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1) No chlorobenzene in the Bedrock Aquifer

2) No second source of NDMA

3) There is ongoing hydraulic containment on site

4) There is ongoing hydraulic containment off site

5)  Uniroyal is the only source of chlorobenzene in the aquifers

6) Varnicolor never handled chlorobenzene

7) There are no unacceptable health issues in the downstream Canagagigue Creek

8) DDT and Dioxins are hydrophobic hence none in the Elmira aquifers

9) DNAPLS don't need remediation. Leave them alone.

10) Achieving drinking water standards by 2028 is for certain

11) Honest unrigged, unmanipulated public consultation is beneficial

Late in the day admissions by Lanxess, MECP etc.

1)  A second source of chlorobenzene-tacit- other companies near south end of Uniroyal/Lanxess used chlorobenzene   Also an "excess" 1,900 kg. found in aquifers by Dr. Neil Thompson 

2) Yes there was off site DNAPL near W4 and Howard St. Water Tower-Jesse Wrighte

3) We can't achieve drinking water standards by 2028

4)  O.K. maybe pump & treat (hydraulic containment) on its' own won't restore the aquifers to drinking water standards

Lying to the public is both appropriate and necessary for polluters and their regulators. Based upon their behaviour they clearly believe that shareholder profits trump ethics, morality, decency and health concerns. 

♦

KITCHENER - The Kitchener Panthers are proud to announce the signing of pitcher Cory Lawson.

The Okanagan College alum is the younger brother of Panthers outfielder Trent Lawson.

Cory spent 2024 with the Saskatoon Berries of the Western Canadian Baseball League, where he posted a 7.22 ERA in 15 appearances and 23.2 innings pitched.

Don't let that ERA fool you, that number was inflated by his first three appearances of the year where he allowed 15 runs (12 earned), and his ERA ballooned to 19.06. 

After that, he settled in and was dominant, holding opponents to seven earned runs in his other 12 appearances combined, finishing the year with 20 strikeouts.

He previously played for Kelowna (West Coast League) and the Okotoks Dawgs (WCBL).

"Cory has experience in multiple roles including closing games," said general manager Shanif Hirani. "His versatility in the bullpen will be a valuable add to our staff."

============

CORY LAWSON

• Bats/Pitches: R/R
• Hometown: Calgary, AB
• Birthdate: May 30, 2001
• Pronunciation: Co-REE LAW-sin

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The Regent Park Community Health Centre (“RPCHC”) Board is looking to fill upcoming board and board committee vacancies. Applications will close on Wednesday May 13th and will be considered on a rolling basis before then.

We are currently seeking to fill up to three (3) board vacancies as well as identify potential members to serve on our Board committees (i.e. Finance, Governance, and Quality).

The RPCHC Board is seeking various qualified candidates. Given the existing board complement and existing organizational priorities, we are particularly interested in candidates with some demonstrated history of board governance and/or significant volunteer experience, and expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Financial management with a particular interest in health system experience (accounting designation preferred)
• Performance and quality management in healthcare settings
• Human resources management and diversity, equity, and inclusion expertise
• Communications, public affairs, and government relations
• Fundraising, resource mobilization and partnerships
• Community engagement and development of community hubs

In addition to the above, we are always interested in potential candidates in the Regent Park community (as a resident and/or someone with significant ties to the community). Similarly, we continue to be motivated to find candidates that reflect our diverse communities and lived experiences.

The RPCHC Board will accept applications from candidates who do not have the above experience; however, the above have been identified as priority areas for current recruitment.

Regent Park Community Health Centre was established in 1973. It is a non-profit, community- based organization dedicated to improving the health of Regent Park and Moss Park area residents and the community, by providing high quality, integrated primary health care services, health promotion service and community capacity building. Our priority is to reduce the health inequities experienced by low- income, immigrant & refugee, non-status and marginally housed & homeless populations. We encourage you to visit our website www.regentparkchc.org for more.

Providing comprehensive health and community services that remove barriers and improve lives.

Equitable health outcomes and social justice for the communities we serve.

• Integrity: We commit to being respectful, compassionate and accountable to each other, our clients, community members and partners.
• Community ownership: We build community leadership because our community is strongest when community members identify and advance their priorities.
• Equity: We break down barriers to access, celebrate our diversity, foster inclusive communities, and oppose racism, discrimination and oppression everywhere.
• Excellence: We embrace effective practices, work collaboratively, and create and deliver services that bring the greatest value to our communities.

RPCHC is governed by a Board of Directors elected from our membership. The Board plays a governance role – it is not directly involved in operational decisions and matters, or other decisions that have been delegated to staff. The Board generally meets 8 times per year and has an Annual General Meeting (AGM) where the membership and the community are invited and encouraged to attend. For a list of current board members please see: www.regentparkchc.org/about-us/governance

Directors of the RPCHC Board do not receive any remuneration. This is a volunteer position.

Each Director is elected to hold office for a four-year term and may be eligible for re-election three successive times.

The Board has several committees designed to provide it with advice. The committees are chaired by a member of the Board but may include other volunteers. These committees include:

• Quality Committee – Providing advice and oversight on the quality, safety and equitable access to services to ensure that community needs and regulatory standards are met.
• Governance committee – Providing advice and leadership to help the Board be successful in its job of governing, including recruiting and nominating new Board members.
• Finance committee – Providing advice and oversight on financial matters to ensure the Health Centre has secure funding.
• Executive Committee – comprised of Officers of the Board.

The Board meets generally 8 times per year and has an Annual General Meeting (AGM), typically held in September. Additionally, the Board holds an annual retreat to discuss strategic issues for the upcoming year. Board meetings alternate between in-person and virtual, and Board Committee meetings are held virtually.

Board members can expect to commit to approximately 6 to 8 hours on average per month, with some months being busier than others. Board members are expected to:

• Attend regular meetings of the Board of Directors. Meetings are typically held at 5:30pm on the final Tuesday of the month and are usually up to 2 hours in length. They alternate between in-person and virtual.
• Attend an annual planning retreat;
• Attend the Annual General Meeting, typically held in September in the community; and,
• Participate in at least one Board Committee. Board committees meet four to six times per year (meeting frequency varies by committee). Meetings are typically 1-2 hours in length.

Attend all Board and assigned Committee meetings;

• Take on Board leadership responsibilities as requested and when appropriate;
• Advocate for the RPCHC work and mission in your own network and circle of influence;
• Remain independent and act personally, and not as a representative of any group or organization;
• Identify and declare any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest;
• Comply with all Board policies;
• Be informed of agenda items, read material in advance and contribute knowledgeably to the discussion and decisions of the Board;
• Be informed about RPCHC policies, programs, services, and the needs of the community and RPCHC constituents;
• Effectively apply knowledge, experience and expertise to issues confronting the RPCHC;
• Develop an understanding of Board governance and risk management strategies; and
• Directors are not directly involved in operational decisions and matters, or other decisions that have been properly delegated to staff.

Directors shall take care to ensure that they identify, avoid and take steps to guard against even the appearance of a conflict. A Director or a Board committee member is encouraged to discuss any outside business activity with the Chair of the Board or Board committee that could create a potential conflict. All Directors are asked to sign a conflict-of-interest form and are asked to declare any conflicts at the beginning of all meetings.

Applications and questions may be submitted to the Executive Assistant, Bola Opere, at BolaO@regentparkchc.org by end of day Wednesday May 13th, 2026. Interviews of shortlisted candidates will be conducted in June/July. New Board members will be confirmed at the AGM in September.

Please submit a resume and cover letter containing a statement of interest (of no more than 2-pages), explaining why you are interested in being considered for appointment to the RPCHC Board.

Thank you for your interest in the Regent Park Community Health Centre Board of Directors.

The post Regent Park Community Health Centre appeared first on Capacity Canada.

The Waterloo Region luxury real estate market is evolving—but not in the way most people expect.

Yes, inventory has increased. Yes, the pace feels slightly less aggressive than peak conditions. But this isn’t a slowdown. It’s a shift toward a more balanced, more strategic market—one where outcomes depend heavily on how a property is positioned.

For both buyers and sellers, that distinction matters.

One of the biggest misconceptions right now is that more inventory equals less competition.

That’s not what’s happening.

What we’re seeing instead is a clear divide between homes that are priced and presented correctly—and those that aren’t.

Well-positioned homes are still selling quickly, often within a couple of weeks, and very close to asking price. At the same time, listings that miss the mark on pricing, staging, or marketing are sitting longer and requiring price adjustments.

This creates the illusion of a slower market when in reality, it’s just becoming less forgiving.

The detached luxury segment remains the strongest part of the market.

Homes are selling in an average of just over two weeks, and sale prices are holding steady just above the $1.3M mark. That level of consistency is important—it shows that despite shifts in inventory, buyer confidence hasn’t dropped.

What has changed is buyer behaviour.

Buyers are no longer rushing into decisions out of urgency. They’re taking a more measured approach, comparing options, and waiting for properties that truly meet their expectations.

For sellers, this means the margin for error is smaller. The homes that succeed are the ones that feel move-in ready, well-maintained, and priced in line with current conditions—not aspirational pricing.

Activity in the luxury market isn’t evenly distributed across all price points.

There’s a noticeable concentration of demand in the $2.1M to $2.4M range, where sales are happening at a much faster pace relative to available inventory.

This tells us a few things:

• Move-up buyers are still active and financially confident
• High-income professionals continue to enter or upgrade within the market
• Buyers at this level are decisive when they find the right property

This segment isn’t hesitating—it’s moving.

The attached luxury segment has shifted into more balanced territory, but it’s still performing well.

Homes are selling in roughly a week, often at or very close to full asking price. That kind of speed doesn’t happen in a weak market—it happens when demand is still strong but buyers have more options.

That’s the key difference right now.

Buyers in this segment are more selective, but they’re not inactive. When a property checks the right boxes—layout, condition, location, and price—it moves quickly.

Inventory levels have increased significantly compared to last year, especially in the detached segment.

On paper, that sounds like a shift toward a buyer’s market—but the reality is more nuanced. More inventory has done two things:

1. Given buyers leverage in decision-making

Buyers feel less pressure to rush, which allows them to be more critical.

2. Raised the standard for listings

With more options available, average properties are no longer enough to stand out.

This is why some homes are selling quickly while others are sitting. The difference isn’t the market—it’s the product.

One of the most important takeaways right now is price stability.

Over the past year, luxury home prices in Waterloo Region have remained within a relatively tight range, with no major spikes or drops.

That stability creates a more predictable environment:

• Sellers can price with confidence based on recent comparable sales
• Buyers aren’t dealing with rapidly increasing values
• Negotiations are more grounded in reality, not emotion

It’s a healthier dynamic overall.

While average days on market have decreased, that number doesn’t tell the full story.

Homes that are well-prepared and priced correctly are selling quickly—often within 1–2 weeks. Homes that aren’t are sitting longer than expected.

This widening gap is one of the defining characteristics of the current market. It reinforces the idea that strategy matters more than timing.

This market still offers strong opportunities—but it’s no longer as forgiving as it once was.

Buyers are paying attention to:

• Pricing relative to recent comparable sales
• Overall condition and level of updates
• How the home is presented online
• Whether the property feels worth the price

If any of those elements are off, buyers will move on. They don’t feel pressured to compromise the way they did in tighter inventory conditions.

The sellers seeing the best results right now are the ones who are realistic, strategic, and willing to invest in proper preparation.

Buyers have more breathing room—but not unlimited opportunity.

The best homes are still selling quickly, and often with strong terms. Waiting too long or assuming prices will drop significantly can mean missing out.

At the same time, this is a better environment for due diligence. Buyers can:

• Compare multiple properties
• Take a more measured approach to decision-making
• Avoid overpaying in competitive situations

It’s a more controlled experience—but still competitive where it matters.

What we’re seeing in Waterloo Region right now isn’t a downturn—it’s a normalization.

The market is moving away from urgency-driven decisions and toward more intentional, data-driven ones.

• Sellers need strategy, not just timing
• Buyers need readiness, not hesitation
• Outcomes are tied to positioning, not luck

That’s what defines this phase of the market.

The luxury market in Waterloo Region is still active, still stable, and still competitive—but it’s no longer automatic.

The difference between success and stagnation comes down to how well a property is priced, presented, and marketed.

If you approach this market with the right strategy, the opportunity is still very real.

The post Waterloo Region Luxury Real Estate Market Update – April 2026 appeared first on Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Agent - The Deutschmann Team.

Authors: Michael Bussman, Partner & Rosa Lupo, Partner

In the lead-up to the recently released Ontario Budget 2026, the Ontario Government announced its intention to fully rebate the 13% HST on sales of new detached and semi-detached houses, condominium units, townhouses and rowhouses, purchased as a primary place of residence or for long-term rental.

The new rebate will apply for one year to agreements of purchase and sale entered into with a builder between April 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027. For homes purchased as a primary place of residence, construction must begin on or before December 31, 2028, and reach substantial completion by December 31, 2031. For homes purchased for long-term rental, construction must reach substantial completion by December 31, 2029.

The new rebate is intended to supplement the existing rebates for the federal and provincial components of the HST, which rebate 1.8 of the 5% federal component of the HST (subject to a linear reduction for homes with a purchase price between $350,000 and $450,000), and 6.0 of the 8% provincial component of the HST (subject to a rebate cap of $24,000).

The new rebate will reach a cap of $130,000 for homes with a purchase price of $1 million. In addition, it will be subject to a linear reduction for homes with a purchase price of between $1.5 million and $1.85 million. At a purchase price of $1.85 million, the rebate will be $24,000, which will apply regardless of the price above $1.85 million.

The new rebate was introduced after the Federal and Ontario Government had announced a first-time homebuyer’s rebate[1] for the full 13% HST for homes with a purchase price of less than $1 million. The first-time homebuyer’s rebate is subject to linear reduction for homes with a purchase price of between $1 million and $1.5 million. As such, the newly announced rebate is more generous for homes with a purchase price of between $1 million and $1.85 million.

Of these various rebates, only the Federal Government’s first-time homebuyer rebate for 5.0 of the 5% federal component of the HST has been enacted. It is noteworthy that the first-time homebuyer rebate applies to agreements of purchase and sale entered into as early as March 20, 2025, while the amendments to the federal Excise Tax Act implementing this rebate only reached royal assent close to a year later, on March 12, 2026.

The further amendments for the Ontario first-time homebuyer rebate announced on October 28, 2025, have not, as of the date of this article, been tabled in Parliament.

If the legislative amendments required for the new rebate announced by the Ontario Government are tabled and enacted at a similar pace, builders and homebuyers will be entering into agreements of purchase and sale for much of the coming year without certainty regarding the details of the legislative enactment.

In this interim period, there will be considerable uncertainty for builders and purchasers, in particular at closings occurring before the amending legislation is enacted.

The price is the key term of a contract for a new home. Setting the price for new homes has become very difficult for builders given the current state of the amending legislation. As the legislation for the Federal Government’s first-time homebuyer rebate for 5.0 of the 5% federal component of the HST has been enacted, builders are able to set prices to include this rebate for qualifying first-time home buyers.

However, it is difficult for builders to price new homes so as to include rebates for legislation which has not yet been enacted. If builders set a lower price taking into account the amount of a proposed new rebate, there is a risk the enabling legislation will not have passed by the closing date. If no legislation has passed by a closing date, the new proposed rebate will not be available at the time of closing and, as such, the price payable on closing will need to be increased.

Home buyers will likely be able to apply for the amount of the proposed rebate at a later date. However, it will be difficult for home buyers to fund the amount of the new, but unavailable, rebate on closing.

It is unknown if the announced dates by which substantial completion must occur will be the same in the enabling legislation. Given the normal timeline for new home construction, it may be difficult for builders to meet the deadlines as announced. Construction does not always commence within 24 months of entering an agreement of purchase and sale.

The current announcement for the new rebate contemplates that the agreement of purchase and sale could be entered into March 31, 2027, but construction would need to commence on or before December 31, 2028, in order for the new rebates to apply. Given the time required for municipal approvals, this will be a short period for builders to meet.

In light of the significant monetary savings offered by the new rebate, builders have been inundated with requests from new home buyers to “re-sign” agreements of purchase and sale entered into before April 1, 2026.

Based on the existing legislation for the first-time home buyers, it is likely that the legislation for the new proposed rebate will prohibit any variation, alteration, assignment or termination of an existing agreement of purchase and sale that is done only to qualify for the new proposed rebate. Any such action being taken will be closely scrutinized by the tax authorities and as such should not be entertained by builders.

The new rebate was proposed in order to increase sales of new homes in Ontario. Builders and home buyers alike hope that this is the result. However, until the amending legislation is passed, the specifics regarding how some of these issues will be dealt with remain unknown, leaving builders to manage the uncertainty.

Our Gowling WLG Real Estate team is here to assist builders in sorting through these issues and in developing processes that afford some certainty to builders and new home buyers alike.

Credit: Ontario Expands HST Relief Eligibility For New Home Buyers | Gowling WLG

The post Gowling WLG: Ontario Expands HST Relief for New Home Buyers appeared first on Greater KW Chamber of Commerce.

 I was advised that in civil cases involving men versus women that he tended to side with the women's testimony. Whether accurate or not it was evident in my case in which allegations of defamation were made against myself. Now of course after reading up on libel law it seemed clear that the truth was the best defence against libel or defamation claims. That may be so but what I found was that the truth simply did not hold up against a biased or ignorant judge right from the start. Also keep in mind that the school board were involved as they backed the other party. Perhaps the dishonourable R. Reilly merely was biased in favour of the local power establishment.

I was manipulated by both the Judge and the Plaintiff's attorney out of my right to a jury trial. Without advising myself, an unrepresented defendant, the Judge agreed to a on the surface ridiculous pre-trial Motion stating that I could not attend the Plaintiff's property. I asked the Judge why this was necessary as I had not been alleged to have already done so and furthermore I had absolutely no idea or interest as to where she lived. Regardless he granted the Motion which I was later told then gave the Judge the right to remove my choice of a jury trial in favour of him (Judge) alone. What a scam!

During the trial the dishonourable judge asked me if I would appeal a verdict made against myself. While warning bells were going off  as this felt like a weird question mid trial nevertheless I answered no. I honestly didn't see how losing was possible with the numerous parent witnesses I had ready to give supporting testimony to my case. Turned out that answer likely emboldened a possibly corrupt (stupid?) judge.

Judge Reilly also refused to enter as documentary evidence written reports by the Council of Teachers. Now if I have that name incorrect the group I am referring to were the provincially mandated oversight committee who had made detailed notes of interviews they had done with a number of my witnesses. I had copies of those detailed notes and my multiple witnesses had done an excellent job in detailing odious behaviour by the Plaintiff. Judge Reilly flatly refused to enter them into the record claiming that my witnesses could speak for themselves on the stand as they did. My view was that the notes would help my defence as my witnesses testimony was reaffirmed by their earlier testimony. Then of course when Judge Reilly found against me without any legitimate contradictions or breakdown in testimony by my witnesses he flatly stated that they had all been enthralled by me and actually referred to me as the Pied Piper without a shred of any such evidence before him. He did this with confidence that if I didn't have the money for a defence lawyer at his trial, combined with my suggesting I wouldn't/couldn't appeal his decision ; then he could decide the case not based upon evidence but based upon his biases or worse.

How many other asshats sit as judges in Ontario? In Canada? Could what I view as bias  actually be corruption or maybe simple influence?  Did the dishonourable  judge have somebody important whisper in his ear that I was a *hit disturber causing trouble for the school board? Did they whisper that I was a *hit disturber causing trouble for Uniroyal Chemical in Elmira? Regardless the facts were clear. The Plaintiff had a long history of poor behaviour. Thirty years later the province (and the courts) have both commented and acted upon bad behaviour of the same board. How much damage and disrespect have all parties including the courts suffered because of this gross miscarriage of justice? 

AI You Control: Choose your models. Own your data. Eliminate vendor lock-in.

TypeScript 1.9k Updated Apr 19

“I’m not going to lie, I cry sometimes. I don’t cry in front of my kids, though,” Melissa

Melissa has been looking for work for a year and feels like she’s running out of options.

Melissa is getting support and care during a time of need – thank you!

“I’m running out of money – and my baby bonus won’t pay my rent forever,” said Melissa. “I’m 40 years old, and I’m barely keeping my head above water. I’m afraid I won’t get another job.”

Melissa has worked her entire life and knows all about working hard. She had her first job when she was 14 years old, at a Harvey’s restaurant in Guelph. She enjoyed working there so much that she stayed for 17 years, only leaving the role when she moved to Kitchener.

After the move, Melissa found work again, at a local hotel, and got the chance to take on a supervisory role at another hotel. She struggled with the long hours, however, and had to find something else.

Since then, Melissa has had a variety of roles, but they have all been temporary jobs. Today, she relies on a part-time housekeeping job and government tax rebates to keep going. But what is helping her most of all is the support she receives at Chandler Mowat Community Centre.

“If it wasn’t for the help I get from House of Friendship, I don’t know what I’d do,” said Melissa. “Every week, I go to Chandler Mowat Community Centre for their food program. I get enough groceries to feed my family for a week, and I work hard to make them last.

“It helps a lot for someone like me who is struggling. It’s great to know that I can come here and get enough food to feed my family until I get another job.”

Melissa not only receives food support at Chandler Mowat, but she also volunteers, both at the food distribution program and at “Snack Attack,” a House of Friendship program that makes sure that kids don’t go home hungry after a long day at school.

“I love being able to put a smile on someone’s face, to help them the way House of Friendship is helping me. Sometimes, the people who come in will even catch me dancing. It puts everyone in a good mood,” said Melissa.

Melissa volunteers at Snack Attack every week. Here she is with fellow volunteers Jen and Kate.

“I do this because I know that I’m not the only person in this community who is struggling. You can see it on their faces. The other people who come in here are just like me.”

Right now, Melissa and her two teenage sons are living in a single-bedroom apartment. Melissa has been sleeping in the dining room for eight years, and her boys have to share a room.

“I want to find a larger space for my family, but I can’t until I can get a full-time job. I keep trying, but it’s harder than it used to be to find work.”

Melissa said that she loves the support she gets when she talks with Aline, House of Friendship’s Community Development Worker at Chandler Mowat.

“She’s amazing. I can talk to her about anything. She doesn’t judge anyone, and that helps so much. Everyone loves her, and it doesn’t matter who you are, she’ll love you back.”

Melissa, and families like hers, rely on the support they get every day at our Neighbourhoods programs, found at seven community centres in Kitchener and Waterloo. There, families can connect with Family Outreach Workers, sign up their kids for free after-school homework help, or improve their digital skills, providing them with the skills they need for today’s jobs.

For Melissa, having a place like Chandler Mowat is making all the difference as she works to build a better life for her family. Thank you for your care and commitment to people like Melissa.

The post You are Providing Strength and Hope for Melissa appeared first on House Of Friendship.

You may have heard that Philz Coffee, a San Francisco-based coffeehouse chain, announced plans to create “a more consistent and inclusive experience,” which includes removing Pride flags from their shops.

The backlash was swift, with customers and employees urging Philz to reconsider its decision.

As Evelyn Carter, PhD, noted, Pride flags signal belonging. They say: you’re safe, valued, and welcome here.

And belonging isn’t only signaled through flags. Carter cited research showing that people also notice who is represented, what leaders prioritize, and even the posters on the wall.

Consider how your organization can signal belonging for employees, job candidates, customers, and vendors. For example,

• Photos, art, or messaging in your lobby that reinforce an inclusive culture.
• Website language that clearly states your values of belonging and inclusion.
• Slack emojis with Pride flags, varied skin tones, and diverse family or faith representation.
• Conference rooms named for people, places, or historical milestones meaningful to marginalized or underestimated groups.
• Leaders who consistently speak and act in support of belonging.

What’s one change you will advocate for?

Share this action on Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

A gender gap is emerging in how AI gets adopted and rewarded at work.

New research from Lean In found:

• Recognition gap: Among employees using AI, men are 27% more likely to be praised for it.
• Support gap: Men are 23% more likely than women to be encouraged by their managers to use it.

Left unchecked, gaps like these can compound into lost skills, less visibility, and slower career growth.

One more finding stood out to me: women were 29% more likely to question whether AI is accurate. That kind of critical thinking is an asset to organizations, not a drawback.

If your workplace is investing in AI, pay attention to:

• Who gets invited onto AI projects or task forces.
• Who gets recognized for using AI or lauded for token use.
• Who receives training and encouragement.
• Who is being left out.

Then speak up to help ensure access, support, and opportunity for all.

Sometimes, the difference between “no” and “yes” is how you frame your ask.

In a viral post on LinkedIn, Tiarney Ritchwood, PhD, shared ways to reword National Institute of Health (NIH) proposals to reduce the chance that DEI-related terms get flagged by algorithms. Her broader point: be precise, and focus on outcomes.

For example,

• Instead of “equity,” describe measurable differences in a specific outcome (such as blood pressure).
• Instead of “underserved populations,” describe populations with limited access to a specific resource (such as primary care or healthy food).

This approach can be useful far beyond healthcare. If you’re seeking support for an employee resource group event, training, or conference budget, lead with the business need and the outcome you’re trying to improve.

Common sense? Maybe. But how many of us are doing it for DEI-related needs?

While framing inclusion work around business outcomes can help get buy-in, it shouldn’t be the only reason we act.

In last week’s newsletter, I shared some ways to support neurodistinct people and wrote,

“What’s nice is that these approaches can benefit neurotypical workers, too.”

Subscriber Theo sent in this thoughtful feedback:

“As a disabled person, I find this kind of approach frustrating. Yes, the curb cut effect is real, but we should support accessibility efforts even when they don’t benefit neurotypical or non-disabled people. It makes me feel like it’s not good enough for accessibility to be the right thing to do and to benefit disabled people. And that matters because there are some things that disabled people need that won’t help non-disabled people: like paying for a screen-reader subscription or ASL interpretation.”

Thank you, Theo. I agree. We should design systems and solutions for people with disabilities, even if not everyone will directly benefit.

I genuinely enjoy writing this newsletter and sharing ideas that spark change in workplaces everywhere. And I hear from many of you that this is your favorite newsletter and you look forward to reading it every Friday. You’ve told me:

• I’ve made you notice your assumptions and think more intentionally about how to show up for others.
• I’ve inspired you to take action to create a better workplace for all.
• I’ve guided you through difficult situations and conversations.
• I’ve helped you recruit and retain talent.
• Together, we’re making the world a better place.

And it takes real resources to produce. Between tools like Mailchimp (which just raised its fees) and editorial support, it costs about $8,000 a year to keep the newsletter going. (That does not even account for the many hours I spend researching and writing it every week.)

I’m grateful to those of you who have already supported this work — whether through a financial contribution or by inviting me to speak at your organization or event.

If you’d like to help sustain the newsletter, here are a few ways to do that:

• Bring me in to speak about the Better Allies approach.
• Explore my sponsorship levels with your organization.
• Purchase a bulk order of the Better Allies or Belonging in Healthcare for your team.
• Make a one-time or monthly gift via Buy Me a Coffee.

Your support helps me continue sharing practical, everyday actions to build better workplaces. Thank you for being part of this community. 🙏

Karen Catlin (she/her), Author of the Better Allies® book series
pronounced KAIR-en KAT-lin, click to hear my name

Copyright © 2026 Karen Catlin. All rights reserved.

Being an ally is a journey. Want to join us?

• Follow @BetterAllies on Instagram, Medium, or YouTube. Or follow Karen Catlin on LinkedIn
• This content originally appeared in our newsletter. Subscribe to “5 Ally Actions” to get it delivered to your inbox every Friday
• Read the Better Allies books
• Form a Better Allies book club
• Tell someone about these resources

Together, we can — and will — make a difference with the Better Allies® approach.

Signal Belonging, and Other Actions for Allies was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Excerpt from my paid Substack column, Her Edge. Read the full post here.

Do you remember the first time someone told you you were good enough?

That rush of pride, and then the relief?

Because you’d been working so hard, quietly wondering if it was enough, and that one person saying it out loud made you stand just a little bit taller?

For me, Dr. Shelly Wismath was that person.

My path to software development and cybersecurity was not a straight line. Despite excelling at math, no one pointed me in that direction.

In fact, a school counselor pointed me in the exact opposite direction.

He told 17-year-old me that because I was good at math and I was a girl, I should become a math teacher.

I believed him.

I didn’t even consider engineering or computer science. Those were for the boys in my calculus class. I just accepted the smaller vision someone handed me.

Once at University, I quickly fell in love with Mathematics and realized I was more interested in learning more about it than teaching it to kids.

I stumbled into computer science by accident.

In my third year of university, I walked into my first computer science class nervous and convinced it would be impossible. Then Dr. Jiping Liu started teaching, and I realized computer science felt exactly like the math I already loved — just a different syntax for how my math mind already thought.

Dr. Liu also did something unheard of. He invited me, a female undergraduate student, to be his research student that summer and then actually credited my research in his paper!

For an undergraduate woman in math, that kind of recognition was almost unheard of, and it opened doors I didn’t know existed.

Before finishing my fourth year, I took a detour that changed everything. I spotted a co-op posting from the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), think NSA but in Canada, looking for a mathematician who could code.

As soon as I saw the ad, I thought,

“Hey, that’s me! I’m a mathematician who can code!”

I spent eight months working for the Canadian government. That work introduced me to cryptography in the form of Bluetooth.

Yes, that Bluetooth. My first assignment was to code Bluetooth (in the summer of 2000) from its original academic paper in C++, so that my boss and his peers could evaluate its cryptographic properties.

I found Cryptography to be the perfect intersection of math, computer science, and real-world problems

In the fall of 2001, I went back to school to finish my 4th year of University.

I had learned that the most interesting jobs at the CSE required at least a master’s degree. So if I wanted those jobs, I needed to consider it.

But, even though I had a 3.82/40 GPA, I was a published undergraduate student and had just been one of the first people in the world to code Bluetooth, I didn’t know if I was smart enough to do a master’s degree.

So I asked a male professor what he thought about me going to grad school. He asked about my GPA. When I told him what it was, he said,

“Well, I guess. ”

That was it. I guess.

Then, a few days later, I ran into Dr. Shelly Wismath in the math department hallway. She was one of only two full professors in the math department where I did my undergrad.

She asked where my NSERC application was — a federally funded Canadian scholarship for graduate students. When I told her I wasn’t sure I was good enough for grad school, she asked about my GPA.

When I said 3.82, she didn’t hesitate:

“Of course you’re good enough.”

Those five words changed everything.

I got into my dream school — the University of Waterloo, home to Canada’s leading cryptographers: Alfred Menezes, Doug Stinson, and Scott Vanstone. I was ecstatic.

Three things got me in. My grades. A glowing recommendation from Dr. Wismath. And the fact that I was already a published undergraduate author. That was Dr. Liu’s doing.

So off I went to the University of Waterloo to complete a Master’s degree in Cryptography. I met my husband there. Afterward, I landed my dream job as a Security software developer at BlackBerry, located right beside the university. And that unlocked what would become a pretty incredible 20 years in tech.

My entire career, and honestly my entire life, pivoted on those five words from a woman who saw what I couldn’t yet see in myself.

Dr. Wismath didn’t just inspire me. She gave me permission, support, and a little push.

That’s not mentorship. That’s sponsorship. And sponsorship is the key to leveling up your career.

More than a decade later, it happened again.

In 2015, I was a Senior Development Manager. I had spent years building teams, shipping products, and navigating a career in tech. And in all that time, I had never once had a female boss. I had never seen a woman in tech in a position higher than mine.

Then I went to an event to get grade nine girls interested in tech. The same event that inspired Code Like a Girl. And there I met Kim Tremblay.

She was the VP of Engineering and co-founder of a tiny 35-person startup called Arctic Wolf. I was floored. An actual woman in that role, in a company that was building something real. I walked up to her and asked if she’d have coffee with me. I told her I wanted to do what she did one day.

She said yes. And a month later, she hired me as Director of Engineering.

Three years after that, she promoted me to VP. And when she did, she told that story. The one about the woman who walked up to her at an event and said she wanted to do what she did.

That is what sponsorship does. I didn’t need someone to tell me to lean in. To work harder. I was already doing that. I needed to see one woman standing in front of me. And then I needed her to open a door.

That’s why I started Code Like a Girl. Not just because I wanted more women in tech, but because I kept seeing how much it mattered whether the people around you shrink your world or expand it. Inspiration is nice. Sponsorship is what actually moves people.

I know because it’s moved me. And for the twenty years I spent in corporate tech, I made it my job to pay it forward. I sponsored women deliberately. I said their names in rooms they weren’t in. I told them “of course” when they needed to hear it.

I passed it to my daughter the same way. She just got accepted to her first-choice university to study biochemistry.

It works. But it doesn’t happen by accident.

Her Edge is my monthly paid Substack column on what actually moves women forward in tech. Not the polished Lean In version. What actually worked for the women I know and me.

The rest of this piece — how to give sponsorship and how to find it — is on Substack.

Hit the link below to read on.

Her Edge: Why Doing Everything Right Still isn't Getting You Promoted

Her Edge: Why Doing Everything Right Still isn’t Getting You Promoted was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Refactoring the legacy code of childhood trauma and the silent cost of hyper-vigilance.

It’s a quiet Tuesday night. The refrigerator hums with that low, constant vibration you only notice when everything else is still. Somewhere far away, an ambulance drags its siren across the dark — fading in, fading out.

You’re on the couch, phone in hand, half-reading something you won’t remember tomorrow, when the door opens and your partner walks in.

They don’t say much. Their shoulders dip — just slightly, but enough. No “Hey.” Just the soft, heavier-than-usual thud of their keys hitting the table before the kitchen light flicks on.

I glance up. “Long day?”

“Yeah,” they say, already reaching for a glass. No eye contact. Just that one-word answer, flat, functional.

It should end there.

It doesn’t.

Something shifts.

Not in the room. In me.

The change is almost immediate, but not dramatic — more like a tightening. A subtle internal shift where everything starts to orient toward a single question: what just went wrong?

My brain doesn’t wait for evidence. It starts building a case.

Fragments come first. Tone, timing, the way I said something earlier that might have landed wrong. That joke. That pause.

Was I too much earlier?

Did I sound off?

Did I miss something?

The questions don’t arrive gently. They stack, one on top of the other, until they stop feeling like questions and start feeling like conclusions waiting to be proven.

And underneath all of it — quieter, older — there’s a voice that doesn’t quite sound like me, but has lived in my head long enough to feel familiar.

That’s the ghost.

Not something you see.

Something you run.

I remember a night like that.

They were quiet because of a deadline. That was it. Just work. Just pressure. Just a long day.

But I lay in bed replaying a joke I made three days earlier like it was evidence in a case I had already decided I was guilty in. I even rehearsed how I would apologize for it — rewriting the tone, softening the edges, making it smaller, safer.

A small joke. A forgettable one.

Except in my head, it didn’t stay small. It stretched, warped, attached itself to everything else that felt slightly off, until it became the most logical explanation available.

Not their stress. Not their day.

Me.

By midnight, my body had already escalated the situation. My heart was beating faster than it needed to, and my breathing hovered too high in my chest, like my system had flagged this as something urgent and refused to downgrade it.

My sympathetic nervous system didn’t care about context.

It cared about threat.

And it had already decided where to look.

This didn’t start here.

It never does.

It starts in environments where emotional stability isn’t consistent — where silence carries meaning, and tone matters more than words.

You don’t get taught how to navigate that kind of space.

You learn by watching closely, by adjusting quickly, by noticing what changes the atmosphere and what makes it worse.

I was eight, sitting at the top of the stairs while my parents argued downstairs. I couldn’t make out the words. Just the rhythm of it — sharp, repetitive, like something stuck and grinding.

But there was one sound I remember clearly.

My mother sighing between sentences.

Long. Slow. Like air leaking from a tire that no one was fixing.

That sound meant things were getting worse.

So I went back to my room and started unplugging things.

My lamp. My radio. The small digital clock blinking 8:42.

I remember the faint click each plug made coming out of the socket, one by one, like I was shutting something down piece by piece — as if reducing the load might stabilize the system.

I sat there in the dark thinking:

If I stop using electricity, maybe this will stop.

I was eight years old trying to solve a broken marriage with a power outlet.

It was absurd.

It was desperate.

And it felt completely logical.

Because if I was the variable, then maybe I was also the solution.

That belief didn’t stay in that room.

It followed me — quietly, consistently — into places that looked nothing like where it started.

Years later, everything looks different on the outside.

Different home. Different people. Different life.

But internally, something keeps executing.

I realized, slowly, that I wasn’t just reacting to the present. I was running legacy code — scripts written in a completely different environment, one where scanning, adjusting, and preemptively fixing were necessary for emotional survival.

Now those same scripts run automatically, even when the environment no longer demands it.

A quiet partner becomes a runtime error.

A delayed reply feels like a broken dependency.

A slight shift in tone triggers a full system check that escalates far beyond what the moment actually requires.

And the ghost — because it’s always there — feeds the same instruction it learned years ago:

Find what you did.

So I do.

I replay conversations. I analyze tone. I reconstruct entire interactions, searching for a moment where things might have gone wrong.

Even when nothing actually did.

Here’s how it unfolds.

Something feels off — barely noticeable, but enough to register.

The way they close a cabinet is a little sharper. The way their fingers hit the keyboard carries a slightly different rhythm. It’s subtle, but my body reacts as if it’s meaningful.

That’s all it takes.

The loop begins, not as a clean sequence but as an overlapping cascade of thoughts that build on each other faster than I can interrupt them.

Something is wrong, and if something is wrong, there must be a cause, and if there is a cause, it is probably me, so I need to find it before it gets worse.

I scroll back through messages. I replay my tone. I mentally rewrite sentences I’ve already said, adjusting wording that can no longer be changed.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

Maybe I sounded dismissive.

Maybe I’ve been too much lately.

Eventually, I’m not searching anymore.

I’m circling.

Same thoughts, slightly reworded. Same conclusions, slightly intensified. The same quiet pressure sitting under my ribs, waiting to become something sharper if I don’t resolve it.

And underneath all of it, one belief keeps everything running:

> If I can just find what I did wrong, I can fix this.

But the truth is harder to sit with:

> I wasn’t trying to fix the situation.

I was trying to fix being the problem.

And there is no resolution for that — only repetition.

Even when nothing is actually wrong, my body reacts as if something is.

My chest tightens before my mind catches up. My breathing shifts — slightly shallow, slightly faster — and my attention narrows toward anything that might confirm what I’m already starting to believe.

It feels almost clinical.

A system prioritizing threat over accuracy.

My nervous system doesn’t ask whether something is real.

It asks whether it needs to act.

And for a long time, the answer was always yes.

Because waiting used to mean risk.

So now, even in safe environments, my body moves first — fixing, adjusting, explaining — before anything has actually happened.

There’s a part of this that’s uncomfortable to admit, and it took me a long time to even see it clearly.

Believing everything is my fault also means believing everything is about me.

Someone is quiet → I caused it

Someone pulls away → I did something

Plans change → It must be me

On the surface, this looks like humility — like I’m being self-aware, responsible, careful.

But underneath it, there’s something else.

A quiet form of control.

Because if I am the cause, then I am also the solution.

If I can identify the exact moment I got it wrong, I can correct it. I can adjust myself just enough to prevent it from happening again. I can stabilize the system.

That belief is powerful.

And more importantly, it’s comforting.

Because the alternative is much harder to sit with:

That sometimes things shift for reasons that have nothing to do with me.

That sometimes people are distant because of their own internal worlds.

That sometimes I am not the variable at all.

And if I’m not the variable — then I’m not in control.

Self-blame, in that sense, isn’t just pain.

It’s a strategy.

A way to feel powerful in situations where I actually have very little influence.

And if you grew up as a girl, this wiring often came with an extra layer.

You weren’t just learning to stay safe — you were learning to be agreeable. To read the room. To smooth things over before tension had a chance to escalate.

So the scanning didn’t just become a habit.

It became part of your identity.

Not just something you do.

Something you believe you are.

The first time I tried not to fix it, it didn’t feel empowering.

It felt wrong.

They were quiet.

And I felt it instantly — the pull to say something, anything, just to change the air.

My brain started firing instructions like alarms layered on top of each other.

Say something. Fix this. Don’t let it escalate. Don’t let it turn into something worse.

My body followed.

Heart faster. Hands restless. A low hum of urgency under my skin that made stillness feel unnatural.

But I stayed still.

Not because I felt calm.

Because I was tired.

I let the silence exist without trying to reshape it.

It stretched longer than I liked — long enough for my thoughts to start filling it with imagined meanings, long enough for my body to push back against the decision not to act.

But I didn’t fix it.

And nothing happened.

No explosion. No accusation. No delayed consequence revealing itself.

Just two people in a quiet room.

And slowly — almost imperceptibly — my body began to recalibrate.

The urgency softened. The tightness eased.

Not completely.

But enough to notice something new:

Maybe this wasn’t about me.

You don’t delete code like this.

You refactor it.

You learn where it runs.

You notice the triggers.

You question whether the output still matches the environment you’re in now.

And over time, you begin to override it.

Not perfectly.

Not consistently.

There are days when the loop comes back exactly as it was, when the ghost is loud again, when I catch myself apologizing for something that was never mine in the first place.

There are moments when I know better — and still react the old way.

Refactoring isn’t clean.

It’s repetitive.

It’s frustrating.

It’s catching the same pattern again and again and choosing, sometimes too late, to do something different.

But gradually, something shifts.

The reactions slow down. The gap between trigger and response gets wider.

And in that gap, there’s room to choose.

The silence is still there.

That part doesn’t change.

But my relationship to it does.

For the first time, it doesn’t feel like it’s pointing at me.

It doesn’t feel like evidence waiting to be interpreted.

It just feels like… silence.

My chest doesn’t tighten the same way.

My thoughts don’t rush to explain it.

I don’t immediately adjust myself to make the moment easier.

I just sit there.

Not fixing. Not shrinking. Not scanning.

Just present.

It still feels unfamiliar.

Sometimes uncomfortable.

And sometimes, if I’m being honest, the urge to go back into the loop is still there — quiet, persistent, waiting for the right moment.

But there are also moments now where the quiet doesn’t feel like a warning.

It feels neutral.

And those moments don’t last forever.

But they last long enough to show me something I didn’t believe before:

That not everything is mine to carry.

And that learning to put it down isn’t a single decision.

It’s a practice.

One I’m still in the middle of.

One that, most days, is unfinished.

And somehow —

that feels more real than any clean ending ever could.

The Ghost in the Machine: Why I Blame Myself for Everything was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A new report from RE/MAX Canada is highlighting a long-term shift that could reshape the Canadian housing market over the next decade: a gradual wave of downsizing driven by the country’s aging population.

While the concept itself is not new, the data provides a clearer picture of how and when this transition may unfold—and more importantly, why it may take longer than many expect.

Canada’s population is aging at a steady and significant pace. According to Statistics Canada, approximately 7.74 million Canadians are currently over the age of 65, representing nearly 19% of the population. By 2030, that number is projected to increase to almost 25%.

As this demographic continues to grow, it is expected to influence housing decisions in a meaningful way. Many homeowners will begin to consider what their next stage of living looks like—whether that involves moving to a smaller home, simplifying maintenance, or transitioning into a property that better supports long-term needs.

The idea of a downsizing wave is not about a sudden shift in inventory—it’s about a gradual change in how and when people choose to move.

Despite this clear demographic trend, the RE/MAX Canada report emphasizes that downsizing is unlikely to occur all at once. Instead, it is expected to unfold gradually over time.

One of the primary reasons is the limited availability of suitable housing options.

Nearly half of Canadians—49%—report low availability of downsizing options in their communities, while an additional 8% say there is no availability at all. Among Canadians aged 65 and older, this concern is even more pronounced, with 65% indicating that options are limited or nonexistent.

This lack of inventory plays a significant role. While many homeowners may be open to the idea of downsizing, they are often unable to find properties that meet their needs in terms of location, layout, or lifestyle. As a result, they remain in their current homes longer than originally planned.

The report also provides insight into how many Canadians are actually planning to downsize in the coming years.

Only 10% of Canadians say they plan to move to a smaller home within the next decade. Among those aged 65 and older, that number increases to 16%, yet nearly half—46%—indicate they plan to remain in their current homes.

Even among those considering downsizing, uncertainty remains a key factor. Seventy-three percent expressed concern about their options, with 32% describing themselves as very concerned.

These findings reinforce the idea that while downsizing is part of the long-term outlook for the Canadian housing market, it is not an immediate or guaranteed shift.

Downsizing has long been considered an important part of the natural cycle of the housing market. When homeowners transition out of larger properties, it can create opportunities for younger buyers to enter the market or for move-up buyers to find the space they need.
However, the RE/MAX Canada report suggests the impact may be more nuanced.

Thirty-four percent of Canadians believe an increase in downsizing would make it easier for younger buyers to enter the market, while 26% believe it would make it harder, and 29% say it would have no real impact.

At the same time, demand is expected to remain strong, with 23% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 planning to purchase their first home within the next decade.

This points to a broader dynamic within the Canadian housing market: while demographic trends may influence supply over time, the outcome will depend heavily on how housing availability evolves.

At the centre of this issue is a fundamental challenge—housing supply.

According to the report, many homeowners who would consider downsizing are delaying or abandoning their plans due to a lack of suitable options.

Without sufficient inventory to support these transitions, the natural movement within the housing market slows. Fewer homeowners move, fewer properties become available, and the overall pace of activity becomes more constrained.

This is why the anticipated downsizing trend is expected to be gradual rather than immediate.

While downsizing is often positioned as a natural next step, it is not always a straightforward decision.

For many homeowners, the focus tends to be on reducing costs or maintenance—but it is equally important to consider how a smaller space will support your day-to-day lifestyle. Downsizing too quickly, or too aggressively, can lead to compromises that may not be immediately obvious.

In some cases, homeowners move into a property that ultimately does not meet their long-term needs—whether that is due to limited space, layout constraints, or a change in lifestyle priorities. This can result in the need to move again within a relatively short period of time.

A well-planned transition should balance both financial and lifestyle considerations. The goal is not simply to move into a smaller home, but to ensure the next property is the right fit for how you want to live in the years ahead.

The idea of a downsizing wave is grounded in real demographic change, and over time, it will play a role in shaping the Canadian housing market.

However, the data makes one thing clear: this is not a short-term shift. It is a longer-term transition that will depend on how effectively the market adapts—particularly in creating housing options that meet the needs of older homeowners.

Understanding how these broader trends connect to individual decisions is where strategy becomes important. Every move—whether upsizing, downsizing, or holding—needs to be evaluated within the context of today’s market, not just future expectations.

If you’re thinking about what your next move might look like—whether now or a few years down the road—it can be helpful to understand where your home fits in today’s market. We’re always happy to provide that perspective.

Source: RE/MAX Canada

The post A Downsizing Wave Is Coming to Canada’s Housing Market—What It Means for Homeowners appeared first on Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Agent - The Deutschmann Team.

April 21, 2026, at 6:00 pm
Meeting Room beside Sheet 6

♦

Today's K-W Record has yet another front page story  about the Region of Waterloo Water Crisis written by Luisa D'Amato and titled "There could be more water available than we think, engineer says". This engineer of course represents local homebuilders looking for more water capacity in the region. The engineer involved claims to be both an engineer and a groundwater expert. Hmm a certain odour is already arising.

Once again we are advised in this article that Cambridge water can't be sent to Kitchener-Waterloo due to the different disinfection system used. Now again this isn't spelled out but I had presumed that it related to a chloramine disinfection system versus a straight chlorine system. Again I wish the Region as well as the Record would clarify and or confirm this. There is another possibility and that refers to the AOP or Advanced Oxidation Process used at the Middleton Wellfield to remove TCE (trichloroethylene) from the groundwater. Now technically this is not a "disinfection" system because disinfection normally refers to the removal of bacteria such as Coliforms and E. Coli.

The "magic bullet" cleanup theory mentioned in the title above is a quote from the first and by far best Chair of TAG (Technical Advisory Group) namely Dr. Richard Jackson. The homebuilder's engineer suggested that "recent scientific advances" may result in a safe water supply for Elmira "sooner than we think". Hmm my experience (36 years) here in Elmira is that hot air and bulls*it are plentiful whereas new technologies all come with drawbacks. Dr. Jackson also suggested the same whenever Uniroyal/Chemtura representatives made extravagant claims about faster cleanup.

Apparently the Parkway resevoir and wellfield has been upgraded and or repaired. I hope they are properly treating the TCE that's been there for decades. Meanwhile still no further mention of the Greenbrook Wellfield (Stirling & Homer Watson Blvd. Kitchener) or the river wells along the Grand River in Kitchener known as the Woolner and Pompeii Wellfields. Just what we need, more contaminated wells added to the system likely with minimal treatment and counting on dilution from other wells to reduce contaminant concentrations.   

Registration is now open for House of Friendship’s annual Strawberry Social, taking place on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at Bingemans’ Embassy Room in Kitchener.

What began years ago as our Annual General Meeting has grown into a beloved spring tradition — a time for friends, supporters, and community partners to come together, reflect on impact, and celebrate the power of community.

This year’s Strawberry Social is especially meaningful as we gather around the theme: Building a Village – A Community That Lasts 

We all need a village. 

A place where we feel safe, supported, and connected. A community we can lean on in hard times — and celebrate with during moments of joy. 

But villages don’t build themselves. They take commitment, care, and people who believe that no one should face life alone. 

At this year’s Strawberry Social, we’ll reflect on how your compassion and generosity are helping to build communities that truly last, where people can move beyond survival and begin to thrive. 

During the afternoon, we’ll share meaningful updates and stories that highlight how villages are being built across all areas of House of Friendship’s work, including: 

• Neighbourhoods programs, where local leadership is nurtured and neighbours support one another to create welcoming, connected communities 

• Food programs, where nourishment is about dignity, relationship, and belonging 

• Addiction supports, where individuals receive compassionate care and essential health services 

• ShelterCare and housing, where stability and safe places create the foundation for healing and sustainable homes 

You’ll also hear an exciting update about Friendship Village, our new supportive housing community opening later this year. Friendship Village will be a place where individuals rebuilding their lives after homelessness can find safety, dignity, and a village of their own — a powerful example of what it means to build a community that lasts. 

Strawberry Social is a donor appreciation event at heart. It’s our chance to pause and say thank you, celebrating the impact you are making every day. 

Guests can look forward to: 

• Fresh local strawberries, generously donated by Herrles Country Farm Market 

• Delicious strawberry shortcake and refreshing lemonade 

• Inspiring stories from our community 

• A warm, welcoming space for connection and conversation 

♦ Tuesday, June 16, 2026 
♦ 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM 
♦ Bingemans – Embassy Room 
♦ Strawberry shortcake, lemonade, inspiring stories, and meaningful connection 

This is a free event, but registration is required so we can plan for your arrival.

We hope you’ll join us as we celebrate the many ways you are helping to build a village — a community that lasts. 

If you have any questions about the event or sponsorship opportunities, please contact us at specialevents@houseoffriendship.org. 

We look forward to celebrating with you! 

The post Strawberry Social 2026: Registration Is Open! appeared first on House Of Friendship.

Even before the development of machine learning algorithms, stock market prediction was a big thing. They often used basic statistical models to make the predictions.

Knowing how volatile the stock market is, accurately predicting the share prices is almost impossible.

With development in AI and advanced ML algorithms, we still make an attempt to predict stock prices, usually with little to no luck.

In this article, I made a quick comparison of stock price prediction using a naive approach and a machine learning algorithm. Then, I made a quick simulation of what would happen if I invested $10,000 using both methods.

The results are a bit shocking (or not)! Check for yourself.

Failed as a search engine, but now Yahoo Finance provides us easy access to stock price data. Simply install pip install yfinance and explore the world of the stock market on your local computer. Is it that easy now!

Let me demonstrate:

import yfinance as yf
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Define tickers
tickers = ["AAPL", "SPY"]

# Download data
data = yf.download(tickers, start="2015-01-01", progress=False)

# Extract Adjusted Close prices
prices = data["Adj Close"]

# Show first few rows
print(prices.head())

• Define tickers: “AAPL” for Apple stocks and “SPY” for S&P 500 ETFs. Just to make a fair comparison.

• Our DataFrame looks like this. We retrieved daily closing prices for AAPL and SPY.

The timeseries would look something like this:

• Here, I showed the distribution of daily returns (percentage change from one day to the next). There are subtle differences among both.
• I checked the correlation between AAPL and SPY: -0.023, which is super weak.

Usually, our target variable would be to predict the price directly using regression methods. To simplify the methodology, we will predict whether tomorrow’s percentage return is positive or not.

Take a look at the code below:

def make_supervised_frame(price: pd.Series) -> pd.DataFrame:
    """Create a simple supervised dataset from a price series.

    Rows are 'today' (t).
    - Features use information available up to day t
    - Target/label is based on next-day return (t -> t+1)
    """
    df = pd.DataFrame(index=price.index)
    df["close"] = price
    df["ret1"] = price.pct_change()

    # Lagged returns (what we knew by end of day t)
    for lag in range(1, 6):
        df[f"lag_{lag}"] = df["ret1"].shift(lag)

    # Rolling features (still only using past data)
    df["roll_mean_5"] = df["ret1"].rolling(5).mean()
    df["roll_mean_10"] = df["ret1"].rolling(10).mean()
    df["roll_std_10"] = df["ret1"].rolling(10).std()
    df["ma_ratio_10_50"] = price.rolling(10).mean() / price.rolling(50).mean() - 1

    # What happens tomorrow?
    df["future_ret1"] = df["ret1"].shift(-1)
    df["target_up"] = (df["future_ret1"] > 0).astype(int)

    return df.dropna()


feature_cols = [
    "lag_1","lag_2","lag_3","lag_4","lag_5",
    "roll_mean_5","roll_mean_10","roll_std_10",
    "ma_ratio_10_50",
]

dataset = {}
for t in TICKERS:
    df = make_supervised_frame(prices_bt[t])
    split_idx = int(len(df) * (1 - TEST_FRACTION))
    train = df.iloc[:split_idx].copy()
    test = df.iloc[split_idx:].copy()

    dataset[t] = {
        "train": train,
        "test": test,
        "X_train": train[feature_cols],
        "y_train": train["target_up"],
        "X_test": test[feature_cols],
        "y_test": test["target_up"],
        "future_ret_test": test["future_ret1"],
    }

    print(f"{t}: total rows={len(df)}, train={len(train)} ({train.index.min().date()}→{train.index.max().date()}), test={len(test)} ({test.index.min().date()}→{test.index.max().date()})")

AAPL: total rows=2560, train=1792 (2016-06-17→2023-05-01), test=768 (2023-05-02→2026-04-09)
SPY: total rows=2560, train=1792 (2016-06-17→2023-05-01), test=768 (2023-05-02→2026-04-09)

• First, we take the price and compute the percentage return.
• Then, compute lag and rolling features. Lag is what happened X days ago. So, lag 1 = yesterday’s return; lag 2 = return from 2 days ago, etc. Rolling is computing stats on a fixed window of past values. Rolling mean 5 = average return over the past 5 days.
• I also included a short term vs long term trend feature too.
• Our target variable is tomorrow’s return.
• We did a temporal train test split: this is important for time series predictions. A random split won't work.

• This is a snapshot of our training set. ‘target_up’ is our target variable. As the target is 0 or 1, we formulate this problem as a binary classification.

A naive model would say tomorrow’s return is the same as yesterday’s return. Using this logic, we compute the accuracy score.

X_test = dataset[t]["X_test"]
y_test = dataset[t]["y_test"]
future_ret_test = dataset[t]["future_ret_test"]

pred_up = (X_test["lag_1"] > 0).astype(int)
accuracy = accuracy_score(y_test, pred_up)

• This logic would simply predict the lag 1.

For the advanced model, I chose a Random Forest classifier, which is widely used in many machine learning problems.

model = RandomForestClassifier(
    n_estimators=400,
    random_state=RANDOM_STATE,
    n_jobs=-1,
    min_samples_leaf=5,
)
model.fit(X_train, y_train)

Let’s look at how these models compare for stock prediction.

• For predicting Apple stocks, Random Forest is better.
• For predicting the S&P 500, a simple logic is enough.
• The market exposure tells us the % of time our strategy is invested in the market.

Our rule is simple: If our model predicts the return goes up for tomorrow, we invest; otherwise, we stay out.

I tested three approaches:

• Buy & Hold (just invest and do nothing)
• A naive strategy (based on yesterday’s movement)
• Random Forest model

• We see some interesting results here: For Apple stocks, it is better to trust the Random Forest model.
• But for the S&P 500, it is better with the naive strategy.

• RF is very bad with the S&P 500 predictions, and we see a 24% loss in our portfolio value.

Firstly, this is not financial advice. Please do not follow this for real trades.

From this example, we understand the problem formulation. We converted the stock price prediction into a classification problem, which is easy to deal with.

Our feature engineering heavily impacts the model performance. RF could outperform the naive model in both cases if I had made better feature engineering. But then, naive solutions are also good, because Occam’s razor.

My main goal with this article was to showcase the process, rather than the result. Depending on your goal for predicting stock markets, you can engineer a solution tuned to it :)

Thanks for reading. And have a nice day!

I am happy to connect on LinkedIn, or GitHub!

I Tried Predicting Stocks for 10 Years: Reality is Brutal! was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’ve been writing code for eleven years.

It’s not just my job. It’s how I think. When I need to understand a system, I trace it. When I need to validate an idea, I prototype it. The keyboard is how I participate in the world of software.

So agreeing to not write a single line of code for a week and instead let 8080.ai build everything while I just described what I wanted was genuinely uncomfortable.

This is what I found.

I started with something real: a project I’d been procrastinating on for months. An internal tool for a client — a dashboard that aggregated data from three APIs, had role-based auth, a reporting layer, and needed to be deployable to their existing Kubernetes cluster.

In a normal week, I’d have spent Monday setting up the repo, wrestling with the boilerplate, arguing with myself about folder structure. Half a day minimum before a single feature was touched.

Instead, I described it in plain English. Pasted in the API specs. Hit go.

8080.ai’s Architect agent spent about ten minutes thinking. What came back wasn’t code — it was a System Requirements Document and a full architecture diagram. Multi-tier microservices. Database schema. API contracts. Component dependencies mapped out.

It had designed the whole thing before writing a single line.

I caught myself wanting to jump in and “fix” the architecture. Mostly out of habit. Mostly because sitting there felt wrong. I forced myself to just review it and honestly, I couldn’t find anything I’d have done differently.

That was uncomfortable in a new way.

The thing I wasn’t prepared for was the speed not because AI is fast, but because multiple agents were running simultaneously.

Frontend. Backend. Infrastructure. Tests. All in parallel.

In a real engineering team, this is the dream but coordinating parallel workstreams introduces communication overhead. Someone’s always blocked waiting for an API contract to be finalized, or a schema to be agreed on.

8080.ai agents share a unified architectural context. The frontend agent knows exactly what the backend is building, because they’re both operating from the same source of truth. There’s no “wait, what does that endpoint return again?” There’s no integration surprise at the end of the sprint.

By Wednesday afternoon, I had a working full-stack application with:

• React frontend, TypeScript, fully responsive
• Backend services, database layer, authentication — all wired together
• 80%+ test coverage. Not placeholder tests. Tests that tested things.
• Dockerfiles, docker-compose, Helm charts
• GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline, push-to-deploy ready
• A README that read like a real human wrote it

Two and a half days. A project I’d estimated at two weeks.

I expected the code to be functional. I did not expect it to be readable.

One of my deepest priors about AI-generated code is that it works until it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, you’re left staring at something that has no discernible logic to trace. It’s output without intent.

8080.ai’s code had intent. Every file, every function, every commit message felt authored. Like someone had thought about it. Meaningful abstractions. Clear naming. Logic you could follow.

I spent Thursday doing what I’d normally do on a pull request review reading through the implementation, checking the edge cases, looking for gaps. I found some things I’d have done differently stylistically. I found almost nothing I’d call wrong.

The code was good enough that when something did need adjusting, I knew exactly where to go. Everything was exactly where I expected it.

Here’s what I couldn’t ignore by the end of the week.

I’d delivered more, faster, than I would have on my own. The client’s project was done — tested, deployed, documented in time that would’ve been impossible solo.

But more than the speed, something else had shifted. By not being in the code, I’d been forced to spend my week thinking — about the product, about the user flows, about what the client actually needed versus what they’d asked for. I was operating at the level of decisions instead of implementation.

That’s a different kind of work. It felt less like “doing less” and more like “doing the harder thing.”

The bottleneck in software development was never really writing code. It was the gap between understanding a problem and having a working system in front of users. 8080.ai collapses that gap in a way I hadn’t believed was possible until I watched it happen.

Yes. With nuance.

For greenfield projects — new products, internal tools, prototypes that need to become real things I’d reach for 8080.ai first. The architecture quality, the parallelism, the production-readiness out of the box. It’s genuinely better than what I’d build alone in the same timeframe.

For deep, legacy, context-soaked systems where the entire codebase lives in my head? I’d still write that code. Some things require the intimacy of someone who’s been with a system for years.

But for everything else and that’s most things — the question I keep coming back to is this:

If I can describe what I want to build and have it working by tomorrow, what would I build?

That question is more exciting than any I’ve had in years of software development.

I Stopped Writing Code for a Week. This Is What Happened was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In March, we released the Equity Design Thinking (EDT) Recommendation Report. Then, the EDT Task Group completed their work by prioritizing the 29 actions presented in the report into a shortened list of five actions:

• “The CYPT has embraced youth-led opportunities and is in a position to build greater access to the system through knowledge mobilization in this area” (Cheryl Pereira’s talk at the 2025 CYPT Conference.)
• “The CYPT can demonstrate power sharing and youth leadership by initiating youth voting power” (this work will move forward in 2026.)
• “Promote and provide avenues for youth decision making around local funding” (Youth Impact Project.)
• “Supporting local equity focused changemakers in person and online” (Clarence Cachagee’s talk at the 2025 CYPT Conference.)
• “Model the change it wishes to see in the community through an ask for a robust equity commitment from membership” (this work is moving forward in 2026.)

In addition to these five prioritized actions, in 2025 CYPT has moved forward three additional actions of the 29 recommended in the report:

• “The CYPT should continue to push for equity changes to public transportation including free universal access” (CYPT  Free Transit Ridership Group, Transit pilot.)
• “The CYPT can take a stand, stepping up against harmful and hate-enticing movements” (Supporting the CSWP’s Anti-Hate Working Group.)
• “The CYPT could be actively doing research and knowledge mobilization on the needs of children in our region in balance to its Youth Impact Survey” (Child Voice Project.)

In January 2026, Kamil Ahmed (Community Justice Initiatives) joined us a consultant to move forward the action “Model the change it wishes to see in the community through an ask for a robust equity commitment from membership.” Kamil has led conversations with the CYPT Steering Committee, Voting Member Organizations, and staff. Our next step is to present the plan to all CYPT members, so stay tuned!

We will continue to keep members updated as work for the Equity Design Thinking Project advances. For updates, subscribe to the CYPT monthly e-mail bulletin.

The post Equity Design Thinking Update (April 2026) appeared first on Children and Youth Planning Table.

♦

(Image is of Skadi perched on the edge of a box of packing paper, looking inquisitively at me)

In a word: overwhelmed. I took some time off to visit my grandparents in Scotland (a bit more on that later) and I thought I had everything lined up to make that perfectly fine.

I was wrong. I forgot that I needed to get everything sorted out for the second and third Changeling translations—and then the outline for Fated Skies decided to be one of my super-detailed ones instead of my high level ones.

The super-detailed ones are useful, but I plan for 3K outlines not 12K outlines in my scheduling!

Fated Skies is the final Aether Spheres book and I’m now 10K into it and having a blast. It’s going to be long, but that’s expected for the fantasy books. I’m not sure I expected it when I wrote my schedule for 2026 though!

My trip to Scotland was a blast. I got to spend a bunch of time with my grandparents (they are in their 90s, so they don’t get out and only see us when we come to them) and also managed to hit up the National Museum of Flight at the recommendation of Charlie Stross, as well as HMS Britannia.

I was looking for a Polaris display, but apparently the missile required some work and is currently in their conservation hangar. I found her hiding behind Blue Streak, the UK’s original attempt to build an ICBM of their own that they canceled in favor of Polaris.

Also got to check out Concorde and wander around the WWII airfield the museum is built in.

Nothing new has been added to the release list since last month, so 2026 currently looks like:

April 16 – Le Serment du Chasseur (Sang du Changelin 2)

May 21 – Spirit Blade (Spirit Knight 1 – this is the new urban fantasy)

June 18 – l’Honneur du Noble (Sang du Changelin 3)

July 23 – Alien Olympus (Starship’s Mage 19 / Mars Unconquered 1)

September – Keepers of the Flesh (Saints of the Void 2)

November – Wildcard (House Adamant 6)

I’m hoping to have the Fated Skies Kickstarter running this fall as well, but we shall see. They are a lot of work and that sounds rather intimidating at the moment!

Happy reading everyone,

-Glynn SStewart

The post State of the Author April 2026 appeared first on Glynn Stewart.

♦

Durham Community Health Centre is a non-profit charitable organization providing a variety of accessible community programs and services in 3 locations in the Durham region. Our 8 health Population Health focused equity-based programs are Children, Youth and Family Health & Wellness, Seniors Health & Wellness, Indigenous Health & Wellness, Black Health & Wellness and 2SLGBTQI Health & Wellness, Unsheltered Health & Wellness, Newcomers Health & Wellness & Corporate Health & Wellness.

The Board of Directors of Durham Community Health Centre is currently recruiting individuals with strong governance experience to join our Board. Alignment with our vision, mission and values is crucial. Please go to www.durhamchc.ca to learn more about us.

A variety of backgrounds are needed, however experience in the following areas would be a significant asset:

1. Government Relations
2. Fundraising/philanthropy: External Stakeholder Relationship
3. Executive HR experience

The DCHC Board is seeking applications from interested community members especially from within the Indigenous and the 2LGBTQI communities.

We are looking for individuals who want to help our organization develop and grow to meet the needs of our expanding community. Strong communication and strategic critical thinking skills are important. The willingness to assist us to open doors in the community and build greaterawareness and support will be crucial to the growth of our organization. You would also have a vested interest in the communities we serve.

• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Must not have the status of an undischarged bankrupt
• Must not have been found incapable of managing property under the Substitute Decision Act, 1992 or the Health Care Consent Act, 1996
• Must not have been found incapable by any court in Canada or elsewhere

Your efforts and commitment will be highly valued. The Durham CHC Board of Directors meets monthly, as do committees of the Board (minimum of 5 hours commitment per month). It is anticipated that members will also participate in agency events. All meetings are being held virtua ly and will occasionally be in-person.

• The opportunity to make an impact in your community
• The chance to work with an open, transparent and progressive organization that wants your input and ideas
• Educational opportunities to expand your knowledge of board governance and the CHC model of care
• Personal and professional growth
• Networking with individuals from a variety of backgrounds and diverse experiences
• Advocating for issues that can truly make a difference in someone’s life

Durham Community Health Centre is committed to fostering a positive and progressive workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. We will provide equitable treatment and accommodation to ensure barrier-free employment. We are committed to complying with all applicable standards as set out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), the provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code, and any other applicable legislation. Durham CHC and its staff are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment that welcomes diversity.

If you are interested in being considered for a position on the Board of Directors, please submit an expression of interest and CV outlining your qualifications and expectations by email to: recruiting@durhamchc.ca.

Please note this is an unpaid volunteer position.

The post Durham Community Health Centre appeared first on Capacity Canada.

Rust 573 Updated Apr 19

First of all keep in mind that the Elmira groundwater cleanup is barely one third of the problem. The Uniroyal site was and is a disgusting subsurface mess with wastes in the form of tars, sludges, liquids and solids in places down to seventy feet below ground surface. Then there is of course the Canagagigue Creek which to this day has not received so much as a shovelful removal of soils or sediments downstream from the company's property. Air has also been a huge problem in the past although it would appear that the company and successors have done better with it than anywhere else.

The off-site Elmira groundwater has failed because of both on Uniroyal and off-site failure to do source removal of toxic wastes. Years of pump & treat (hydraulic containment) could have been reduced if they had done so. This failure to do source removal off-site is particularly egregious when decades after the fact Lanxess and consultants (Jesse Wright) admitted that there were companies using chlorobenzene in the area of First and Union St. This combined with the known but denied  DNAPL for twenty plus years one hundred feet below surface at OW57-32R (Howard St. water tower) is a big part of the reason why chlorobenzene to this day is still well above drinking water standards in both the Elmira Municipal Upper and Municipal Lower aquifers. Its' removal or encapsulation or other remediation would have cut decades off of the time required by using pump & treat alone. 

On-site failure to remove DNAPL and other wastes has also guaranteed that each and every slowdown or stoppage in on site pumping has allowed even more contamination to readily flow off site. It has also then demanded more and more off-site pumping in order to catch up the new and ongoing leakage of contamination off site. I also believe that besides the now known and admitted sources of Nutrite (Yara), Uniroyal and Varnicolor Chemical that contaminated the municipal aquifers with ammonia, NDMA, chlorobenzene and dozens of other solvents; that there was at least one more source of NDMA. It could easily have been Varnicolor or someone else although our authorities would rather pass on of old age than ever admit to it.

Finally there is the obvious failure for Uniroyal and successors to maintain pumping rates at their own Target pumping rates for years at a time. They even admitted that they needed to grossly increase their own off-site pumping rates (Triple them) and never even got close much less been able to maintain their original far too low pumping rates. They talked a good cleanup and lazy politicians and a few citizens let them get away with it.   

When: Sunday, May 3rd, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Meeting Point: 136 Wyndham St N., the pathway next to old Post Office building

Walk Leader: Ariel Stagni, Byron Ready, Adam Rutherford

“200 years of American technology has unwittingly created a massive cement playground of unlimited potential, but it was the minds of 11-year-olds that could see that potential” – Craig Stecyk

ALL are invited to come learn about and discuss the rich cultural history of street skateboarding in downtown Guelph. Come walk with us for a unique opportunity to see our shared downtown as skateboarders have seen it, see it, and are continuing to re-imagine it!

Wait… there’s a history of skateboarding in downtown Guelph? Why would people want to skateboard downtown when the city has built skateparks for skateboarding?

Please come join us Sunday, May 3rd, 11am – 1pm. Look for skateboarders with a Jane’s Walk sign, at the entrance to the pathway next to the old Post Office building at 136 Wyndham St N.

When: Saturday May 2nd, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Meeting Point: Log Cabin in Waterloo Park – 50 Young Street

Walk Leader: Jennifer Huber and Shaye Reichard

Step into the heart of the city with Past, Present, and Possible: Exploring Waterloo Park with the City of Waterloo Museum and the Waterloo Public Library Ellis Little Local History Room. This guided journey invites you to walk through the park’s storied landscape, uncovering how this green space has shaped our community for generations. Together, we’ll reflect on what the park means to you today and envision the exciting possibilities for its future. Join us to experience Waterloo Park not just as a destination, but as a living piece of our shared history.