The following is a selection of the most significant road closures and expected traffic delays in and around the city of Kingston for the week ending Aug. 11, 2023. Full lists of closures and delays provided by the City of Kingston and the MTO can be viewed here and here.
Drivers should expect delays at Bath Road and Queen Mary until Aug. 9 for the installation of new infrastructure crossing Bath Road. Please note that one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction at all times on Bath Road.
The north leg of Curtis Crescent at Portsmouth will be closed each day Aug. 9 to September from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day for storm sewer restoration work.
Dunkirk Avenue will be closed from Fergus to Alfred until Sept. 1 for road reconstruction. Local pedestrian access and traffic will be maintained during this time.
Highway 15 from Main to Hwy 2 will experience delays until Aug 25 for watermain upgrades on Hwy 15.
Drivers on Johnson St from Clergy St to Sydenham St can expect delays on Aug. 8 to Aug. 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to install new utilities services.
Portsmouth Ave from Johnson St to Curtis Cres will experience delays from Aug. 9 to Sept. 9 while work to install new storm sewer services takes place.
Delays are expected along Princess Street from Collins Bay to Bayridge until Oct. 31 for the construction of new sidewalks and traffic signals along Princess Street. Please note that one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction at all times on Princess St.
Drivers can expect a closure along Queen Mary Road from Bath to Notch Hill until Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. for the Utilities Kingston NETS project.
Sydenham Street will be closed from Queen to Princess until Sept. 5 for Downtown Kingston activations.
Taylor Kidd Boulevard from Collins Bay Road to 100 metres West of Collins Creek Bridge will experience a lane closure until Nov. 15 for the Collins Creek Bridge Rehabilitation project. Please note, Taylor Kidd will require the reduction from a two-lane to a single-lane roadway and the lane closures will be controlled with Temporary Traffic Signals for the duration of the project.
University Avenue will be closed from Union to Earl until Dec. 22, 2023, at 7 p.m. for the removal of debris from demolition and concrete deliveries at the Queen’s John Deutsch University Centre project.
Wright Crescent from the south intersection of Palace to 16 Palace will be closed until Oct. 31, 2023, for construction staging for 11 Wright Cres. Please note that access to Wright Cres will be through the north intersection of Wright Cres at Palace Rd.
The Rideau Trail will be closed from Queen Mary to Parkway for crews to replace the sanitary main, install shoring and build a new gravel pathway. The City did not provide an expected completion date for this project.
Waaban Crossing
The intersection of Montreal Street and John Counter Blvd is currently being re-designed to add increased active transportation and transit facilities and improved signal timings to enhance the overall level of service, according to the City of Kingston.
Borehole field investigations are required to support the design phase work to determine appropriate rehabilitation methods that can be used for the construction work. The work will take place on Montreal Street from Briceland St. to Cassidy St. and along John Counter Blvd from Elliott Ave to Ascot Lane:
Proposed boreholes are located in the road’s boulevard space which should limit traffic disruption during the drilling work.
Boreholes that are in the boulevard but are close to the road curb will require traffic barrels to be placed on the road and will cause traffic to lower their speed through these locations. These locations will be drilled during off-peak hours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
With boreholes being in the boulevard space, there may be impacts to sidewalk users during this work. Signage will be placed to inform sidewalk users of the work and drilling crew staff may also escort sidewalk users if needed in the event of close proximity to drilling equipment.
Parking Disruptions
The Chown Memorial Parking Structure Restoration project is underway. The work will take place throughout all levels of the building, and will include efforts such as routine structural maintenance, renewal of waterproofing materials and upgrades to the building’s mechanical/electrical systems. The work is expected to conclude in late December.
The work will be completed in phases to allow the building to remain open to public parking for the duration of the project. Phased work areas will occupy a maximum of 40 per cent of the available parking stalls at a time. Up to 180 spaces will be out of commission. There is parking availability at the Hanson Memorial and Robert Bruce Memorial parking garages in the two adjacent blocks to the east.
Centre 70 – Public EV charging stations at Centre 70 will be unavailable until late October 2023 due to the seasonal relocation of the sleeping cabins to this site. The City apologizes for the temporary inconvenience.
The Robert Bruce Memorial Parking Garage’s second level will be closed for approximately three weeks beginning July 4th to conclude the structural maintenance and renewal of waterproofing materials project started last year.
Play Streets Initiative
The following street will be closed from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays until August 28, 2023:
Thomas Street – Cowdy to Patrick
Please direct questions to Kingston Coalition for Active Transportation (KCAT) at [email protected].
Lower Brewers Swing Bridge – closed until further notice. Temporary bridge closure signs and detour signs have been installed. Parks Canada is continuing with their efforts to replace the bridge.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
