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Province Strengthening Courthouse Security in Northern Ontario
Source: Ontario - Ministry of the Attorney General
Date: 2026-10-23 18:33:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Infrastructure, Justice, Public Safety]The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General has completed a $5.3 million security upgrade at the North Bay courthouse, featuring a single point of entry, a public screening area, baggage scanner, magnetometer, and optical portal as part of a broader $250 million provincial courthouse security initiative launched in 2018. Additional northern Ontario facility upgrades include a $1 million police monitoring and duress system project at the Gore Bay courthouse, a $19.7 million video surveillance and single-entry expansion at the Sudbury courthouse, and an ongoing $4.3 million security enhancement project at the Sault Ste. Marie courthouse scheduled for completion in spring 2027. Under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, court facility security remains the operational responsibility of local police services or the Ontario Provincial Police.
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MPs moving to restrict gambling ads in Canada amid mounting harms
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-10-22 08:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Ontario, Alberta, Public Safety, Governance, Social Services]Federal MPs and Senators are advancing Bill S-211, a national legislative framework sponsored by MP Bardish Chagger and Senator Marty Deacon to restrict widespread sports betting advertisements and gambling promotions across Canada. The legislation follows findings from an analysis conducted by the University of Bristol during the 2026 NHL playoffs that revealed up to three gambling messages per minute on televised broadcasts featuring Canadian teams. The push to curb online gambling marketing comes amid rising rates of gambling addiction and a tripling of gambling-related suicides in Ontario following the province's 2022 expansion of private online casinos and sports betting. The provinces of Ontario and Alberta, along with the Canadian Gaming Association representing 80 industry operators, have opposed the federal bill, arguing it infringes on provincial regulatory authority over gaming frameworks.
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Ontario Strengthening Enforcement Against Illegal Cannabis Retail Operations
Source: Ontario - Ministry of the Attorney General
Date: 2026-10-19 16:13:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Justice, Public Safety, Economy, Governance]The Ontario government announced proposed legislative changes to grant the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) expanded enforcement authorities against illegal cannabis storefronts and online operations, including the power to conduct inspections, seize illegal products and equipment, and issue administrative monetary penalties. The measures aim to address illegal retailers, who currently account for approximately 30 per cent of cannabis sales in the province, while protecting consumers and supporting the roughly 1,800 authorized cannabis retailers operating legally across Ontario.
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Ontario Investing to Combat Auto Theft
Source: Ontario - Ministry of the Solicitor General
Date: 2026-10-16 17:00:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Public Safety, Justice]Through the 2026-27 Preventing Auto Theft Grant Program, the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General is investing an additional $6 million across 22 police services and Ontario Provincial Police detachments to combat and prevent auto theft. This new funding brings the provincial government's cumulative investment in the program to $24 million since 2023. Individual recipient allocations include $300,000 for the Toronto Police Service, Peel Regional Police, York Regional Police, and several municipal forces, alongside tailored amounts for detachments such as the Ontario Provincial Police Essex County Detachment ($200,000) and Grenville County Detachment ($187,500). The grants are designed to support targeted police projects aimed at suppressing vehicle thefts across the province.
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He followed a debunked conspiracy theory to claim a tax refund. So why did the CRA agree to a $40M payout?
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-10-16 08:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Ontario, British Columbia, Taxation, Finance, Public Safety]An investigative report by CBC's the fifth estate revealed that individuals following "sovereign citizen" conspiracy theories have successfully defrauded the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) of millions of dollars in bogus tax refunds due to severe gaps in fraud detection systems. In the summer of 2023, ironworker Jonathon Pearce of Temiskaming Shores, Ontario, filed false tax returns claiming more than $40 million, resulting in the CRA depositing over $10 million into his personal bank account despite internal red flags and a pre-refund phone call where he outlined his anti-tax beliefs. Leaked internal records show nearly $300 million in bogus claims linked to the same tax scheme were identified between May 2023 and January 2024, prompting the CRA to launch criminal investigations and execute search warrants against promoters such as Bernard Yankson and Angela Albright Bowolin in British Columbia.
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Statement by Minister Quinn on Pausing OSAP Payments to Private Postsecondary Institutions and Restoring Integrity to the OSAP System
Source: Ontario - Ministry of Colleges and Universities
Date: 2026-10-06 18:59:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Education, Public Safety, Justice, Governance]The Ontario Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security (MCURES) has paused all Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) payments to private postsecondary institutions following preliminary findings from an independent audit by KPMG that identified serious integrity concerns, including links to immigration services firms and unusually high application concentrations. The government issued notices of non-renewal and suspended OSAP eligibility for six campuses in May 2026, referred the matter to the Ontario Provincial Police, and notified the Auditor General. Furthermore, the province intends to introduce legislation to permanently exclude predominantly online programs at private career colleges from OSAP eligibility and is working with financial institutions to arrange low-interest, third-party loans for affected students.
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Ontario Opens Kingston HART Hub, Replacing Last Remaining Provincial Drug Injection Site
Source: Ontario - Ministry of Health
Date: 2026-10-02 14:00:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Healthcare, Social Services, Public Safety]The Government of Ontario has opened the Kingston Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub at 661 Montreal Street, marking the final deployment of all 29 provincially funded HART Hubs supported by an overall investment of more than $560 million. Lead agency Addiction and Mental Health Services — Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (AMHS-KFLA), alongside partners including Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Peer Support South East Ontario, will operate the facility to provide integrated care, primary health services, and over 50 transitional and supportive housing units. This opening officially replaces Ontario's last remaining provincially funded drug injection site, fulfilling a provincial policy shift prohibiting safer supply, supervised consumption, or needle distribution at HART Hubs while complying with 2024 legislative restrictions banning drug injection sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres.
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Ontario Protecting Drivers by Improving Northern Highway Safety
Source: Ontario - Ministry of Transportation
Date: 2026-10-01 13:30:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Infrastructure, Transportation, Public Safety]The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has awarded a contract to Villeneuve Construction to replace the Hearst Truck Inspection Station on Highway 11 and add 14 kilometres of new passing lanes across Benoit Township, Calder Township, Gill Township, Grenfill Township, and Kendrey Township. The inspection station project includes demolishing the existing structure, replacing the scale, and adding a new pre-engineered building, with completion scheduled for December 2026. This initiative is part of broader commercial vehicle enforcement efforts by the provincial government, which also recently opened a $30-million commercial vehicle inspection facility on Highway 11/17 in Thunder Bay.
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Ontario Expanding Trans-Canada Highway Near Nipigon
Source: Ontario - Ministry of Transportation
Date: 2026-09-28 18:00:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Infrastructure, Transportation, Public Safety, Economy]The Government of Ontario has started construction to widen a 5-kilometre section of Highway 11/17 from McGuire Road to Coughlin Road to two lanes in each direction separated by a grass median, including two new bridges across the Black Sturgeon River. The project is part of a broader provincial initiative to twin more than 107 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway between Thunder Bay and Nipigon as part of Ontario's $31-billion, 10-year highway infrastructure investment. The Government of Canada is contributing up to $26,050,000 for the project through the New Building Canada Fund's Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component. Additionally, the province is implementing 24/7 operations at the $30 million Shuniah truck inspection station on Highway 11/17 to strengthen commercial vehicle enforcement.
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Ontario Delivering Results in Fight Against Auto Theft
Source: Ontario - Ministry of the Solicitor General
Date: 2026-09-28 14:00:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Public Safety, Justice]The Government of Ontario is investing an additional $6 million through the 2026-2027 Preventing Auto Thefts (PAT) Grant Program to support 22 police projects across the province, bringing total funding to $24 million since 2023. This builds on a prior $51 million investment over the past three years supporting initiatives like the PAT Grant Program, the Provincial Auto Theft and Towing Team, and the Major Auto Theft Prosecution Response Team. According to Équité Association's 2025 auto trend report, vehicle thefts in Ontario dropped 36 percent to 19,319 from a peak of 30,134 in 2023, with an additional 8.4 percent decrease reported in the first half of 2026. Peel Regional Police is receiving $300,000 from this latest funding round to strengthen its Commercial Auto Crime Bureau, contributing to a regional reduction of 10 percent in auto thefts between January 1 and June 30, 2026.
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Ontario Developing New Training Requirements for Truck Drivers
Source: Ontario - Ministry of Transportation
Date: 2026-09-21 14:00:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Transportation, Public Safety, Labour]The Ontario Ministry of Transportation, led by Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, is developing a new standardized entry-level truck driver training curriculum exceeding 103 hours to strengthen commercial vehicle safety. The mandatory curriculum will cover subjects including fatigue management, northern driving, human trafficking awareness, and air brake training. Additionally, Ontario is implementing a mandatory six-month waiting period effective January 1, 2027, for Class G or higher licence holders attempting a Class A road test, alongside heightened enforcement measures on Highway 11/17 and stricter work eligibility documentation rules for commercial drivers.
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Ontario Safer and Vital Communities Grant
Source: Ontario - Ministry of the Solicitor General
Date: 2026-08-25 17:00:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Public Safety, Justice, Social Services]The Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General is investing more than $1.7 million through the Safer and Vital Communities Grant over a two-year period to help 18 community-based, not-for-profit organizations protect communities from hate and violence. The funding recipients include Beth Ezekiel Synagogue ($92,806), The Regional Diversity Roundtable ($98,975), Malton Women Council ($75,807), Victim Services Toronto ($101,750), Lanark County Community Justice Program ($85,815), Building Multicultural Communities ($95,113), Reena Inc. ($101,750), STEPS Public Art ($101,230), Victim Services of Waterloo Region ($101,750), New Canadians Centre Peterborough ($100,936), Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto ($96,668), Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration ($100,733), Canadian Mental Health Association - North Bay ($101,750), Community Justice Initiatives of Waterloo Region ($97,754), Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre ($96,525), Family Service Kent ($101,750), Camp Northland ($60,230), and the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Greater Toronto ($97,850). These grants are specifically targeted toward preventing hate-motivated crimes across the province.
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