>Ontario grocery stores — particularly smaller, independent shops — say new bottle return requirements that were sprung on them a week before they're set to take effect may make it impossible to participate in Premier Doug Ford's expansion of alcohol sales. [...]

>Grocery stores [...] that sell alcohol will also have to accept empties.

>Having the smell of stale beer mingling with the smell of fresh food — and having to put not-quite-entirely-empty bottles that become fruit-fly magnets near produce sections — would not be good for business, they said.

>But with new and detailed requirements communicated to them this week by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario just days before they begin, retailers say they don't know how they will make it work, and some are planning to hand back their licences.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/31516123

> It's happening, the worst mayor Toronto has ever had is removing three major recently completed bike lanes at tax payer expense. That's right, Ontario tax payers are footing the bill for Ford to meddle in Toronto municipal infrastructure. This is of course to distract us from failing healthcare and education while appealing to his mostly car centric base. > > There is a protest happening Wed. 23rd of October, please come out if you can. https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/rally-ride-for-road-safety-tickets-1045417761667

I'm sure most people here would recognise this as fishy but I'm sharing anyway. Warn your more trusting friends and family!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/31690088

>Global News recently reported that the Progressive Conservative Party will begin nominating candidates this month, the latest sign that Premier Doug Ford is considering a snap vote. > >In 2022, the PCs formed a second “false majority” government after winning just 41% of the vote. Given that progressive parties—the OLP, ONDP, and GPO—received a combined 54% of the vote, it seems Ontario’s democratic majority was once again denied its right to govern. > >What made the situation even more dire, however, was the historically low voter turnout of 43%, which meant Ford was handed a majority government by a meagre 18% of eligible voters. These results spell a crisis of legitimacy for our democracy, especially when it comes to the legislation passed by such a government. > >For instance, in 2019, the PCs passed Bill 124, which capped salary increases for broader public sector workers (including teachers and nurses) to 1% per year for three years. It was later deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Court of Appeal, which ruled that it violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with respect to unionized employees. > >Here is a list of other legislation passed by the PCs that might not have come into force under PR: > >1. Bill 60: Your Health Act (May 2023) allowed private clinics to conduct more OHIP-covered surgeries despite critics warning that it would lead to a two-tiered system. At the time, the NDP said it presented 74 amendments to the Your Health Act to the committee, but none were accepted or even considered by the PCs. >2. Bill 3: Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act (Sept 22) gave mayors more power by allowing them a veto on bylaws passed by council, the ability to hire and dismiss senior managers, and stewardship over the city budget. While municipal powers are determined by the provincial government, the bill is widely seen as a continuation of the erosion of municipal powers and councillors, who are elected by citizens to exercise their democratic will. >3. Bill 39: Better Municipal Governance Act (2023) extended “strong mayor” powers to other municipalities. Opposition parties were critical of how it allowed mayors to pass certain bylaws with just one-third of council support. >4. Bill 23: More Homes Built Faster Act (2022) reduced development fees (to boost construction) despite significant opposition from environmental groups, municipal governments, and Indigenous communities. >5. Bill 7: More Beds, Better Care Act (2022) allowed hospitals to free up hospital beds by discharging elderly patients to long-term care homes without their consent. The bill faced backlash for infringing on patient rights. > >Finally, while not a legislative bill, the Greenbelt land swap scandal raised significant issues in 2023 when the Ford government came under scrutiny for opening up previously protected Greenbelt land for development against the will of elected municipal councillors. The Auditor General’s report revealed that the process disproportionately favoured certain developers...

I sure hope Tay Tay is footing the bill for OPP to do this. I sure in the fuck do not want my tax dollars to protect a billionaire

Error in judgement??? Sounds like corruption and the province needs to be reimbursed and these people need to be banned from all public office jobs

> "The move will be a signature element of the government's fall economic statement," a government source said, which will be released on Oct. 30.

#onpoli

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/30385203

> BACKGROUND > > Joanna Berry is a Canadian immigration and refugee lawyer in Ontario, Canada. On October 2, two Niagara Police Officers, one of them a sergeant detective, paid her a visit to her home. They told her they were there on behalf of the Ottawa Police Department because of her "personal social media." They begin to tell her that "10 lawyers who are of the Jewish faith" have filed a complaint with the police about her social media. As you can tell from the video, Joanna Berry, is outraged by the visit and clearly distraught. I reached out to the Niagara Regional Police for comment but they did not respond to my inquiry. I spoke with Joanna Berry also and she gave OTL Media permission to publish the video. She told us that she wants Canadians to see it and for the video to be a warning. > > "This is very Orwellian" > > On The Line Media is run by Samira Mohyeddin, a multi-award-winning journalist, documentary maker, and producer at CBC Radio One’s The Current.

>TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is planning to increase speed limits on 400-series highways across the province.

>The government increased speed limits from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on six sections of provincial highways in 2022 after several successful pilot programs that first began in 2019.

>Earlier this year, the province raised the speed limit on 10 more sections of highways across the province, including a 70-kilometre stretch of Highway 416 from Highway 401 to Ottawa.

>Ford said Wednesday that he had directed Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria to raise the speed limit to 110 km/h on all 400-series highways “where it is safe to do so.”

> Here are 5 other steps we can take to ensure our morning commutes are an absolute breeze, and we don’t need to (swallows vomit) take transit or (dry heaves) ride a bike.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/29724681

> Bonne fête des franco-ontariennes et franco-ontariens! > > L’origine de cette journée remonte au 25 septembre 1975, date à laquelle le drapeau franco-ontarien a été levé pour la première fois à l’Université de Sudbury. Conçu par Gaétan Gervais et Michel Dupuis, ce drapeau est rapidement devenu un puissant symbole d’identité pour les Franco-Ontariens. Ses couleurs et ses symboles racontent l’histoire et l’environnement de cette communauté : le vert représente les forêts d’été du Nord de l’Ontario, tandis que le blanc évoque les hivers enneigés. La fleur de lys rappelle les racines françaises, et le trille blanc, fleur emblématique de l’Ontario, souligne l’appartenance à cette province.

Ontario is proposing to further expand pharmacists' scope of practice by adding to the list of minor ailments they can assess, allowing them to administer more vaccines and order some lab tests.

'Pharmacists are not doctors,' OMA says But doctors are pushing back on the scope expansions.

"The bottom line here is that pharmacists are not doctors," said Dr. Dominik Nowak, president of the Ontario Medical Association. "Doctors are trained for years and thousands of hours to diagnose and treat conditions."