a small town.

But Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have always operated in a grand — and world-class — way.

“There are no shortcuts,” Moir, one-half of the greatest ice dance team of all time, said Saturday at the rink where it all started. “Dream big and commit yourself.”

Their Thank You Ilderton party kicked off with a parade to the arena and finished with country singer Paul Brandt on stage. The seven-hour celebration was typical of the joy and pride their partnership has inspired — not just here and across Canada, but all over the globe.

“It’s about the community,” Virtue, an Ilderton Skating Club member from nearby London, said. “Wherever Scott and I go all over the world, we feel that support from home.”

Eight years ago, the town feted them after their Olympic gold medal win in Vancouver. After a nearly flawless two-year comeback that led to more glory at PyeongChang in February, the duo wanted to return the favour.

A few organizers mentioned that the scope of the event this time outstripped a weekend at the annual Ilderton Fair, which is held in late September. Cara Moir, Scott’s cousin, led the party committee.

“The same people that put together the 2010 celebration put a lot of work into this,” Scott said. “What a special day just to be here and have this platform. It’s been a busy ride and that (togetherness) is what we do miss. Our moms forget about what we looked like (because of their skating demands). Coming back to compete for these last couple of years, it’s been fun to travel again and I think our families feel that.

“It’s a special bond.”

The Virtue and Moir families have never taken their 21-year association for granted.

“We see a lot of young ice-dance teams,” Scott said, “and we always felt like we hit the jackpot.”

The gratitude isn’t exhausted yet.

The skaters will return to their training base in Montreal next month to prepare for the Thank You Canada show tour that runs across the country this fall. They’re co-producers, as well as headliners, and they’re making sure to perform in some of the smaller communities that don’t get to see them much in person over the years.

“If we can inspire young people to follow their dreams and believe in themselves, how fortunate are we that we can have that connection?” Virtue said.

Everyone wants to know what’s in their immediate future. Those decisions will come in the aftermath of this project.

“Tessa and I both have a lot of goals we want get down — in skating and not in skating,” Moir said. “It’s a short life. We’ve got to plan out these next 80 years.”

Based on their creativity and drive, it is certain to be a colourful journey. There may not be another Olympics — but there is no way they are done bringing glory to Ilderton, London and Canada.

“They’re small-town heroes and I’ve long said small towns are the heart and soul of Ontario,” Monte McNaughton, the MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex and Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, said of the pair. “They represent small-town values and the importance of it to the country.”

And then, they export it to the world.

In truth, there was only really one black eye on the entire day.

That was the remnants of a shiner Moir was sporting after being struck in the eye during a recent beer-league slo-pitch game.

“I was in the outfield and running in for one,” he said. “I missed it completely. It was bad. But I caught about seven or eight the other game, so I’m good.”

-LF Press

#Tessa and Scott #TYI18 #If the first pic in the article ever show up I'll add it lol #Nice to know they reposted it tho

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jesserwoods · 4 years

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COVID-19: Province narrows list of “essential workplaces” but confusion about what is essential throws construction industry into turmoil

Ontario Construction News staff writer

As the provincial government steps up social distancing measures to slow the COVID-19 virus, it issued emergency regulations to shut down much of Ontario’s private sector industrial and commercial construction industry.

However, the impact of the new rules has been blunted by a carve-out for already-started residential and mixed-use projects, which would include many high-rise condos, rental apartments and mixed-use projects, especially in the GTA.

As well, the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) says there is widespread confusion within the industry about which non-residential projects should be shut down. OGCA president Clive Thurston says members have received conflicting instructions from public sector owners and government officials.

The confusion is serious enough that, “if action isn’t taken quickly and effectively, we will lose somewhere around 20 per cent of our general contracting community,” he said.

The OGCA represents businesses doing about $20 billion a year of work in Ontario. “And it’s all being put at risk.”

The confusion started on April 3 when the provincial government issued a news release setting out essential construction projects. “We’ll be directing additional workplaces to close. All industrial construction, except critical industrial projects will stop,” Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference announcing the changes.

“Only necessary infrastructure projects like hospitals and transportation will continue,” he said.

Ford made an exception for residential construction projects already underway, indicating that curtailing projects might cause hardship to upwards of 45,000 families seeking accommodation. Ford said that stopping new home and condo projects would cause families waiting for their homes to need to stay in dense accommodation, which would defeat the social distancing goals.

The “45,000 families are months away and some are even weeks away from being able to get their homes,” Ford said. “Nothing would be more dangerous than a whole bunch of families on top of each other, living in the same house because their house isn’t ready.

“Any new builds, they’re closed down.” So “we’re trying to minimize the construction to the best of our capabilities.

“Those few sites that will remain open will be placed under the highest level of scrutiny possible, and we will keep coming down hard on the inspections.”

The provincial government says the closures will last at least two weeks, with possible further extensions.

Ford said the province has added 60 new inspectors. “We have hundreds of inspectors out every day. Over the last week, we’ve shut down five construction sites and we will not hesitate to shut down more, because the health and safety of all Ontarians is our number one priority.”

Exceptions in the non-residential sector will include sewers and water projects and hospitals. The National Capital Heavy Construction Association (NCHCA) in Ottawa says it understands other civil work including roadwork can continue. However the NCHCA cited a legal opinion of grave penalties for proceeding with work not allowed under the essential services restrictions, potentially causing serious problems for contractors where there is a dispute about the “essential services” interpretation.

“Hospitals are critical. If ever there’s a time to speed up the construction of hospitals, it’s right now,” the premier said at his news conference.

In detail, projects related to ensuring the production of critical equipment and medical devices, along with those required to maintain the operations of petrochemical plants and refineries, will be exempted from the shutdown.

The problem, says the OGCA’s Thurston, is there isn’t clarity about much public sector work that isn’t specifically outlined in the government’s “essential work” announcements.

“If you want to know what the level of confusion is, it is off the charts,” he said in an interview just after the narrower definitions of essential services went into effect. “This is affecting virtually every project because there’s no clarity. We don’t know what’s going on.”

Thurston said members and OGCA staff have been calling for clarity and receiving conflicting instructions. “Not a single ministry is willing to take ownership of this and clearly state what is and isn’t shut down,” he said.

“We’ve been tossed back from ministry to ministry.”

For example, OGCA members were told that the Ministry of Education would decide if schools are essential. “And then when we finally got hold of the Ministry of Education, they tell us, oh well, ‘the guidelines are there. Just follow the guidelines.’ That doesn’t help you very much.”

Some owners, such as the City of Toronto, have issued directives that all municipal construction work will be essential, even if it isn’t specified on the government’s list.

“Our projects are still active,” wrote Joseph Savaglio, project manager, project management office, corporate real estate management, at the City of Toronto. “Please advise your trades to keep going until we send out formal communication to confirm.” Savaglio sent the email late Friday afternoon, after the premier’s announcement.

Thurston said OGCA members in some cases are caught between a rock and hard place; if they don’t proceed, they will be defying their owners’ instructions to continue and could be subject to liquidated damages for non-compliance with their contracts; if they proceed against the order, they could have legal liability for failing to follow the government’s directive. Matters are compounded with competing businesses receiving differing interpretations, throwing subtrades and suppliers into confusion.

The premier made the decision to restrict much construction work after reviewing modelling data that indicates upwards of 15,000 people could die from COVID-19 over the next two years even as intensive public health social distance strategies are enforced. At the low end, if everything works well, the death rate could be as low as 3,000. However, if the province allowed the pandemic to run its natural course without aggressive measures, the death toll could have reached as high as 100,000.

“There is widespread confusion in the industry and little clarification on the true meaning of the updated list,” OGCA president Thurston said in a memo to members on April 5. “While the ICI sector was targeted, it was not clear precisely which projects are to shut down.

“OGCA members have been contacting us regularly due to the confusion. We know you are facing challenges with the number of calls coming from your subtrades. We have been inundated with calls from the industry and from the public about their home projects.

“Unfortunately, we cannot provide you with any real clarity, nor can we provide a definitive definition of what sites are closed. Information that we’ve been able to gather from government and industry partners has only increased the confusion. We are aware the lack of transparency is causing undue stress on your business, your employees, and your subtrades,” Thurston wrote.

“OGCA staff is tirelessly working to obtain clarity from the government on which projects are to remain open and which projects are to close, including schools, dormitories, addiction centres, and many others.

“It is our understanding that some contractors will continue to work until provided information to the contrary,” Thurston said in the memo.

In its statement, the provincial government says business owners with questions concerning their essential business status can call the Stop the Spread hotline at (888) 444-3659. However, several contractors said they were having trouble getting through to the help line, and others said they received conflicting instructions.

Gerard McCabe, managing director with Turner & Townsend, told Reuters that his construction consultancy has about 100 projects under way in Ontario and estimates between 10 to 20 of them may be stopped, including the historic Massey Hall concert venue.

“You can’t just walk away from the project,” McCabe said. “All of those sites have to (be) made safe.”

There are more than 2,000 construction sites across the province. Most of these are in the GTA. The largest segment includes many new condo and apartment units that have already broken ground, and therefore would be allowed to continue work under the new guidelines.

The government says it is implementing additional measures to protect frontline workers in essential businesses by adding more than 60 special consultants and officers and doubling the number of phone agents at its Health and Safety Call Centre to 50 to make it easier for workers to report safety concerns. Workers worried their workplaces are unsafe can phone 1-877-202-0008 to speak with an agent.

“If you’re a worker on the frontlines of this outbreak, you should know we’re doing everything in our power to keep you safe at work,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “We’re beefing up our inspectors and making it easier for you to report your concerns. We’re working around the clock.”

However the NCHCA says it expects work on roads, sewers and other municipal infrastructure to continue.

“The provincial government recognizes that the work done by the heavy construction industry is essential,” the Ottawa-based group said in a memo to its members..

“We were advised by the City of Ottawa on April 3, 2020, that it considers all of its capital projects to be essential and work will continue. The city is also continuing to put projects out to tender,” the NCHCA says.

The story is very different however for private sector industrial, commercial and institutional projects (unless they are otherwise allowed under the essential services provisions) and some public works.

Citing a legal opinion obtained by the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association, the NCHCA advises members to “please proceed with caution.”

“A director or officer of the corporation that violates the Essential Services List Regulation may be fined up to $500,000 and imprisoned for up to a year, and a corporation can be fined up to $10,000,000 each per day of the contravention,” the NCHCA said in memo.

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ultra-greenmojo-me · 5 years

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Ontario government commits up to $63.7 million for rural residents to get better high-speed internet

Most people in rural areas across Canada have one unfortunate thing in common: slow internet. The Ontario government is hoping to change that for the people in Wellington County. Infrastructure Minister, Monte McNaughton announced up to $63.7 million will be given to the Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT), as part of the government’s commitment for... Read More source https://www.realagriculture.com/2019/05/ontario-government-commits-up-to-63-7-million-for-rural-residents-to-get-better-high-speed-internet/

#Farming #Indoor Farming #Urban Farming

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jamesgeiiger · 6 years

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Premier Ford could ‘sabotage’ Toronto waterfront plans based on Sidewalk Labs concerns: MP

As the Sidewalk Labs smart city project on Toronto’s waterfront enters a key phase in the first half of 2019, Liberal MP Adam Vaughan is warning that data privacy concerns shouldn’t be used to undercut “momentum” for the project.

Vaughan’s riding covers the Quayside district just east of the downtown core where Sidewalk Labs is proposing an ambitious urban innovation development, reimagining public space, transportation and digital systems to make the city function more effectively.

But Vaughan said he’s worried that the provincial government is going to use data governance and privacy concerns as cover to “blow up” Waterfront Toronto, the federal-provincial-municipal agency mandated with revitalizing the city’s lakeshore, and the agency directly managing the Quayside development.

'Terrifying if we get it wrong': Sidewalk Labs needs to slow its process, advisory panel experts say

Sidewalk Labs is already collecting data on Torontonians in Thorncliffe Park

Ontario sacks three Waterfront Toronto board members amid Sidewalk Labs controversy

“Doug Ford has been trying to sabotage Waterfront Toronto since the days he was on city council and I was on council with him,” Vaughan said.

“He has never won the argument with serious city planners on his vision for the waterfront, but you know, with a couple high-tech activists and a really flimsy, poorly written auditor’s report, he’s got the cover he needs to reverse 25 years of good, solid work and 40 years of dreaming on the Toronto waterfront, and I’ll be damned if I surrender that just because you don’t like the way Google or Facebook or Twitter handles personal data.”

Sidewalk Labs is owned by Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google LLC.

In December, Ontario’s auditor general issued a report calling into question aspects of how Waterfront Toronto handled portions the Quayside project, and in response to the report, the provincial government sacked the three provincial representatives on the Waterfront Toronto board and vowed more rigorous oversight of the agency.

At the time, Mayor John Tory said he spoke to Premier Doug Ford about concerns that the provincial government was going to “blow up” Waterfront Toronto.

“I certainly was satisfied from our discussion yesterday that there’s not some broader attempt here to sort of take the waterfront corporation apart or dismantle it at all,” Tory said at the time.

All of this is happening at a critical time for the Sidewalk Toronto project. In the first few months of 2019, Waterfront Toronto is expected to intensify its work developing digital governance policy, and around the end of March or the beginning of April, Sidewalk Labs is expected to publish a draft Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP) for public comment, before delivering a final revised version by the end of June.

Members of Toronto’s tech business community have raised concerns that if the project doesn’t proceed, it will put a chill on foreign investment in Canada, and Toronto will develop a reputation as being hostile to ambitious innovation projects.

On the other hand, concerns about the nitty gritty of data governance and privacy issues have also been ramping up in recent months, with Bianca Wylie, co-founder of the policy advocacy group Tech Reset Canada, emerging as one of the leading voices raising questions about the Sidewalk Labs project.

Speaking to the Financial Post, Vaughan specifically mentioned Wylie by name.

“I’m nervous that they’re going to stall Waterfront Toronto and in doing so, hand over to casino operators and Doug Ford some of the most important real estate in the country, all because they don’t like Google,” Vaughan said.

“It puts at risk the city’s waterfront, and that’s a 40-year project to which many of these players — Bianca included — are new to the conversation.”

In response to Vaughan’s comments, a spokesman for Ontario Infrastructure Minister Monte McNaughton said the government is considering further action.

“The report documented numerous concerning facts. Waterfront Toronto shared ‘almost no information about the project’ with one of its overseers. We were shocked to learn the board was given one weekend to examine the most important transaction in its history before being asked to approve it,” communications director Lee Greenberg said in an email.

“We took decisive action in responding to that report, as you know, by making changes to the Board of Directors. Any discussion at this point about specific actions we may or may not take is speculative. And I won’t speculate.”

In response to Vaughan’s comments, Wylie said that Toronto is facing a range of challenges, and people shouldn’t think of the Sidewalk Labs project in terms of a tradeoff between digital governance issues and urban renewal on the waterfront.

“It’s critical that the response to immediate political pressures doesn’t come at the expense of due process and democratic resident engagement regarding physical and digital infrastructure,” Wylie said in an emailed statement. “Modern urban planning requires thoughtful digital governance, they’re mutually reinforcing. Toronto deserves both.”

Premier Ford could ‘sabotage’ Toronto waterfront plans based on Sidewalk Labs concerns: MP published first on https://worldwideinvestforum.tumblr.com/

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shahananasrin-blog · 1 year

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[ad_1] When Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives took power in 2018, Premier Doug Ford ordered his infrastructure minister to pursue policies that were never disclosed to voters: to scrutinize Ontario’s real estate portfolio and consider which properties could be put on the market for sale.The mandate letter, obtained exclusively by Global News, was given to Monte McNaughton after he was sworn in as the Minister of Infrastructure in June 2018 — a position he held for a year before being shuffled to the labour portfolio.The contents of the mandate letter have been a closely-guarded secret by Premier Ford and his government since they were first presented to his cabinet ministers in 2018, and the Supreme Court of Canada is currently considering a request to release them.While McNaughton’s instructions from Premier Doug Ford were to look into the province’s transportation infrastructure projects — such as the twinning of highways, widening the 401 and uploading the Toronto subway system — the ministry was also directed to audit projects announced under the former Liberal government. Ontario Premier Doug Ford stands at the podium as he makes an announcement at Toronto’s Ontario Place, on Friday July 30, 2021. Ford says he likes the idea of moving the Ontario Science Centre from east Toronto to the downtown site of Ontario Place. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young “Review the province’s planned $190 billion of capital investments in infrastructure and ensure that money is being deployed in a proper fashion and on the right projects for Ontario families and businesses,” the mandate letter read.The directives then instructed the minister to work with the province’s housing minister to “evaluate the province’s real estate portfolio” and offload unused properties. “Either sell inefficiently used properties, donate them to municipalities for social housing builds, or repurpose these facilities for more efficient use,” the letter stated, adding that air right above transit stations or provincially owned assets were also to be targeted for sale.Vacant units were to be divested immediately if the sale was “feasible or logical.”That mandate was later passed onto Infrastructure Ontario, the crown agency tasked with managing the contracts and construction for projects in the province ranging from transit to hospitals or bridges.Public documents dating back to 2019 show the Ontario government reviewed and approved the divestment of 243 properties generating between $105 to $135 million as part of a four-year Accelerated Divestment Plan.Meanwhile, the premier’s office also wanted more private sector involvement in the building of public infrastructure. The minister was directed to “expand the use of public-private partnerships” in building necessary infrastructure.Public documents show that Infrastructure Ontario was tasked with “finding new ways to pay for infrastructure,” to lower the cost of delivery, and to pursue private sector partnerships. Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends a photo opportunity on a construction site in Brampton, as he starts his re-election campaign, on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young. CHY Mandate letter: infrastructure Here is the mandate letter given to Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure in 2018:Work with the Minister of Transportation to deliver our various infrastructure commitments including the twinning of several regional highways including highway 17 and highway 3, pre-study work on widening the 401, fulfilling regional transit projects, and negotiating the terms of the subway upload with the City of Toronto.Continue to expand the use of public-private partnerships in building necessary infrastructure. Review the province’s planned $190 billion of capital investments in infrastructure and ensure that money is being deployed in a proper fashion and on the right projects for Ontario families and businesses.Work with the Minister of Energy and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to expand natural gas to rural communities through private partnerships and deploy all savings in increased broadband and cellular coverage in rural and Northern Ontario.Work with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to evaluate the province’s real estate portfolio and either sell inefficiently used properties, donate them to municipalities for social housing builds, or repurpose these facilities for more efficient use. This review should include air rights above transit stations and other provincially owned assets.Immediately proceed with a divestment of vacant units where feasible and logical. These facilities should be repurposed or sold for the betterment of the province.Work with municipalities to address their infrastructure and their infrastructure planning needs. Ensure you are a strong partner in Cabinet for them and address any outstanding issues with regional grant programs, information on funding approvals or rejections, and asset planning issues.Work with the Federal Government on accessing funds from the Infrastructure Bank and other Federal infrastructure transfers. Provide crucial advice to Cabinet about partnering with the Federal Government on various projects moving forward.This story is the seventh story in the new Global News series ‘Mandated.’ Over several days, a series of stories will reveal the contents of the Ford government’s first set of mandate letters, handed to ministers after the party formed government in 2018. The letters have been kept secret since Doug Ford’s first election — a battle that has gone all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.Photo illustration by Janet Cordahi 1:57 Ford mandate letters demanded fast savings by ‘year two’ [ad_2]

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mikemortgage · 6 years