The City of Barrie says it has been forced to use a landfill property as a temporary snow storage site, following weeks of record snowfall.

City officials told Global News that the decision to use its Ferndale Drive North property was necessary as snow removal continues under what has become the longest continuous “Significant Weather Event declaration” in Barrie’s history.

The decision to use the land comes after running out of room at its operations centre, due to reports of the city receiving about 300 centimetres, or more than 9.5 feet of snow, since Nov. 1.

City officials said the temporary site would be used for the foreseeable future, with no end date set yet.

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“It is dependent on additional snow accumulations and our requirements to do snow lifts to remove excess snow from areas throughout the city,” said Dave Friary, the city’s director of operations.

Friary said the snow is not being dumped with household waste. Instead, it is being placed on a vacant portion of land at the landfill property, a practice the city says has been used in previous years.

Residents living near the site may notice increased overnight activity as snow hauling continues.

Friary said mitigation measures are in place, including the construction of a berm to reduce noise and light impacts during overnight operations.

Barrie has been under a Significant Weather Event since Dec. 28, 2025, a designation that remains in effect as crews continue to clear narrowed roads and snowbanks.

The city added that this year’s winter cleanup has far exceeded previous events, both in scale and cost.

“This winter’s snow removal effort represents the largest volume of snow we have had to remove,” Friary said. “Previous Significant Weather Events typically lasted one to three days, causing only short delays and little to no additional cost.

“In contrast, the unprecedented snowfall over a compressed time period and the extended duration of this event resulted in significantly higher costs and increased co-ordination and oversight.”

The city says the weather alert will not be lifted until roads, cycling lanes and other impacted areas are fully restored, and updates will be provided as conditions change.

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Some American-made alcohol will be returning to SAQ shelves next week, but only temporarily.

The Quebec government has directed the province’s liquor board to sell off select U.S. products nearing their expiration dates.

Most of the items being liquidated are alcoholic creams and liqueurs and will be marked down by 15 per cent, beginning Feb. 12, according to a release from the SAQ.

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Officials estimate the sales will generate about $9 million, with all proceeds donated to Food Banks of Quebec.

The ban on importing new American alcohol products, introduced last year, remains in effect.

Quebec ordered the SAQ to stop selling and importing American alcohol in early March 2025 as a retaliatory measure against U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, according to the government of Quebec.

2:30
Impact of Canadian bans of U.S. liquors being felt

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RCMP in New Brunswick are warning about a rise in youth radicalization, which they believe is fuelled by extremist online spaces.

Just this week, police said they arrested a youth late last year for the facilitation of a terrorist activity. That youth is now under a terrorism peace bond, which is a first for the province.

“A terrorism peace bond can be used when investigators fear that a terrorist offence may be carried out, enabling the use of robust monitoring and de-escalation tools,” RCMP said in a release.

“This case is part of a broader trend observed by the (Eastern Region’s National Security Enforcement Section) in New Brunswick involving youth radicalization driven by exposure to extremist online spaces and peer-to-peer networks.”

A spokesperson for the RCMP wouldn’t say which extremist network, if any, the youth was a part of.

“The youth is subject to very strict conditions as a result of entering into this peace bond. Police services across (New Brunswick) are aware of this peace bond and will, as they do every day, work diligently to keep our communities safe,” wrote Insp. Aaron Glode in an email.

0:42
Canada lists 4 new terrorist entities, including online extremist groups

David Hofmann, the director of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Program at the University of New Brunswick, said youth extremism is a problem seen nationwide.

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“This is the next big thing security-wise. The government and security agencies are focused on the fact that there are young people who, typically through the internet but also through face-to-face interaction are becoming more radical,” he said.

Hofmann said he believes the New Brunswick case could potentially be related to nihilist violent extremism groups, such as the 764 network, or possibly a far-right extremist group.

The 764 network is known to target children and youth by manipulating them into recording and sharing intimate images or taking part in acts of self-harm, violence and animal cruelty.

“Whether this is neo-Nazi far-right content, whether this nihilistic violent extremism, it’s the heinousness. It’s the awfulness of the act,” he said.

764 added to list of terrorist entities

Last December, Canada added 764 to its list of terrorist entities.

In total, four new groups were added under the Criminal Code, including three transnational online networks that promote ideologically motivated violent extremism (IMVE).

The move marked the first time any country had 764 as a terrorist organization, a statement from Public Safety Canada said.

In Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Police alleged a 16-year-old  charged in January with child pornography-related and inciting hatred charges was affiliated with the 764 network.

1:55
Halifax teen allegedly part of online extremist group has 4 of 5 charges dropped

The Crown has since dropped four of five charges against that teen, who is scheduled to return to court Feb. 26, because there was “no realistic prospect of conviction on those four counts” after reviewing the evidence.

Meanwhile, Hofmann said extremism can be very challenging to identify and police, especially if ideologies are spread globally.

“It’s incredibly difficult to police this sort of thing, as the internet is ubiquitous … it’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” he said.

RCMP are asking the public to remain vigilant and inform police of any suspicious activities.

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The City of Calgary has confirmed the second stage of replacing the ailing Bearspaw feeder main will result in significant impacts for residents in Bowness, with plans to dig a large trench through the neighbourhood.

In an update released Friday morning, city officials confirmed crews will use an “open-cut” method for the project’s second stage, which runs from 73 Street N.W. to 87 Street N.W.

According to the city, crews will be excavating a trench along 34 Avenue N.W. and installing the new pipe directly into the open trench, which will be followed by backfilling and surface restoration once work is complete.

The existing feeder main is located just one block away along 33 Avenue N.W.

The open-cut construction will be sequenced in large sections along the alignment, according to city officials, with “one or two” sections completed at a time.

“Open-cut construction will result in significant impacts for residents in the area, including traffic disruptions, noise, street parking impacts, dust and changes to local access,” the city said in a news release. “Plans are rapidly evolving, and teams are currently assessing the full scope of impacts.”

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According to the city, the roadway will be reopened after each section of construction is complete and crews move to the next area.

The city said the approach helps “reduce the duration of localized impacts.”

Construction is expected to last five months, with shovels scheduled to go in the ground in May. Estimates show pipe construction should be completed by October.

“Over the coming weeks and months, the city will work closely with the community to provide greater detail of construction activities, address unique needs of individual residents and support mitigation efforts where practical,” the city said in its release.

Earlier this year, city officials announced it was expediting the project to replace the Bearspaw feeder main after two critical ruptures in less than two years.

The project is now scheduled to be completed in December, after the original timeline had its completion date sometime in 2028.

City officials cancelled the competitive bid process for the project and instead awarded a sole-source contract to Ward & Burke Microtunnelling Ltd. and Graham Construction to fast-track the work.

Construction on the first phase of the project is already underway, which will see microtunneling used to install a new steel pipe between the Shaganappi Pump Station and 73 Street N.W. on the west side of the Bow River.

According to the city, microtunneling was chosen for the first stage due to the alignment having “significant crossings” at 16 Avenue, the Bow River, Sarcee Trail and the CPKC rail line.

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Courtrooms and lawyers’ offices in Alberta are set to become less busy next year, when changes to the province’s auto insurance market take effect.

The province is moving to what it calls a “care-first,” or no-fault, system from its current tort model starting Jan. 1, 2027. That means insurers will be required to bolster medical and income support as well as other benefits for those injured in collisions, regardless of who is at fault, instead of parties having to battle it out in the justice system for compensation beyond the limited amount insurance now covers.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada has welcomed the change, saying it will drive down legal costs for its members and in turn lower premiums for drivers.

“The care and benefits that are provided to those injured in collisions are going to increase. They’re going to be the richest in the country,” said Aaron Sutherland, vice-president for Western Canada and Pacific at IBC.

“That’s a win for drivers and anyone injured in collisions and we’re keen to work with the government to see this new system come to fruition.”

But a legal advocacy group has warned it takes away a crucial avenue for recourse and puts too much power in the hands of insurers.

Auto insurance premiums and delivery models vary province by province. Some, like British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, deliver mandatory coverage through Crown corporations, whereas in Alberta, Ontario and elsewhere, it’s left up to private insurers.

Albertans pay among the highest premiums for auto insurance in Canada and the provincial government has said the changes would shave off up to $400 per year of those costs. IBC has said rising legal expenses make up one fifth of what drivers pay.

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While “care-first” will be a help, Sutherland said more needs to be done to cure what’s ailing the province’s insurance market.

The 2024 annual report from the Superintendent of Insurance published last month painted a grim picture. It found a substantial majority of Alberta auto insurers were unprofitable that year, with private passenger automobile insurance taking the biggest hit.

Auto insurers’ expenses that year exceeded revenues by a collective $1.2 billion, the report said, with claims and expenses outpacing premiums by 18 per cent.

It forecast that escalating claims costs would continue to exceed the province’s Good Driver Rate Cap, which limits premium increases to 7.5 per cent a year for drivers without at-fault claims in the previous six years, criminal convictions in the previous four years or other convictions in the previous three years.

The rate cap, which is meant to be temporary, is set to last at least until the end of this year.

“In any industry, if you are forced to sell a product below the cost of providing it, that’s not a recipe for success or a healthy competitive marketplace,” Sutherland said.

A handful of companies, including Sonnet and Zenith, have exited the Alberta auto insurance market, while others have scaled back their offerings.

“I don’t expect anyone to shed a tear over the financial plight of the insurance industry in Alberta. But what does it mean for drivers? It means less choice, fewer options, more expensive premiums,” Sutherland said.

“We’ve got a competitive market that’s been in crisis, that’s been pulling back, and it’s been drivers that are footing a higher bill as a result and facing significant challenges securing the coverage they need.”

Adding to the pressures in Alberta is the fact that it’s been “the disaster capital for Canada” over the past several years, Sutherland said. For instance, a 2024 hailstorm in Calgary caused more than $3 billion in insured property damage within a single afternoon.

Vehicle theft is also a growing problem, with claims 76 per cent higher in the first half of 2025 than they were in 2021.

Once the “care-first” changes take effect, there will be no other system like it in Canada, said Owen Lewis, past-president of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association.

Lewis, a partner at KMSC Law in Grande Prairie, Alta., said he’s concerned about what checks and balances there will be in a system dominated by for-profit players, even though the province is planning an independent tribunal to resolve disputes over benefits.

“You’re going to have individuals who are required to navigate a system that, quite frankly, is extremely confusing for me,” he said.

“And they’ll be required to try to navigate that on their own to go against insurance companies that are well-funded, will have their own lawyers, have their own specialists to argue against the individual claim.”

Albertans would still be able to sue if the at-fault driver is convicted of a serious Criminal Code or Traffic Safety Act offence. But it would be “extremely rare” for someone to collect under those circumstances, Lewis said.

Lewis agrees that the status quo is not tenable for insurers in Alberta, but disputes that legal costs should bear so much of the blame.

“You can’t revamp an entire system and take rights away from innocent injured individuals to try to resolve a problem that isn’t created by injured Albertans.”

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When soil testing machines were first rolled out on Eglinton Avenue around 2008 to prepare for a potential light rail line, local business owner Anita Dimitrijevic found them “pretty scary.”

But they were only the start. Work on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT would continue until early this year, spanning political parties, governments, construction firms and local mayors.

For more than 15 years, the key east-west road entered a funk, where local businesses closed, traffic snarled and the transit project at the centre of it struggled from one controversy to another.

Dimitrijevic’s business, Di Moda European Lingerie, is one of many along the route now ready to emerge blinking from the construction chaos when the Eglinton Crosstown LRT officially launches on Sunday.

They are ready for the prosperity the new transit line promised.

“Access to the area was more difficult, parking was limited. Many customers assumed that the whole street was closed and as a small boutique, we really rely on foot traffic,” Dimitrijevic told Global News.

“Seeing the LRT finally open feels like a reward, and we would like to enjoy that reward. We are expecting that our community will change. We’re expecting more people, we’re expecting more movement, more accessibility, more connections.”

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The idea of a major transit line on Eglinton Avenue predates even Dimitrijevic’s business, which has been in the area for 21 years. But it was former Toronto mayor David Miller’s Transit City vision in 2007 that breathed life into the plan.

Miller secured provincial funding for his plan to build light rail along Eglinton Avenue from the provincial government.

“It was our proposal, for the most part our design — our being the City of Toronto and the TTC — and we secured the funding,” Miller told Global News.

Then, his successor at city hall, Rob Ford, came to power in 2010 and scrapped the plan. Instead, he proposed an underground version of the route, kicking off years of debate and chaos.

Despite the wrangling at city hall, the route ended up being agreed upon in the image Miller had imagined, and it began to move forward. The TTC, however, was forced to release control of the plan, which would be led by the newly-created provincial transit agency Metrolinx.

Miller said taking control away from Toronto’s transit agency, which is accountable to residents, was a mistake. It made the Eglinton Crosstown LRT an Ontario-wide political hot potato.

“I’m very sad that provincial interference meant a decade delay and had some other pretty negative consequences, including massive cost overruns,” he said. “I’m angry about that, frankly. But it’s pretty exciting to have been there at the inception.”

The line was beset by lawsuits and delays, missing its target opening date. By 2023, it was three years delayed and Metrolinx had stopped even trying to predict when it might open to the public.

That dynamic continued until December 2025, when the provincial transit agency finally accepted the Eglinton Crosstown LRT as complete and handed it to the TTC. The TTC then took its time assessing the line itself, eventually confirming it would open on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Miller said, despite the long and winding road, it would be a momentous day for Toronto.

“It’s massively frustrating how long it’s taken. And I think people should be justifiably angry,” he said.

“But people should also be really pleased that we finally have rapid transit across an incredibly important avenue in Toronto. That connects so many neighbourhoods, rich and low-income people, into the fabric of the life of the city. It’s pretty exciting.”

That excitement is beginning to bubble along Eglinton Avenue, where the potential of easy access is being relished by businesses.

“It’s only been 15 years, it’s a very exciting day. And we’re excited that this project is moving forward,” Maureen Sirois of Vicky’s Jewellery, and president of the Eglinton Way BIA, told Global News.

“Now we’re optimistic. Our street’s looking great, it’s going to look greater, and people are going to be able to access all these neighbourhoods on Eglinton.”

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When Mike Thomas’ elderly neighbour got sick and needed to sell his small bungalow on a wide lot in east Edmonton, Thomas immediately became concerned about the home being torn down and replaced with something much bigger.

Thomas said he has invested a lot into his own bungalow over the years: an addition, gardens, a back patio and solar panels on the roof.

He felt like he had no avenue to stop a developer if they purchased the home to the south and wanted to build a multi-family housing complex.

“I would be losing enjoyment of my entire property,” Thomas said.

“My property value would plummet for resale — even if the house is nice — because I’ve got a monster next to me that completely blocks all the light.”

So, he made a life-changing decision — risking his financial future by buying his neighbour’s home in the Bergman neighbourhood.

Thomas had to come up with $75,000 in three months to make the purchase.

“I’m not special and I’m not wealthy — and that killed me.”

He now rents the bungalow next door, at a discount, to a family of Ukrainian refugees.

7:13
Infill, taxes & public safety dominate Edmonton politics in 2025

In 2023, the City of Edmonton changed zoning bylaws to allow for more multi-unit buildings up to three storeys in all neighbourhoods.

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The aim was to encourage a variety of development to be built more easily in residential areas.

Since then, there’s been mixed reaction to the increase in multi-unit buildings replacing single-family homes.

Infill ended up being a contentious topic during the 2025 fall municipal election campaign after residents of established communities expressed concerns with property values, not enough parking, predatory developers, quality of builds and housing affordability.

1:54
Mixed reaction to Edmonton city council zoning bylaw changes

Some Edmonton homeowners in established, upscale areas like Crestwood and Glenora have even gone so far as to explore placing restrictive covenants on their properties to prevent future development.

The legally binding agreement goes on a property title and limits how a property is used or developed, even after it is sold to a new owner.

Neighbourhoods United has volunteers from 50 mature neighbourhoods who are amplifying their concerns about infill together.

Treasurer Dallas Moravec said their group knows of other frustrated residents doing something similar.

“I’ve heard a few different communities who have started some of these investor groups who put together some money,” Moravec said. “They’re looking to protect their neighbours’ houses that potentially they want to sell.”

“It speaks to the unpredictability of the zoning bylaws.”

1:37
More proposed infill changes headed to Edmonton city committee

Edmonton’s urban planning committee will be reviewing the city’s controversial zoning and infill policies on Feb. 9.

Reports indicate city staff recommend dropping the maximum number of units on a single lot from eight to six mid-block.

For more information, watch the video at the top of this story.

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