Students across Ontario are headed back to the classroom Wednesday after a long break from in-person learning. An Omicron-fulled surge in COVID-19 cases forced students into online learning for what, in some ways, turned into a two-week extension of Christmas break.
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Wednesday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
Progressive Conservative MPP Donna Skelly says it’s no coincidence all four major Hamilton school construction projects approved by her government since taking office are in her riding — but not for reasons some people might assume.
When it comes to third-dose uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine, many of the same problems with access seen throughout the rollout are happening again, with GTA neighbourhoods that have borne the heaviest burden of the pandemic seeing some of the lowest vaccination rates in the province.
Amid the confusion of students returning to school as COVID-19 cases surge, Lisa Petsinis said she’s troubled by a suggestion from her daughter’s school about lunchtime: that kids briefly remove their masks to take a bite to eat and put them back on to chew.
A provincial bureaucrat fired after the alleged theft of $11 million in COVID-19 relief aid has been awarded $150,000 in legal costs by an Ontario court.
Listen here or subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts, including YouTube, where Closed Captioning is available. Stay updated on episodes via our Twitter page. If you would like to support the journalism of the Toronto Star, you can subscribe at thestar.com/subscribingmatters.
An advisory committee’s call for Hamilton public school trustee Becky Buck to resign set off a war of words when presented to her fellow trustees, although the messenger, not the committee, seemed to be the target.
OTTAWA—NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has condemned Quebec’s plan to slap a charge or tax on unvaccinated persons, calling it a threat to basic principle of universal access to health care in Canada.
Ontario is reporting 580 people in ICU due to COVID-19 and 4,183 in hospital overall testing positive for COVID-19, according to its latest report released Tuesday morning.
The Heritage Green Community Trust is donating $2 million toward the construction of a two-pond wetland at upper Stoney Creek’s new Saltfleet Conservation Area, footing all but $20,000 of the bill.
Hamilton Health Sciences staff say closure of its West End Urgent Care Centre, at 690 Main St. W., will last eight weeks or less, to deal with growing numbers of COVID-19 patients, including health-care staff, impacting the wider system.
The collective bargaining impasse between the College Employer Council (CEC) and the union representing faculty and others at Ontario’s 24 community colleges appears headed to the membership.
It should have been a snow day. The blizzard closed two Toronto highways and the city cancelled vaccine clinics in a pandemic. Buses were stranded, streetcars stopped, the premier pretended to work as a tow-truck driver. It was a real storm.