London Free Press

London homeless agencies rip Queen’s Park encampment, drug use crackdown

7 min read

Ontario’s promised crackdown on encampments and public drug use doesn’t solve underlying problems, and serves to criminalize homelessness, London social-agency leaders say. Premier Doug Ford has announced $25.5-million in new funding to open up and expand shelter capacity for people living in encampments across the province, along with $50 million to fund “ready to build” […]

Great Lakes Now

PFAS Roundup: Biden administration updates chemical regulations for PFAS, while Trump allies already voice plans to roll them back

3 min read

PFAS Roundup: Biden administration updates chemical regulations for PFAS, while Trump allies already voice plans to roll them back

On Wednesday, December 5, the Biden administration updated the New Chemicals Regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to reporting by Rachel Frazin of The Hill, this aims to prevent a family of chemicals (or chemical cousins) known as PFAS from being approved through Low Volume Exemptions, “abridged reviews given to chemicals that will only be produced in small quantities.” 

Meanwhile, according to recent reporting from The Guardian, the incoming chair of the Senate environmental committee said in a hearing last week that she would target portions of new PFAS regulations.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

London Free Press

Donors fund added emergency beds at Children’s Hospital: ‘So grateful’

2 min read

More sick kids will get treatment faster as child emergency services are being expanded at London Health Sciences Centre. The hospital is adding eight beds and two treatment rooms to its Children’s Hospital emergency department, expanding emergency care to 30 beds from 20, hospital officials announced on Wednesday. The expansion, which took place in September, […]

London Free Press

Fentanyl dealer who dodged manslaughter charge gets house arrest

8 min read

The smudging ceremony in the courtroom before Craig French was sentenced for fentanyl trafficking aimed to honour ancestors and cleanse bodies and minds. The ceremony is rarely seen in the Superior Court of Justice. Before it began, there was an explanation how the Indigenous ceremony was considered to be “sacred medicine and enlightenment” for all […]

London Free Press

Funding ‘challenges’ force Craigwood Youth Services to close

5 min read

A London-based agency that has provided care for troubled adolescents and their families in the London region for 70 years is closing, it announced Monday. Craigwood Youth Services cited “significant funding challenges” and changes in how youth services are delivered in the province as factors in its decision. “This has been an incredibly difficult decision,” […]

London Free Press

Man gets 20 months in jail for violent home invasion amid drug-fuelled spiral

5 min read

A Sarnia judge said drugs like crystal meth do terrible things, even to healthy people with no prior mental health issues. But when people like John Keohan, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia about a decade ago, use them? “It is like a spark to gasoline,” Justice Mark Poland said. “I couldn’t agree more, your honour,” […]