The Local Story, 2016-2017
Number of Articles: 172
Mississauga cries foul, votes to halt negotiations with GTAA
Publication Date: December 16, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Oakville and Mississauga are annoyed at Pearson for lack of dialogue and cooperation with them over land expansion and the proposed transit hub.thestar.com
Ontario moves forward with EA on high-speed rail
Publication Date: December 15, 2017
Tags: Climate Change, Environment
(news release) The next step. Ontario has started an environmental assessment of its plan to build a high-speed rail system in the Toronto-Windsor corridor.Government of Ontario
Oshawa airport: Anger circles around airport
Publication Date: December 12, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Oshawa residents are angry about its airport noise.oshawaexpress.ca
Oshawa airport: Getting results
Publication Date: December 12, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
(editorial) The airport has a contract to operate until “no less than 2047,” and it’a valuable resource for Oshawa.oshawaexpress.ca
Toronto Pearson Master Plan, 2017-2037: Growing Responsibly
Publication Date: December 1, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
The GTAA has just released its 2017-2037 Draft Master Plan, a "rigorous assessment of the demand that Toronto Pearson expects to face over the next 20 years." Although it forecasts annual air passenger traffic to increase by 81% over the next 20 years (from 47 to 85 million) and annual air cargo to increase 113% (from 450 to 958 kilotonnes), it plans to accommodate this growth by expansion of its existing terminal buildings as required. Aircraft movement growth is expected to be a much lower 32% (from 478,000 to 632,000 annually) due to an industry-wide shift to larger aircraft accommodating more passengers and cargo per plane. This will result in a 30% increase in the productivity of Pearson's runways, meaning that Pearson has no need for additional runways in the next 20 years. Pearson has environmental assessment approval to use available land to build a sixth runway, although it’s not needed to meet growth through 2037. In other words, Pearson doesn't expect to "go full" within the next 20 years and has options after that. Pickering isn’t mentioned.GTAA
Organic Grain Farming: Dinner Starts Here
Publication Date: November 15, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
(video) In the current episode of Dinner Starts Here, farmer Andrew Campbell visits Darryl Boersma's farm, west of London, during organic corn harvest. This corn is fed to livestock intended for organic meats in grocery stores. Weeds in organic corn are entirely controlled by flame and cultivators; no man-made or natural chemical ever touches the field or crop. Downside: production requires a lot more labour than conventional methods, requiring several additional fuel-burning and soil compacting tractor passes. Mr Boersma points out that most organic grain is imported to satisfy demand.Fresh Air Farmer
Waterloo to Toronto in under 20 minutes
Publication Date: November 7, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
FlyGTA inaugurates 18-minute Waterloo-Billy Bishop "air taxi" service.TheRecord.com
Daily London-Toronto Island flights could take off in 2018
Publication Date: November 2, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
FlyGTA inaugurates 18-minute Waterloo-Billy Bishop "air taxi" service.TheRecord.com
Oshawa airport: Refurbished runway open for business
Publication Date: November 1, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Many local politicians have been actively plotting the demise of Oshawa airport by pushing for a Pickering airport instead, yet some of these same politicians show up for a photo-op celebrating Oshawa's new facilities to accommodate the future growth that will provide a "competitive edge" and "the opportunity to compete around the world." Shamelessly talking out of both sides of their mouth, it seems.Oshawa Express
Oshawa airport: closing customs house no surprise (letter to the editor)
Publication Date: October 31, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
(letter to the editor) Letter-writer says that the constant chatter by local politicians promoting a future Pickering airport undermines Oshawa, Durham Region's real airport.DurhamRegion,com
Waterloo: Jetlines won’t fly from airport until 2020
Publication Date: October 30, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Another Canadian ultra-low-fare air carrier defers its start-up flight plans.CBC News
Mississauga eager to firm up deal with Pearson operators
Publication Date: October 29, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Mississauga wants Toronto Pearson to start paying its fair share of municipal services – just in case Transport Canada decides to sell the airport to private interests.Mississauga.com
Flooding events underscore need for local action
Publication Date: October 27, 2017
Tags: Climate Change, Environment
Ajax’s Mayor Parish says that we must learn from the lessons of Hurricane Harvey. Paving over north-east Pickering farmlands will increase the potential for disastrous flooding in south-east Ajax.DurhamRegion.com
Bittersweet end of an era for Whittamore’s Farm
Publication Date: October 22, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
Whittamore's Farm will be permanently closed to the public after Hallowe’en. A terrible blow to the community. Mike Whittamore says they had 300,000 visitors last year.YorkRegion.com
Ontario hands over huge swath of land for Rouge Park
Publication Date: October 22, 2017
Tags: Environment, RNUP
Ontario finally announces the transfer of land it controls to the Rouge National Urban Park. Parks Canada now manages 80% of the planned park size. thestar.com
Ontario may limit marijuana grow-ops in rural areas
Publication Date: October 16, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
Former Ontario Agriculture Minister McMeekin on where marijuana greenhouses should be built: “... you shouldn’t be building greenhouses on class 1 agriculture land …, you should do it on class three or four land where you can’t grow anything ..."HamiltonNews.com
Tobacco country gets a makeover
Publication Date: October 9, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
Eight years ago, the federal government killed tobacco production in Canada's tobacco heartland, Norfolk County. The county has reinvented itself as a specialty crop and agri-tourism area.Globe and Mail
Oshawa mayor asks feds to reconsider closing airport customs house
Publication Date: October 5, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Local stakeholders claim that Ottawa never consulted them before the announcement closing customs services at Oshawa airport.DurhamRegion.com
Peterborough invests in airport growth
Publication Date: October 5, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Well-positioned Peterborough is planning to expand its airport.SKIES
Fifty per cent of Windsor-Essex garbage is food
Publication Date: October 4, 2017
Tags: Environment, Food/Water/Agriculture
In Windsor/Essex County, which does not have a green bin programme, half its garbage is food.CTV News
Stouffville: The art of marketing beyond your borders
Publication Date: October 1, 2017
Tags: Environment, Food/Water/Agriculture
While Durham Region is busy endorsing Amazon HQ2 site proposals in Ajax and Pickering, David Tuley, Whitchurch-Stouffville's new economic development officer, can't be bothered chasing Amazon HQ2. Citing the example of Prince Edward County, he's going after using the protected countryside to develop rural tourism).On the Road (OTR)
GTAA to consider new strategies to reduce Pearson Airport noise
Publication Date: September 28, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Toronto Pearson airport will look at 30 recommendations while developing an aircraft noise reduction strategy.CBC News
Massive Markham-Buttonville development in jeopardy
Publication Date: September 27, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Will Buttonville airport ever close?YorkRegion.com
Kawartha Lakes Council readies airport for future
Publication Date: September 20, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Preparing for business growth at Kawartha Lakes airport.The Standard
Jobs aplenty for agri-food grads, report finds
Publication Date: September 14, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
Currently, there are four jobs for every graduate of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College.University of Guelph
Durham teacher awarded for teaching kids about agriculture
Publication Date: September 12, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
Reintroducing the importance of agriculture to the classroom.DurhamRegion,com
Waterloo airport: rough landing
Publication Date: September 11, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Waterloo Region ratepayers pay an annual airport subsidy of nearly $6M for one daily flight to/from Calgary and wintertime service to the Dominican Republic.GuelphMercuryTribune.com
Waterloo airport: region’s airport on the way up
Publication Date: September 8, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Flight cuts don’t dampen the optimism that has never been a problem for aviation enthusiasts.TheRecord.com
Waterloo airport: down to 1 daily, 1 weekly flight
Publication Date: September 7, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Once again, airline services are cut at Waterloo airport.CBC News / Kitchener-Waterloo
Indoor farm thrives in North York industrial unit
Publication Date: September 5, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
Experimenting with vertical indoor food growingthestar.com
Trying to keep Ontario’s prime farmland from entombment forever
Publication Date: September 4, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
This is the first mainstream-media coverage we’ve seen of Ontario's proposed prime agricultural area map. Kim Empringham of Stouffville, secretary-treasurer of the York Federation of Agriculture, explains why farmers need this prime farmland protection policy.thestar.com
Ontario apples in demand for craft cider
Publication Date: September 4, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
Cideries are us? We’ve been told by one agricultural economist that the remaining Federal Lands are among the best apple growing areas in Ontario.the star.com
Job action at Pearson shows why little strikes matter
Publication Date: September 1, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
To finance its ambitious growth plans,the GTAA follows a strategy of exorbitant user fees and low wages.rabble.ca
Farmers see flaw in Ontario’s plan for high-speed rail
Publication Date: August 30, 2017
Tags: Environment, Food/Water/Agriculture
Ontario's proposed south-western Ontario high-speed rail route would chew up a lot of prime farmland. Farmers argue for a grade-separated route along Hwy 401 instead.CBC News
Oshawa airport nears closure for runway rebuild
Publication Date: August 23, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Oshawa airport continues to prepare for Buttonville’s closure by rebuilding its main runway.Oshawa Express
GTAA releases RFP for massive regional transit hub at Pearson
Publication Date: August 10, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Toronto Pearson airport requests design proposals for its regional transit hub.APEX
Bombardier C-Series flies into London City airport
Publication Date: August 8, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
The inaugural flight by a Bombardier C-series jet into London City airport renews Porter's hope to establish jet service at Billy Bishop airport someday.SKIES
Cyclists en route to RNUP
Publication Date: August 8, 2017
Tags: RNUP
Cycling tourism along Ontario's Great Waterfront Trail between national parks.chathamthisweek.com
Scarborough’s last farming family has 2-century history
Publication Date: August 2, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
The Reesors, the last farm family in Scarborough, are honoured as a Canada 150 Farm Family.InsideToronto.com
Ontario garlic!!
Publication Date: August 2, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
This week's video episode of Andrew Campbell's "Dinner Starts Here" farm tour series features the Van Raay family, who harvest 35 acres of Ontario garlic on their farm just east of Grand Bend.Dinner Starts Here series, YouTube
Old-school masonry work stabilizes Locust Hill’s 1864 schoolhouse in RNUP
Publication Date: July 28, 2017
Tags: Historical, RNUP
Restoration moves ahead on heritage infrastructure for permanent reuse in the Rouge National Urban Park.Daily Commercial News
Pearson’s operators seek bidders for regional transit mega hub
Publication Date: July 21, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
The GTAA is moving ahead with its plans for a multibillion dollar transit hub at Pearson International.Mississauga.com
Etobicoke, Mississauga residents fight Pearson growth plans
Publication Date: July 12, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Local residents implore Toronto Pearson to stop their growth plans. “It’s a war zone,” says one resident, describing the noise of planes over her property.InsideToronto.com
Roger Anderson delivers update
Publication Date: July 6, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
At last year's luncheon at the Scugog Chamber of Commerce, our Regional Chair stressed "the importance of the Pickering airport project" to the Region. This year, he apparently ignored the subject.The Standard
Heavy rains damage Holland Marsh crops
Publication Date: June 26, 2017
Tags: Climate Change, Environment, Food/Water/Agriculture
Vegetable growers in the Holland Marsh must use pumps to draw water from their fields and over dikes into surrounding drainage canals.CBC News
Conversations about our future
Publication Date: June 1, 2017
Tags: Aviation/Airports
Toronto Pearson is planning workshops on its growth plan.Toronto Pearson website
What does the GTA think of agriculture?
Publication Date: May 24, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
The majority of residents in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) believe the government should support the agricultural industry above all other industries.Farms.com
Report: Public Opinion on Agriculture (GTA)
Publication Date: May 24, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
One of the key findings: “Generally, the more recently someone has visited a working farm the more optimistic they are about the job prospects of the industry and support an increased role for government.”Grassroots Public Affairs
Our farmers hurt by wettest spring
Publication Date: May 23, 2017
Tags: Climate Change, Environment, Food/Water/Agriculture
(map) Locally, last summer was the driest in living memory, now farmers struggle with planting during one of the wettest springs on record.Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Enjoy farm-fresh produce and more
Publication Date: May 20, 2017
Tags: Food/Water/Agriculture
Uxbridge Farmers' Market opens at location of one of our new partners, the Second Wedge Brewery.DurhamRegion.com