I just learned that some private keys leaked for a widely-trusted certificate authority. This is bad: it makes it possible for attackers to impersonate HTTPS services.

If you’re shipping a mobile app or service that uses OkHttp, you’re exposed to this problem until the host platform’s trusted roots list is patched. For Android and Java environments, that might take a very long time.

As an immediate workaround I’ve posted a gist for ForbiddenCertificatesInterceptor, which blocks the problematic certificates in the application layer. Install it as the last network interceptor in your chain.

val safeClient = client.newBuilder()
  .addNetworkInterceptor(ForbiddenCertificatesInterceptor())
  .build()

You can use this with all supported versions of OkHttp.

In the next day or two we’ll ship updates to OkHttp that require no additional intervention.

Preparing to sell your home often comes with a long list of potential improvements. Should you repaint? Replace the flooring? Update the kitchen? Renovate the bathrooms?

The reality is that not every improvement is worth making before you sell. Some updates can help a property attract buyers and compete more effectively, while others may cost more than the value they add.

So, what should you fix before selling your house? Generally, the best place to start is with necessary repairs, fresh paint where needed, deep cleaning, decluttering, curb appeal, and professional presentation. Major renovations, cosmetic preferences, and functional but dated finishes can often be left alone.

For homeowners in Kitchener-Waterloo, the key is understanding which improvements will make a meaningful difference based on your property’s condition, neighbourhood, price range, and current competition.

When preparing a home for sale, the priority should be improvements that address buyer concerns, create a strong first impression, and enhance the property’s overall presentation.

Before investing in cosmetic improvements, start with anything that is broken, damaged, or not functioning properly.

Buyers pay attention to a home’s general condition. Even relatively minor maintenance issues can create questions about how well a property has been cared for.

Consider addressing:

• Leaky faucets, running toilets, and minor plumbing issues
• Doors, cabinets, and windows that do not open or close properly
• Damaged trim, chipped paint, and holes in walls
• Broken light fixtures or malfunctioning switches
• Loose handles, railings, and other visible deficiencies
• Damaged or missing flooring sections

These improvements do not necessarily require a significant investment, but they can help create a more positive impression during showings.

What about larger repairs?

Issues involving roofing, moisture intrusion, structural concerns, or major mechanical systems require a more individualized approach.

Rather than automatically taking on an expensive project, have the issue properly assessed and discuss your options before listing. Depending on the circumstances, repairing, replacing, or factoring the condition into your pricing strategy may be appropriate. Known material issues must also be handled transparently and in accordance with applicable disclosure obligations.

Fresh paint can be one of the most effective ways to improve a home’s presentation without undertaking a major renovation.

Over time, walls accumulate scuffs, marks, and signs of everyday wear. Dark or highly personalized colours can also make it more difficult for buyers to envision a space as their own.

Consider repainting:

• High-traffic areas with noticeable wear
• Rooms with very bold or inconsistent colours
• Walls with visible patches, stains, or damage
• Spaces that feel dark or visually dated

Neutral, cohesive colours can help create a brighter, more consistent appearance throughout the home.

However, repainting every room is not always necessary. If the existing paint is in good condition and complements the space, it may be better to leave it alone.

Kitchens and bathrooms are important spaces for prospective buyers, but improving them does not always require a complete renovation.

If your kitchen is functional and well-maintained, smaller updates may be enough to improve how it presents.

Consider:

• Refinishing or painting dated cabinetry where appropriate
• Replacing noticeably worn or damaged hardware
• Updating an outdated light fixture
• Repairing damaged cabinet doors or drawers
• Decluttering countertops to emphasize workspace
• Thoroughly cleaning appliances, cabinetry, and surfaces

The same principle applies to bathrooms.

Fresh caulking, clean grout, repaired fixtures, and updated lighting can make a meaningful visual difference without the expense of a complete remodel.

A kitchen or bathroom does not need to be brand new to appeal to buyers. It needs to be clean, functional, and appropriately presented for the home’s price point.

A buyer’s impression begins before they enter the property.

The exterior is often the first thing prospective buyers see in listing photographs or when arriving for a showing. A well-maintained exterior can help establish a positive impression of the home.

Depending on the season and property, worthwhile improvements may include:

• Maintaining lawns, gardens, and landscaping
• Trimming overgrown trees and shrubs
• Cleaning walkways, driveways, and exterior surfaces
• Refreshing worn front-door paint
• Repairing damaged exterior fixtures
• Removing unnecessary items from porches, patios, and yards

You do not necessarily need expensive landscaping or an elaborate outdoor renovation.

Often, the objective is simply to showcase the property’s existing features, whether that is a mature treed lot, an inviting front entrance, or a private backyard.

Knowing what not to renovate before selling your house is just as important as knowing what to improve.

Some projects involve substantial costs, lengthy timelines, or personal design decisions that may not translate into a higher sale price.

Unless a kitchen is significantly damaged, highly compromised in functionality, or notably below the expectations of its market segment, a complete renovation immediately before selling may not make financial sense.

Cabinetry, countertops, appliances, flooring, and installation costs can add up quickly.

While a beautifully renovated kitchen may appeal to buyers, it does not guarantee that the full renovation cost will be recovered in the sale.
In many cases, smaller cosmetic improvements and proper presentation are a more practical approach.

A bathroom with older but well-maintained tile, cabinetry, or fixtures does not automatically need to be renovated.

If the space is clean, functional, and free of significant damage, buyers may be comfortable making their own improvements after purchasing.

Before investing in a full remodel, consider whether targeted repairs, updated lighting, fresh caulking, or professional cleaning could achieve the desired result.

Flooring can influence how a home presents, particularly when there is visible damage, excessive wear, or significant inconsistency between rooms.
However, replacing every floor simply because the finishes are older is not always justified.

For example, original hardwood flooring in an established Waterloo neighbourhood may be a desirable feature, even if it would benefit from refinishing.
Likewise, existing carpet or tile may be perfectly acceptable if it is clean and in good condition.

The decision should depend on the flooring’s actual condition, its impact on the home’s presentation, and the expectations of prospective buyers.

It can be tempting to replace every dated finish before listing, but design preferences are subjective.

Consider holding off on:

• Replacing functional light fixtures throughout the entire home
• Installing trendy backsplashes or statement finishes
• Upgrading every faucet, handle, or cabinet pull
• Adding expensive custom cabinetry or built-ins
• Making significant layout changes purely for aesthetic reasons

These improvements may be worthwhile if you plan to enjoy them for years. They are not automatically worthwhile when preparing to sell.

The goal should be to appeal to a broad range of buyers rather than invest heavily in one particular design style.

There is no universal renovation budget that makes sense for every seller.

The amount worth investing depends on the property’s existing condition, anticipated sale price, buyer expectations, and the improvements already found in competing listings.

Before approving an expense, consider three questions:

1. Will this improvement address a genuine buyer concern?

Necessary repairs and visible maintenance issues often deserve attention before purely cosmetic changes.

2. Will the improvement noticeably change how the home presents?

Fresh paint in a heavily worn main living area may have a greater visual impact than replacing perfectly functional fixtures throughout the house.

3. Is the likely benefit worth the total cost?

Consider materials, labour, timing, and whether comparable properties support the additional investment.

A more expensive improvement is not necessarily a better one.

The priority should be allocating your budget to the projects most likely to support your home’s market position, rather than trying to make everything new.

Not all home improvements carry the same weight across Waterloo Region.

Buyer expectations can differ considerably depending on the neighbourhood, property type, age, and price range.

For example, preparing a family home in Laurelwood or Eastbridge may involve emphasizing functional living spaces, bedroom layouts, storage, and outdoor areas.

An established home in Westmount or Beechwood may benefit from highlighting original character, mature landscaping, and architectural features rather than replacing them with trend-driven updates.

Meanwhile, a condominium in Uptown Waterloo or Downtown Kitchener may require greater attention to efficient furniture placement, storage, and how the available space is presented.

Luxury properties may have additional expectations concerning finish quality, condition, and overall presentation.

These distinctions matter because buyers evaluate a property in relation to its alternatives.

An improvement that helps one property compete may have little effect on another.

Current market conditions also play a role. Our latest Waterloo Region real estate market update explores how market activity and buyer demand differ across property types.

Understanding your specific competition is essential before committing to expensive updates.

One of the most common mistakes homeowners make is beginning renovations before understanding what buyers in their market actually expect.

At The Deutschmann Team, we take a property-specific approach to preparing homes for sale.

Our process begins with understanding your home’s current condition, recent comparable sales, competing listings, and the features most likely to influence buyer interest.

From there, we can help identify which improvements are worth considering, which can be left alone, and how staging and professional marketing can showcase the property effectively.

Our home selling process includes a staging consultation and personalized preparation recommendations to help sellers make informed decisions before bringing their property to market.

The objective is not to spend more than necessary. It is to make strategic decisions that support a successful sale.

The post What to Update Before Selling Your Home (and What to Leave Alone) appeared first on Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Agent - The Deutschmann Team.

There is a peculiar habit of the human mind: it revisits doors that have already closed.

What if I had made a different choice? What if a particular event had never happened? What if a country had followed a different policy, a discovery had arrived a century earlier, or a society had organized itself around entirely different values?

We ask these questions about our own lives, but we also ask them about the world. They live in historical fiction, scientific speculation, political debates, and the stories we tell ourselves about the future. Behind all of them is an old human desire: to look beyond the reality we know and explore possibilities we cannot observe.

For centuries, we have imagined time machines as a way to satisfy that desire. But what if we could explore alternative paths without travelling through time?

Not by pretending that an imagined world is real, and not by asking a chatbot to produce an interesting story, but by examining a scenario through different disciplines, challenging its assumptions, tracing its consequences, and understanding why a particular outcome might be plausible.

That question became the starting point for Anamnesis-AI.

We aimed to build a system that could take a single “what if?” and turn it into a structured exploration of possible worlds.

Imagine asking an ordinary chatbot: What if the world had developed into a society where women held greater social, economic, and political power than men?

You might receive an engaging response about education, employment, family structures, or political leadership. It could be thoughtful and well-written. But a question of this scale reaches far beyond any single discipline.

How might healthcare have developed? Would economic systems have evolved differently? What consequences might emerge for technology, climate policy, governance, or international relations? Which historical conditions would need to change before such a society could emerge? And which of the imagined consequences have a defensible basis, rather than simply sounding convincing?

The challenge is not merely generating more text. It is examining a complex scenario from perspectives that can challenge, complement, and sometimes contradict one another.

A historian may identify a constraint that a political analyst overlooks. An economist may question whether a proposed social change is financially sustainable. A climate specialist may uncover consequences that are invisible in a purely political explanation.

These perspectives do not automatically produce the correct answer. But bringing them into a shared process creates more opportunities to identify assumptions, explore connections, and question conclusions.

That was the distinction we wanted Anamnesis-AI to make.

Instead of treating a hypothetical scenario as a question requiring one answer, we wanted to treat it as a problem requiring multiple perspectives and a connected chain of reasoning.

The idea existed before the development process became concrete. Our curiosity about time travel and alternate histories had already made me wonder whether AI could help people explore such possibilities in a more systematic way.

An opportunity to participate in Microsoft’s AI Agentic AI Hackathon, which I had learned about roughly three months earlier, gave us a reason to push that idea toward a working product.

We were a team of five. Our responsibilities included database development, frontend development, research, concept testing, and the architecture and backend work needed to bring the system together. I took the lead in shaping the product’s direction and coordinating its development, while contributing primarily to the architecture and AI pipeline.

The frontend began taking shape within the first month. The more difficult work, however, was making the intelligence behind it function as intended.

A polished interface can make an idea look complete. A working AI system has to earn that appearance.

We needed agents that could examine the same scenario without simply repeating one another. We needed the output to remain coherent across different domains. We needed evidence to inform the generated conclusions. We needed a way to question weak reasoning, and we needed the entire process to work within the practical limits of a student-built project.

For nearly three months, I spent twelve or more hours a day working on the project.

There were moments when I wondered whether we had made the problem unnecessarily difficult. Could eight specialist agents actually contribute something meaningful? Would they contradict one another? Would the final report become a collection of disconnected opinions? Would the model invent convincing explanations that could not be supported by the available information?

The idea was exciting precisely because it was ambitious. That also made it frightening.

But our team had already invested its time and effort. The frontend was taking shape, our teammates had completed their parts, and the product was beginning to feel tangible. I felt that if the hardest part was the backend and AI pipeline, I needed to keep pushing until we could see whether the idea could work.

The challenge was no longer just imagining a system. It was making the system function.

At the centre of Anamnesis-AI is a multi-agent architecture.

In simple terms, a multi-agent AI system uses multiple AI agents with different responsibilities to work through a problem. Rather than relying on one general-purpose response, the system organizes its work so that specialized perspectives can contribute to the same scenario.

Anamnesis-AI brings together eight specialist domains: economics, technology, society, climate, politics, energy, healthcare, and demographics. Supporting roles, including a Historian, a Critic, and a Narrator, help establish context, examine reasoning, and bring the results together.

Each role contributes a different kind of analysis.

The Historian establishes a historical baseline. The specialist agents examine the scenario through their respective domains. Their conclusions become part of a wider discussion, in which subsequent agents can consider what has already been proposed rather than treating the question as if no analysis has taken place.

An economic conclusion, for example, may influence how a political or social consequence is examined. A technological possibility may require scrutiny of its economic feasibility. A social transformation may depend on historical conditions that cannot simply be ignored.

The aim is to make these perspectives interact, not merely sit beside one another.

The Critic provides another layer of scrutiny by examining the reasoning for weaknesses and gaps. When the system’s evaluation calls for it, the workflow can return for further consideration before the Narrator synthesizes the results into a coherent report.

This is important because multiple agents do not automatically mean better reasoning. Eight agents can still make eight mistakes. They can share assumptions, overlook the same evidence, or generate conclusions that sound plausible without being adequately supported.

The value lies in how their work is connected, reviewed, and presented — not simply in the number of agents involved.

A hypothetical scenario has a special problem: its central premise may never have occurred in reality.

If we ask what would happen if a historical event had unfolded differently, there is no complete record of the world that would have followed. The system must reason from what is known while acknowledging that the proposed future or alternate past is not directly observable.

This is where retrieval-augmented generation, commonly called RAG, becomes important.

A conventional language model generates responses from patterns learned during training and the context provided to it. A RAG-enabled system can also retrieve relevant material from an external knowledge collection and use that material while generating its response.

Anamnesis-AI uses a retrieval pipeline that draws on knowledge sources documented in the project, including resources such as Wikipedia, arXiv, the World Bank, UN Data, NASA, and NOAA.

These sources serve different purposes. Historical material can help establish context. Economic and demographic information can inform assessments of social change. Scientific and environmental sources can provide relevant evidence when a scenario involves technology, energy, or climate.

The important distinction is between using evidence to inform a conclusion and treating evidence as proof of an imagined outcome.

A source might establish that a particular economic condition existed, that a technology had certain limitations, or that a historical event produced a documented consequence. It cannot, by itself, prove exactly what would have happened in a world that never existed.

Anamnesis-AI is designed to explore those possibilities using available evidence and connected reasoning.

The goal is not to turn speculation into certainty. It is to make speculation more structured, more transparent, and easier to examine.

One of the most memorable moments in development came when we explored a question about a world shaped by greater female empowerment rather than the patriarchal structures that have characterized many societies throughout history.

What interested me was not simply the question itself, but the range of perspectives it invited.

The scenario could be examined through healthcare, technology, economics, climate, history, sociology, and other domains. Each perspective could contribute a different line of inquiry, and the combined report could reveal relationships that a single, narrowly focused answer might miss.

That was the moment the project began to feel like more than an interface wrapped around an AI response.

It felt like a way to give curiosity a structure.

Of course, such a scenario cannot tell us with certainty how a radically different society would have developed. Gender, power, institutions, culture, resources, and historical circumstances interact in complicated ways. Any generated account remains a reasoned exploration of possibilities, not a definitive reconstruction of an alternate world.

But the experience demonstrated what we had been working toward: a question could open into a connected examination of many dimensions of human life.

And that is where the idea became exciting — not because the system could answer every question, but because it could help us ask better ones.

Building a multi-agent system introduces a practical problem that is easy to overlook: every additional step can consume time, computation, and API resources.

During development, we relied on free-tier services wherever possible. That meant working within usage limits that could make a full agent workflow difficult to run repeatedly.

A scenario involving several agents, document retrieval, review, and synthesis can generate many model requests. In our experience, the available free-tier limits were sometimes restrictive enough that a single development day could be consumed by testing the pipeline.

We had to think not only about what the system should do, but also about which work was actually necessary.

Consider a question about a proposed change in fuel pricing. The economic, political, and social consequences might be directly relevant. Energy analysis could also matter. A detailed climate analysis, however, may not contribute much to every version of that question.

Conversely, a scenario about a major change in energy infrastructure could require several of those perspectives at once.

Anamnesis-AI therefore incorporates relevance-based agent selection. The system considers the scenario and the availability of relevant retrieved material to determine which specialist agents should participate. Some questions need a broad analysis; others can be handled by a narrower set of relevant perspectives.

This approach helps avoid unnecessary work while keeping the analysis focused on the question being asked.

It is a practical engineering lesson: a system does not become more intelligent simply by doing more work. Sometimes, better orchestration means knowing what not to invoke.

We also had to account for the possibility that an API or model would become unavailable or hit a usage limit. Building fallback and failover paths became part of making the system usable rather than merely demonstrating it under ideal conditions.

For a student team working without a dedicated infrastructure budget, these constraints were not incidental. They shaped the product.

A well-written report can be persuasive even when its reasoning is weak. That is especially dangerous when AI generates a detailed explanation with confident language.

We wanted users to have a way to look beyond the final prose.

Anamnesis-AI includes percentage-based plausibility scoring intended to indicate how plausible the generated report appears within the system’s assessment. The score gives users an additional signal when interpreting the result.

It should not be mistaken for a statistically validated probability that the scenario will happen, or a guarantee that the report is correct. A percentage cannot eliminate uncertainty, and a high score should never replace critical examination.

The more important feature is the ability to inspect individual claims.

Within the divergence graph, users can click on individual timeline events and claims to examine the associated agent’s conclusion and the basis provided for it. Rather than encountering an entirely opaque narrative, they can follow a claim back into the reasoning presented by the system.

This matters because a report is more useful when its conclusions can be questioned.

If an event seems implausible, a user can investigate the explanation behind it. If a claim rests on a questionable assumption, the user has a starting point for examining that assumption. If a source does not adequately support the conclusion, that gap becomes something to evaluate rather than something hidden by fluent writing.

Traceability does not make an AI system infallible. Retrieved documents can be incomplete, interpretations can be mistaken, and evidence can be used to support a conclusion more strongly than it deserves.

But making the basis of a claim inspectable gives users a more meaningful role than simply accepting or rejecting the final answer.

It turns reading into examination.

Anamnesis-AI also presents scenarios through an interactive timeline and divergence graph.

A hypothetical event rarely has only one consequence. One development may influence another, which may alter the conditions for a third. Over time, these relationships can produce a chain of events that is difficult to understand through a long block of text alone.

The timeline helps organize that chain into individual events. The divergence graph provides a way to explore how a scenario might branch from a different point in its development.

Users can also explore alternative paths by selecting a divergence point. The system preserves the events preceding that point and regenerates the subsequent part of the timeline around the changed direction.

The distinction is useful: changing one assumption should not require pretending that everything before it never happened.

Suppose a user is exploring an alternate historical event and wants to understand what might happen if a particular political decision were reversed several years later. The user can examine the preceding timeline, choose the point of divergence, and explore how the consequences might change.

The result is not a recovered timeline from a parallel universe. It is a generated scenario that makes its assumptions and consequences easier to explore.

Alongside the timeline, the platform provides visual ways to examine impacts, relationships, risks, and decisions. Depending on the scenario, these include impact visualizations, causal relationships, decision trees, and geographic views.

These features matter because complex scenarios are not always best understood as essays. Sometimes, a timeline reveals the sequence. Sometimes, a graph reveals the relationships. Sometimes, a map reveals the geographic dimension.

The interface is intended to help users move between these ways of understanding the same problem.

Although alternate history is an intuitive way to experience Anamnesis-AI, the idea extends beyond imagining a different past.

Consider a policymaker or planner examining a proposed increase in fuel prices. The question is not simply whether the decision is good or bad. It is what consequences might follow, which groups might be affected, how economic and social effects could interact, and what risks deserve further investigation.

A structured scenario can help organize these questions.

A user could examine the economic implications, consider political and social responses, investigate energy-related consequences, and explore possible downstream effects. Geographic and demographic context can also be customized to make a scenario more relevant to a particular region; when no region is specified, the system can begin with a global perspective.

The same general approach can be applied to questions about infrastructure, technological adoption, social change, energy transitions, and alternative historical developments.

For everyday users, it offers a way to explore questions that have always fascinated them. For students, it can provide a starting point for investigating relationships across disciplines. For planners and decision-makers, it can help organize possible consequences and identify assumptions that need closer scrutiny.

But there is an important boundary.

Anamnesis-AI is a scenario-exploration and decision-support tool, not an oracle.

Its outputs should not be treated as validated forecasts, and its plausibility score is not a substitute for statistical modelling, expert review, or domain-specific evidence. High-stakes decisions still require qualified people, reliable data, and methods appropriate to the decision being made.

The system’s purpose is to help users explore possibilities, understand relationships, and ask more informed follow-up questions — not to remove the uncertainty inherent in the future.

The most demanding part of this project was not any single model or framework. It was making all the pieces work together in a way that served the original idea.

A frontend can display a report. An AI model can generate a paragraph. A database can store information. But bringing those components together into a system that retrieves information, coordinates specialist agents, evaluates their reasoning, handles failures, and presents a connected scenario requires a different kind of thinking.

It requires considering the entire journey from a user’s question to the conclusion they eventually read.

It also requires accepting that a compelling idea is only the beginning. The real work lies in translating it into a system, discovering where it fails, and improving it without losing sight of why it mattered in the first place.

I spent months worrying that our agents might not agree, that our reasoning pipeline might become too complicated, or that the whole idea might remain something that sounded better in conversation than it worked in practice.

We had limited resources, demanding technical problems, and no guarantee that our original vision would survive contact with implementation.

What kept me going was the thought that people might one day enter their own questions and experience what we had been trying to build: not merely an answer, but a structured exploration of what could follow.

Our team brought together different responsibilities and contributions to make that possible. Anamnesis-AI is the result of that shared effort, sustained through the less visible work behind the interface.

It is not a machine that knows every possible future. It is an attempt to build a better environment for examining possibilities.

And I think that distinction matters.

Humanity has imagined time travel for generations. We have written stories about worlds shaped by different decisions, debated historical turning points, and wondered whether a small change could transform an entire civilization.

Those questions are not going away. If anything, they become more consequential as our choices grow more interconnected.

Artificial intelligence gives us new ways to investigate them, but the important question is not simply how much text a model can generate. It is whether we can build systems that help us examine the reasoning, understand the assumptions, compare perspectives, and remain curious without becoming careless about evidence.

That is the direction we wanted to explore with Anamnesis-AI.

The project began with a fascination for “what if?” It became a working multi-agent system through months of architecture, experimentation, debugging, and persistence. Along the way, it taught me that building something meaningful often means learning how to make an imaginative idea accountable to the real world.

There are still limitations to acknowledge and improvements to make. That is part of building any complex AI product. But the system is available to explore, and I would rather invite people to question it, test it, and discover its possibilities than leave it as an idea that only our team has experienced.

What would you ask if you could explore an alternative path through history — or examine the possible consequences of a decision before it is made?

Visit Anamnesis-AI, enter your own “what if?”, and explore where the scenario leads. Try an alternate-history question, investigate a policy decision, follow the timeline, and inspect the claims behind the generated events.

Then share what you discover. Tell us where the reasoning is useful, where it falls short, and what you would like to explore next.

Because the most interesting part of asking “what if?” has never been the question alone.

It is discovering how many possibilities begin to emerge when we take that question seriously.

Aryama Srivastav

GitHub repo — github.com/Anamnesis-AI-Org/Anamnesis-AI/tree/main (you can visit live URL from the repo)

LinkedIn — www.linkedin.com/in/aryama-srivastav/

What If History Had Taken a Different Turn? was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A) is of course the cheapest and least expensive. It is always the "GO TO" first response if a citizen or resident has an environmental concern or a complaint. Simply by waiting them out and as much as possible ignoring them you soon find out how serious they are and if they actually have done their homework on the issue.

B) This is both a long and short term solution. Get some company with a few credentials or degrees working for them who are prepared to do at least a tiny bit of background digging but more importantly speak confidently and boldly as if they are the absolute world's best in their fields of expertise. This would include Morrison & Beatty as well as Conestoga Rovers way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. If they get caught red handed as Brian Beatty did taking out of context some quotes from hydrogeologist Stan Feenstra then simply "consolidate" them as David Ash of Uniroyal Chemical did. Move on to the next, CRA, and see how they do. 

Conestoga Rovers & Assoc. (CRA) did just fine to the point of also being hired by Woolwich Twn. to muddy oops I mean clarify issues around the serious methane problem at the former Bolender Landfill. Yes this is at the north end of Bolender Park where children play including at the splashpad. It was perhaps a little awkward hitting old organics (municipal waste including foodstuffs) while excavating but local residents had indicated that municipal waste was buried behind (west ) their homes earlier on. There had been an active methane gas system drawing out methane gas from the landfill and venting it to the air for years although it was often not working well. 

C) Form a committee. Give it zero power and authority other than moral suasion which rarely works on corporations. Put a few "names" on it and away you go, if necessary for years and decades. Pretending to fix a problem is the next best thing to doing nothing. 

D) Get serious now. This is a one way street into potentially expensive remediation or removal of buried wastes that also by the way include buried industrial wastes from a number of local industries including Uniroyal, Great West Felt, likely Varnicolor Chemical, maybe Borg and who knows how many others. 

With new technology such as that written about in yesterday's K-W Record titled "Waterloo researcher uses microbes to eat methane" which is being studied and researched at the University of Waterloo there are scientific ways to reduce risk and harm caused by explosive methane gas so close to residential homes nearby. All these homes have pilot lights on their gas furnaces, water heaters and other natural gas appliances. If uncontrolled methane enters via the sub-surface through basements or windows then there could be explosions and disasters. Loss of life and resulting culpability however will be mitigated by a Township hiding behind their choice of proven friendly consultants  i.e. B).     

Stautzebach, J., Steidl, J., & Merz, C. (2026). Quantifying the effect of managed aquifer recharge on the hydrologic resilience of coupled surface-groundwater systems in northeast Germany. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 66, 103533. doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103533

“To derive the full degree of interaction among domains, the surface water groundwater modelling software HydroGeoSphere (HGS) (Aquanty, 2025) was used. In contrast to comparable groundwater models (e.g., MODFLOW), this code solves the governing flow equations not only for saturated and unsaturated conditions but also for surface runoff, thereby enabling a fully coupled representation of surface–subsurface hydrodynamics (Fig. 3)”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

Graphical Abstract

We're pleased to highlight this publication by Jan Stautzebach, Jörg Steidl, and Christoph Merz, which investigates how managed aquifer recharge (MAR) can improve the resilience of coupled surface water–groundwater systems under changing climate conditions. Using HydroGeoSphere (HGS), the researchers evaluated how surplus streamflow can be redirected into natural infiltration basins to replenish groundwater, stabilize connected streams, and strengthen regional water resources in northeast Germany.

Declining groundwater levels, prolonged droughts, and increasingly variable precipitation are placing growing pressure on groundwater and surface water resources across many regions. Traditional water management approaches often focus on either groundwater or surface water independently, making it difficult to evaluate the complex interactions between the two systems. Managed aquifer recharge has emerged as a promising climate adaptation strategy, but accurately assessing its long-term impacts requires fully integrated hydrologic models capable of simulating groundwater flow, surface water dynamics, evapotranspiration, and recharge simultaneously. This study addresses that challenge by using HydroGeoSphere to quantify both the local and regional benefits of MAR over a 30-year simulation period.

Fig 3. Conceptual illustration of the MAR simulations with governing eco-hydrologic processes, parameters, and stream and groundwater heads specified as 1. order boundaries of the HGS model (also see Appendix 2, 5, 6).

The researchers developed a fully integrated HydroGeoSphere model representing a 4.5 km² forested and agricultural catchment within Brandenburg's lower Spree basin. The model simulated coupled saturated and unsaturated groundwater flow, surface runoff, stream-aquifer interactions, precipitation, and evapotranspiration while evaluating ten managed aquifer recharge scenarios using between 10% and 100% of available surplus streamflow. Natural topographic depressions were represented as infiltration basins where excess stream discharge could infiltrate into the shallow aquifer, allowing the researchers to track changes in groundwater recharge, groundwater levels, streamflow, and overall water storage throughout the watershed.

The simulations demonstrated that managed aquifer recharge can substantially improve groundwater availability while strengthening connected surface water systems. MAR increased groundwater levels by as much as 2 metres near recharge areas and produced measurable groundwater rises more than 900 metres away. The resulting increase in groundwater storage stabilized baseflow to connected streams, increasing streamflow by up to 15% during low-flow periods while maintaining only minor reductions during recharge events. The study also showed that natural topographic basins efficiently converted surplus streamflow into groundwater recharge, significantly improving recharge efficiency while minimizing evapotranspiration losses.

HydroGeoSphere was central to this research because it provided a fully integrated representation of the coupled surface water–groundwater system. Unlike conventional groundwater models, HGS simultaneously simulated saturated and unsaturated groundwater flow, overland flow, stream interactions, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge, allowing the researchers to evaluate both the direct effects of managed aquifer recharge and the delayed feedbacks that occur throughout the broader hydrologic system. This integrated approach also enabled the team to identify potential side effects, such as localized groundwater flooding, highlighting the importance of comprehensive modelling when designing MAR projects.

This research demonstrates how HydroGeoSphere can support climate adaptation strategies by helping water managers evaluate the long-term benefits of managed aquifer recharge before implementation. By accurately capturing the complex interactions between groundwater, surface water, and climate, HGS enables practitioners to identify suitable recharge locations, optimize recharge volumes, and improve regional water resilience while protecting connected aquatic ecosystems. As droughts become more frequent and water resources face increasing pressure, integrated modelling approaches such as HydroGeoSphere provide a valuable tool for developing sustainable groundwater management solutions.

Abstract:

Study region

A mixed forested/ agricultural area within Brandenburg’s lower Spree catchment, northeast Germany.

Study focus

This study examines the potential of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) to stabilize groundwater and connected surface water resources affected by climatic and anthropogenic impacts by reducing declines and overall variability. Utilizing an integrated surface water-groundwater model, the suitability of selected topographic basins was assessed in terms of their ability to recharge the underlying aquifer with surplus discharge water from local streams. After analyzing the aquifer’s response to increased groundwater recharge, the feedback of connected surface waters to the rise in groundwater levels was quantified and discussed in the context of regional adaptation strategies.

New hydrological insight

(1) It was determined that MAR operates efficiently with temporal surplus stream-discharge volumes to induce a significant increase in groundwater recharge and a resulting rise in the groundwater table of up to 2 m.

(2) Selected topographic natural small basins were verified as efficient locations to recharge an unconfined aquifer via percolation and may be applied in greater number to strengthen the regional aquifer system.

(3) The increase in groundwater levels over longer distances (> 900 m) enables the stabilization of the base flow of connected surface waters and strengthens water related ecosystems via an increase in flow volume by up to 15%.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

The Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce the Third Annual Small Business Awards presented by BDC – a new event in Waterloo Region dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the outstanding achievements of small businesses in our community. Scheduled to take place October 27th to wrap up BDC Small Business Month, this prestigious event aims to honor the entrepreneurs and small business owners who drive innovation and contribute significantly to our local economy.

The Small Business Awards will highlight exceptional businesses across 8 award categories. The event will feature a formal awards ceremony and networking opportunities.

Just like last year, the public is invited to cast their votes for the Exceptional Small Business of the Year Award until Sunday, October 4th at 11:59 PM. The winner of the “Exceptional Small Business of the Year Award” is determined entirely by public voting, which can be done daily during the voting period. The business with the most votes will be announced as the winner.

Small businesses are the backbone of our community. The Small Business Awards is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on these hardworking individuals and organizations that make a positive difference every day. We are thrilled to celebrate their achievements and contributions.

Nominees have just been announced across the 8 award categories. Congratulations to the final nominees

Event Impact Award (Sponsored By: Explore Waterloo Region)

• 4M Commercial Group/LUXE Realty
• Altitude Advisors
• Food4Kids Waterloo Region
• Gluten Free Fest
• Handbags for Hospice/Hospice of Waterloo Region
• National Service Dogs
• Vestika’s Oddities & Wellness

Service Excellence Award (Sponsored By: Waterloo Regional Police Service)

• Aion Appraisals & Consulting
• Ambassador Building Maintenance
• The Crack Specialists
• CulturedHR
• FoodZen
• Girls E Mentorship
• Ried Renos
• SURMESUR
• Vestikas Oddities & Wellness
• Worm Wrangler

Skilled Trades Award (Sponsored By: Grand Valley Construction Association)

• Bavarian Window Works
• Cross Heating & Air Conditioning
• Groundline Electric Inc.
• Ried Renos
• Welcome Home Construction

Professional of the Year Award (Sponsored By: Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning)

• Allister Scorgie (Explore WR)
• Chad McIntosh (Great Lakes Helicopter)
• Cheryl McKee (Principal of St. Jude’s)
• Christina Rauchfleisz Shantz (Legacy Builders)
• Christy Bertrand (BIA)
• Fogo Oriowo (A4C)
• Luca Lombardi (Kitchener Rangers)
• Peter Flannery (Clay & Glass)
• Shriaa Sheth (Accelerator Centre)

Family Business of the Year Award (Sponsored by S.G Cunningham Ltd.)

• Arnold Hearing Centres
• Evans Collective
• Fo’Cheezy Food Trucks
• Polocorp
• Shuh Orchards
• Welcome Home Construction

Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Sponsored By: Junior Achievement Waterloo Region)

• Accessibrand
• Ad Ops House
• At Home Co.
• AURA-LA Pastries + Provisions
• B Diversity Group
• Big Wish Marketing
• Blue Skies Bookkeeping
• Breakthrough Counselling
• Huckleberry Way
• I Sky Consulting
• Living Local Magazine
• Maya Moon Books
• Midtown Yoga
• Noteworthy Music Studio
• Puddles Swim School
• Ravenwood Tabletop
• Vanessa’s Cuisine
• Vestikas Oddities & Wellness
• Worm Wrangler

Employer of the Year Award (Sponsored By: Reis Informatica Inc.)

• Centre For Mutual Well-Being for Racialized communities
• Concordia Club
• Dana Shortt Gourmet
• Lyndon Fish Hatcheries
• Pathfinder Staffing

Exceptional Small Business of the Year Award (Sponsored By: Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan)

• AIM Robotics
• ALL Corporate Printing and Branding
• Breakthrough Counselling
• CulturedHR
• F45 Training
• Fo’Cheezy Food Trucks
• Food4Kids Waterloo Region
• Great Lakes Helicopter
• Heffner Cabinetry
• Ried Renos
• Subtly You
• Vanessa’s Cuisine
• Vestikas Oddities & Wellness
• Worm Wrangler

Winners will be announced live at the event on Tuesday October 27, 2026. Winners are never notified ahead of time.

For further information or to purchase tickets for this event please visit www.beagala.ca

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities please email Heather Hutchings, hhutchings@greaterkwchamber.com

The post BDC Small Business Awards 2026 Nominees appeared first on Greater KW Chamber of Commerce.

Radical, holistic, community-connected, silly, entrepreneurial, impact-oriented, committed, anti-oppressive –  does this sound like you,  or someone you know?

Level Up is looking for a Treasurer to help us stewad our finances in support of our mission and the young people in our community. This role blends strategic thinking with hands-on financial management, including financial planning, annual budgets and tracking, grant and program budgets, monthly account reconciliation, tax and regulatory compliance, and payment processing. You’ll help ensure our finances are sound, transparent, and accountable.

Our current Board is a dynamic, caring, and delightful bunch. We can’t wait to welcome someone with new perspectives, skills, and life experiences into our collective!

Time commitment: 1-2 hours per week

Term: 1-2+ years

Interested, or know someone who might be a great fit? Questions, resumes, and cover letters are welcome at weleveluP-info@gmail.com  by December 11, 2026.

Level Up is committed to reflecting the diversity of Waterloo Region. We welcome and encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences. Accommodation is available upon request.

The post Level Up appeared first on Capacity Canada.

♦

When I was a kid, it was a special treat to tuck into the little mini-cereal boxes known as Kellogg’s “Fun Pac” or “Variety Pack.” The ridiculously sweet breakfast “food” was a childhood favourite, that is when our parents allowed us to pick it off the grocery-store shelf from the myriad choices in the infamous cereal aisle.

But when I bought the eight-pack recently — two each of Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops (my favourite), Corn Pops and Rice Krispies (why are those included??) — I discovered that the “H-shaped” perforations were no longer part of the packaging.

THAT was what made the little boxes so cool! Slit open the cuts and you had a “bowl-in-the-box” treat for pouring in the milk, turning on Saturday-morning Looney Tunes and munching on crunchy sugar cereal while Elmer hunted Bugs. Needless to say, I was very disappointed not to be able to share the experience with Enzo.

The silly but fun little treats with the precise perforations for vivisecting Tony or Toucan Sam and surgically opening the box first appeared on the market in 1942, amazingly, and have been discontinued and re-introduced twice. More’s the pity that they are gone now. In our family, we used to bring the beauties camping: the packing genius was perfect for breakfast around a campfire.

This past week, Enzo and I had to use a knife and scissors to mechanically and manually make the H-cut ourselves — sans perforations.

Who knows why the boxes have once again been reduced to tearing open the box top. I imagine you could cite various reasons like food safety or new packaging technology or simply changing times and cereal mores (I refuse to believe that), but in an era of shrinkflation and cost-cutting, I’m guessing it was a craven attempt by dastardly Kellogg’s to shave a few cents off a product where they could in order to shove more money in the Big Cereal coffers and ruin a kid’s fun.

And mine.

Check out my latest post Fun Pac “bowl-in-the-box” cereal let down from AndrewCoppolino.com.

Kitchener, ON – Creativity, collaboration, and community impact took centre stage at Creative Day for Social Good (CD4SG), a two-day event hosted by Capacity Canada at Conestoga College’s Doon campus that brought together Graphic Design students, nonprofit organizations, and industry professionals to help charities address real-world communications and marketing challenges.

Working alongside participating nonprofits, students developed a range of creative and marketing assets, including logos, brand identities, website designs, promotional materials, and communications strategies to help organizations increase their reach, strengthen their brands, and advance their missions. Guided by industry mentors, students gained hands-on experience while organizations received fresh ideas and practical resources to support their work.

♦

“Creative Day for Social Good demonstrates what’s possible when passionate people come together with a shared purpose,” said Cathy Brothers, CEO of Capacity Canada. “By connecting students with nonprofit organizations, we are creating valuable learning experiences while helping strengthen the capacity of organizations working every day to make our communities better. The creativity, energy, and innovation we witnessed these past two days are inspiring.”

Throughout the event, students worked directly with nonprofit organizations to develop practical solutions tailored to each organization’s unique needs. In addition to delivering creative assets and strategic recommendations, the experience helped students strengthen their problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills while providing nonprofits with valuable creative support.

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“In school, students work on a lot of projects, but they don’t always have the opportunity to collaborate with clients and industry professionals or navigate the deadlines that come with professional work,” said Matt Miller, Executive-in-Residence at Capacity Canada. “This experience helps students build teamwork skills, apply their creativity in a professional setting, and develop portfolio pieces while making a meaningful contribution to a nonprofit organization.”

“Many nonprofits have incredible missions but limited resources for design and marketing,” said Leslie Jennings of Overdrive Design, who served as an Account Manager and mentor for the team working with Crow Shield Lodge. “Creative Day for Social Good helps bridge that gap. Over these two days, we built relationships, exchanged ideas, and created opportunities for students and nonprofits to learn from one another. The outcomes demonstrate the power of creativity and collaboration to make a meaningful difference in our communities.”

Creative Day for Social Good reflects Capacity Canada’s commitment to strengthening nonprofit organizations by connecting them with the resources, knowledge, and partnerships they need to thrive. Established in 2010, the program is celebrating its 16th year of empowering charities through creativity and collaboration.

♦

Since its inception, more than 1,400 students have worked alongside 171 nonprofit organizations, generating an estimated $2.4 million worth of pro bono creative services. From marketing campaigns and communications plans to logos, brand development, website design, and promotional materials, the program has helped nonprofits access high-quality creative support while providing students with valuable real-world experience.

Find more information about Creative Day For Social Good here.

Written by: Nasreen, Director of Communications, Capacity Canada

Email: nasreen@capacitycanada.ca 

The post Creative Day for Social Good Connects Students and Nonprofits to Create Meaningful Community Impact appeared first on Capacity Canada.

Community Living Port Colborne-Wainfleet (CLPCW) is seeking an experienced, strategic, and values-driven Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the organization in advancing its mission, vision, and commitment to quality, person-centred services.

This is an opportunity for a dynamic leader who is passionate about the developmental services sector and committed to empowering individuals with developmental disabilities to live meaningful, inclusive, and fulfilling lives within their communities.

Reporting directly to the Board of Directors, the CEO will provide strategic direction, organizational leadership, and operational oversight to support CLPCW’s long-term sustainability, service excellence, and continued growth. The successful candidate will promote a positive workplace culture that values collaboration, encourages accountability, demonstrates mutual respect, and supports ongoing organizational growth and improvement.

The ideal candidate will bring demonstrated senior leadership experience, strong financial and operational acumen, and the ability to build trusted relationships with employees, families, government representatives, community partners, and other stakeholders.

Strategic Leadership and Organizational Development

• Develop, implement, and evaluate strategic plans that advance CLPCW’s mission, vision, values, and organizational objectives.
• Translate the Board of Directors’ strategic priorities into operational plans, measurable objectives, and organizational outcomes.
• Establish and approve operational plans, policies, and performance standards aligned with the organization’s strategic direction.
• Monitor organizational performance, review reports and financial statements, and adjust priorities and plans in response to emerging needs, risks, and opportunities.

Operational and Financial Management

• Oversee organizational operations to ensure effective service delivery, quality client care, regulatory compliance, and responsible resource management.
• Provide oversight of budgeting, financial performance, and resource allocation to support organizational priorities and long-term financial sustainability.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for organizational growth, service development, and innovation while maintaining alignment with CLPCW’s mission and values.
• Evaluate leadership team performance and ensure accountability for organizational policies, strategic objectives, and operational outcomes.
• Proactively identify organizational challenges, operational barriers, and potential risks, implementing strategies to mitigate concerns and support informed decision-making.

People Leadership and Organizational Culture

• Cultivate a positive, inclusive, and collaborative workplace culture that supports employee engagement, professional development, and organizational effectiveness.
• Promote respectful communication, accountability, and consistency in leadership practices across all levels of the organization.

Board Governance and Accountability

• Report directly to the Board of Directors and support the Board in fulfilling its governance responsibilities.
• Provide timely, accurate, and relevant information to inform Board decision-making and strategic oversight.
• Implement Board-approved strategic priorities, policies, and objectives.

Government Relations, Community Engagement and Fundraising

• Represent CLPCW with professionalism and credibility in dealings with government officials, funding bodies, community organizations, media, and other external stakeholders.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with all funding sources and promote the organization’s priorities and needs to all levels of government.
• Monitor sector developments, government policies, legislative changes, and funding opportunities that may affect the organization.
• Participate in external committees, sector networks, legislative discussions, and community events that advance CLPCW’s strategic objectives.
• Provide leadership and oversight of fundraising initiatives and activities to strengthen community support and diversify revenue opportunities.
• Identify and develop strategic partnerships that enhance organizational visibility, community engagement, and service sustainability.

Family and Stakeholder Relationships

• Promote open, respectful, and ongoing dialogue between CLPCW, individuals supported, family members, and other key stakeholders.
• Champion a person-centred approach that prioritizes dignity, inclusion, choice, and quality of life.

• A Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) is an asset.
• A Master’s Degree in Health Administration, with an undergraduate degree in Business and/or Economics or Social Sciences

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in senior leadership, with demonstrated responsibility for organizational strategy, operations, and performance.
• Demonstrated experience working within a unionized environment
• In-depth knowledge of the developmental services sector, including its operating environment, funding structures, regulatory requirements, and emerging priorities.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, organizational development, and program development.
• Strong financial management skills, including budgeting, financial analysis, and resource allocation.
• Experience working effectively with a Board of Directors and supporting strong governance practices.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain positive relationships with employees, families, government representatives, funders, and external stakeholders.
• Experience with fundraising, government relations, community engagement, and partnership development is an asset.

Salary Range: $125,000–$140,000 annually, based on a 40-hour work week. The salary will be commensurate with the successful candidate’s qualifications and years of relevant experience.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their cover letter and resume to:  tfoisey@clpcw.com

CLPCW will provide, upon request, accommodation to the materials and processes used in the recruitment process in accordance with the accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Integrated Accessibility Standards.

We thank all applicants for their interest but regret that only those considered for an interview will be contacted.

The post Community Living Port Colborne – Wainfleet appeared first on Capacity Canada.

Nutrition for Learning offers universally accessible, non-stigmatizing student nutrition programs to schools across Waterloo Region. These programs positively impact the physical, cognitive, behavioural, social, and academic needs of children and youth in our community. We are a registered charitable organization first established in 1997, and support nearly 175 student programs in all three school boards. (WRDSB -Waterloo Region District School Board, WCDSB – Waterloo Catholic District School Board and the French Language Public School Board).

Nutrition for Learning is an established charity in Southwestern Ontario dedicated to ensuring children and youth have equitable access to nutritious food. Each school year, they provide over 2-million meals to approximately 100,000 students.

A well-funded organization, our client receives funding from a robust mix of government, corporate, and individual and has an established funding development program. Additionally, Nutrition for Learning has a strong Management Team and Board of Directors.

As a well-established, community-based organization, Nutrition for Learning is seeking to build on a strong history of improving access to nutritious food for children and youth. The Board is recruiting a new CEO.

What you bring to this role:

• Seasoned leadership skills: demonstrated transparent, high integrity leadership approach with developed executive skills; 5-10 years of senior leadership experience, in a not-for-profit organization
• Strong operational skills
• Government Relations & Advocacy experience
• A team builder with a record of overseeing effective and cohesive functional management
• Successful track record in fundraising and revenue diversification, including donor stewardship and relationship-based development as well as building positive relationships with community partners. Track record of fund development with government agencies, School Boards, sector partners, corporations and individual donors
• Strategic thinker who can articulate a vision and build trusted relationships
• Proven financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, audited financial statements, funder reporting, and internal controls.
• Strong relationship builder with organization influencers, funders, partner agencies, including government agencies, and volunteers
• Experience working with a Board of Directors
• Strong work ethic and self-motivated
• Strong oral, written and communication skills including comfortable in public speaking and presenting to large groups
• Must provide a Police Record Check/Vulnerable Sector Screening Check

Assets:

• Private sector experience

Education: University degree in a related discipline

• Compensation range of $150k – $170k commensurate with experience
• Competitive benefits including: health, prescription drugs, dental, optical and vision
• Mileage reimbursement
• A strong management team

This search is being conducted by crawfordconnect, a search firm specializing in recruiting leaders for Canada’s nonprofit sector. For more information about the position, please contact Liz Latimer at liz@crawfordconnect.com.

Qualified applicants are invited to email their cover letter and resume to Liz Latimer, Senior Search Consultant, at liz@crawfordconnect.com.

Although the deadline for applications is November 2, 2026, early applications are encouraged. The posting will be closed early with sufficient applications.

We thank all applicants for applying; however, only qualified candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please know that crawfordconnect verifies the contents of resumes and conducts background checks. If there is anything we need to know about, we ask you to disclose it as early in the process as possible.

Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of satisfactory professional references and applicable background checks. Background checks will be conducted in accordance with applicable privacy and human rights legislation and will be relevant to the requirements and responsibilities of the position. Candidates will be informed of the nature and scope of any required checks and will be asked to provide consent before they are conducted. AI may be used.

The post Nutrition for Learning appeared first on Capacity Canada.

Isn't it just a son of a gun when you learn basic facts and knowledge about your contaminated water supply 36 years after the event? Only in the town of Elmira in Woolwich Township where municipal and regional politicians instead of standing up for their citizens and constituents would rather back a provincial coverup between the Ministry of Environment, Liberal and Conservative governments and Uniroyal Chemical and successors. If as I've just learned that NDMA does degrade in a reasonable time frame in aerobic environments such as shallow soils and at a slower rate in anaerobic soils then how is it possible to still have it so far above drinking water standards 36 years later? Well!

First of all let me say this: going on 29 years of pump and treat maybe hasn't been doing all the heavy lifting. Likely natural attenuation via biodegradation in the sub-surface has done a lot of that and CRA/GHD/Lanxess are just taking the credit. Not that they would ever deceive us. Hell no!

There are a number of possible reasons why their efforts have been so ineffective despite a quarter century of false promises claiming guaranteed success by 2028. There are most likely other sources of NDMA besides Uniroyal Chemical. The two most likely are Varnicolor Chemical and Borg Textile conveniently right in the middle of the damn plume leaving the Uniroyal site. Sanyo Canada has also been on my radar for a long while albeit with less evidence than the other two long shut down companies. Also interference from the hundred or hundreds of other solvents and chemical compounds both Uniroyal and Varnicolor dumped, spilled and leaked into the natural environment may have slowed the biodegradation of NDMA.

Dissolved chlorobenzene degradation has been slowed down not only due to an excess of nearly 2,000 kg. of it above and beyond allegedly what Uniroyal contributed but also by the fact that being a DNAPL chemical, it dissolves into the groundwater very slowly. Despite that Lanxess are looking at a bioremediation method for chlorobenzene which may or may not produce results. One question I have is whether their recently proposed amendments to stimulate bacterial degradation will work for any other compounds in the groundwater. It does nothing for NDMA  however there is an emerging technology that promotes a particular sub-surface bacteria that breaks down NDMA. This emerging technology uses a compound that most likely will not assist bacteria to break down other sub-surface toxic compounds. 

My understanding is that the emerging NDMA technology needs to be used with caution. It can produce by-products for example such as ammonia which in aquifers already contaminated by ammonia is hardly ideal. Other problems include that its' efficacy can be reduced if the corporate jerks who contaminated the aquifers in the first place were so antisocial and environmentally unwise that they dumped/spilled/buried any and all types and kinds of toxins. In other words because of the variety and sheer volumes of so many contaminants this emerging technology might not work here in Elmira. 

Frankly I still think that Lanxess won't throw good money after bad and actually seriously look at all the poisons in our drinking water courtesy of our local corporate twits and decide to actually go after all of them including dioxins and DDT. It is so much simpler and easier to go through the motions and keep mostly local people attending meetings four or five times a year, chasing shadows.       

A fast type checker and language server for Python

Rust 7.1k 35 issues need help Updated Oct 20

St. Leonard’s Place Peel is a non-profit charitable organization providing transitional and supportive housing for men who have experienced homelessness, mental health and substance use issues and involvement with the justice system.

For over 55 years, we’ve created a safe and healing environment with wrap-around supports where men can thrive and enhance their lives through a person-centered approach that focuses on hope, empowerment, compassion and respect.

As a member of our Board of Directors, you will share in the fulfillment of the organization’s

mission, vision, and values and ensuring SLPP remains responsive to the evolving needs of the community we serve. Board members help shape strategic direction and champion strong governance practices, including oversight of policy development, financial stewardship, risk management, and regulatory compliance. Members typically serve a two-year term for a maximum of three terms.

We welcome applications from community members with expertise in fundraising, policy and governance, healthcare administration, information technology, finance, government relations, and collaborative service delivery. Leadership in these areas strengthens our ability to deliver safe, supportive, and life-enhancing environments for the men who call SLPP home.

Strategic Direction & Planning:

• Participate in setting and monitoring the strategic directions and policies of the organization.
• Participate in the development of long-term plans for the organization.
• Keep up to date on developments in the sectors.
• Be informed about the organization’s mission, services, policies, and programs.

Fiscal Oversight & Risk Management:

• Ensure fiscal responsibility.
• Assist the Board in carrying out its fiduciary responsibilities.
• Exercise reasonable care in all decision making, without placing the organization under unnecessary risk.
• Act as stewards of public trust.

Governance, Ethics & Accountability

• Follow conflict of interest and confidentiality policies.
• Exercise duty to be loyal and honest, act in good faith, and act in the best interest of the organization.
• Actively participate in all evaluations by the board.

Board & Committee Engagement

• Attend and actively participate in Board meetings (approximately (6 per year).
• Serve on a minimum of one committee of the board.
• Stay informed about committee matters, prepare well for meetings, and review/comment on minutes and reports.
• Work collegially with other directors and committee members.

Community Engagement & Organizational Support

• Participate in fund-raising for the organization.
• Represent the organization at community events when needed.
• Mentor new Directors.

Our Board members are stewards of SLPP’s mission, vision, and values, which guide our work and reflect our commitment to client-centered, inclusive, and evidence-informed care.

MISSION: We are dedicated to supporting our clients, building their capacity and enabling the development of key life skills through evidence-informed holistic programs and services that optimize quality of life.

VISION: We will be an innovative leader committed to building safe and healthier communities of inclusion that care for and value each and every individual.

VALUES:

• Client-centered: We believe in the resiliency of our clients, their voice, their right to human dignity and care that is integrated, coordinated and accessible.
• Excellence: We are committed to excellence in all aspects of our work through evidence-informed practice and an unwavering commitment to our mission.
• Collaborative: We take pride in working cooperatively with a broad range of community partners towards the goal of creating a healthy and safe community.
• Innovative: We strive to meet the ever-evolving needs of our clients though new and innovative approaches to client-centered care.
• Accountable: We take seriously our obligation to provide the highest quality of care to our clients, and will be transparent in all areas of work, performance, outcomes and deliverables.

Meetings: ~6 per year, typically the 4th Monday of the month plus committee meetings. Additionally, this role also includes participation in strategic planning days and community events that support the organization.

Location: Brampton, Ontario. Virtual and in-person meetings as scheduled.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume and cover letter to HR@slpp.ca by November 15, 2026.

We thank all applicants for their interest in St. Leonard’s Place Peel.

Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

St. Leonard’s Place Peel welcomes and encourages applications from qualified candidates of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that reflects and supports the diverse communities we serve.

St. Leonard’s Place Peel is committed to providing accommodations in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code

throughout the recruitment, selection, and employment process. If you require accommodation at any stage of the process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs in a respectful and timely manner.

St. Leonard’s Place Peel is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all.

The post St. Leonard’s Place Peel appeared first on Capacity Canada.

Dissolved concentrations in Elmira's groundwater of NDMA and chlorobenzene are as low right now as they've likely ever been since Uniroyal Chemical graced our town around 1942 and then destroyed our beautiful Creek and poisoned our parents and grandparents. That poisoning was via both air emissions and surface dumping. Dissolved NDMA and chlorobenzene can both be removed via pumping and treating of groundwater. It's the undissolved masses of those chemicals plus the hundred or more conveniently ignored others that is the real problem beneath Elmira. These masses are attached to soils within low permeable aquitards (clay & silt) and as the concentrations within nearby groundwater (sand & gravel aquifers) are reduced these masses slowly back diffuse from the aquitards into the aquifers. It has taken decades for these chemicals to initially diffuse into the aquitards and it will take decades more for them to fully back diffuse into the aquifers. That is part of the problem. Then we have both free phase and residual DNAPL which is an even larger problem. Some of the DNAPL (Dense Non Aqueous Phase Liquid) came from Uniroyal Chemical, some from Varnicolor Chemical and the source of the long proven DNAPL but denied by Uniroyal/M.O.E. at OW57-32R (beside Howard St. Water Tower) until recently (2014), is unknown. It could be from Uniroyal, Varnicolor or even the former Borg Textiles across Howard Ave. from the former Varnicolor Chemical. 

To further complicate matters is the problem of DDT and dioxins. Perhaps PCBs are also a similar part of this problem. These are all known POPS or Persistent Organic Pollutants that are present in Elmira and the downstream Canagagigue Creek courtesy of Uniroyal Chemical mostly, with Varnicolor and other older local manufacturers on the hook for the PCBs. Generally speaking they have been totally ignored in our groundwater under Elmira whereas they have been tested for and found above all health criteria repeatedly downstream in the Canagagigue ("Gig"). They are all mobilized by solvents which both Uniroyal and Varnicolor had and grossly mismanaged for decades. They are also both dissolved and mobilized in free phase DNAPL which both companies had in spades. They are the elephants in the room which our corrupt Ministry of Environment (MECP) and Uniroyal/Lanxess  pretend do not dissolve in groundwater and hence can be ignored. In fact they do dissolve in groundwater at low concentrations which however do exceed the Ontario Drinking Water Standards (ODWS). If they were totally incapable of existing within groundwater and drinking water then why does Ontario have drinking water standards for them?                             

The Canagagigue Creek right now likely has the lowest concentrations of dissolved solvents it has had also since 1942. It has a ton however of DDT, dioxins, PCBs and mercury. While not all of these are  directly due to Uniroyal Chemical; wildlife, fish, the benthic community and human beings have and continue to suffer health effects from them. They have been sampled, tested and talked to death without a single shovel full of them and other Uniroyal contaminants (PAHs) having been removed. However just as with Elmira's groundwater failures there is absolutely no shortage of excuses, magic bullets or other psuedo cleanup remedies suggested mostly to keep idle hands on Woolwich's tightly controlled and phony public consultation body TRAC busy. TRAC is all for public show as they don't have a clue as to what is important and what they should be doing and this is as intended by Woolwich, RMOW, MECP and Lanxess Canada.  

♦

I’m very glad the Milwaukee Brewers have just swept the bad ol’ Los Angeles Dodgers for the MLB National League pennant, a reversal of last year’s broom. And the Brewers did it with nearly half the payroll (about 43%) of LA! It was a great result for a small-market team.

What’s cool about the Brewers, besides the way they play baseball, is their name and some of the beverage iconography that goes with it (though, granted, the Dodgers have a community-based history in their name that goes back to the team’s days in Brooklyn).

Otherwise, though, look around the league, and other sports leagues, and there are some pretty lame — and meaningless — names. For instance, there aren’t an unusual number of blue jays, orioles or cardinals in Toronto, Baltimore and St. Louis, respectively: those are just dumb names attached to the teams for no real reason. They are cute birds, sure, but that’s it. There is no inherent connection. The Jays, especially given this past season, could just as easily have been named the Toronto Grackles.

The Brewers, however, have a perfect connection with their city: beer. Besides an obvious link in the name itself, their uniform over the years has captured that spirit of suds. (The intertwined “MB” on their cap that forms a glove and ball was designed by a Wisconsin art student.) At one point in the team’s history, the letter “M” appeared overlaid on a barley stalk. And they once had a cartoon character, “barrelman,” swinging a bat — it was goofy, but he was wearing a wooden oak-stave beer barrel.

Currently, depending on the particular uniform, the Brewers’ jerseys might feature an arm patch emblematic of their defining “baseball-and-barley” heritage, with the two literally intertwined: the baseball’s stitched red seams are replaced by what’s known as “two-row barley,” an important grain that is used extensively in brewing and malting and which has two rows of kernels along the length of its stalk.

The blend of baseball and barley immediately links the team to their community in the most relevant way — with a strong, assertive nod to the city’s brewing history and the great historical beer names like Miller, Schlitz, Pabst and the wonderfully fun named, Blatz (Valentin Blatz brought brewing bottom-fermentation knowledge from Bavaria in the 19th century that benefitted the entire U.S. brewing industry). Each of these original beer producers based historically in Wisconsin helped define especially lager brewing in America and the cities in which thousands were employed.

When it’s a question of what’s in a name, a Toronto Blue Jay is, well, meh and says nothing about Canada’s largest city. But in a midwestern city known for its brewing history? What could be more perfect? A beer and a hotdog at the ball park. Go Brewers Go!

Check out my latest post Baseball and barley: Go Brewers Go! from AndrewCoppolino.com.

Firstly there probably is not a one size fits all methodology. There is of course a huge incentive for polluters to want to make friends with and cozy up to citizen leaders. Polluters want the appearance of being reasonable,  open to discussion and debate, professionals. Plain stupidity may swing some people over to the corporate ideology but I really don't believe that Susan Bryant is either stupid or a "true believer" in that sense despite her father's corporate background in Rochester with Kodak. I have for some years felt that she was simply motivated by ego, selfishness and status. Maybe that is too harsh although her behaviour is certainly sociopathic. Literally in decades of knowing her I've only seen her break character a couple of times. That requires tremendous focus and determination.

A more generous interpretation may be that her intelligence combined with her sociopathic tendencies promoted her ability to be ruthless. A true sociopath often is smarter than average and leverages that intelligence to get their way. A sociopath does not question their own behaviour as much as the rest of us do. A sociopath knows where they want to go and honest or decent people in their path must be removed by whatever means possible. Susan has behaved towards a couple of friends and colleagues including myself in an absolutely horrifying way. She did it without warning and without regret. Her behaviour was beyond ruthless and brutal. Frankly until I was on the receiving end I did not think it possible for anyone to so effectively and without remorse approach another person, feign friendship and then wait patiently for years to strike from behind. And not to ever feel bad, look sad, remorseful or guilty. And of course never to apologize even decades later. Why would she apologize if she is a true believer in getting what she wants literally by any means and at any cost?

Again maybe I'm being too understanding or gentle in my interpretation of the horrid things that she has done. Maybe in fact she is solely motivated by self importance and status. Yet she continues into her old age to stay involved albeit at a much less intense and energetic pace. She has long stated her desire to have the downstream Canagagigue Creek cleaned up. In my opinion she has sold the farm, given unnecessary concessions to the polluter and sold her own integrity all for promises from long time proven polluters and liars. Promises that to date and since the 1990s are nothing but corporate bull manure. How smart is that exactly? 

In fact I truly believe that Susan Bryant almost singlehandedly with the exception of two wing women (Sylvia Berg & Pat McLean) has been the major reason that Uniroyal Chemical and successors have succeeded in NOT cleaning our aquifers OR the downstream Canagagigue Creek. She has provided them with cover. She has provided them with the appearance of corporate entities who while reluctant to spend cleanup money at least are sitting down and honestly having decades of dialogue with citizens. Unfortunately just like Sebastian and Linda who are long term TRAC members all this does is give formerly Uniroyal and now Lanxess Canada credibility as if they are honestly looking either for a compromise or some sort of acceptable cleanup solution. In fact the companies have been running out the clock for decades now. Talk is cheap, real cleanup is expensive. Susan has received honours and accolades from various government levels including municipal, regional and likely provincial. Governments are even more securely in bed with corporate polluters than Susan has ever been. Honours from them are hypocritical and worthless and Susan knows that but accepts them anyways. Why?  

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It was also the most difficult and it was literally on  a moment's notice. I loved being a member of APT Environment. I loved both the technical reports and data that I was reading, absorbing and questioning as well as the social events they held. My wife and children were also strongly welcomed by the APTE membership and this made the decision to resign in protest on the spot excruciatingly difficult and painful. Of course the contemptible and dishonest behaviour of Sylvia Berg in hindsight was intended to produce that result. Undoubtedly she received at the minimum a Christmas card full of Xs and Os (love & kisses) from David Ash and Uniroyal Chemical. I have over the decades tended to minimize my personal negative impact on the credibility of Conestoga Rovers (CRA), Uniroyal, M.O.E. and other dishonest parties. According to Wilf Ruland (hydrogeologist & good friend of Susan Bryant) I was a quick study and absorbed more hydrogeological knowledge than any other layperson he had met. This was a direct threat to the now proven substandard and cheapest remediation method focusing on hydraulic containment or pump & treat technology. Oddly enough in the early days it was Susan Bryant of APTE who referred to pump & treat as "pump & dump". 

Susan and husband were in India in the fall of 1993. Sylvia, Glenys McMullen and I worked on responding to Conestoga Rovers latest DNAPL report. It was essentially nonsensical in light of the various professionally accepted technical criteria that had been presented such as soil and groundwater concentrations of DNAPL components. I did most of the technical stuff with Glenys and Sylvia editing and discussing specifics with me about our response. In hindsight I was much too naive and trusting and should have been forewarned when Sylvia insisted that my name alone be put on APTE's response. I later concluded she already knew that APTE would not publicly be challenging CRA's report or the December 10/93 M.O.E. (Min. of Environment) report accepting CRA's perverted conclusions in their latest DNAPL report. 

The "on the spot" resignation was due to Rich Clausi resigning after APTE coordinaters accepted Sylvia's DNAPL position that it just wasn't that big of a deal to protest and Sylvia then announced she could no longer work with me on the UPAC committee hence I was off it. Richard's resignation was a surprise but then he was fully up to date on the DNAPL specifics, the APTE co-ordinaters were not and the vote became essentially a popularity contest. Sylvia just like Susan Bryant publicly was strongly against Uniroyal Chemical at that point plus she had been with APTE longer than I.   

DNAPLS were and are the defining problem both on and off the Uniroyal Chemical site. I knew they were a big deal in the early 1990s as I'd read not only CRA and Morrison-Beatty reports on them but also gone to the University of Waterloo main library and read other professional reports describing the long term pollution issues they caused. That said, in hindsight, they have proven to be an even larger problem locally than I could have imagined. They are why chlorobenzene which if as we were falsely advised by Uniroyal and consultants were fully dissolved and no longer existed in the free phase (i.e. non-aqueous) form would have been easily reduced below drinking water standards both by pump & treat as well as by natural attenuation (sub-surface bacteria (bio-remediation)). This has not occurred and they have focused on NDMA's low drinking water standard of .009 parts per billion as the problem when they can't even get chlorobenzene down to its' drinking water standard of 80 parts per billion.

Personally I hated resigning but I knew the truth was obvious and was shocked at Sylvia's behaviour and attitude. She and her drinking buddy (coke / pepsi ?) Glenys totally reneged on their position and attitudes as shown in our joint DNAPL response under the APTE headline albeit only with my name on  the bottom. 

♦

Roots, tubers and bulbs – much of what we might refer to as fall or “winter” vegetables – have long sustained most of the earth’s population and were among humankind’s first foods: plant roots were likely what ancient hunter-gatherers grubbed up out of the ground even before they had figured out fishing, hunting and fire. Root vegetables, you could say, are in our culinary DNA.

Yet, beets, turnips and parsnips have gotten short shrift; until now, that is: autumn harvest vegetables have gained a renewed appreciation as a comfort food appearing on more restaurant menus as meat prices rise and dietary choices change.

So when the temperatures dip and a north wind blows, root vegetables like parsnips, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, and beets are what a hot oven is calling out for.

Tips and techniques for cooking
Of course, there’s no avoiding that adding a bit of fat to root vegetables can really boost their richness and flavour profiles. On grills or slow roasting in ovens, getting a bit of char and caramelization on the vegetables brings out added sweetness and flavour.

When you can, add some citrus or other acidity to your vegetable preparation too: a little bit of vinegar, orange zest or lemon juice, for instance, can enhance the flavours and moderate bitterness.

Try them naked as well: raw fall vegetables grated or shaved adds flavour and crunch to your dishes. Open up the spice and herb cabinet and apply liberal seasonings of spices and herbs – both fresh and dried – to seasonal fall vegetables.

Potatoes
Probably North America’s most consumed tuber, the humble potato is, of course, the stuff of French fries, but it is also a source of vitamin C. They don’t need to be prepared in mashed or baked forms only.

Oven-roasted potatoes are a thing of beauty as well: peel them, cut them in half, blanch them in salted water to almost fully cooked, slather them with duck fat or veg oil, season with salt and pepper, and tumble them into a pan and get them roasting at a high temperature until they are crispy and brown.

Sweet potatoes
A nutrition dynamo, sweet potatoes are versatile: honey-roasted, put into pancakes, baked, pureed and served with pecans and goat cheese, made into soup as well as chips and sweet potato fries.

As for local, look no further than the Simcoe area of southern Ontario: that’s where Canada’s largest producer of sweet potatoes is located.

Brussels sprouts
Related to the cabbage, Brussels (always plural!) sprouts are a perfect fall and winter menu addition. Growing along a tall, slender stalk, the sprouts tend to add bitterness to a plate; adjust that by cutting them in half, blanching and pan-frying or roasting them. Adding bacon to the sprouts adds even more appeal, if that is your thing.

Carrots
A swollen taproot, carrots might be harvested well into late fall. Multi-purpose in nature, carrots can take on a rich and warming Middle Eastern or North African character by adding to them hints of wintry spices like cinnamon, cumin and coriander.

And, if you want to know, the “original” carrot wasn’t orange – that colour appeared only in the 17th century. Additionally, the Elizabethans of Shakespeare’s time considered them only as feed for animals.

Celeriac
Not a particularly attractive vegetable, the bulbous celeriac is similar in taste to celery, of which it is a variety. Try it roasted with apples, bacon and maple syrup. Shred or grate it and add it to salads with radicchio, orange and cashews; or, boil and puree it seasoned for an interesting and flavourful plating foundation to a grilled piece of meat.

Black radish
Somewhat similar to its smaller red cousin, the baseball-sized black radish is very hard and can be sliced paper-thin or grated to add flavour and crispness to a salad.

Leeks
Leeks, related to onions and garlic, can tolerate the cold very well and that makes them a great fall vegetable. We are actually close to a major leek producer located in Paris, Ontario: many of the leeks you buy at the supermarket are likely from Canning Produce Inc.

While they do require more careful cleaning between the leaves, they are like two vegetables in one: a white oniony portion and a green “cabbage-tasting” portion. Leeks add terrific flavour to soups and stews but are also excellent roasted, braised, and grilled and tossed with walnuts and herbs. Try them in pasta dishes, frittatas, and in barley preparations.

Parsnips
When roasted, parsnips blend a lovely sweet quality with their tartness. That’s because when “nipped by the frost,” as the saying goes, the large quantity of starch in a parsnip (more than a carrot) converts to sugars. Parsnips pair well with fall apples in making a delicious soup too.

Beets
Red, orange, yellow or “candy cane,” beets have too long been ignored as an excellent earthy and sweet complement to a centre-of-the-plate protein. Try roasting multi-coloured beets or making them into a soup with sour cream.

Use them in a hummus dip or candied with cayenne pepper and cumin seeds. They combine well with other vegetables and legumes such as lentils for a hearty and satisfying vegetarian main dish, and they can even be used with chocolate in a unique cake dessert too. What’s at the opposite end of a beet variety? Swiss chard, in fact.

Turnips and rutabagas
They are not the same thing: the former are the purple and white globes, while the rutabaga is larger and often yellow-fleshed. It is starchier and sweeter than the nicely bitter turnip. Both can be used in stews, vegetable medleys, roasted and pureed.

Cauliflower
Of late, cauliflower has taken off as a hot vegetable dish. A member of the Brassica family, cauliflower comes in a few different colours, all with delicious florets (also interestingly known as “curds”).

It’s a versatile fall veg that can be pureed or simply broken down, seasoned and oiled and roasted to golden brown in the oven. This roasting method even works for a whole cauliflower. Adding a bit of lemon juice or some milk to the water will help prevent discolouration when boiling.

Check out my latest post Fall veg are delicious and versatile from AndrewCoppolino.com.

Hate speech is rising worldwide, amplified by new communication technologies, and I’m concerned it could leak into our workplaces.

When it happens, the most powerful thing you can do is make it clear that you don’t agree.

In a recent interview with Nature, psychologist Mirta Galesic, PhD, who studies hate speech and counterspeech, recommends a surprisingly simple response:

“I disagree.”

She explains,

“Don’t feel pressured to have an elaborate argument. Just express your dissent — not to change the mind of the commenter, but to show people that others have a different opinion.”

Why does that matter? Because when nobody speaks up, silence can make extreme views seem more widely accepted than they actually are.

Share this action on Instagram or LinkedIn.

This week’s Better Allies content is sponsored by:

Inclusion starts with the documents you share. Every inaccessible PDF leaves out a colleague or candidate using a screen reader. Grackle PDF helps you change that easily: drag, drop, done. Start your 14-day free trial, no cost, at app.gracklepdf.com.

In honor of International Pronouns Day on October 21st, here’s a quick reminder to share your pronouns.

When we include our pronouns in our introductions, email signatures, name tags, or video-conference profiles, we help normalize sharing them. This is helpful to genderfluid, transgender, and non-binary people who can face frequent pushback when they share their pronouns or ask others to use them.

My friend Jeannie Gainsburg, author of The Savvy Ally, created a brief video explaining why sharing pronouns matters.

She also offers this suggestion: If you include your pronouns in your email signature, add the word “Why?” with a link to her video.

That way, you’re not only sharing your pronouns. You’re helping others understand why it matters.

After all, knowledge shared is knowledge squared. 💡

Over the weekend, comedian Shane Gillis hosted Saturday Night Live. During his monologue, he joked about seeing women wearing shorts at the gym: “I didn’t know women just dressed like whores now.”

Actor Dan Levy pushed back in a now viral Instagram reel:

“Women wearing shorts at the gym does not make them whores. It makes the men calling them whores misogynists.”

Exactly. Women shouldn’t have to contend with being demeaned for what they wear. And when we stay silent in response to comments like these, we risk normalizing the attitudes behind them.

As I shared in action #1, speaking up doesn’t have to mean launching into a long argument. Sometimes a few words are enough to signal that a comment isn’t okay.

Try one of these phrases the next time you hear someone objectifying women:

• We don’t do that here.
• Ouch.
• I don’t get the joke. Can you explain it to me? (If they’re trying to be funny, like Gillis.)
• I disagree.

I learn from subscribers regularly, and I deeply appreciate every person who takes the time to share feedback.

After last week’s newsletter, where I referenced a white paper, a few people reached out and suggested I use a different term, such as guide, report, thought piece, or case study.

I hadn’t considered that when writing the newsletter. But it got me thinking: Is white paper non-inclusive language?

I explored a similar question in a 2024 newsletter. My guidance, informed by inclusive language expert Suzanne Wertheim, PhD, is to avoid using white to connote something good and black to represent something bad.

For example, in IT, instead of using white list and black list to describe internet domains and services that are good (allowed) or bad (blocked), we can use the terms allow list and block list.

But what about white paper?

I think it’s different. The term doesn’t inherently suggest that the paper is good or that something called a black paper would be bad. One commonly cited explanation is that it refers to the white covers historically used for these documents.

That said, report, guide, or case study could work just as well and avoid any concerns about color-coded language.

Subscriber Billy W. shared this beautiful message with me:

“A principle I try to live by is: ‘Don’t be sorry, be better.’ An apology can be an important first step when we make a mistake, but real growth comes from learning, improving, and making a different choice the next time. To me, that’s what allyship looks like in practice — staying open to feedback and continuously striving to do better.”

Thank you 🙏.

If you’ve taken a step towards being a better ally, please reply to this email and tell me about it. And mention if I can quote you by name or credit you anonymously in an upcoming newsletter.

That’s all for this week. I’m glad you’re on this journey with me,

Karen Catlin (she/her), Author of the Better Allies® book series

100% written by me. I use AI for researching a personal archive of my books and past newsletters, and for light editing.

Copyright © 2026 Karen Catlin. All rights reserved.

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

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Challenge Hate Speech, 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.

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TypeScript 13.2k Updated Oct 20

The Waterloo Region real estate market entered the fall with fewer home sales, increased monthly inventory and continued adjustments in residential property prices. September 2026 saw sales decline from August, while new listings and the number of homes available for sale increased. Compared with September 2025, however, sales activity, new listings and overall inventory remained lower.

Average and median home prices across Waterloo Region also continued to trend below last year’s levels. Market conditions varied by property type, with single-family homes experiencing shorter selling timelines and fewer months of inventory than townhomes, semi-detached properties and condominiums.

For buyers and sellers in Kitchener, Waterloo and the surrounding communities, these differences highlight the importance of looking beyond regional averages. Understanding neighbourhood-specific trends, comparable properties and current competition remains essential when planning a move.

According to the September 2026 ITSO Waterloo Region Monthly Indicators report, 409 residential properties sold across Waterloo Region, representing a 19.3% decline compared with September 2025.

• 409 homes sold: Down 19.3% year over year.
• $707,514 average sale price: Down 6.1% year over year.
• $675,000 median sale price: Down 3.6% year over year.
• 1,230 new listings: Down 16.6% year over year.
• 1,823 homes available for sale: Down 12.9% year over year.
• 32 days on market until sale: Unchanged from September 2025.
• 3.8 months of inventory: Compared with 4.0 months last September.
• 100.4% of the most recent list price received: Compared with 100.6% last September.

Through September, year-to-date residential sales in Waterloo Region declined 7.6% compared with the same period in 2025. The average sale price decreased 4.3%, while the median sale price fell 4.2%.

It is important to note that the sale-to-list-price percentage measures the final sale price against the property’s most recent asking price. This may reflect earlier price reductions and does not necessarily indicate the percentage of the original asking price received.

September’s results reflect a housing market where buyers continue to have options, but activity varies significantly between property types and price ranges.

Although inventory increased from August, the total number of available homes remained below September 2025 levels. At the same time, lower sales activity and year-over-year price declines suggest that pricing and property positioning continue to play an important role in attracting buyers.

For homeowners considering selling, understanding how a property compares with competing listings is particularly important in the current market.

While regional statistics provide a useful overview, the Kitchener-Waterloo real estate market is not uniform. Single-family homes, townhomes, semi-detached properties and condominiums each face different levels of supply, buyer demand and pricing pressure.

A closer look at September’s results illustrates these differences.

Single-family homes continued to experience shorter selling timelines and fewer months of inventory than the combined townhouse, semi-detached and condominium segment.

• 268 homes sold: Down 18.5% year over year.
• $812,433 average sale price: Down 5.2%.
• $750,000 median sale price: Down 2.3%.
• 28 days on market until sale: Compared with 29 days last September.
• 1,006 homes available for sale: Down 5.4%.
• 3.2 months of inventory: Compared with 3.3 months last September.

Year-to-date, single-family home sales declined 1.5% compared with 2025. Average sale prices decreased 5.0%, while median prices fell 4.6%.
Despite lower sales activity and prices, single-family homes that sold in September spent slightly less time on the market than they did a year earlier.

For sellers, this reinforces the importance of evaluating current competition, recent comparable sales and property-specific characteristics before establishing an asking price.

Homes in established Waterloo and Kitchener neighbourhoods can experience different levels of demand depending on location, condition, lot characteristics and price range. A carefully considered pricing and marketing strategy remains important, even in segments with relatively shorter selling timelines.

The combined townhouse, semi-detached and condominium segment experienced longer selling timelines and more months of inventory than single-family homes during September.

• 141 homes sold: Down 20.8% year over year.
• $508,095 average sale price: Down 9.8%.
• $545,000 median sale price: Down 3.4%.
• 41 days on market until sale: Compared with 36 days last September.
• 817 homes available for sale: Down 20.8%.
• 4.8 months of inventory: Compared with 5.0 months last September.

Year-to-date, sales in this segment declined 17.3% compared with 2025. Average sale prices decreased 8.5%, while median sale prices fell 7.2%.

With properties taking an average of 41 days to sell, compared with 28 days for single-family homes, buyers and sellers are experiencing noticeably different conditions across housing types.

However, these figures represent several distinct property categories. The market for a condominium apartment in Waterloo may differ considerably from that of a freehold townhouse or semi-detached home in Kitchener.

For homeowners preparing to list, evaluating comparable properties within the same housing category and neighbourhood provides a more meaningful assessment than relying on broader regional statistics alone.

Beyond local sales and inventory trends, mortgage rates and borrowing costs remain important considerations for buyers and sellers throughout Waterloo Region.

In its October 13, 2026 analysis, RBC Economics highlighted the impact of rising bond yields on fixed-rate mortgage borrowing costs in Canada.
Fixed mortgage rates are influenced by bond market conditions, meaning borrowing costs can change even when the Bank of Canada maintains its policy interest rate.

For prospective homebuyers, this creates an important consideration: a lower purchase price does not automatically translate into a lower monthly mortgage payment. Interest rates, down payment amounts and amortization periods all influence overall affordability.

The Bank of Canada’s next scheduled interest rate announcement is October 28, 2026, accompanied by its updated Monetary Policy Report.

The announcement will provide further insight into inflation, economic conditions and the Bank’s monetary policy outlook.

While these national developments influence the broader housing market, the value of an individual property in Kitchener or Waterloo continues to depend on local supply, demand, property characteristics and comparable sales.

September’s housing statistics demonstrate why no single indicator can fully explain market conditions.

While total sales were lower than a year earlier, single-family homes that successfully sold spent slightly less time on the market. Meanwhile, townhomes, semi-detached properties and condominiums experienced longer selling timelines.

Days on market measure the properties that sold, rather than the full experience of homes still awaiting a buyer. Similarly, changes in average and median sale prices reflect the mix of properties sold during a given period and do not necessarily indicate how much an individual home’s value has changed.

For homeowners considering selling in Kitchener, Waterloo or the surrounding communities, pricing and presentation remain central to a successful listing strategy.

Understanding current competing listings, recent sales and buyer expectations can help establish a realistic market position.

A property’s location, condition, features and price range should all be considered when developing a marketing strategy designed to attract qualified buyers.

For buyers, current conditions reinforce the importance of evaluating each property individually.

While some segments are experiencing longer selling timelines, others continue to see comparatively limited inventory and faster transactions.

Considering comparable sales, property condition, financing costs and future ownership expenses can help buyers make informed decisions while identifying opportunities that align with their priorities.

As the fall real estate market continues, inventory levels, buyer activity and financing conditions will remain important indicators to watch.

September’s increase in available listings compared with August raises the question of whether new inventory will be absorbed by buyers or contribute to longer selling timelines in the months ahead.

The Bank of Canada’s October 28 announcement will also provide additional economic context, although its impact on local housing activity will depend on broader financing conditions and buyer confidence.

Ultimately, the Waterloo Region real estate market continues to demonstrate the importance of property-specific analysis. Regional trends offer valuable perspective, but informed real estate decisions require a closer understanding of individual neighbourhoods, housing types and current competition.

Whether you’re preparing to sell your home or exploring your next purchase, understanding how current market conditions apply to your specific circumstances is an important first step.

At The Deutschmann Team, we provide personalized market insights, strategic pricing guidance and comprehensive real estate marketing to help buyers and sellers navigate the Kitchener-Waterloo real estate market with confidence.

If you’re considering a move, we’d be happy to help you understand what your home could sell for, how it compares with current competition and what today’s market conditions mean for your plans.

Find out what your home could sell for.

Source: ITSO Waterloo Region Monthly Indicators, September 2026, current as of October 2, 2026. The report’s Townhouse/Condo category includes townhouse, condominium and semi-detached properties.

The post Waterloo Region Real Estate Market Update | October 2026 appeared first on Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Agent - The Deutschmann Team.