Headlines To Know For October 11…
This to know for today;
- GM workers and UNIFOR reach agreement: UNIFOR and General Motors have finally reached a tentative agreement after 12 hours of striking. Employees walked off the job at the automotive plants in Oshawa, St. Catherine’s, and Woodstock after midnight on Monday. The deal agreed upon will follow the same layout at the deal UNIFOR reached with Ford last month. This includes a 20 per cent hourly wage increase with a 25 per cent increase for skilled trades. They will also receive a signing bonus, and a promise to convert temporary workers into full time permanent employees. Once ratified, more details will become available and UNIFOR will be moving onto Stellantis. Employees at Ford voted 54 per cent in favour of the deal last month.
- Greenbelt swap investigation launched: After Premier Doug Ford back peddled on his Greenbelt deal he proposed, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have launched an investigation into the matter. Announced Tuesday, the Sensitive and International Investigations unit have taken on this case. Multiple violations were found when Ford was proceeding to identify land for development that was inside the Greenbelt. Ford received a lot of pushback for his proposal after he promised Ontarians he would not touch the Greenbelt. This also led to the resignation of his housing minister, Steve Clark. In September, Ford said “I made a promise to you [Ontarians], that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise. And for that I’m very, very sorry,” After Clark’s resignation, Ford’s Minister of Public and Business Services Kaleed Rasheed also stepped down. “While we recognize that this investigation is of significant interest to Canadians, the RCMP has a duty to protect the integrity of the investigations that it carries out, in order to ensure that the process leads to a fair and proper outcome. Therefore, no further updates will be provided at this time,” the RCMP read in a statement.
- Province invests in student nutrition program: Access to healthy meals and snacks are essential for young students. Ontario students will now benefit with additional funding added to nutrition programs. The Ontario government will be adding an additional $5 million to the Student Nutrition Program, and the First Nations Student Nutrition Program. This puts funding at $38 million this year. These programs provide healthy breakfast, snacks, and lunch options for over 600,000 students helping their performance both physically and mentally. The government is also working with a number of charities to help launch the Healthy Students Brighter Ontario campaign. With a goal to raise $10 million, these organizations have already raised $1.67 million. Once the total amount is announced, the Student Nutrition Program and First Nations Student Nutrition program will split the funds.
- Road closures: Rectory between Florence and Little Simcoe St. will be closed until October 27, to remove unused train tracks. Fanshawe Park Rd. and Richmond St. will resume 24 hour construction until October 13th.
