Articles for category: Ontario

December 24, 2025

Kritika

Ottawa Hospitals Overwhelmed as Flu Season Hits Harder, Earlier This Holiday Week

Children under five face second-highest hospitalization rates as flu cases surge to 28% positivity nationwide OTTAWA — With Christmas just two days away, Ottawa hospitals are buckling under an unusually severe flu season that has arrived earlier and struck harder than any post-pandemic year, leaving families scrambling and emergency departments overflowing. The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario is treating more than 200 patients daily in its emergency department, with numbers spiking to 261 on a single day last week. The surge reflects a broader crisis across Ottawa’s hospital network as influenza cases overwhelm medical facilities. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen some deaths

December 24, 2025

Kritika

Why Are Ottawa Recycling Bins Changing Hands This New Year’s Day?

Coffee cups, grocery bags, and toothpaste tubes can finally go in your blue and black bins as Miller Waste takes over collection OTTAWA — Starting New Year’s Day, Ottawa residents will notice a significant change in who picks up their recycling bins, even as the familiar blue and black containers remain on their curbs. Who’s Taking Over and Why? Miller Waste Services will assume responsibility for collecting recyclables from Ottawa households on January 1, replacing city workers who have handled the task for decades. The contractor is working under Circular Materials, a national non-profit organization that will administer the program.

December 23, 2025

Kritika

Postal Truce Reached as Canada Post and Workers’ Union Move Toward New Contract

Tentative accords promise wage increases and labour peace while members prepare to vote in early 2026 Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) announced Monday that they have reached tentative collective agreements, easing fears of labor disruptions at the national postal service after more than two years of strained negotiations. The proposed deals apply to employees in both Urban Postal Operations and the Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers units. CUPW’s national board has endorsed the agreements and is urging members to approve them during ratification votes scheduled for early 2026. Under the terms outlined by Canada Post,