News
In local news, In local news, Prince Edward County is preparing some changes to their County Docs Physician Recruitment Plan. Updates to the plan were discussed by the county’s Committee of the Whole during Thursday’s meeting. One of the updates is adding Northumberland County to a memorandum of understanding, including other area municipalities where the recruitment program will not try to recruit doctors practising in those other local communities. Other changes include extending the municipality’s funding obligations for the program until 2029, and establishing a Physician Recruitment and Retention Reserve Fund.
Also at yesterday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, councillors reviewed details on the upcoming climate action plan, with a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the community against the ongoing impacts of climate change. The climate action plan is broken down into several areas of focus, with climate action being integrated into municipal projects and operations where possible in order to make operations more sustainable.
Both plans were approved by the committee, and forwarded on to the next meeting of council for final approval.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
A vehicle stop at the Kingston 401 Highway Onroute has led to three arrests and multiple charges. On Thursday, July 23, 2026, just before 1:00 a.m. members of L&A County detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were advised by Peel Regional Police that they were tracking the phone of a missing youth from Quebec. Police located the vehicle in the parking lot of the 401 Highway Kingston Onroute.
Following an investigation, police determined that two of the vehicle passengers were victims of human trafficking. Police located just under 500 grams of suspected cocaine, multiple weapons, and cash. Two Quebec adults and one youth have been charged with drug and human trafficking offences along with weapon and parole violations.
GORDIE HOWE BRIDGE
After 25 years of planning, seven years of construction and months of delays, the first trucks are finally set to roll over the Gordie Howe bridge on Monday, nearly a month after tit was ready to open. Due to tensions between the two countries, a Canada-only ribbon cutting ceremony was held this morning at 11:30, attended by Premier Doug Ford, local and federal representatives, but not Prime Minister Carney.
The existing Blue Water Bridge, Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel have supported massive amounts of trade for decades, but have led to congestion. With three lanes of capacity going in each direction, the Gordie Howe is expected to speed things up significantly. The new bridge is expected to take almost half of the commercial traffic that passes through the Windsor-Detroit corridor, according to a January filing from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security establishing the route as an official port of entry.
Details about the expense and revenue sharing for the new bridge are still not clear. According to the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority, the deal is described as a “proposed agreement in principle” that runs parallel to the original Canada-Michigan Crossing Agreement signed in 2012. That initial deal is not being amended or modified by the new agreement. The deal also states that Canada will share 50 per cent of net bridge and crossing-related revenues with the U.S. for the first 15 years.
Premier Ford confirmed that the new proposal was essential in getting the bridge opened.
And finally, A big announcement is expected at Monday’s meeting of Belleville Council about a large retail development along Bell Blvd.
Mayor Neil Ellis would not say who the main tenant would be but that he plans to offer more details at the upcoming council meeting. Rumours have been circulating for some time that Costco will take over the 150,000 square foot retail space.
Sports
F1
In F1 racing, this is the final weekend before the August break. This time it is the Hungarian Grand Prix. Two practice sessions were held this morning. The final practice and qualifying session run tomorrow morning. The race starts at 9:00 am Sunday.
F1 racing will resume on August 23rd in the Netherlands. Then it is two more races in Italy and Spain before the European segments and they head to Asia
TOUR DE FRANCE
The 113th edition of the Tour de France heads into the final weekend with stages in the Alps before the final day in Paris on Sunday. There are 162 riders remaining with 22 withdrawing from the Tour so far. The penultimate day on Saturday is a particularly brutal stage that starts at an elevation of 713 metres (2340 ft) and has three climbs to over 2000 metres (6500 ft).
Slovenian rider Tadej Pogačar still wears the yellow jersey with a 4 ½ minutes lead. He is excellent in the mountains and is favoured to hold on to the overall classification lead.
Canadian Derek Gee is in 21st spot just over 5 minutes in total time behind the leader.
CFL
In the CFL tonight, the Calgary Stampeders travel to Winnipeg to face the Blue Bombers. Tomorrow night the Toronto Argonauts are in Vancouver to battle the Lions. Then on Sunday the Hamilton Tigers head to Montreal to take on the Eastern Conference leading Alouettes.
