Cold-case Guilty Plea, Buy Ontario Funding Threat & Leiper 1% Levy — Ottawa Wednesday

🏛️ Government & Politics

1. Ontario tells cities to prioritize 'Buy Ontario' or risk funding cuts. Municipal Affairs Minister Rob Flack wrote to heads of council insisting municipalities follow the Municipal Buy Ontario Procurement Directive; the Association of Municipalities of Ontario says over 98% of non-construction municipal procurement was already from Canadian addresses.
2. Unifor urges Ottawa to block possible sale of Stellantis' Brampton plant. Unifor president Lana Payne wrote Industry Minister Mélanie Joly after Stellantis signed an MoU with Roshel; Payne warned a sale would leave more than 2,000 employees without comparable work and noted the union's collective agreement expires Sept. 20 at 11:59 p.m.
3. Ontario government Teams chats are auto-deleted after 30 days, documents show. Policy records obtained via freedom-of-information state Microsoft Teams messages are permanently deleted after 30 calendar days unless saved separately; the article says work to process FOI requests was paused for more than a week in May and coordinated through a Teams group chat.
4. Mayoral candidate Jeff Leiper proposes 1% property-tax levy for infrastructure if elected. Leiper's campaign is pitching a one-per-cent property-tax infrastructure levy as part of his mayoral platform.

🚨 Crime & Public Safety

1. Man pleads guilty in 2003 sexual assault of a 78-year-old senior. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, Barry Cory Ernest pleaded guilty to sexual assault causing bodily harm and robbery for the Good Friday 2003 attack; the victim, protected by a publication ban, died in 2017 at age 92, the Crown said.
2. Charges withdrawn against two men accused in the 2023 Pearson gold heist. Amit Jalota had charges withdrawn in Brampton on Tuesday and Ali Raza had charges dropped the following day; Jalota's lawyer said he had faced three years of fallout and restrictions, including difficulties banking, after his name circulated publicly.
3. Eight charged after nearly $2.8M illicit cannabis seizure on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Police seized about 5,560 cannabis plants valued at $2.78 million and 34 kg of cannabis shake valued at about $34,000 after a Sept. 9 search; eight people aged 41 to 69 face Cannabis Act charges, seven from Scarborough and one from Tyendinaga.

💼 Economy & Business

1. Ontario fines SeatGeek $25,000 under new anti-scalping law. The province issued a $25,000 penalty on Aug. 28, saying SeatGeek allegedly allowed resale above face value and failed to disclose original ticket prices; SeatGeek did not appeal within the two-week window, the government says.
2. A 10-unit micro-shelter village, 'Brent's Place,' is being built in Scarborough. Tiny Tiny Homes' Ryan Donais is leading the project with a plan for 10 transitional units and shared services; Sefonias Catering is leasing its land for the site at $1 per year for three years, COO Sefonias Samuel said.

📰 Also Today

• Canada women play Japan in wheelchair basketball quarterfinal in Ottawa.
• Auston Matthews comments on Maple Leafs' summer changes as camp opens Sept. 16.
• Ontario municipalities weigh moratoriums and bylaws for energy-hungry AI data centres.
• Opponents target other Ford government projects after Niagara ferris wheel cancellation; 11,000 signed petition.
• Canadian wheelchair basketball women win their fifth straight to capture Group A.
• Federal co-working sites will close this month and convert to general office space.
• Police renew appeal two years after the shooting death of a young football player.
• Charges laid after Highway 7 crash that seriously injured two paramedics.
• Study finds rising emergency-care visits for gambling, mostly among men and boys.
• Judge orders Élections Québec to issue voter reminder cards in English and French.
• Road closures in effect as Tour de Gatineau cycles through downtown and Gatineau Park.
• Students packed mayoral debate; incumbent mayor's chair remained empty.