
More involuntary care beds in B.C.
Eighteen beds are opening in Metro Vancouver, expanding of involuntary care for people with drug addiction, mental illness and brain injuries.
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
New-look Montreal bus stop signs being unveiled
The newly designed bus stop signs are coming to a neighbourhood near you in Montreal. (STM) Look up at a bus stop in Montreal and things may have changed. For the first time since the early '90s, the Montreal transit authority (Société de transport de Montréal - STM) is swapping out its bus stop signs at the around 9,000 stops in the Montreal area. Signs will be gradually replaced over the next few years. The update is meant to coincide with the arrival of the REM light-rail line, which required a new logo. The new designs are meant to make it easier for riders to read the information. What's new? Bus line number is 17 per cent more visible. Type of service 148 per cent more visible. Connections to other modes of transport are 35 per cent more visible. The STM says that around 30 signs are changed every week due to them being broken, the information changing or because of vandalism.


CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
#TheMoment firefighters rescued a pet squirrel from a tree
Kelly Blair recounts the moment his pet squirrel, Douglas, was rescued from a tree by his local fire department in White Rock, B.C.


CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Province's takeover of OCDSB, other school boards slammed as 'power grab'
Social Sharing When Education Minister Paul Calandra announced the province would be appointing supervisors to four Ontario school boards — including Ottawa's largest — on Friday, he said it was to ensure that "every decision made by the board prioritizes direct support for students in the classroom." But according to several critics in Ottawa, the appointments won't have that effect. The takeover came out of an investigation into several boards launched earlier in 2025 that projected a fifth straight year of financial deficits at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB). The province has now appointed consultant Robert Plamondon to oversee the board. In a press conference, Calandra said supervisors like Plamondon will look closely at how the boards are run, find savings and make changes needed to restore responsible management. While an initial assessment of the OCDSB's finances predicted another deficit for 2025-26, trustees did approve $18.1 million in cuts earlier this month in order to balance their budget. "The fact that we have passed this balanced budget and the ministry is still trying to take us over, I don't know where they're expecting to find additional savings," said board trustee Lyra Evans. 'Primary problem' is funding In a press release announcing the takeover, the ministry said the four school boards had exhibited "mismanagement and poor decision-making." It said the OCDSB had "completely depleted its reserves, incurred an accumulated deficit, and plans to use unsustainable proceeds from asset sales to balance its books." Calandra also spoke Friday about frustrated parents and noted the recent resignation of two OCDSB trustees. He also said the budgets for the next school year had yet to be reviewed by staff. According to Evans, the school board's "primary problem" is the funding it gets from the province. "There are huge deltas in things that the ministry has not adequately funded us for," she said, listing a gap between government funding and OCDSB spending on special education and on statutory entitlements like employment insurance and the Canadian Pension Plan. While the province continues to boast its "record funding" for education, Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Chandra Pasma says it's actually to blame for any deficits. One recent report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives pegged the provincial funding shortfall to the OCDSB over the last seven years at $338.4 million, while noting its per-student funding has dropped by $560 from the 2018-19 school year and the 2025-26 school year. "If funding had just kept pace since 2018, the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board would not have [been facing] a deficit this year," said Pasma, the Ontario NDP's education critic. Pasma acknowledged previous instances of financial mismanagement from Ontario school boards, but said there are other ways to deal with misuse of funds that don't amount to an "unmitigated power grab." Need for 'clear, concise rules' on spending Calandra said the appointments were also motivated by how the ministry has "decentralized" decision-making, giving trustees more leeway with budgeting and curriculum choices. "That is where the Ministry of Education has to come back in, to refocus centralized decision making and provide clear, concise rules on how money is to be spent, on what trustees are supposed to be doing, on what boards of education are supposed to be doing," he said. Evans disagreed, saying a supervisor may not understand the needs of different communities. "We have locally elected trustees because it allows us to advocate for our communities and to bring that voice to the district. If we don't have that local voice at the table, then what works in Toronto might not work here," she said. "It's very easy to move in and break things when you have no understanding of why things are the way they are." Plamondon, an author and academic who previously as the interim chair of the National Capital Commission, started in his role as supervisor on Friday.