Ontario council braces for potential faceoff after advocates denied deputation, arrested
An Ontario municipality is bracing for a potentially tense council meeting, which a group of advocates calling for governance reform and supporters of a councillor facing a criminal charge are both set to attend.
The City of Niagara Falls will meet for its regular council session on Tuesday, with stepped-up security plans in place for a meeting where councillors will discuss dramatic events in June.
Among the items on the agenda is a report on its June 17 meeting, where three representatives of the Women of Ontario Say No were arrested inside council chambers.
The trio attended the meeting hoping to discuss a reform to provincial law which would put councillors facing criminal charges on paid leave. They were told they could not make their presentation, and instead, they sat in the room with signs reading “Women of Ontario Say No.”
Staff with the local municipality called the police, who told the three advocates they were in danger of trespassing and arrested them. They were later released without charge.
Niagara Falls staff said the group could not make its presentation because they felt it interfered with an ongoing legal matter, although they did not cite exactly what they were referring to. Coun. Mike Strange, a Niagara Falls councillor, was charged with domestic assault by Niagara Regional Police in May, a charge which has not been proven in court.
The events of that June 17 meeting will be front and centre again on Tuesday because a report written by city staff on the incident will be discussed by councillors. Supporters of the advocacy group and of Coun. Strange are also both set to attend.
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Strange said he has asked his friends and supporters to attend the meeting after feeling targeted by the Women of Ontario Say No in June.
A communication seen by Global News suggested Strange had asked members of a local group he is involved with to fill the council chamber to make it difficult for the advocates to find space to sit and to support the councillor.
“I will be making a statement tomorrow during the council meeting and yes, I invited my fellow members of the Falls View Hose Brigade because at the last meeting I felt targeted by the protesters,” Strange wrote in an email to Global News.
“I am innocent of the allegations against me and am confident that it will be proven in court.”
The Women of Ontario Say No are also planning to attend and said they will bring signage with them to city hall. They told Global News, however, they do not plan to hold it up inside the chamber itself, a key point of contention last time around.
The group is pursuing potential legal action against the City of Niagara Falls, demanding they are allowed to make the delegation they originally asked to share with councillors.
“That is really the most critical aspect of what my clients are looking for,” lawyer Susan Toth previously told Global News. “They’re just looking for the right to exercise their democratic process and speak to their elected officials. And it’s a bit baffling why the city is so afraid to let these women speak.”
The chief administrative officer for Niagara Falls said extra security measures would be in place at the meeting, including requiring those attending inside the chambers to agree that protests should not be held inside the room.
“The City of Niagara Falls has a third party security company on site at all times and we also use our bylaw officers for additional security,” CAO Jason Burgess said in an email to Global News.
“We have established additional security protocols for the Council meeting tomorrow night due to a number of media reports and increased risk.”
Burgess previously said that, while the city did not press charges against the advocates in June, its position could change if they are arrested again.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.
The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.
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About 200 jobs will be affected.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.
Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.
The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.
Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.
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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.
They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.
A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.
Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.
The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.
Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.
The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.
McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.
Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”
Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”
Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.
“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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