---

COMMENT

---

New bridge agreement in the details

WindsorOntarioNews.com July 14 2026

It’s hard to know what to make of the new deal the federal Carney government has made with the Trump administration to secure a postponed opening of the Gordie Howe bridge. Immediate news reports indicated Canada’s feds will now share 50-50 in toll revenue beginning on day one. This compared to waiting more than 30 years for Canada to recoup its $6.4B construction costs and then share revenue with the State of Michigan. The feds will also give the US veto on certain increases or decreases in tolls, presumably so they are not too out of line with the competing Ambassador Bridge, a major Trump supporter. Yet PM Mark Carney is urging people to look at the small print, emphasizing the new 15-year deal will see the government pay only “net” revenue from the tolls. He said: “But the word ‘net’ does a lot of work…..We get the revenues, the servicing of the cost of the bridge and paying the debt. What’s left over, there’s a split of that for 15 years…..There’s not going to be a lot of ‘net’ to split. It’s a good deal for Canada.” This revenue would then be invested in a stateside economic development fund, which seems a joke if there’s not much money to invest. If all this is the case there isn’t much to worry about, as in Canada didn’t “sell out” though it did cave to Trump’s tearing up the original 2012 financial agreement. And why the Trump admin would agree to a deal which essentially gives it not much more than the original deal is a puzzle. Unless it realized it made a mistake, having one time approved it, to save face and claim – ta da! - victory. Trump called it a “MUCH BETTER DEAL” but seemed to backtrack on his original demand the US own half the bridge (Michigan already does). Let’s assume Carney is right. Then, as the Opposition Conservatives have demanded, open the agreement for all to see. This issue has attracted huge public interest and details are more than welcomed.

---

Michigan's Mister Rogers's comments just add to GHIB's opening confusion

WindsorOntarioNews.com July 2 2026

Wow, thanks Mike Rogers. Rogers, a long time Michigan pol in the state house and Congress – and running in this fall’s midterms for the Senate – says he has the magic touch which will open the Gordie Howe Intl. Bridge. “I’ll get it open” he told The Detroit News. That’s because Michigan’s current two senators are Democrat and “all they do is poke” the man who refuses to open it, one Donald Trump. But Republican Mister Rogers (we’re being sarcastic) “understands what’s at risk.” The “risk” to this addled pol, is Canada’s import of Chinese vehicles. Drawing on legendry hockey player and bridge namesake Gordie Howe’s toughness, “we need to be as tough at stopping Chinese cars coming over that bridge as Gordie Howe was on the ice” he says in a campaign ad. What one has to do with the other is a mystery. And up to now what we thought was the hold up was the Ambassador Bridge lobbying for higher GHIB tolls to level the competitive playing field, or nonsense out of the White House that the US doesn’t have enough control of the bridge proper. As Rogers told the News: “My argument was, let's use the bridge opening as an opportunity to stop Canada from hurting American automobile workers.” Sure, Canada is allowing 49,000 Chinese made vehicles into the country partly as a snub to Trump. That figure will increase to 70,000 over five years. WON disagrees vehemently with this decision since Canada is cozying up to a dictatorial regime that has already undermined Canadian sovereignty and risks it further with supposed “spy” technology inside the vehicles. Plus, the imports could undermine Canadian auto jobs. And further, says Mister Rogers, Michigan just won’t get much revenue from the bridge deal. “One hundred years, someone told me.” The bridge authority has indicated three decades after tolls have paid off Canada’s $6.4B investment (with Michigan’s signed agreement). Rogers’s harebrained comments are about as sound as presidential press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s this week: “The fact that Canada controls what crosses the Gordie Howe..…and owns land on both sides, is unacceptable.” We control what crosses? And – news flash to Karoline - Michigan owns its half.

---

Is the Ambassador Bridge the cause of Gordie Howe bridge opening delay?

WindsorOntarioNews.com June 15 2026

Dragging out the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge continues to be a mystery. Yes, President Donald Trump last year, at the time of his musing about making Canada “the 51st state” amidst an unprecedented trade war between the two countries, said he would block the new bridge’s opening presumably, as reported, because of the unfair bridge financial terms for the US. He wanted to acquire “at least one half” of the bridge and a cut of bridge toll revenues. But the comments came within a wider complaint namely “until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve.” Canadians, and some American officials understandably were shocked because the bridge was entirely financed by Canada, employed US workers and the State of Michigan - which already owns the US half - will share bridge tolls after construction costs have been made up, some 30 years. Meanwhile in the background has been the ownership of the competing Ambassador Bridge, who for years has tried to stymie the new bridge, including through the courts, because it claims the GHIB is unfair competition. And the latest postponement of the bridge “opening” - a ribbon cutting ceremony last Friday – points to this. Ambassador owners are major contributors to the Trump campaign and The Globe and Mail (see WON’s Noted & Filed) reported the delay could be that US officials want a more equitable relationship between the GHIB and the Ambassador such as making tolls competitive and directing certain types of traffic (ie., Nexus) to the Ambassador. Yes, the Trump administration wants to take care of one of its backers. On the other hand, it’s natural for any private business to cry unfair competition when that competition is taxpayer funded not private capital. Equity could be the name of the game here.

---

Carney embraces totalitarian Chinese

WindsorOntarioNews.com May 22 2026

Unelected prime minster Mark Carney sure talks a good game when it comes to standing up the Americans. He got many plaudits, after all, for denouncing "American hegemony" at Davos, a speech that won the hearts and minds of incandescent angry Canadians seething at US President Donald Trump's remarks about Canada becoming the 51st state and imposing trade tariffs. Carney, who just amassed a majority government in part through undemocratic Conservative MP floor-crossings, called on countries like Canada - middle powers - to form a third path. Well, that path so far hasn't led anywhere except into the arms of China, a totalitarian regime that has kidnapped two Canadians and runs illegal "police stations" to surveil Chinese Canadians and even interferes in our elections. And which also spies massively on its citizens and imprisons dissenters including businessman and media magnate Jimmy Lai, and for decades has repressed its Uighur population. Yet Carney makes a deal with the heinous state to import tens of thousands of electric Chinese vehicles. The auto industry and autoworker unions aren't happy because this could displace more Canadian jobs than Trump's tariffs. As well these EVs might be highly suspect with electronics that could spy on naive Canucks. But it appears Liberal supporters absolutely don't mind - better to deal with an almost century-old odious regime than democratic "third path" middle power countries.

---

UM speaker typically shows bias

WindsorOntarioNews.com May 8 2026

A controversy at the University of Michigan is so indicative of how one-sided the debate about Palestine and Israel is these days. The faculty senate chair addressed convocation at Michigan Stadium this week and made a point of praising students who engaged in a pro-Palestinian "encampment" in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. The same took place at U Windsor and countless other universities around the world. The chair, Derek Peterson, put his remarks in the context of the university's "proud tradition of civil disobedience" and the "injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza.” University president Domenico Grasso sharply criticized him, calling the remarks "hurtful and insensitive to many members of our community.” Peterson pleads his words were moderate. In fact, "I didn’t use the word genocide because it was thought by administrators to be unpolitic to use that word, even though I probably should have used the word because it’s an accurate description of what happened.” In fact, it's completely inaccurate. Israel has never sought to wipe out the Palestinian people but Hamas has it in their Charter to do just that to Jews in Israel. Regardless, Peterson is typically one-sided in calling out just Israel, when Hamas murdered 1200 and kidnapped 250 Israelis on Oct. 7. But not a word about that, oh esteemed faculty member, you who are so concerned about "injustice?"

---

Floor-crossings have got to stop

WindsorOntarioNews.com April 24 2026

Mark Carney has got his majority government by hook or by crook, which some might take as a pun. Except, that is, everything is legal. And that’s a problem. To recap, the Carney Liberals finally reached their goal as result of five MPs from opposing parties “crossing the floor” to join the government. The Libs also won three byelections to put them over the top. But they wouldn’t have scored majority status if not for the crossings. Sure, this behaviour has gone on from time immemorial – by all parties – but it seems particularly egregious and a blatant grab for power this time. Ie., Carney has no ethics. The latest to do so was from our own backyard - Sarnia’s Marilyn Gladu (photo) who should be nominated as hypocrite of the year since just months earlier she was railing against this very thing and was one of the Conservative Party’s biggest stalwarts. But typically none of these hypocrites have answered to their constituents who voted at least in part because of the party the MP represented, another which may have been individual character (another pun?). Who knows what the “pay off” was although some, like Gladu, have suggested they just like the direction the Carney government is going in. But it’s got to stop. Legislation should be brought in that would prevent this from taking place again. There are a couple of ways to do this. Voters should get a vote on recalling their MP. And/or a byelection should immediately be held to determine if voters still want to support that individual.

---

Outrage over this absolute discharge

WindsorOntarioNews.com April 8 2026

For pure outrage look no further than a decision by the Ontario Review Board who gave a Syrian refugee an absolute discharge after an outrageous driving incident that killed two men and severely injured a third. The refugee, Mouhamad Al Jalmoud, 20 at the time, may not even have known how to drive. The incident occurred in Hamilton when Al Jalmoud was stopped by police after seeing him driving erratically. He “did not at this time have a valid driver’s licence nor had he ever driven a vehicle in Canada since his arrival in 2018,” the board said. When approached by police he took off, failing to stop at another red light and collided with the other vehicle with three men inside (John William Wignall, 57, left, and Ryan Valentim, 38, were killed, and Hardick Patel severely injured). Then Al Jalmoud “took off on foot leaving the scene" returning later. The board oversees individuals found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible due to their mental state. An earlier criminal trial heard that as a child he “witnessed the horrors of the Syrian civil war, including bombings, airstrikes, killings in the street, mass and arbitrary arrests, and torture" and developed a fear of police and authority. He originally served six months of a more than three year sentence and was released upon filing the appeal. Two psychiatrists testified he suffered PTSD leading to a disassociative state at time of the incident. Another disagreed, saying Al Jalmoud "panicked when he saw the police, knowing he was driving without a licence and possibly without knowing how to drive."

Photos: Hamilton Police

---

Ed minister takes stab at woke boards

WindsorOntarioNews.com March 25 2026

Hurray for Ontario education minister Paul Calandra (photo) in taking it to woke school boards across the province that insist in injecting political ideology - usually of the left wing variety - into graduation exercises. Calandra has sent a memo to boards warning them the events - seminal moments in students' and parents' lives - should be apolitical and “are not an appropriate forum for organizers or administrators to express political views or promote personal or institutional positions.” The minister said if not he would take action - undefined - against the boards. He even used a term they might understand, that exercises should be "inclusive" and respectful. His notice may have been triggered by a memo by the Hamilton-Wentworth board that was over the top in suggesting the kind of rhetoric or atmosphere at a ceremony - i.e., an “antioppressive/antiracist/anticolonial lens”, land acknowledgments “as citizens of Turtle Island,” and asking schools to “consider how commencement events can show our role as treaty partners.” Oh yes, it indicated “not all learners/ guests in attendance may choose to stand” for the national anthem. The usual suspects have criticized Calandra. NDP MPP Chandra Pasma called it a "political stunt." Surely she could come up with something better than that. Even Liberal leader John Fraser said “there are grave challenges in education, but who says what at graduation ceremonies is not one of them.” The unions' opposition is to be expected. The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario called it "overreach" and "willingness to undermine our professional judgment.” Secondary teachers even called it "demoralizing" suggesting it undermines what grad ceremonies are supposed to be about. We applaud Calandra and hope this is the first step on a crackdown on the increasingly rogue nature of school boards, including our own public one, which increasingly have become bodies of left wing ideologues and intolerant of opposing opinions.

---

Dilkens's tolling proposal makes little sense

WindsorOntarioNews.com March 7 2026

It's hard to know what Mayor Drew Dilkens envisions by suggesting a temporary toll on trucks using Huron Church Road. Obviously it's a response to US President Donald Trump's rhetoric about stalling the opening of the almost completed Gordie Howe Intl Bridge until his country is "fully compensated" for the cost. Which of course is ridiculous since Canada paid for it. Trump's remarks came in early February and a month later there is no change in his stance. Yet Canadian politicians affirm the bridge will open as usual. When, who knows? But we've never known the exact date. We can understand Dilkens's frustration with Trump. And, yes, the city pays for upkeep of Huron Church, a six lane thoroughfare more akin to a provincial highway - with 10,000 cross border trucks using it daily. Mind you, trucks now use a much smaller portion since the Herb Gray Parkway opened. There is certainly argument for more provincial and federal compensation. But charging truckers a toll? First, truckers aren't to blame for the US's impasse. They already pay crossing the bridge so this would be double-tolling. Second, how would this work in practice? Would there be toll booths at the end of the Herb Gray ramp leading to Huron Church? Wouldn't that delay motorists as well? Electronic tolling would incur costly technology and truckers may have to buy transponders - ridiculous. The trucking industry would be correct to be offended. Or maybe Dilkens hopes the industry will put pressure on the US government - good luck. Tolling would give the city a black eye with the trucking and freight industries. Truckers may boycott Windsor and divert to Sarnia's Blue Water Bridge, as many already do. The mayor's idea may be a nice gut response but hardly workable in practice.

---

Stellantis finally sees EV light while the Carney gov't doubles down with ChiComm imports

WindsorOntarioNews.com Feb 24 2026

It is quite amazing how the Detroit Three automakers took so long to wake up to the fact consumers simply don't want to buy EVs. Consequently they have lost billions in sales and one would think some executive heads would roll. Admittedly a lot of this was driven by government EV mandates which are being eliminated (US) or eased (Canada). Home town Stellantis is a good example, as per paying nominally $100 to pull out of Windsor's sprawling Next Star Energy battery plant partnership. “We were way off on that,” Stellantis NA presidentTrevor Longley said this month at the Canadian International AutoShow. You think? And while we're on the subject of autos what's with the federal Carney government's revised auto strategy of linking arms with the (Communist) Chinese government and agreeing to import 49K - eventually reaching 70K within five years - of Chinese-made EVs into Canada? We get it. It's part of Carney's "new world order" and "elbows up" approach to the US and Trump tariffs, foolishly we believe, especially when America is still our overwhelming trading partner. Yes, the cars will be cheaper knockoffs. But all things Chinese should be suspect given the history of that country's spying, interference in Canadian elections and so-called Canadian "police stations" to monitor Chinese expats. No wonder these vehicles have been dubbed "spy cars". Canadians shouldn't buy them.

---

April 1: MPs annual pay hike while the little people are hit with two per cent booze tax rise

WindsorOntarioNews.com February 5 2026

Here we go again. April 1 is a very appropriate date because the joke is surely on taxpayers. That's when Canada's federal members of parliament will see their already generous salaries bumped up from $8800 to $17,600. It's based on "the index of the average percentage increase in base-rate wages for a calendar year in Canada resulting from major settlements negotiated in the private sector." Got that? The basic salary for an MP is now $209,800 and if they're lucky enough to be appointed a cabinet minister add on $99,900. Nice work if you can get it. And of course this doesn't include the wide array of perks from a housing allowance in Ottawa to travel and increased pay for certain government jobs - $20,200 if you're a parliamentary secretary and $14,200 if they chair a committee. And there's health and dental benefits. And not least the famed (or infamous) "gold-plated" pensions. After serving six years an MP can collect an average $92,000 per year upon retirement. Compare all this largess to the fact the average Canadian income last year was a comparatively small $67,467. The public unsurprisingly is fed up with all this with as many as 80% in 2024 opposing these salary "adjustments." Meanwhile, also automatically kicking in April Fool's Day is the federal escalator tax on booze - two per cent. So while Canucks may be moaning about the pay their political masters get they might not be able to drown their tears in their suds.

---

Will local politicians speak out against city hall protesting skater's arrest?

WidsorOntarioNews.com Jan 23 2026

Heads should roll in the Windsor Police Service and an investigation should be carried out by the Windsor Police Board (Mayor Drew Dickens just elected as chair) into why a peaceful demonstrator was arrested this week on public property outside city hall. Moreover, we are waiting on local politicians to speak out about the incident. Chances are they will remain mum, typical of a political class that rarely wants to stick its heads out on any matter, even the least bit controversial. What happened is that Windsor resident Spencer Allossery had the audacity to show up at the city's new gleaming ice rink and skate on it - yes, he had skates on - but holding a protest sign. He was protesting the lack of disclosure in the city's recently tabled budget documents. This occurred Jan. 5 so it's a wonder why it's making headlines now. In any case no sooner did the citizen hold up his sign he was ordered to leave. When he refused, Windsor Police arrested him. He was handcuffed - yes handcuffed - and issued a $65 trespassing ticket. Huh? What was he trespassing on? The oval skating rink is owned by the city, which is public property. But maybe the city believed the property isn't really public, like sidewalks, but is part of "Corporation of the City of Windsor" property, apparently different, even though owned publicly. Who knows what was in the city's mind? The city nor police won't comment as the matter could be "before the courts." It's not just Allossery who thinks his rights were violated. So does the Calgary-based Canadian Constitution Foundation. The incident is featured on the front page of its website. Said the Foundation: "Allossery’s protest was clearly protected by section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As Justice Bradley Miller wrote for the Court of Appeal in Bracken v Fort Erie, 'There can be no question that the area in front of a Town Hall is a place where free expression not only has traditionally occurred, but can be expected to occur in a free and democratic society. The literal town square is paradigmatically the place for expression of public dissent.'” The Foundation is assisting Allossery in getting the charge dropped.

---

Hold the line on council salaries just as the city is holding the line on taxes

WindsorOntarioNews.com Jan 6 2026

Expect Windsor City Council to vote themselves a pay raise. The city is reviewing compensation and councillors' workloads. Windsor may be a medium size city but as Mayor Drew Dilkens says the work of a city councillor is "more than a part-time job is you're doing it right." Sure, given the voluminous city reports, council and committee meetings, neighbourhood meets and events and general constituent engagements in person or over the phone. But people who run for municipal office know this or should have known. Councillors now make around $45K with taxable benefits but can make considerably more for sitting on city hall committees and for part-time hours. The mayor makes about $200K plus taxable benefits, the fourth highest in the province, a sum way out of proportion given the city's size and demands. Moreover councillors have had a salary bump since 2019 - an almost $6000 raise. No councillors have outwardly complained about their pay but none likely would reject a major increase either. Of course a major jump, perhaps doubling pay, would be rationalized by administration determining the job in fact is "full time." It would be news if any balked and, say, and donated their money to charity. In Ontario the average city councillor earns from a low of $37,000 to a high of $186K with the median being $80,000. With the city proposing a zero per cent tax increase this year it behooves councillors to hold the line on salaries. Most have other jobs and despite council work being "more than part time" that, folks, is what they signed up for. Consider the true meaning of the term "public service."

---

Make "crossing the floor" illegal

WindsorOntarioNews.com Dec 16 2025

Time for governments to make "crossing the floor" illegal. Of course governments won't do this because it's in their corrupt interests to have members of the Opposition join their parties and therefore improve their power base. The disgusting decision by former Conservative Michael Ma (who?) (photo) of a GTA riding to join Mark Carey's Liberals is just the latest affront to democracy. We saw it earlier with Nova Scotia Tory MP Chris d'Entremont turning his back on voters and joing the other (to them, dark) side. The slithery Carney Liberals are aiming for more Tories to jump ship with only one more turncoat needed to create a majority government and keep the Opposition at bay for four more years. "Crossing the floor" should be outlawed because it betrays voters' trust. If voters in Markham-Unionville or Acadie-Annapolis wanted a Liberal they would have voted that way. Besides making it illegal for MPs to do this, laws should be put in place to prevent politicians at various levels from quitting their elected posts to run for higher office or something else. Such was the case with Windsor city councillors Irek Kusmierczyk and Fabio Costante. The first to successfully run as a Liberal MP, finally defeated in last spring's election. The second to bag a plum job as head of the area's housing corp. An elected politician should stay in office for their full term, or else face a fine or monetary penalty. In the latter two cases, paying for the $100k+ cost of a byelection to replace them.

---

Make Christmas every second year

WindsorOntarioNews.com Dec. 1 2025

With Christmas – sigh – upon us once again, here’s a thought – why not make it every second year? It seems we’ve barely had time to recover from the earlier part of the year – you know, summer and early fall, when all a sudden the sky opens and we are deluged with every manner of Christmas-themed onslaught. Of course we’re talking about the “commercialization” of Christmas. The constant streaming of TV ads, for example, from virtually the end of October – or before Halloween – creates an obnoxious cesspool of feverish consumerism. After a month of it, it seems Christmas is only about buying gifts, gluttony and other material or sensory overload. Of course, all this diminishes the “real meaning” of Christmas. Have you heard any reference to the Christ Child - at all? In fact, it’s almost politically incorrect to do so. Bad enough that there are still references to “Christmas” and not “Holiday” though the whole point of “Holiday” is it’s taking place at the traditional time of “Christmas.” Duh! Yes, we all love the razzle dazzle of the season – if nothing more than for the kids – but the warm-up to Dec. 25 has become so overwhelming that it makes you want to take a break from the whole thing. And even if it wasn’t so media-smothering, there’s still the annual personal frenzy of putting up decorations, mailing cards, hosting parties and buying food and, oh yeah, gifts. How about taking a break and let it come on at a more sensible and relaxed pace – and one that would perhaps make us enjoy it even more - every second year?

---

Pride controversy still doesn't address real issue in the trans athlete debate

WindsorOntarioNews.com Nov 14 2025

It’s no surprise that the head of Windsor Pride Fest resigned with mea culpa gravelling apologies, par for the course in our politically correct landscape, and obviously more so when you’re the leader of one of the most politically correct groups around. What’s startling is that Wendi Nicholson said what she said in a radio interview this week. Nicholson sounded most un-Pride like when she sympathized with non-trans athletes in saying that it’s not right for trans athletes to compete with non-trans, albeit in the “elite divisions.” Not just that but it was her assumption as to why trans people compete in their preferred gender sports, which can have obvious disadvantages due to physiological differences between biological men and women. “Now we get people that come in and go, `Well, I can't make it in this sport, so I'm going to transition and be this.'” And while her apology noted she has “nothing but love for the trans community” – why shouldn’t she? – it sidesteps the issue at the heart of the controversy. As do her critics. Pride Fest itself limited its public commenting to the announcement because of what it said were threatening messages. “We realize that people are angry and we certainly understand why (and) ask that you bear with us as we work toward bettering ourselves and uphold our values of equality, inclusion, and respect.” Okay, but the nub of the issue remains: is it right that biological males, for example, despite transitioning, compete with biological weaker members of the opposite sex? No one seems to want to grapple with that question.

---

Ford's tariff ad a waste of tax dollars

WindsorOntarioNews.com Oct 30 2025

That’s $75 million of your tax dollars, folks. Sure, most Canadians are seething mad at Donald Trump but was the $75M ad buy from the Doug Ford government worth it to, umm, make a point? Doug Ford sure seems to think so with his “never apologize” tough guy stance, saying it was worth every penny and calling it the best ad “that ever ran.” Sure, bud, and you’re sounding a lot like Trump. Ironically, Ford is Canada’s most Trump-like politician. Fighting fire with fire – we don’t get it. Ford also is known for his government’s egregious spending – the Canadian Taxpayers Federation gave the province a D- for spending increases and debt tax after the latest budget, which added $22B to reach $461B. So what's a puny $75M, right? But Ford always wimps out. He talked tough earlier this year – “we can’t just roll over” - threatening to cut off electricity to several Midwest states. He withdrew that threat. And now he ceased running the anti-Trump tariffs ad after Trump complained and threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on Canada. Ford thinks the ad was successful because it got more than a billion eyeball impressions during the first two World Series games. Perusing the US press, it doesn’t seem to have had any effect at all. And what matters is what the Trump administration does not myriad baseball viewers. The thing about Doug Ford though, he “talks” a good game. He has the demeanor of an Ontario everyman, the kind of guy you’d like to sit around in a man’s cave and drink beer with (hence his obsession with beer and alcohol issues). And if rhetoric is what appeals to most people – apparently it does (just look at Carney's failed "Elbows Up") – Ford can spiel all he wants and get away with it.

---

A cost that can drive taxpayers crazy

WindsorOntarioNews.com Sept 29 2025

Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald told council there was “no point” in arguing over the expenditure of $640,000 to create a new nest for chimney swifts, a bird “threatened” and a “species at risk” according to the Ontario government. “It needs to be done and we are going to do what we need to do,” she said. MacDonald no doubt was anticipating backlash to the expenditure and it’s likely most councillors’ eyes snapped wide open when they saw the cost. The town’s decision also got some national news coverage and online comments weren’t terribly favourable. The little cigar-shaped birds, for the uninformed, make their nests inside chimneys and these ones did so inside one that was part of the old Leamington high school, being torn down. According to a provincial fact sheet, “threatened” means the species lives in the wild, is not endangered, but is likely to become so if steps not taken to address potential threats. Apparently building a new nest – where might that be, in a recreated chimney-like structure? – is big bucks. Your tax money at work. But ironically swifts are “the most aerial of birds, flying almost constantly” except when roosting overnight or nesting. Their decline may be because modern chimneys are capped and their prey, flying insects, is also decreasing. MacDonald and council acquiesced to the mandate and signed the money away. It’s expenditures like this that drive a lot of people crazy given other priorities that exist. The birds can also use caves, cliff faces or hollow trees to nest. That $640,000 could have been put to use providing 163,000 meals at about $4/meal, the average cost in a homeless shelter. MacDonald and council could at least have registered a protest or taken a stand but in this case taxpayers weren't that much of a priority.

---

Free speech fine but not on boss' dime

WindsorOntarioNews.com Sept 19 2025

The Jimmy Kimmel controversy is like the Don Cherry one. Remember that? Sportsnet axed the beloved – well, by many people - hockey coach in 2019 because he used the phrase “you people” in decrying those who don’t buy Remembrance Day poppies, a slap presumably at immigrants and other “downtown” types. Yet the very people who are up in arms now about Kimmel losing his job - temporarily? - were pretty silent when Cherry lost his. And vice versa. Kimmel’s comment wasn’t simply an opinion but an erroneous or nonsensical statement: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” How was the assailant “MAGA” since all evidence pointed to a former conservative kid radicalized and turned left wing, according to his family. His bullet casings even had words like “Hey, Fascist! Catch” a slogan expected from someone on the left. But, sure, everyone is entitled to make incorrect statements. The problem for anyone in the public realm, like Cherry or Kimmel - especially if they work for a specific company or brand - is that speech indeed is limited. It’s the reason numerous people are fired or suspended all the time from their workplaces (how about Windsor police Const. Mike Brisco fined for making a $50 donation to the Freedom Convoy?) for vile or racist remarks on social media. Cherry and Kimmel have the right to free speech, just not on their paymasters’ dime. And of course it depends on the kind of speech their paymasters approve of.

---

Why is the Pride movement celebrated more than any other social cause?

WindsorOntarioNews.com August 6 2025

Here we go again. Why is there Pride Fest in August when there is Pride Month in June? It’s a question that bedevils many in our community. For all it matters, celebrating Pride can be done any day, any time of the year. But the question arises over the official support for these events. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens (photo) was among the first announcing the raising of the Pride flag at city hall, calling the Fest “a vibrant celebration of love, diversity, and inclusion.” What many – perhaps most – people question is not celebrating Pride but the overemphasis on it. No other societal group, be they religious, ethnic or racial, have an entire month devoted to them let alone the add-on in August. (In that case why can’t Pride Fest be held in June?) By comparison Emancipation Day events – arguably just as important to celebrate the freedom from slavery of Black people – are given only one day, August 1. For that matter what about International Women's Day? Other ethnic groups may get flag raisings at city hall or brief tidings of support but that’s it. For some reason Pride overrides all other political/social causes. And we see this beyond the actual celebrations throughout the year. First in the massive corporate support such as companies rebranding logos with rainbow colours. (Caesars Windsor is this year’s Fest’s Presenting Sponsor.) Other institutions and ones not obviously political such as the John McGiveney Children’s Centre now celebrate it. And it’s hard to find a town or city without a painted rainbow crosswalk. Again, no other societal group is acknowledged this way. According to Stats Canada one million people are lesbian gay bisexual or other. Meanwhile South Asians make up 2.6 million, Chinese 1.7 million and Blacks 1.5 million. Even Canada’s other founding nation, the French, are barely celebrated. To question this isn’t to denigrate gay people in any way nor ignore the injustice to people over sex and gender issues. But it is to call for a major rethink of society’s priorities.

Photo: Mayor Frew Dilkens facebook page

---

Outrageous that parent banned over challenging Land Acknowledgement

WindsorOntarioNews.com July 23 2025

A Hamilton area parent has been expelled from her school parent advisory council for disagreeing with the Indigenous Land Acknowledgement prior to meetings. Catherine Kronas not only politely refused to go along with it - a kind of guilt acknowledgement - but wanted to register her opposition. That, the school board refused and kicked her off the council. In a post on X/Twitter she said the “imposition of a (LA) during our school council meetings undermines the democratic process and constitutes a form of compelled speech which I believe contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” She notes the board has no policy “mandating its conclusion.” She said the “sentiments implied by the (LA) are political in nature, highly controversial and therefore divisive and inappropriate within a government institution.” This is not so much you're right to say something but being forced to, what’s known as “compelled speech." Lawyer Bruce Pardy said the “issue” is whether a government institution “can dictate the content of people’s opinions and control whether or not they state those opinions.” He says it’s a “reflection of the degree to which institutions have been compromised.” (Virtually all government institutions and many private now have LAs and there has been no consultation prior to adding them.) Moreover, Kronas was elected to this position so she has a democratic mandate. Her banishment also echoes what is happening by school boards to dissident voices – parents and trustees - across the province including, as we well know, at the Greater Essex board. We’ve called for the province to intervene and clean this mess up. This isn’t just censorship it’s outright Stalinism by banning someone whose opinions you don’t agree with. This is not the Canadian way and must stop now.

---

Dilkens, Costante and city hall jobs

WindsorOntarioNews.com July 8 2025

Two recent public hires have raised controversy, one more than others. The hiring of Mayor Drew Dilkens’s wife Jane Deneau, for a project manager for the city’s parks and rec department (salary $96 to $116K) has brought uproar including of course among the mayor's long-time critics. It's understandable why some people may see malfeasance. How, after all, can the spouse of the city’s top official be hired for a city job? It simply must be nepotism, corruption and more evidence of the Dilkens’s “Strong Mayor” powers! This, despite Deneau’s wide experience for the job and the fact she was rejected for two other city jobs; didn’t even get interviews. Critics should be careful. The Ontario Human Rights Code protects marital status, and that's exactly what's at stake here. And that applies to everybody, from the spouse of a day labourer to that of a top politician. Meanwhile former Ward 2 councillor Fabio Costante announced he is jumping from city council to a new job heading the Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation. The job in 2016 (last available date) paid $136,000+. A city councillor is paid a minimum of $52,000. Costante was a lawyer in private practice and it calls into question how much he was earning as a sole practitioner to go for the government job. Regardless, he isn’t fulfilling his council mandate to fill his term. Now the city is faced with calling a byelection. The last one to fill Irek Kusmierczyk’s seat - another who jumped for federal politics - cost $120,000. Maybe that amount can be deducted from Costante's new salary.

---

School board violates elected trustees' freedom of speech

WindsorOntarioNews.com June 19 2025

When it comes to local elected bodies the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) takes the cake for being the most officious, authoritarian, censorious and some might even say, fascistic, organization around. This seems to be par for the course for school boards in many areas, stuffed with self-appointed little dictators who want to ban parent participation in everything from public meetings to informed transgender student identity, the cause de jour. And even their own trustees face punishment if they dare step out of line. According to the Windsor Star this has happened to three trustees this term alone. Their crime? Speaking to the media, the supposed perogative of the board chair. In some bizarre twist they violated the board's "code of conduct." But these, after all, are elected officials, not appointees doing a leader's bidding or rubber stamping decisions. Of course the subject matter of the rebukes is suspicious, having to do with school naming and transgender issues, both which cross into politically correct territory. A code of conduct seems highly subjective. What does “discredit or compromise the integrity of the board,” and “inspire public confidence in the abilities and integrity of the board” mean? Trustees, like other elected officials, should be free to speak their minds, period. If others don't like it they can criticize. But stamping out freedom of speech is one of the first signs of a dictator.

This Form cannot be submitted until the missing fields (labelled below in red) have been filled in
Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
Contact WindsorOntarioNews.com
First Name*
E-Mail Address*
Please complete the challenge that you see below.