Latest news with #WillJohnston
CBC
22-07-2025
- CBC
City seeks to resolve dispute about likely ancient Indigenous remains found in Toronto
The city of has provided an update on ancient Indigenous remains found on Withrow Avenue more than a year ago. As CBC's Lane Harrison reports, city crews found the remains during waterline work on the street. City staff are hoping to resolve a dispute over what are believed to be ancient Indigenous human remains found below a Toronto sidewalk. The remains were found on Jan. 5, 2024 on Withrow Avenue in Riverdale by a city contractor working on a water service line. The area has been known to be an archeological site since at least 1886, when it's reported that crews excavating the initial construction of Withrow Avenue found communal gravesites in the area. Will Johnston, deputy city manager for infrastructure services, said on Monday 10 out of 11 Indigenous groups consulted since then are on board with a plan on how to handle the remains and have agreed to help monitor the burial site process or to provide consent for it to proceed. Earlier this month on July 17, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), which represents the interests of Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, threatened in a news release to shut down the construction activity at the site. The HDI says it has been denied access to the remains. Johnston told reporters at a news conference that the city is committed to having all 11 groups involved. "We recognize the need to conduct this process with the utmost sensitivity and respect and with meaningful communication and engagement with Indigenous and First Nations as a top priority," Johnston said. "After 19 months since this discovery, we need to resolve this matter. The ancestors deserve this." When the remains were found, work immediately stopped and the city contacted Toronto police, who took control of the site, Johnston and Lou Di Gironimo, general manager of Toronto Water, said. Police contacted the coroner's office. That office retained an anthropologist, who determined that the remains were human, ancient and likely of Indigenous origin. The provincial registrar for the funeral, burial and cremation services directed the city to protect the site and to investigate. The soil removed from the ground was put in a safe place, according to Di Gironimo. A view of the site on Withrow Avenue. There is a tent, fencing and security at the site. (Chris Langenzarde/CBC) As part of the order, the registrar contacted 11 Indigenous groups to notify them about the remains and invite them to provide advice on protecting the site. Di Gironimo said the city has worked with the First Nations to ensure Indigenous protocols are followed. City staff also hired a licensed archeological consultant to determine the origin of the site, he said. The city has since retained a second licenced archeological consultant, Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI). Once the investigation is completed, a report will be submitted to the city and registrar by this fall. "All 11 parties are welcome, and have always been welcome, to join the monitoring process associated with Withrow," Di Gironimo said. Haudenosaunee objects to process The HDI claims the remains are of the Haudenosaunee people. It said in its news release that it has been denied basic information and has been told in writing that the remains are sitting in a dump truck. "The Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) is prepared to shut down all construction activity on Withrow Avenue following revelations that the ancestral remains of the Haudenosaunee people have been kept in a dump truck for over a year after being extracted from an active archaeological site. "The current location of this dump truck, and those remains, is unknown," the HDI says in the release. Aaron Detlor, legal counsel for HDI, said the Haudenosaunee wants to do its own investigation. According to city staff, the HDI made unrealistic demands that could not be met. The city did not elaborate on what those demands were. At the news conference, city staff said the remains were secured in a truck, adding that the soil was not put back into the site because they did not want to disturb it further. Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation disputes claims At Monday's news conference, Claire Sault, chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), said she disputes the HDI's claims. The dispute has left the First Nation with a "feeling of unrest," she added. "The Mississaugas of the Credit should be the only point of first contact until remains are determined by experts. Then, through proper protocol, if the remains are found to be from another tribe... We'll reach out to that tribe, nation to nation," she said. The traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation includes the city of Toronto and the First Nation is the sole treaty holder in Toronto, she said. "We have a duty to speak out for these lands, to speak out for our ancestors and to speak out for our treaties," she said. "And so let me be clear and let me be blunt. The group of individuals calling themselves HDI, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, have no rights here. These are not their lands, They have no treaty here and they have no ancestral connection here. Sault alleged the group has been "obstructing the important work that MCFN and the City of Toronto have been doing to respectfully and in a culturally appropriate way address this discovery of ancestral remains at the Withrow's burial site. This is unacceptable." Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Chief Claire Sault speaks on ancient human remains found near Withrow Park, during a news conference at city hall, on July 21, 2025. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) Lisa Merritt, principal of infrastructure at ASI, said the company will proceed carefully. She said it doesn't know how many people were buried there. "We will begin very carefully to excavate any areas of lawn or soft scaping by hand, which will be done in one metre square units and following a grid pattern," Merritt said. Toronto sits on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
CTV News
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Toronto is closer to hiring a traffic czar. Here is what experts say their first task should be
Heavy traffic leaves the downtown core in Toronto on Thursday January 14, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Toronto's long-awaited traffic czar may soon be on the job, but experts say clearing up the city's notorious gridlock will require more than a new title. A spokesperson for the City of Toronto tells CTV News Toronto that council is expected to vote this week on final approval for the new position of Chief Congestion Officer, a role aimed at coordinating construction and traffic management across city divisions. Recruitment for the post is already underway, the city confirmed. 'The City of Toronto's new Chief Congestion Officer position will focus on creative, long-term solutions to tackle traffic congestion and will pre-emptively identify challenges and recommend solutions to get Toronto moving,' said Will Johnston, Deputy City Manager for Infrastructure Services. Construction, Johnston said, remains the largest driver of gridlock and will be a key focus for the incoming czar. But experts warn that unless the city's new traffic boss is given meaningful authority, very little will change. Construction jobs 'should be scrutinized,' expert says Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto, said addressing the city's often uncoordinated construction work should be the first priority. Off-duty City of Toronto police officers Off-duty City of Toronto police officers manage traffic in a construction zone in Toronto on Monday, May 11, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette) 'I think fixing the bottlenecks that are happening by our own making is probably the first place to start,' he said. Toronto has been called the busiest city in North America for road construction. A city report found that last summer, nearly one-quarter of city streets were partially closed due to construction, doubling travel times. 'Every job that's going to take up a lane of traffic should be scrutinized to understand how it can be made faster,' Siemiatycki said. Zero tolerance approach In 2024, navigation and location technology company TomTom ranked Toronto third on its list of the most congested cities in the world, placing the city behind just London and Dublin. The region's crippling gridlock, meanwhile, has had a significant effect on the wider economy, with one report prepared by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis warning that the cost of lost economic opportunities in the GTHA totalled $10 billion in 2024 but rose to more than $47 billion when factoring in 'social impacts' that diminish a commuter's quality of life. Some experts, including U of T professor Baher Abdulhai, argue that the situation has worsened to the point that the city should consider lane rental fees — directly charging contractors for occupying lanes. In an email to CTV News, he says this could incentivize faster project completion. Others suggest the need for more night work and penalties for extended closures. 'The most urgent task is to use the existing roads much more efficiently,' Abdulhai said. While construction coordination may offer quick wins, experts caution that Toronto's congestion is not just a driver problem. 'When you hear congestion, it's not just cars,' said Siemiatycki. 'It's the transit vehicles and others stuck in that exact same mess.' TTC bus in traffic TTC bus in traffic Enforcing existing traffic laws, particularly against drivers who block intersections and lanes, is another immediate step Abdulhai recommends. He supports a 'zero-tolerance' approach to effectively ease bottlenecks. Could the traffic czar have actual power? For the incoming traffic czar to succeed, Siemiatycki stressed that the city must avoid creating another bureaucratic position with minimal power. 'If it's just another person that decisions have to go through, then it will not be effective,' he said. Toronto's experience with a 'transit czar,' introduced in 2019, did little to streamline transit project decisions, he noted. Abdulhai echoed that concern. 'This one person will not work alone. He or she will be the spearhead, but a larger team must be involved. And if enabled and authorized by council, they can be effective,' he said. The city says the role will report directly to the Deputy City Manager and carry oversight of the Strategic Capital Coordination Office, responsible for coordinating capital projects and traffic mitigation across departments. Road tolls: 'if you charge... people will respond' Both experts point to a politically sensitive solution that could help ease gridlock — that's congestion pricing. 'If you wanted to address congestion in a serious way… we have to be talking about road tolls,' Siemiatycki said, noting similar measures have reduced traffic in cities like London, Stockholm, and New York. However, while Toronto has floated the idea in years past, the political appetite for fit may be low. In 2017, a proposal to toll the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway was rejected by the provincial government. New Ontario legislation introduced in 2024 now bans tolls on provincial highways. Though Toronto theoretically retains the power to toll its own roads under the City of Toronto Act, experts are skeptical such a measure will move forward without strong mayoral support. Still, Siemiatycki says tough choices will be necessary. 'Cost is a key driver of people's choices,' he said. 'If you charge for something, people will respond.' 'A tough job' If approved by council, the new traffic czar role will launch in the coming months. But as Siemiatycki put it, 'this will be a tough job.' How much difference the role makes may depend less on who the city hires and more on how much power they're given to act.
CBC
10-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Toronto moves one step closer to hiring a 'chief congestion officer' to lead charge against gridlock
It's looking more likely that Toronto will get a "traffic czar" in the hopes of reducing congestion and gridlock. The city's infrastructure and environment committee has approved the plan to hire for the position and it will now go to council for final approval later this month. The chief congestion officer would work "across all of the divisions" in the city and provide "strategic advice" to the mayor, deputy city manager Will Johnston said at the city committee meeting Thursday. To ease congestion, some of the goals include increasing on-the-ground traffic management, implementing a strategy for traffic around special events and planning, and co-ordinating city-wide construction projects, according to the report. Lyn Adamson, co-chair of ClimateFast, told the committee that to reach the city's target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040, the new officer should also make recommendations "relevant to the promotion of walking, cycling and transit as ways to ease congestion." Mayor Olivia Chow described the proposed position as "a cross-department approach" to traffic management on CBC Radio's Metro Morning earlier this year. WATCH | Toronto mayor talks 'traffic czar,' other plans to tackle congestion: Chow explains how Toronto is tackling congestion, gridlock 3 months ago Duration 10:00 About half of Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area residents have contemplated moving away due to traffic congestion, according to a 2024 poll. But more people are still filling up the city's roads. The city staff report says the goal of the position is to mitigate "ongoing pressures of growth and development." Dominic Roszak, director of government and external relations at the Toronto Region Board of Trade, noted that the city has had 500,000 new people arrive in the past two years, with three million more projected by 2051. "We also have FIFA next year, so this is a really critical problem right now that we need to tackle," he said.
Fox Sports
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Loyola Marymount beats San Diego 100-74 in second round of West Coast Conference Tournament
Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Will Johnston had 27 points to lead Loyola Marymount to a 100-74 victory over San Diego on Friday night in the second round of the West Coast Conference Tournament. The seventh-seeded Lions (17-14) advance to play No. 6 seed Washington State in Saturday's third round. Johnston added eight assists for LMU. Alex Merkviladze totaled 16 points and eight rebounds. Jevon Porter scored 14. Tony Duckett had 17 points and four assists to lead the Toreros (6-27) who finish the season on a 17-game losing streak. Joey Chammaa added 15 points and six assists. Deven Dahlke scored 11. Loyola Marymount took the lead with 17:48 left in the first half and never looked back. The score was 42-30 at halftime, with Johnston racking up 16 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. recommended
Associated Press
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Loyola Marymount beats San Diego 100-74 in second round of West Coast Conference Tournament
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Will Johnston had 27 points to lead Loyola Marymount to a 100-74 victory over San Diego on Friday night in the second round of the West Coast Conference Tournament. The seventh-seeded Lions (17-14) advance to play No. 6 seed Washington State in Saturday's third round. Johnston added eight assists for LMU. Alex Merkviladze totaled 16 points and eight rebounds. Jevon Porter scored 14. Tony Duckett had 17 points and four assists to lead the Toreros (6-27) who finish the season on a 17-game losing streak. Joey Chammaa added 15 points and six assists. Deven Dahlke scored 11. Loyola Marymount took the lead with 17:48 left in the first half and never looked back. The score was 42-30 at halftime, with Johnston racking up 16 points. ___
