Catherine Thompson
WR Record
Kitchener, ON, Canada
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Past articles by Catherine:
Freedom of Information request reveals widely divergent views on encampment eviction last November
Some councillors outraged by the forced eviction of homeless people from regional land last November; others defended the actions of regional staff, according to emails obtained by The Record. → Read More
Six-storey project near Conestoga Mall will add 73 affordable units to Waterloo
Building will be ‘nestled behind’ existing apartment building on Kingscourt Drive → Read More
Waterloo Region ponders limiting households to three bags of garbage every two weeks
Collection limit aims to prolong landfill life, would take effect in October → Read More
Waterloo’s new Eastside library opens May 7
WATERLOO — The newest library branch in Waterloo is set to open next month. Waterloo Public Library announced Tuesday that the new Eastside branch at 2001 University Ave. E., built as an extension to the RIM Park Manulife Sportsplex, will open on Saturday May 7. “With soaring ceilings, inviting lounge areas, light-filled interiors and an outdoor nature courtyard, the newest addition to the… → Read More
Moving into Waterloo Region’s shipping container apartments has been beset with problems
Regional housing staff say they are working to find solutions to issues with six seniors’ apartments built out repurposed steel shipping containers → Read More
Intercity bus service from Waterloo Region to Toronto begins in April
WATERLOO REGION — A German company will begin offering intercity bus service between Waterloo Region and Toronto. It’s the first time in two years a private company is providing intercity bus service to Toronto. Greyhound pulled out of the Canadian market in May 2021, a year after it suspended all service due to a sharp decline in passengers. Since then, the only intercity bus option was to take… → Read More
University of Waterloo reverses ‘No Trespass’ winter sign policy on popular Laurel Trail
‘Telling users of this section of the Canada-wide Great Trail that they are trespassing is not a good look’ → Read More
Waterloo Region bucked national trend of shrinking green space, Statistics Canada study shows
WATERLOO REGION — Waterloo Region is one of the few urban areas in Canada that didn’t see a drop in the percentage of green space, according to a new study by Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada’s first survey of urban green space shows that most cities across the country are less green than they were two decades ago. The federal agency used satellite imagery to estimate the amount of green… → Read More
Kitchener’s Duke Street could be transformed to discourage cars, favour transit and cyclists
Proposed design a first for Region, based on successful model on King Street in Toronto → Read More
Waterloo Region’s commitment to change is real, says new equity director
Fauzia Baig’s vision is for Waterloo Region to be a place ‘where everyone in the community feels safe, feels valued’ → Read More
GRT proposing $2M in transit improvements for Cambridge
CAMBRIDGE — Grand River Transit is planning a major overhaul and improvement to bus service in Cambridge later this year. “We haven’t done significant changes in Cambridge for a number of years,” said Neil Malcolm, acting director of transit at the Region of Waterloo. The changes, which go into effect in September, will extend weekend and evening service, improve service in the growing… → Read More
A Better Tent City inspiring similar housing solutions in other cities
Unusual housing arrangement ‘a testament to the innovative spirit of Kitchener-Waterloo,’ housing advocate says → Read More
Rethinking the office — Region of Waterloo experiments with workplace of the future
KITCHENER — The Region of Waterloo is experimenting with the workplace of the future by reshaping an entire floor at its Kitchener headquarters. The experiment will reconfigure the fourth floor of the Region’s headquarters at 150 Frederick St. E. into an office space designed for hybrid work, where employees work from home all or part of the time. The plan will have almost 240 employees in IT,… → Read More
Cities, Waterloo Region hope to launch bike share by summer
WATERLOO REGION — Local municipalities are looking once again to launch a bike share and e-scooter share program, despite a checkered history of similar programs in the region. The Region and the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo hope to launch the program, if it’s approved by local council, by this summer. The proposal, which will be presented to city and regional councils this… → Read More
Contract had strict limits on how much Region of Waterloo could claim for late LRT trains
Document with contract details released to The Record, three years after it asked for them → Read More
Record’s quest for LRT document took more than three years
WATERLOO REGION — It’s a document that’s a scant four pages, but it took more than three years for The Record to obtain it. In November 2018, The Record filed a request under provincial Freedom of Information legislation, asking for details about one specific part of the construction of the Ion light-rail system, the biggest infrastructure project in the history of Waterloo Region. Trains were… → Read More
‘One of the most sensational crimes in the history of the province’: Waterloo Region’s first murder led to a media frenzy and the hanging of a 17-year-old
Murder in 1897 at a farm outside Cambridge ended with region’s first execution → Read More
Pandemic has had profound impact on Waterloo Region employers, survey shows
Eighty per cent of employers said their revenues suffered because of the pandemic → Read More
Waterloo Region to add 116 full-time employees in 2022
Hires would bring the total number of people working for the regional government to the equivalent of 3,016.6 permanent, full-time employees, as well as 144 temporary employees doing contract work or work related to the pandemic. → Read More
Cycling advocate brings his vision for Frederick Street to Waterloo Region council
KITCHENER — Fifty years after a road-planning mistake, a Kitchener cycling advocate says it’s time to rethink Benton and Frederick streets in Kitchener. The regional road in downtown Kitchener was built as a “1960s-era mistake,” says Daniel Brotherston, part of a plan to divert traffic from downtown with a ring road that turned Duke and Charles into one-way streets that swept fast-moving traffic… → Read More