Two Hamilton-area medical experts are reminding Canadians that being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people.

The LCBO website has been pulled down temporarily to allow the removal of all US alcohol products to be removed  from the on-line order menu. At the same time LCBO workers in the retail outlets spent the morning removing American alcohol products and boxing them up, as Canada and Ontario began day one of the tariff war with the United States.

Premier Doug Ford, who had threatened the action if President Donald Trump went ahead with a 25 percent tariff on many Canadian products said the measure will have impact south of the border. “This is an enormous hit to the American producers. Every year, the LCBO sells nearly $1 billion worth of U.S. wine, beer, cider, seltzers and spirits, including more than 3,600 products from 35 states.”

The move brought a swift response from The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) who issued a statement decrying the tariff as it applied to spirits. “We greatly appreciate and support President Trump’s leadership to protect the American people and jobs by pursuing fair and reciprocal trade. For decades, this model of fair and reciprocal trade has been in place for spirits between Mexico, Canada and the United States, and the U.S. hospitality industry has flourished as a result. With spirits products between our three countries already benefitting from fair and reciprocal trade, it makes no sense to have them embroiled in this trade dispute.”

“Tariffs on spirits products from Canada and Mexico will jeopardize the industry’s contribution to the U.S. economy. The North American spirits sector is highly interconnected and, as a result, tariffs on Tequila and Canadian whisky will harm U.S. spirits companies that have these products in their brand portfolios.”

The LCBO is pulling American-made alcohol from its stores amid a trade war with the U.S. (LCBO Media Centre)

“Tariffs on spirits products from Canada and Mexico will jeopardize the industry’s contribution to the U.S. economy,” Chris Swonger, DISCUS CEO, said in a statement, noting how intertwined the American spirits sector is with its neighbours.“American spirits consumers as well as restaurants and bars across our country that are still struggling following the pandemic closures will shoulder the burden of these tariffs.”

A state, particularly hard hit is Kentucky which rates Canada as its number one customer, driven by its export of Kentucky Burbon to Canada. Democratic Governor Andy Bashear became one of the first US governors to call on Trump to drop the tariffs, which he is dubbing the “Trump” tariffs.

London Mayor Josh Morgan has asked to be appointed to the board that oversees the operations of the London Public Library but there's a hitch: the library board doesn't want him.

The National Capital Commission says a warm, wet forecast will close the Rideau Canal Skateway again, but it's leaving the door open for a possible return.

Canadian skeleton star Hallie Clarke days ahead of her senior title defence in Lake Placid, N.Y., and less than a year away from her potential Olympic debut in Milan, struggles to contextualize her 'crazy journey so far.'

A stolen vehicle collided with a police vehicle and rolled over into a ditch on Highway 401 east of Cornwall on Tuesday morning, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.

A bald eagle may have thought it spotted an easy lunch in a Canada goose sitting on an icy bay in Burlington, Ont., but according to Mervyn Sequeira — who watched and photographed a 20-minute battle between the two birds — the goose held its own.

Despite current economic headwinds, Slate Asset Management is moving ahead with its plan to develop the 800-acre former Stelco lands. Slate recently announced it has completed the resubmission of its application for a Draft Plan of Subdivision on the Steelport site to the City of Hamilton in response to feedback and input on Slate’s initial application submitted in February 2024. Steven Dejonckheere, Managing Director at Slate told the Bay Observer there could be some building construction on the site in 2026. “we’re working with the city towards a timeline that would allow us to start phase one road and servicing construction late this year or early next year. that effectively will allow us to work with any potential parties that are interested in phase one to start working out design details of how they might develop some of the first parcels as early as later this year that that construction would not likely start until next year, at the earliest, for any buildings.”

Dejonckheere told the Bay Observer the changes retain most of Slate’s original features for the site. Refinements to Slate’s original submission include minor changes to road rights-of-way and development blocks to further optimize site layout and traffic patterns. Since the plan for the site were announced last year, interest from prospective tenants has been high, he said. “We’ve obviously been fielding lots of interest and now as we’re getting closer, we hope that those conversations become more committed, but it’s a wide range of groups from more traditional manufacturing to advanced manufacturing groups. He said there has also been interest from the food manufacturing sector, which is one of Hamilton’s fastest-growing industrial sectors.

Preliminary grading and servicing work on the first road extension will follow the resubmission and lay the groundwork for the first phase of construction at Steelport, which will focus on unlocking approximately 100 acres of land within the southeast portion of the site to accommodate existing demand for employment space in Hamilton.

One advantage of the site is the availability of heavy-duty electrical power-a legacy from the site’s former steelmaking, noted Dejonckheere. “That makes it attractive to some of the heavier users that could include data centres or heavier manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, adding, “so, despite some of the economic challenges, we think the site is pretty unique and distinct from a lot of others, and we think that’ll help us continue to drive momentum.” Slate has estimated the project could generate $3.8 billion in economic value and create 23,000 jobs across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This usually refers to the weather but it would be nice if it could be applied to food reliability in people’s homes. For many, March comes in as a lion alright and stays the lion through the end of March and beyond.

The inability to provide for oneself and one’s family can wear down even the staunchest lion heart when the money just is not there. It can be easy to dismiss people in this situation. Blame it on their spending habits or assume that they are unwilling to work.

But if you’ve been around a food bank at all you know that there are a multitude of reasons for people to need help. Being laid off. Being disabled. A chronic illness. Soaring rents and mortgage payments. A minimum wage job in a world of skyrocketing prices.

Don’t be fooled. Dire financial straits can happen to anyone.

The good people at the Kingsville Community Food Bank know all about this. They are always ready to offer assistance to those in need. We appreciate the ongoing efforts of the Food Bank volunteers, and we are thankful for those in our community who give so generously.

Here’s a list of particular items that the Food Bank is looking for in March:

They also welcome gift cards for groceries, products for babies, pet supplies including dog and cat food, laundry and dish detergents, toilet paper, paper towels, and more. Cardboard boxes and cloth bags are always welcome. If you can help, the Food Bank thanks you for your generosity.

The Food Bank is located at 18 Division Street North in Kingsville across the street from RBC Bank. You can also use their drop-off bin inside Zehrs, shown in the picture below.

Check out their Facebook page to learn more.

Hours and Contact Information:

Tuesdays
9 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Wednesdays
4 p.m. – 7 p.m. 
Thursdays
9 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

Services: Curbside pickup

Phone: (519) 733-8591
Email: [email protected]

Top image by Παῦλος from Pixabay
Food Bank list and bin images from Debby Jarvis-Chausse 

The post March 2025 Kingsville Community Food Bank’s Needs appeared first on Kingsville Times.

Good Roads has recognized the construction of a two-lane concrete roundabout connecting County Road 42 and County Road 43 for setting a high standard for workmanship, aesthetics and innovation while meeting all specifications and tight construction deadlines.

The County of Essex and contractor Green Infrastructure Partners (GIP) were selected from a record number of applicants for the Good Roads’ 2024 Municipal Concrete Award. The annual award recognizes successful municipal-private sector collaborations in concrete road construction in Ontario. Eligible projects involve the construction or maintenance of paving, bridges, culverts, flatwork, sidewalks or curbs.

The County of Essex and GIP were congratulated on their achievement and for “setting a high standard for us all to follow,” in a letter by James T. Smith, Good Roads’ manager of technical programs and research.

“We are grateful for the cooperation of Essex County residents, businesses and local municipalities, who will benefit from the major improvements being made to this regional road,” said Essex County CAO Sandra Zwiers. She also lauded the county’s Infrastructure and Planning Services staff for exemplary work in moving the project forward.

“I am proud of the County of Essex team that helped ensure this project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule,” said Allan Botham, Director, Infrastructure and Planning Services. “We are grateful to GIP for meeting all of our specifications and working with us to expand and improve the County Road 42 corridor.”

The two-lane concrete roundabout was part of Phase 2 of the reconstruction of County Road 42 in Tecumseh, which also included the realignment of County Road 43 from County Road 42 to the border with the City of Windsor.

A small section of County Road 42 was fully closed to traffic when construction commenced in mid-June last year. Four to six crews at a time worked on the project to minimize the impact on residents and businesses. The roundabout opened to traffic in mid-October.

Concrete was chosen as the material for the roundabout because of its durability in Essex County’s climate, which is characterized by temperature fluctuations and freezing and thawing in the winter. Four main types of concrete were used and just under 15,000 square metres of concrete were poured over the course of the construction.

Good Roads, formed in 1894 as the Ontario Good Roads Association, is a municipal association concerned with the quality and design of roads. It has 428 municipal and 21 First Nations members.

The post County Road 42 Roundabout Project Wins Award appeared first on Kingsville Times.

March Art Display by Megan Simon

The Essex County Library is pleased to present the art of Megan Simon at our Kingsville Branch for the month of March.

We invite the public to come in to the Kingsville Library this month and enjoy Megan Simon’s artistic creations.

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DROP-IN ACTIVITY FOR TEENS

Teen Art Cart at the Kingsville Branch

Come in any time! The library Teen Art Cart is always packed with art and craft supplies.

The post Art in March at the Kingsville Library appeared first on Kingsville Times.

On March 3, 2025 the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit made the following statement:

“The Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) (1990), Section 11, Subsections (1) and (2) require public health units to maintain and review immunization records for every student attending school in Ontario; and to enforce a school suspension on students with incomplete immunization records. As of today, 1,016 Windsor and Essex County elementary students are being excluded from school for up to 20 days or until they have complied with the ISPA.

In the fall of 2024, immunization records of all elementary students in Windsor and Essex County were reviewed (45,139 records). Today, approximately 98% of these students are up to date with the ISPA requirements, and 2% continue to have incomplete records.

Students who have been suspended today are required to provide the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) with records for missing immunizations and/or a valid exemption. Once a parent/guardian provides the student’s updated immunization information to the health unit:

• The student’s immunization record will be updated in the provincial database,
• The student can return to school immediately (note that an official rescind letter from the WECHU is required for same-day returns), and
• The student will be removed from the school’s suspension list on the next business day.

The WECHU is here to help affected families. Services are available 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday at our Windsor and Leamington offices. Families are encouraged to visit www.wechu.org/getimmunized for more information.

Updated immunization records can also be submitted online at immune.wechu.org (note that proof of immunization must be provided as an attachment).

Families can reach out to their health care provider to receive immunizations and/or obtain missing immunization information. Families can request that their health care provider then fax updated immunization records to the WECHU at 519-258-7288.”

Image by Ali Raza from Pixabay

The post Elementary School Students and Immunization of School Pupils Act appeared first on Kingsville Times.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to hold a news conference Tuesday after the U.S. imposed sweeping tariffs that could devastate several key industries in the province.

The North American trade war of 2025 has officially begun with Canada hitting back against the U.S. after President Donald Trump imposed punishing 25 per cent tariffs on virtually all Canadian goods just after midnight.

Some heavy rain and thunderstorms are possible on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Local businesses are bracing for what analysts are predicting could be a disastrous impact on the country's economy as threatened tariffs on Canadian imports to the United States begin today.

Advocates representing low-income tenants say the City of London's new bylaw aimed to crack down on unlawful renovictions — evictions under the guise of renovations — is a step in the right direction, but lacks specific protections for tenants compared to other Ontario municipalities. 

Hamilton's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the 12th player in NBA history with at least four 50-point games in a season. His scoring binges have helped Oklahoma City roll to a Western Conference-leading 50-11 record.

A mix of heavy rain, mild temperatures and melting snow could result in localized flooding throughout the GTA on Wednesday, Environment Canada says.

A chance meeting between an acclaimed Ottawa musician and an expert woodworker from Guelph, Ont., has led to a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration to create a unique wooden instrument: the Fron2.

An Ontario literary festival named after author Alice Munro is coming to an end. It follows revelations last summer that Munro chose to remain married to her second husband after learning he had sexually abused one of her daughters as a child.

The majestic bald eagle has become a more common sight in the London area now that their population is making a comeback. Londoners shared their photos of bald eagles from across the city.

The City of Hamilton has extended the deadline for the most recent installment of property tax payments, giving homeowners until March 31 to settle their account.

Toronto was the first Canadian municipality to implement an anti-idling bylaw nearly 30 years ago. But a new report reveals the city is no longer proactively enforcing the bylaw and no tickets have been issued to drivers who idle for longer than a minute since 2019.

An Ottawa woman says a whirlwind two-month romance has left her nearly $300,000 in debt and married to a man she now alleges manipulated her to gain access to her money.