A director at a Hamilton non-profit started a fundraiser on Friday for a charity that supports Indigenous women and families, as a response to the Freedom Convoy that has heavy coverage over several news cycles. Robyn Knickle, the director of development at the Neighbour 2 Neighbour Centre in Hammilton, wrote in a social media post that seeing the tally for the trucker convoy climb past $6 million (much of which has originated from outside of Canada), caused her to wonder why there was no similar groundswell of support for Indigenous communities. Within six hours, the GoFundMe campaign she created to support the charitable foundation linked to the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) had raised $700, toward a modest goal of $5,000.
Barrie boy turns foul experience at Blue Jays game into a positive
To say the Hillcrest Public School third-grader was excited to go to the Oct. 1 home game with his dad would be an bit of an understatement, but that joy quickly turned to sadness and frustration after the pair was forced to leave the game following a complaint they made about the amount of water the youngster received from one of the concession stands. Father and son used to regularly attend games, but this was their first time back to Rogers Centre since prior to the pandemic. “I said to him, ‘Here’s $15 to spend at the game’ and he could spend it however he liked. He wanted to get popcorn and a pop, so we went to the concession,” father Bob Cole tells BarrieToday. “He said he was still thirsty because pop doesn’t really quench your thirst and asked if he could get some water. I told him he wouldn’t have to worry about (not having enough money) because water is free.” Bob says when they asked for a cup filled with water, they didn’t provide much more than four ounces in the large cup, adding he spoke to a manager at the stadium and was told to “take it or leave it” and that "because they sell water on site, they can’t be giving it away for free.”