December Newsletter 2024

Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,
First of all for those of you who are not already on board, let me introduce you to Aerosnapper on Facebook. Totally wonderful drone images of lots of stuff happening on KIngstonn’s waterfront.
This image is of the Nov 29 paving of the Kingston ferry dock for the Wolfe Island Ferry.  

LOCAL NEWS, ISSUES AND EVENTS
1.Kingston Mayor Addresses Big City Mayors’ Letter to Premier on Use of the Notwithstanding Clause
+ Recent Integrated Care Hub Posting
2. Hugely Scary Counillors Discuss Estimated 1.3 Billion to Renew Municipal Assets
3. “Putting it Back” – Aerosnapper time-lapse video showing how the temporary bridge was returned
4. Applications for 2025 Neighbourhood Climate Action Champions are now open
5. Municipal Fee Assistance Program
6. Utilities Kingston Unveils New Bill Design to Enhance Customer Experience
7. City of Kingston Seeking Feedback on Improving Customer Service – Survey Deadline Dec 12
8. Webinar re the Biogas Initiative -Monday, Dec 2, 7 pm–
9. Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour AGM
10. Update from the Big Stink + -Important City EITP Meeting, Tues, Dec 10, 6 pm
11. City May Launch Pilot Program to Enhance Short-Term Car Rental Service
12. Pamela Cross’s New Book on Intimate Partner Violence – Thurs, Dec 12, 6 pm Novel Idea
13. Update on Bridge over John Counter & the Railway connecting the two sections of the K&P
14. Ontario Passes Divisive Bill to Remove /Block Certain Bike Lanes
15. Pub Caroling Once Again at Something in the Water Pub – Dec 8, 15 & 22
16. Weather- based Winter Parking Restrictions Go Into Effect on Dec 1
17. North King’s Town Secondary Plan to City Planning Committee Dec 5, 6 pm
 
FROM FARTHER AFIELD
18. More Than Half of Toronto’s Electricity Needs Could be Met with Solar Power Generated from Rooftops and Parking Lots
19. ON Gov’s Missed Target for Hands On Care in Long-Term Care Institutions.
20. As Trump vows major tariff hike, a look at what the U.S. imports from Canada
21. Trump Tariffs: Which Canadian Industries will be Hit Hardest?
22.Government of Canada to Announce New Partnership with US and Finland to Support Shipbuilding and create more Middle Class Jobs.
23. Guillbeaut Proposes New Global Carbon Tax on Maritime Shipping
 
OF GENERAL INTEREST AND IMPORTANCE
24. The Toxicity, Pervasiveness, and Longevity of PFAS Chemicals is the Latest Canadian Environmental Nightmare
25. What Happens to your Body When You’re in Love – and When you’re Heartbroken
26. Excellent Piece on the Accumulation of Trauma
27. Dalhousie Researchers Design Low-Cost Device to Help Fight Water Scarcity
28. Uses for Baking Soda
29. Fun Things to Do in Kingston This December
 
LOCAL NEWS, ISSUES AND EVENTS
1.Kingston Mayor Addresses Big City Mayors’ Letter to Premier on Use of the Notwithstanding Clause
+ Recent Integrated Care Hub Posting
Received Nov 13, 2024 from the Kingstonist – Tori Stafford and shared with permission
When Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) met in late October 2024, the concern around the growing homeless populations in municipalities across the province was a primary focus.
Kingston’s Mayor Bryan Paterson is among those “Big City Mayors” who share concerns about the issue-something Kingston redidents are familiar with given the influx of unhoused people locally since 2020.
Kingston readers may recall that the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) flagged a concern regarding the OBCM’s potential request to Premier Doug Ford to use the notwithstanding clause to allow municipalities in Ontario to clear out homeless encampments.
The request was, indeed, made by a number of the OBCM members in the form of a letter to Ford (which was not an official letter from the OBCM but rather on behalf of the dignatories listed) but among those members who were not signatories of the letter was Mayor Paterson.
It should be noted, however, that the OBCM as a whole did issue a statement regarding the need for the province to address homelessness, mental health, and addiction issues on Wednesday, Oct 30, 2024, which built on a reso9lution to address the ‘Chronic Homelessness, Mental Health, and Safety and Addicitions Crisis” made by the OBCM on Friday, Oct 18, 2024, closely followed by further calls for action from the province.
Just over a week later, on Thursday, Nov 7, 2024, the OBCM reiterated the concerns within that statement, which include the following calls to action:
1. That the Premier appoint a single responsible Minister and ministry with the appropriate funding and powers as a single point of contact to address the full spectrum of housing needs as well as mental health, addictions and wrap-around supports required for an individual’s recovery journey.
This one-window approach will reduce barriers and red tape, helping the province take action more quickly.
2. That the province convenes an action table with broad sector representatives including municipalities, healthcare, first responders, community services, the business community and the tourism industry to evaluate what is already working, along with other policy and program proposals, to develop a “Made in Ontario Action Plan” that can be scaled up quickly, getting services in place across Ontario specific to the needs of each community.
3. Provide municipalities with the tools and resources to transition those in encampments to more appropriate supports, when deemed necessary, including building more supportive housing units with treatment and recovery beds along with the wrap-around supports required to support an individual at each stage of their recovery journey.

Full article:
https://www.kingstonist.com/news/kingston-mayor-addresses-big-city-mayors-letter-to-premier-ford-on-use-of-notwithstanding-clause/

RECENT Integrated Care Hub Website Posting
Received via Facebook from the Neighvourhood Hub Watchers, Nov 29, 2024
Update on Staged Reopening: Access and Support Centre
The partners who operate the services at the Integrated Care Hub (ICH) are pleased to share the addition of limited services of our Access and Support Centre, formerly known as the Drop-In.
As of today, we are now open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., seven days a week. A maximum of 10 individuals will be allowed inside at one time to support safe access. People with needs can connect with essential services, access showers, bathrooms or computers, meet with workers, and have their basic requirements met. Time at the ICH will be limited to individuals actively accessing services. The ICH serves individuals who may use substances and who are unhoused,precariously housed, or unsafely housed, offering low-barrier access to critical supports such as connection to services,
case management, harm reduction, hygiene, food, rest, and consumption treatment services.
By addressing immediate needs with dignity and connecting clients to recovery-oriented services, the ICH fosters safety, stability, and access to vital services and support. The ICH consortium of partners will continue to use this website as one way to keep clients, families, the community and partners updated on service provision. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via info@integratedcarehub.ca.

2. Hugely Scary Councillors Discuss Estimated 1.3 Billion to Renew Municipal Assets
Received from the Kingstonist, Nov 20, 2024 – Bill Hutchins
https://www.kingstonist.com/news/hugely-scary-councillors-discuss-estimated-1-3-billion-to-renew-municipal-assets/

3. “Putting it Back” – Aerosnapper time-lapse showing how the temporary bridge was returned.
Received on Facebook Nov 16, 2024
Putting it Back – a timelapse showing the temporary bridge returned to the La Salle Causeway 4K

4. Applications for 2025 Neighbourhood Climate Action Champions are Now Open

Received from the City of Kingston, early November 2024 The City of Kingston is calling on all passionate climate advocates to take the lead in driving local climate action! Apply to become a Neighbourhood Climate Action Champion (NCAC) and receive support to share your knowledge with residents in your community. Returning for its third year, the NCAC program provides funding, training and resources to help residents lead green  projects across the city.  “Since the inception of the Neighbourhood Climate Action Champion program 2 years ago, we’ve seen an incredible number of inspiring climate projects take place all over Kingston!” says Julie Salter-Keane, Manager, Climate Leadership. “We’re thrilled that so many residents are eager to share and foster sustainable practices across the community and we’re excited to see a new cohort of projects come to life this year.”   Program details  Interested residents are invited to submit their applications on Get Involved Kingston before Dec. 6, 2024. Participants are expected to commit 4-5 hours per month towards climate outreach, project development and execution. Each champion will receive up to $2,000 to bring their project to life.  Climate action project ideas could include: Educating residents about environmental issuesLeading discussions on climate challengesCollaborating on community-focused projectsInspiring broader participation in climate action Contributing to climate adaptation and mitigation In 2024, program participants led 12 incredible projects, from planting little forests to educating neighbors about  Home energy retrofits. Autumn Smith, one of last year’s Neighbourhood Climate Action Champions, helped neighbours transform their lawns from grass to food growing spaces.  “It felt like a huge accomplishment to have so many people encouraged to grow food in their yards,” says Autumn. “I’ve been so happy with all of the projects and towards the end of the season, most of the participants were Speaking about enlarging what they had.”  “This year has really taught me the power of joining my community and reminded me that we are better together,” she adds. “I’d encourage you to apply to be a Climate Champion and share what you know – it’s good for the community and the environment!”  Empowering residents to create meaningful change in our community  The NCAC program is part of the City’s response to the climate emergency and empowers residents to make change by leading community-focused actions that support the City’s Climate Leadership Plan and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The 2023 Community GHG Inventory report, which includes comparative analyses of year-to -year emissions, as well as per capita GHG emissions, will be going to Council on November 19.  Apply on Get Involved Kingston What would you do with $2,000 to support climate action in your area? Individuals and organizations are invited to apply to become their district’s next Neighbourhood Climate Action Champion before Dec. 6, 2024.  For more information and to apply, visit GetInvolved.CityofKingston.ca 5. Municipal Fee Assistance Program Received from the City of Kingston,  Nov 18, 2024 City reminds residents to check eligibility for Municipal Fee Assistance Program This fall, the City is reminding residents to see if they are eligible for the Municipal Fee Assistance Program (MFAP), an income-based program providing access to City programs and services for free or at a lower cost. Through a single application process, MFAP recipients can access discounted transit passes, City recreation and fitness programs/memberships, Grand OnSTAGE shows and musical performances, PumpHouse Museum  tickets, extended health care benefits, a marriage licence and responsible pet ownership (such as vouchers for spay and neuter services). Program registration is confidential, allowing recipients to access these services the same as any other user. In 2023, City staff were asked to review the program to identify and remove any barriers to low-income individuals during the application process. The review was endorsed by City Council and completed in February 2024 (Report 24-095) as part of a goal outlined in Kingston’s Strategic Plan to enhance community well-being “The program review gave us the opportunity to look closely at what is working well and understand how residents benefit most from the program,” says Ruth Noordegraaf, Director of Community Development & Well-being and IDEA. “The unique combination of services gives program recipients discounted access not only to essential health benefits but other cultural and recreational experiences that improve overall well-being.” Another outcome of the review is a new one-year partnership with Lionhearts to include Fresj Food Market Pop-ups in the program. During the pilot program, which began in September 2024, all MFAP recipients qualify for discounts at any of the eight market locations by presenting their MFAP card. Applying for MFAP The application takes 10-15 minutes to complete. Residents can apply:Online: www.CityofKingston.ca/MFAPBy email: MFAP@CityofKingston.caIn person: Housing and Social Services, 362 Montreal St. (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)Applications are open year-round. Applicants are eligible based on household income; full details are available on MyKingston.ca. Funding for MFAP services is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and renewed every year. About the Municipal Fee Assistance Program The Municipal Fee Assistance Program began in fall 2009 based on the work of the Kingston Poverty Roundtable. The original goal was to make transit and recreation more affordable and to streamline the intake process for residents living in low-income households. Since then, the City has expanded MFAP offerings and the number of households who are financially eligible to access it. The program remains the most comprehensive municipal discount program in Canada with a single application process and the widest range of programs and services. 6. Utilities Kingston Unveils New Bill Design to Enhance Customer Experience Received from the City of Kingston, Nov 14, 2024 Utilities Kingston is rolling out a redesigned utility bill this November to make it easier for customers to review and understand their utility usage and charges. The updated design emphasizes clarity, with a user-friendly layout, enhanced readability, and detailed breakdowns of charges to improve transparency and support informed decision-making.  “Our goal is to make every customer interaction easier and more meaningful, delivering not only dependable service but also the personal, responsive care that is at the heart of what we do,” says David Fell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Utilities Kingston. “We believe that by enhancing the clarity of our billing, we can empower our customers to manage their utility services more effectively.”  Highlights of the new bill design include:Larger text and increased spacing for improved readabilityBrighter colours and a more consistent layout to help customers find information quicklyEnhanced graphs for easier comparison and tracking of usageClear rate classification information for transparency and an itemized breakdown of charges. This improved billing experience was developed over several  months through a collaborative cross-departmental initiative. Customers can preview the new desin and see a breakdown of each section by visiting UtilitiesKingston.com 7. City of Kingston Seeking Feedback on Improving Customer Service – Survey Deadline Dec 12 Received from the Kendall Scott, Communications and Customer Experience Project Coordinator, City of Kingston, Nov 21, 2024 Community members are invited to complete a short survey on satisfaction levels, response time expectations and ways the City can enhance services.  Your input will help inform updates to the Customer Service Strategy, first introduced in 2016. The survey takes about 10 minutes, and participants can enter a draw to win a $100 Visa gift card. Complete the survey by Dec. 12 at 4 p.m on Get Involved Kingston and share your ideas for how the City can enhance your customer experience! https://getinvolved.cityofkingston.ca/customerservice“   8. Webinar re the Biogas Issue Received from 350kingston, Nov 25, 2024 What: Webinar on “Is Kingston’s Proposed Biogas Plant a Good Idea?” Who: 350 Kingston and Kingston Climate Justice Coalition and allies are organizing a Biogas Plant Webinar. Panel of speakers includes: Joseph F. Castrilli – Canadian Environmental Law Association Darko Matovic – Retired Mechanical and Materials Engineer, Queen’s University Jan Sneep – Mechanical and Materials Engineer, Queen’s University When:  Monday Dec 2, 7pm on Zoom – https://actionnetwork.org/events/kingston-biogas-plant-proposal-webinar More Info? For more information on the project, see the city’s website  –  https://utilitieskingston.com/Projects/Detail/RegionalBiosolidsBiogasFacility?link_id=2&can_id=396a70471b96a5c5629dbea40609830c&source=email-350-kingston-meeting-reminder-and-biogas-webinar-invitation&email_referrer=email_2540893&email_subject=350-kingston-meeting-reminder-and-biogas-webinar-invitation Notes:  Learn more about the proposal by Utilities Kingston to build a Biogas Plant near Little Cataraqui Conservation Area. To registar for the Webinar, RSVP – .https://actionnetwork.org/events/kingston-biogas-plant-proposal-webinar?source=direct_link&&link_id=1&can_id=396a70471b96a5c5629dbea40609830c&email_referrer=email_2540893&email_subject=350-kingston-meeting-reminder-and-biogas-webinar-invitation Not many Kingstonians have heard of the proposal to build a Biogas Plant on Knox Farm beside Little CataraquiConservation Area. Even if you have seen information from the city, you may still have questions, as the technology is complex. It is also difficult to understand the costs and benefits to the environment and more specifically to the climate. Does it align with city’s plan to ‘Demonstrate Leadership on Climate Action, with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions City-wide’? 9. Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour AGM, Mon, Dec 13, 2024 As usual this meeting will be held in the Common Room of Frontenac Village condo at 1 Place d’Armes at 7 pm. If you are interested in attending please e-mail me, Mary, at inverarymary@yahoo.com for further details. 10. Update from the Big Stink Received Nov 22, 2024 This past weekend’s Whig-Standard carried an obituary of Kelly Rosaleen, a loyal Kingstonian, who died peacefully at her home, aged 90. Kelly had a 35-year career in health care in Kingston, ultimately finding her calling as a surgical nurse in the Operating Room at KGH. No doubt she must have helped to save many lives. Kelly had “a lifelong reverence for creatures great and small (and) for the beauty of natural spaces”. Her obituary said that she “loved her  chosen neighbourhood, where she lived and raised her family, nestled deep amid the wildlife, woods and creeks of the surrounding Cataraqui conservation area. This was her happiest place.” The Little Cataraqui Conservation Area (The Little Cat) was clearly a very special place for Kelly. She represents the many Kingstonians for whom The Little Cat means so much as a nature reserve, a park, a haven and retreat. It’s a much-loved resource for us all. The Little Cat was established in the 1960s as a part of the water management system by taking the land from the families of the earliest setters in Canada who came here as persecuted United Empire Loyalists from America, during the  American War of Independence in the late 1700s. Among those farm families whose properties were taken were the Powley’s, the Fairbanks’, the Dietrich’s, and the Knox’s. The enterprising Powley’s had also established a successful  sawmill on the Cataraqui Creek. As a result of the forced expropriations, these families lost both their farms and their livelihoods, which must have been devastating for them. Fortunately, both the Powley and Fairbanks’ stone farmhouses have been preserved and cared for. At least they are now protected and recognized as an important part of our community’s heritage. Other Kingstonians were also involved in establishing The Little Cat at the time. A group of Queen’s professors fought to have the property established as a park, a “nature preserve”, and to dam the creek to make the reservoir for the benefit of the community. In the 1980s, the Reeve of Kingston Township, Isabel Turner, persuaded the Conservation Area to allow the township’s 25-year garbage dump to be located on what we now call ‘the Knox Farm site’. The people of Kingston rose up in protest, under the leadership of local resident Elizabeth Munt. Thank goodness we won  that battle…but here we are again, now they want to build a sewage and gas plant there. The decision to build this plant apparently now rides on the results of a “business case”. Whatever the outcome, this property means far more  to us than a one-dimensional business case. There are important sustainability issues around people and the environment that also need to be considered and included! For heaven’s sake, how many times do we have to push back against the people we pay and vote for, to take care of this property. Where are the voice  the people we hold  responsible for managing and protecting this valuable resource? They are silent! When will this end? Once again the people in our community who love and care for this site must speak up to protect and defend The Little Cat and its  environment – the wildlife, woods and creeks. This park belongs to us. This is our nature preserve. It is our place for walks and family and company picnics; our all-season recreational area; a place to cross-country ski and ice skate, to educate our children about the natural world, and to enjoy the wildlife and the maple syrup; a place of safety for people, creatures great and small and the beauty of natural places. A place not to be loomed over and spoilt by a  large industrial plant. Already, the programs and resources available to us on this site have been shrinking. We need to protect them from shrinking further, now and in the future. We should be proud of what we have, and be prepared to stand up for it. We must commemorate the sacrifices of the early settlers and their descendants, celebrate the battles that the people of Kingston fought to give us this resource, and honour the memory and legacy of Kelly, and the many people like her, for whom this is one of their happiest places. The Little Cat and its environment is our legacy  to pass on to our children, to their children and to our future generations. The heritage of the jewel in The Little Cat’s crown is a nature preserve…not a garbage dump or a 24-hour industrial site. Let’s say, once and for all – “Hands off our  Little Cat”. Peter Lawton – Nov. 21, 2024 – peterlawton@bell.net   11. City May Launch Pilot Project to Enhance Short-Term Car Rental Service Received Nov 13, 2024 from the Kingstonist – Bill Hutchins https://www.kingstonist.com/news/kudos-to-kingston-city-may-launch-pilot-program-to-enhance-short-term-car-rental-service-update/ 12. Pamela Cross’s New Book on Intimate Partner Violence  Received Nov 21, 2024 from Jamie Swift. Thanks Jamie. Who/What: Pamela Cross provides an in-depth look at IPV in Canada in her book “And Sometimes They Kill You”. Told in an engaging and accessible fashion, it weaves together Cross’s personal experiences and reflections with the powerful stories of victims, survivors and the alarming but convincing data. Pamela Cross, a longtime Kingstonian is a feminist lawyer and activist who has been working for system change to eradicate violence against women for more than three decades. Where:  Novel Idea Bookstore When: Thurs, Dec 12, 2024, 6 pm   13. Update on Bridge over John Counter & Railway connecting the two sections of the K&P Received from Danny Potts, Project Manager, City of Kingston, Nov 26, 2024 Editor’s Note: I haven’t really had time to digest this yet.  Will try to comment on the next newsletter. https://getinvolved.cityofkingston.ca/jcb-pedestrian-bridge/news_feed/open-house  14. Ontario Passes Divisive Bill to Remove/Block Certain Bike Lanes Received from TVO, Nov 25, 2024 – Allison Jones Editor’s Note: Although this is technically not local it will have bearing on active transportation in our local area. Ontario passed divisive legislation Monday that will prevent municipalities from adding certain new bike lanes and remove others on three main Toronto roads – a sign, the opposition says, that the premier is too focused on fighting Toronto battles instead of provincial ones. The fast-tracked bill requires municipalities to ask the province for permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a lane of vehicle traffic, and also goes one step further and removes sections of Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue bike lanes and restores them as lanes for vehicle traffic. Premier Doug Ford has complained about some bike lanes creating gridlock, in particular on a stretch of Bloor Street West that is about a 10-minute drive from his home in Toronto’s west end. The premier said Monday at an unrelated press conference that he had been receiving a lot of calls from people on both sides of the bike lane issue. “It’s not anything against bike people,” he said. “Just go on the secondary roads.” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said the province will establish a clear set of criteria for reviewing municipalities’ requests to install bike lanes, including effects on traffic volume, road safety, and emergency response times. “If we determine that building those bike lanes would make congestion worse, they will not get built,” he said. As well, the province will review bike lane projects that have been started in the past five years, Sarkaria said. “It will be a data-driven process,” he said to peals of laughter from the opposition benches. Critics suggest the move to remove three Toronto bike lanes is based on little more than anecdotal evidence and complaints from some local business owners. NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the premier should be focused on provincial priorities such as finding more people a family doctor, clamping down on rent increases, and ending violence against women. “We have a premier who is so focused on his vanity projects and fighting battles that he lost on Toronto city council, instead of actually focusing on the priorities of Ontarians,” she said. Amendments that the government added last week include indemnity clauses, such as prohibiting lawsuits as a direct or indirect result of actions taken to remove bike lanes. Stiles said she believes the immunity clauses were thrown into the legislation after the government heard from members of the public who said that people will be killed and injured as a result of removing protected bike lanes. “Obviously it’s an indication that they acknowledge that, and they’re protecting their own behinds rather than actually addressing the fact that people are going to get hurt,” she said. Liberal house leader John Fraser said the government protecting itself from the consequences of its decision making indicates it is not a good decision. “They weren’t fully considering what they were doing,” he said. “They’re in such a hurry to do it, they’re saying, ‘Hey, let’s protect ourselves from any future liability, because we made this really quick, rash decision, because we want to get elected.” Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said people in the rest of the province do not care about bike lanes in downtown Toronto. Sarkaria has said the province will foot the bill for removal costs, but he doesn’t believe the city’s estimate of $48 million, as it is double the price tag of the initial installation. He suggested, however, that the province did not come up with its own estimate before proposing to remove the existing bike lanes. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has slammed the province for the legislation, calling it a “significant overreach” and an unwanted incursion into municipal jurisdiction. In an overall bid to ease gridlock, the bill also facilitates construction 24 hours a day, accelerates property acquisitions and exempts the planned Highway 413 project from the provincial Environmental Assessment Act.​​​​​   15. Pub Caroling Again at Something in the Water Pub – Dec 8, 15 & 22 What:  This fun tradition actually started in 2003 when a couple of ethnomethodologists from Ottawa went to Sheffield in Engand, recorded what they heard, and began a tradition in Ottawa. Andy Rush of Open Voices Kingston heard about  it and was instrumental in getting it started in Kingston.  COVID shut things down for a couple of years but it is now back again – alive and well. Where: Something in the Water Pub, 275 Princess St. (between Clergy and Sydenham) When: Sunday evenings – Dec 6, 15, and 22 from 6:30 – 9:30 pm. NOTES:  All welcome!!!  Sing one of the four parts, or bring a friend or family and sing together, or just come to celebrate and enjoy the vibe!  Food will be available from the kitchen- as will be beer and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.   16. Weather- based Winter Parking Restrictions Go Into Effect on Dec 1 Received from the City, Nov 29, 2024  Starting Dec. 1: During December and March, overnight on-street parking will be banned if the weather and conditions require it.During January and February, overnight on-street parking will not be permitted no matter the weather conditions. When a ban is in place, parking on City streets is prohibited from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. On the streets surrounding Kingston General Hospital, the ban runs from 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. Vehicles left on the street during bans are subject to ticketing and towing.   These parking rules were in effect during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 winter seasons as a pilot project. Kingston City Council adopted the weather-based approach permanently at its Oct. 1 meeting.  “Crews need to be able to safely and effectively respond to winter weather and keeping vehicles parked off streets is a crucial element of that. However, we know that during December and March, we often have periods of time where no winter maintenance is required,” says Karen Santucci, Director of Public Works and Solid Waste. “By utilizing a weather-based parking system, we are able to uphold our winter maintenance standards while permitting parking when it’s safe to do so.”  Bans will be announced in the afternoon before the night when they are to take effect through news releases, the City’s winter parking webpage, and on social media. Subscribe to the City’s newsletter to receive parking ban notifications in your inbox – .  https://www.cityofkingston.ca/subscribe/ More info: https://www.cityofkingston.ca/roads-parking-and-transportation/parking/winter-parking/   17. North King’s Town Secondary Plan to City Planning Committee Dec 5, 6 pm A Working Group meeting was held on Wed, Nov 27 where City Staff shared their extensive work on this file. Editor’s Note: Of most interest to most in the community were their comments on “New Road #1” (aka the northern portion of the Wellington Street Extension. Consultants’ Modeling suggested it would be a good idea – but the cost is truly prohibitive at around 20 -30 million dollars. Why not ask local businesses if they think that is money well-spent? Last time they did this, to their surprise it was found that most businesses felt they had good access with existing roads, namely Montreal and Division Sts. Furthermore, there already exist roads that currently accomplish a diagonal connection between Montreal St. and Division St. – via HIckson and Harvey. Furthermore, the City would be required to build and service new roads when local developers choose to develop unused plots in the area. These new roads could well be following a grid system that would be more in keeping with the 15 minute community on which the Visioning Exercise is based. Having said that, there were many fine aspects of the City’s plan including an increase in mixed-use zones, heritage concerns, and positioning of new buildings of low, mid, and high rises at different points.  On the whole, a really excellent piece of work. Congrats Niall Oddie and his group. FROM FARTHER AFIELD 18. More Than Half of Toronto’s Electricity Needs Could be Met with Solar Power Generated from Rooftops and Parking Lots Received from the National Observer, Nov 26, 2024 – Abdul Matin Sarfraz The report by The Clean Air Alliance, a clean energy advocacy group, estimates the city could produce up to 12 terawatt-hours (TWh) of clean energy annually if its solar capacity is fully realized. Jack Gibbons, chair of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, told Canada’s National Observer that this potential is six to nine  times greater than the output of the Portlands Energy Centre, Toronto’s largest gas-fired power plant.  Full article: – https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/11/26/news/toronto-solar-electricity-powerhouse 19. Ontario Government’s Missed Target for Hands-on Care in Long-Term Care Institutions  Received from the National Observer, Nov 26, 2024  https://www.tvo.org/article/ontario-missed-interim-target-for-providing-hands-on-care-to-long-article-care-residents?utm_source=TVO&utm_campaign=cdc26bfd7e-TVO-Today-Newsletter-MON_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_eadf6a4c78-cdc26bfd7e-61349601&mc_cid=cdc26bfd7e 20. As Trump Vows Major Tariff Hike, a Look at What the U.S. Imports from Canada

Received from CTV News, November 26, 2024.  The following are Canada’s greatest exports to the U.S. in descending order in 2023: energy products, motor vehicles and parts; consumer goods; forestry products and building and packaging materials; basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products; metal and non-metallic mineral products; industrial machinery, equipment and parts; special transactions trade; electronic and electrical equipment and parts; aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts and; metal ores and non-metallic minerals.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/as-trump-vows-major-tariff-hike-a-look-at-what-the-u-s-imports-from-canada-1.7123547

21. Trump tariffs: Which Canadian industries will be hit hardest?, Global News, November 26, 2024.  Canadian industry groups reacted sharply on Tuesday morning to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he plans to impose a 25-per cent tariff on imports of all products from Canada.  While the proposed tariffs would apply across the board, they could hit some Canadian sectors and regions harder than others, experts say.  Ontario, the heart of Canada’s auto manufacturing sector, and Alberta, which ships a large amount of oil and gas south of the border, could feel the pinch.  Another industry preparing for a Trump presidency is the aluminum industry.  According to the Aluminum Association of Canada, the U.S. consumes about six million tonnes of aluminum a year and produces only 800,000 tons.  The rest is largely imported from Canada.

22.Government of Canada to announce new partnership with United States and Finland to support shipbuilding and create more middle-class jobs, Public Services and Procurement Canada, November 12, 2024.  The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Quebec Lieutenant, will be joining the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, and Finland Minister of Economic Affairs, Wille Rydman, in Washington, D.C., to sign a new partnership to support shipbuilding and create more middle-class jobs.  Following the signing ceremony, Minister Duclos will hold a media scrum to discuss the new partnership, highlight its economic benefits.

23.Guilbeault proposes new global carbon tax on maritime shipping, True North, November 14, 2024.  Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the government is “very supportive” of the concept of creating a new levy on emissions caused by maritime transportation.  As global leaders gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan at COP29 this week to discuss climate change, Guilbeault told reporters that the private sector could help close out the gap in the USD $2 trillion funding shortfall for developing countries as they try to fight climate change.  The environment minister said Canada will spend $160 million to launch a new fund called GAIA to finance projects that aim to reduce emissions in lower-income countries.

OF GENERAL INTEREST AND IMPORTANCE
24. The Toxicity, Pervasiveness, and Longevity of PFAS Chemicals us the Latest Canadian Environmental Nightmare
Received Oct 26, 2024. 2024 from CELA
 Blog by Joseph F. Castrilli, Counsel, and Fe de Leon, Senior Researcher

The toxicity, pervasiveness, and longevity of PFAS chemicals is the latest Canadian environmental nightmare.
We have all witnessed a long history of “miracle” chemicals going badly awry; DDT in the 1950s and 60s; PCBs in the 1970s; chlordane in the 1980s and 1990s; and, more recently, ozone-layer eating chemicals (e.g., chlorofluorocarbons) as well as climate-warming chemicals (e.g., sulphur hexafluoride).
But along the way, until relatively recently, PFAS chemicals have largely flown under both the public’s and government’s radar. Not so much anymore.
These chemicals have for decades been manufactured, imported, processed, distributed, and used in Canadian industry and commerce. They have been emitted to air, discharged to water, and disposed of on land without adequate understanding of their environmental and human health effects. As a result, we’re all part of a long-term experiment without our consent. The time to end the experiment is past due.
Everyday we read media reports of new ways in which this ubiquitous class of chemicals has violated the integrity of the planet due to their presence in:

• major bodies of water like the Great Lakes;
• drinking water supplies;
• agricultural lands (laced with PFAS-contaminated industrial sewage sludge);
• livestock;
• food (that has come into contact with PFAS-tainted packaging materials);
• everyday consumer products including children’s toys; and
• ourselves.

We’re awash in thousands of PFAS-class chemicals and the prospect of getting free of them anytime soon seems way too distant in the future for our own good.
When Shakespeare decried “the law’s delay” he could have been describing for an audience four centuries later, the snail’s pace at which the government has tentatively, timidly, and wholly inadequately, sought to rein in the chemical industry proliferation of PFAS.
The flip side of “the law’s delay” is that the “law waits to be informed”- usually by science. Well, the law has been informed and we may be witnessing the first stirrings of widespread scientific calls for action on this troublesome chemical.
In an early September 2024, a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, organized by a University of Toronto earth sciences professor, Dr. Miriam L. Diamond, 60 Canadian scientists and medical doctors (as well as some of their colleagues from across North and South America and Europe), called upon Canada to accelerate measures to assess and control PFAS chemicals.
The letter recounted what PFAS chemicals are used for (making products resist water, stains, and heat), where they end up (everywhere), and what their effects are (increased risk of various cancers and other medical disorders, such as decreased fertility in women, and immune system dysfunction).
It also identified existing prohibitions under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), the country’s national toxics law, on just three categories of PFAS chemicals (PFOS, PFOA, and long-chain PFCAs), but with key exceptions that allow their continued use, for example, in firefighting, which has by itself resulted in water contamination problems across the country.
The scientists and doctors further noted the status of government reform initiatives including preliminary scientific assessments that have recognized that the PFAS class of chemicals meets the requirements for toxicity under CEPA, and should be addressed as a class, not one chemical at a time, for regulatory purposes since there are thousands of them in Canadian commerce.
The letter pointed to the need for better and faster government actions and expressed concern about the failure of Canada to:

• Issue PFAS data collection notices to industry until recently, which will have the effect of delaying regulatory action for upwards of a year;
• Remove exemptions from prohibitions of the few PFAS chemicals already subject to some (but not enough) controls;
• Propose any PFAS chemicals as eligible for designation under the part of CEPA that would make them subject to prohibition from commerce;
• Identify a timeframe for imposing restrictions on non-essential uses of PFAS chemicals; and
• Establish a deadline for assessment of fluoropolymers – used to create non-stick surfaces – to determine if they should be included in the class of PFAS chemicals eligible for control under CEPA.

All these failures add up to further significant delay since the government first announced an intention to address the PFAS issue in 2021 – given current circumstances, Canadians will be lucky to see material improvement in control of PFAS chemicals by 2030, if then.
Many of the failures identified in the scientists’ letter to the Prime Minister resonate with problems CELA and other groups have had with the government’s handling of the PFAS question. From a legal standpoint, perhaps the most concerning is the government’s proposal to add PFAS chemicals only to the part of CEPA where they are not subject to prohibition from commerce. This is a counter-intuitive approach to “forever chemicals” when the idea should be, as much as possible, to end their presence in commerce and the environment, not perpetuate it through regulation.
For this and various other issues surrounding the PFAS file, the letter to the Prime Minister also had a good final suggestion – that there be parliamentary scrutiny of the PFAS question. There has not been sustained Parliamentary examination of a PFAS chemical since 2008, when virtual elimination measures for PFOS (one type of PFAS) were considered. Since then, instead of virtually eliminating dangerous chemicals, such as those in the entire PFAS family, the only thing that has been eliminated is the government’s authority to subject dangerous chemicals to virtual elimination, courtesy of 2023 amendments to CEPA.
Nonetheless, Canada’s policy must not go sideways on this issue. Sunlight is needed on the problem posed by forever chemicals. Then they need to be sunset.https://cela.ca/blog-time-to-sunset-forever-chemicals/

25. What Happens to your Body When You’re in Love – and When you’re Heartbroken
Received from the National Geographic, Nov 13, 2024 – Daryl Austin
Regardless of whether romance is on the menu for you this Valentine’s Day, your brain is always trying to reward your investment in social interaction or motivate you to bond with others when human connection is in short supply.
In platonic or romantic love, there’s no getting around the body’s need for human-to-human interaction.
“Love is a biological necessity that is as vital to a person’s wellbeing as fresh water, food, and exercise,” says Stephanie Cacioppo, a neuroscientist at the University of Oregon and the author of the book Wired for Love: A Neuroscientist’s Journey Through Romance, Loss, and the Essence of Human Connection. 
While the heart usually gets the credit, most of the benefits associated with love originate in the brain which is evolutionarily programmed to produce and release hormones when we experience attraction, affection, and attachment.
“Because love is so important to our health, wellbeing, and reproduction, it could not be left to learning,” says Sue Carter, emeritus director of The Kinsey Institute in Indiana and a renowned biologist who specializes in social bonding.
Understanding how signals are received and transmitted by the brain, plus what happens when these signals are in short supply can be helpful when navigating the worlds of friendship, love, heartbreak, and loss.
The part hormones play
The mind and body use a vast network of neurotransmitters and molecular chemical messengers to coordinate different functions and influence our emotions. These chemical messengers, called hormones, are part of the body’s endocrine system. The endocrine are linked together though important structures in the brain that include the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, the amygdala, the thalamus, the basal ganglia, and the cingulate gyrus.
Collectively, these structures make up the limbic system—one of the oldest parts of the brain in evolutionary terms. This is where memories are stored and smells are processed, and it’s the primary brain region involved in attraction and affection.
It allows various hormones “to reinforce our desire to introduce ourselves after a simple glance, reduce our fears of being vulnerable when we first meet a new partner … and feel as if we are soul mates with someone over time,” says Cynthia Kubu, a neuropsychologist at the Center for Neurological Restoration at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
The seven love hormones
When it comes to the emotions we associate with love, seven hormones play especially important roles. These chemicals include the following:
1) Oxytocin is referred to as the “love hormone” because it helps form social connections, increases trust, and deepens feelings of attraction. It’s released when two people engage in conversation, touch, play together, or participate in other forms of meaningful interaction.
“Oxytocin increases our feelings of bonding, attachment and commitment to someone,” says Theresa Larkin, an associate professor in medical sciences for the Graduate School of Medicine at University of Wollongong in Australia.
Oxytocin has been shown to sometimes negatively influence recollections of loved ones, however, illustrating that this hormone also has a dark side.
2) Vasopressin stirs feelings of excitement associated with loving another person. It’s stimulated by some of the same behaviors that release oxytocin, but studies show it’s also released when a threat is present, causing us to feel more protective of those we care about. In this capacity, research demonstrates this chemical can also be responsible for feelings of possession or jealousy—emotions that can be tempered by the release of oxytocin.
“Oxytocin and vasopressin do a sort of dynamic dance that helps to explain the benefits and costs associated with various aspects of love,” explains Carter.
3) Dopamine is among the body’s most studied feel-good reward hormones. It’s activated by things that make you feel good—food, exercise or drugs. In couples, a flood of dopamine often accompanies kissing or having sex.
“When dopamine is released, it activates the reward pathways that cause the feeling of a love ‘high’ and increase our desire and motivation to be with our love interest,” says Larkin. This response is strong enough that it has been likened to the euphoria of using a drug as strong as cocaine.
4 and 5) Testosterone and estrogen, also known as our “sex hormones,” play the important roles of causing couples to want to reproduce and are responsible for “our basic human desire to have sex,” says Larkin. She says these are also the hormones most often affiliated with infatuation or lust. Another way of looking at it is that these hormones motivate one to have sex, while dopamine rewards the action.
6) Noradrenaline produces physiological responses when meeting a new person or falling in love. These may include a racing heart, increased energy, or sweaty palms. This hormone is also associated with memory storage, which is why many couples can recall their early days of dating so vividly.
7) Serotonin is one of the few chemicals that’s been shown to decrease during some stages of attraction. These lower levels are similar to those of individuals living with obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. Sandra Langeslag, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has published research on this and says it shows how “people who are in love and patients with OCD resemble each other in the sense that they both have obsessions.”
Though different activities can cause the release of any of these chemicals, hormones aren’t always triggered in isolation and many things can cause more than one chemical to be produced at the same time. Dopamine and serotonin, for instance, both contribute to obsessive thoughts.
“Love is an exceedingly complex multi-sensorial phenomenon that involves all our senses and affects the brain in many profound and mysterious ways,” says Jacquie Olds, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
The health benefits of love 
Regardless of why or when love-related hormones are released, each chemical is associated with different mental and physical health benefits.
“When the love network is turned on, it activates the brain’s reward centers, releasing a cascade of hormones, neurochemicals, and natural opioids, that make us feel joy and also help our body heal and our mind deal with pain,” says Cacioppo.

26. Excellent piece on the Accumulation of Trauma
Received from The Line – “Cursing the Sun in Winter” Jen Gerson, Nov 27, 2024
Almost a decade ago, I covered the kidnapping of a child in B.C. It was a spectacular story; the child was taken from his own bed in the middle of the night, the parents offered tearful pleas to national media, and the little boy was returned, miraculously, unharmed. Through it all, I remained professional — which is often another way of saying “emotionally detached” — from the event I was writing about. A few years later, something odd happened. I was assigned to cover another kidnapping. A father had left his truck running in the dead of winter with a baby in the back while he ran into the house for a moment. Some kids took the truck for a joyride without realizing they had found themselves unwitting kidnappers. The child was recovered unharmed after a few hours. This was a much less-scary story. And, yet, for some reason, I burst into tears while I was trying to file. 
I was totally baffled by my own reaction. I could not understand why the major kidnapping case had been a day at the job, while the minor one broke me. I later brought it up to a long-time photo editor. He shrugged and said: “Trauma accumulates.” 
This is true. Trauma accumulates, and there is a lot of it out there these days, and I suspect there’s going to be a lot more to come.
And not all of us are wired to cope with this. If there’s anyone else out there who responds to emotion by over-intellectualizing, you’ll understand the problem here. It’s isolating to live your life from the left brain looking out. It’s lonely. And part of what it means to be a member of a tribe or a society is to feel what other people are feeling. To connect with them on more than just an abstract and intellectual level. It’s no surprise that those of us who struggle with a degree of emotional indifference have a tendency to seek out the extremes of human experience to re-forge that connection. And our society of delights offers no shortage of places to find those highs: pornography of all kinds, war, drugs, radical politics, and haunted mansions. Pick your poison.
“Just be warned,” the rabbit said to Alice. “The further down you go, the more exposed you will be to the horror that sent you there in the first place.” 
Sooner or later, we all wind up right back at what put us there in the first place. Sooner or later, everybody breaks. Trauma accumulates.
So here it is. Here is my grand, entirely original observation. We’ll start with the dark … but bear with me because I’ll make the round back to light again presently.
Hobbes had it right. Humans are bad. We’re barely removed from chimpanzees, primates perfectly capable of organized tribal warfare, and utterly gleeful at the prospect of clubbing each other to death. Nature is a horror show, and we’re all just as much a part of nature as all the rest. 
Civilization is a reprieve that has fooled us about ourselves. The institutions that we’ve created as bulwarks against our own nature have been so successful that they’ve given us a false understanding of what we are. Dismantle our institutions, or laws, and our norms, and watch how long it takes to reduce us all to a state of constant cruelty, avarice, and endless tribal war. In the beginning, there was the darkness, as the Bible put it, and this is true both morally and literally. Darkness is the baseline. It’s the place from which we began. 
But acceptance of that realization demands another — any deviation from the baseline is something … new. And remarkable. Sometimes we are more than mean clubby monkeys. Sometimes we transcend our tribal instincts and our bloodlust. Sometimes we are capable of organization and altruism for other monkeys, even beyond our own blood. We are capable of sacrificing our own individual interests for a common cause and a greater good. Our history shows us this. We do sometimes rise above.
There was never any guarantee of that, by the way. Most animals do not evolve past the basics of survival. We might have stayed monkeys forever staring at the moon instead of touching it. We probably would have been happier, more at peace with ourselves and the universe, wandering through tropical forests eating seedy bananas and bashing each other over the head for fun. There was no particularly good reason for us to become human.
Yet, we did. The human story is one of increasing complexity unfolding over time. Life, awful life, is the only antidote to entropy. Human lives, our civilizations, our institutions, our morality, our capabilities have all advanced. Uniquely. Bizarrely. It’s as if we’re evolving in tandem with this grand, organizing, anti-entropic principle over the span of eons. We change, and the principle changes us. 
Sure, there are setbacks. There are outbreaks of barbarity and viciousness and cruelty and mass murder, tragedy and atrocity. Civilizations collapse. Our libraries burn. Knowledge is lost. Everyone dies.
Traumas accumulate.
Yet, we, as a people, come back. Again and again — and always better and stronger and more resilient than what came before. Against the odds and even against our nature, our progress accumulates, too. We envision better versions of ourselves and strive to move toward those ideals. That we are even capable of this is, in and of itself, a miracle. If we can’t acknowledge our own evolution as evidence of God, perhaps we can see in it some sign of grace.
All humans are confined to our own limited perspective, trapped by the time in which we exist. It’s impossible for any of us to see where we really stand, and in which direction we’re moving. We can only describe the sky as far as we can see it at the moment we look at it.
I’m not optimistic by nature and, like most people, I tend to curse the sun in winter. I forget that it’s the sun. I forget that, once, winter was all we knew. 

27.  Dalhousie Researchers Design Low-Cost Device to Help Fight Water Scarcity
Received from CBC.ca Nov 12, 2024 – Giuliana Grillo de Lambarri
Desalination Device Powered by Sunlight Uses Recycle Tires
Matthew Margeson, co-researcher of the project, said the device uses solar power, making it both environmentally friendly and functional in communities with no access to electricity.  
To demonstrate, he left it on the shore of Horseshoe Island Park for a few hours. 
The system uses cotton wicks at the bottom of the device to absorb ocean water and transport it to the dome.
Inside the dome, a fibre coated with powdered titanium carbide made from recycled tires captures sunlight and converts it into heat. The heat evaporates the water, leaving the salt behind.
The condensate on the dome is collected in a sealed bag. 
“It can generate up to about 3.5 litres of water, so enough to sustain an individual,” said Margerson, noting the current model is meant to meet the daily needs for one person. 
In one morning, the device collected enough water to fill a glass.  
Matthew Margeson, co-researcher of the project, said the device can collect enough water for one person per day. (Giuliana Grillo de Lambarri/CBC)
Affordable option
Margeson said all materials needed to create the device cost a total of $5.
“Being able to incorporate a waste material actually helps to reduce that cost,” he said. “So we incorporate waste tire rubbers that we just pick up from the garbage.”
Dasog added that the device desalinates, disinfects and decontaminates the water for less than one cent per litre. 
“If you think about countries that are currently facing water scarcity, they don’t have access to abundant energy or economy,” she said.
“So being able to [desalinate] this in a cheap fashion using a renewable source of energy was very important to us.”
This gadget passed all of its tests in Nova Scotia waters, proving it can float over waves and high tides and work even on cloudy days. 
The next step is to test it in South Asia, where the objective will be to measure its effectiveness in a real community.
Another source of same info: https://rpra.ca/the-hub/dalhousie-research-team-develops-water-purification-device-from-used-tires/#:~:text=Researchers%20at%20Dalhousie%20University%20have,a%20small%20amount%20of%20electricity. 

28. Uses  for Baking Soda
On Facebook, Nov 13, 2024
Baking soda, instead of the synthetic chemicals, is a safer and cheaper way to take care of your garden.
Why Choose Baking Soda?
Natural and Non-Toxic: Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is safe for plants, pets, and the environment, unlike synthetic chemicals.
Cost-Effective: It’s affordable and easily accessible, making it ideal for budget-conscious gardeners.
Versatile Uses: Baking soda serves multiple purposes in the garden, from controlling pests to amending soil pH.
How to Use Baking Soda in Your Garden
1. Control Powdery Mildew:
Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 1 quart of water and a few drops of liquid soap.
Spray affected plants weekly, especially in humid conditions.
2. Manage Fungal Diseases:
Prevent damping-off in seedlings by lightly sprinkling baking soda on the soil surface.
Apply directly to plants with fungal infections like black spot on roses.
3. Natural Pesticide:
Deter aphids and spider mites by spraying plants with a solution of 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and a few drops of liquid soap mixed in 1 quart of water.
Reapply weekly or after rainfall.
4. Boost Tomato Plants:
Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda around tomato plants to help reduce soil acidity and prevent blossom end rot.
5. Weed Control:
Apply baking soda to driveways and walkways to naturally deter weed growth.
6. Soil Amendment:
Use sparingly to raise pH levels in acidic soils, benefiting plants that prefer neutral to alkaline conditions.
Tips for Using Baking Soda Safely and Effectively
Dilute Properly: Always dilute baking soda in water or mix as directed to avoid harming plants.
Test on a Small Area: Before widespread use, test solutions on a small part of the plant to ensure compatibility.
Monitor Effects: Observe plant reactions post-application and adjust usage accordingly.

29. Fun Things to Do in Kingston This December
Received from Tourism Kingston,Nov 14, 2024
news@tourismkingston.com

So that’s it for now.
Cheers,
Mary Farrar, President,
Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour
www.friendsofinnerharbour.com