News
Santa Claus is coming to town. The Bloomfield Santa Claus parade kicks off the Christmas season tomorrow night while Santa will march through Picton on Sunday afternoon. Be aware that road closures will be in effect during the parades.
The new bulk water filling station opens today. The station is located on Belleville Street beside the new water tower in Wellington.
The filling station is coin operated, with a $1 minimum charge to initiate operation.
Users are reminded that bulk filling stations are not intended for filling small water storage containers.
Bulk water filling stations are also located on Loyalist Parkway in Consecon and on MacSteven Drive in Picton.
From the county we head to Ottawa where third quarter financials were released by Statistics Canada earlier today. The Canadian economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.6 per cent in the third quarter due to a surge in defence spending.
Growth was led by spending on weapons systems which is up by 82 per cent in the third quarter as well as an uptick in crude oil exports.
Business spending was virtually unchanged in the third quarter and household spending declined as fewer people purchased cars.
The data agency revised second quarter GDP figures to a 1.8 per cent decline, and noted that third quarter GDP might be subject to a larger-than-usual revision in February due to missing data from the U.S. government shutdown.
Also in Federal government news…
Federal public servants are being threatened with legal action if they don’t repay money they were overpaid during the error-plagued rollout of the Phoenix pay system nearly a decade ago.
The government has authorized private debt collection companies to pursue repayment from recipients, some of whom left government years ago and were never informed of the overpayments.
According to the Public Service Alliance of Canada some tax refunds, tax credits and federal benefits are being withheld and interest is being added to balances. The union is calling on the government to stop pursuing overpayments that fall outside a six-year limitation period.
Since launching in 2016, the Phoenix payroll system has caused issues for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, many of whom were overpaid, underpaid or not paid at all.
Costs associated with rolling out the troubled system have since ballooned to nearly $4 billion, while the government is now moving toward an entirely new payroll program.
Prime minister Mark Carney will be looking for a new member to add to his cabinet as Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault has resigned from his position as official languages minister and the minister of Canadian identity and culture. His resignation was prompted by the federal government’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with Alberta on a path forward for a new pipeline to the B.C. coast.
Guilbeault posted a statement on social media that he chose to enter politics to champion the fight against climate change and to prioritize environmental protection. For these reasons, he strongly opposes the pipeline agreement between the federal government and Alberta.
And finally,
For the second time in as many weeks, a shipwreck has been spotted in the great lakes. Strong winds that prompted an Environment Canada alert this week have uncovered a rarely-seen shipwreck.
Matt Vermette was out for a walk Wednesday night when he saw something from afar. It was about 150 metres out from shore, and about 22 metres long.
Historians that Vermette spoke with think it could be one of two possible wrecks: The Demming, or the Overton, both of which were documented in local newspapers dating back to before 1900.
Two weeks ago, a wreck was discovered by a Canadian dive team in lake Ontario offering a rare window into a little-understood era of shipbuilding.
The ship was first seen in 2017 as a large anomaly while a fibre-optic cable survey was being conducted on the bottom of Lake Ontario. The footage caught the attention of Trent University archaeologist James Conolly, who was hoping to study an undisturbed wreck.
Based on archival records, the vessel was initially thought to be the Rapid City which was a two-masted schooner built in 1884 and was used as a stonehooker until it was lost in 1917. Because of its rope rigging, the newfound wreck s believed to be even older than the Rapid City. The ship has not yet been correctly identified.
Experts estimate the number of shipwrecks in the great lakes to be about 6,500 but very few of them are known to be as pristine as this one appears to be.
Sports
In local junior hockey, the Wellington Dukes have one game on tap this weekend. The Dukes will be at home on Sunday night in a cross-conference match-up against the Oakville Blades. The puck drops at the LeHigh Arena at 7:30 pm.
The Picton Pirates have a busy weekend ahead of them with back-to-back away games. On Saturday night the Pirates will be in Port Hope to face the Panthers while on Sunday they will be in Amherstview looking to down the Jets. Both games start at 7:30 PM
Turkey and sports – There are lots of NHL games today as part of the American Thanksgiving celebration. Canadian teams heading south include Ottawa travelling to St Louis and Montreal heading to Las Vegas.
At 5:00 pm, the Toronto Maple Leafs take to the ice in Washington against the Capitals.
Thanksgiving sports day continues with NFL action. The Philadelphia Eagles will host the Chicago Bears at 3:00 this afternoon. Both teams lead their respective divisions with an 8-3 record. Could this match-up be a playoff Preview?
From the NFL we HEAD TO THE MIDDLE EAST FOR F1 COVERAGE
Out on the track, F1 is winding down its season with 2 races remaining. Dust and desert heat close out the season with races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Qatar is the last sprint race this year, making additional points up for grabs in the drivers’ championship. McLaren’s Lando Norris leads fellow teammate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 24 points for top spot. Will Lando be able to fend off his competitors and raise the F1 Driver’s championship trophy? His McLaren team has already won the constructor’s trophy with strong performances by both Papaya drivers all season long.
