Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
A snowstorm battered southern Ontario and parts of Quebec Monday, with between 15 and 60 centimetres of snow falling across the provinces.
With high winds and poor visibility, Environment Canada issued blizzard warnings across much of southern Ontario Monday morning. Conditions began improving Monday afternoon, although most of the region remained under snowfall and winter storm warnings until the evening.
Up to 60 centimetres of snow was expected to fall in several cities, particularly those on or near Lake Ontario, like Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga, Toronto, Cobourg and Belleville. Ottawa and its surroundings were expected to receive up to 50 centimetres.
Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips said on CTV News Channel Monday that the storm could be “one of the snowiest days in recent history,” after parts of the country were in a “snow drought” this winter.
“This storm is a hard hitter but it really is also a quick hitter,” Phillips said. “It arrived on time like it was following a script…very few areas will escape this…with really a lot of snow in certain areas, looking at these numbers for Toronto, this isn’t even a two or three-day event, this is less than a day.”
Phillips said the storm was going to dump a lot of snow with very strong winds, which is what makes it an “impactful event.”
“You’re going to have to be pushing it, plowing it and shovelling it two or three times before it settles down,” he said of the amount of snow expected in some regions.
“It’s a very potent storm, there are a lot of dangers with it,” Phillips said, citing factors such as very poor visibility in Toronto.
The storm prompted the temporary closure of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, two main thoroughfares for the city. There were also numerous public transit delays and cancellations in the city.
Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said the roads were treacherous and that many people were stuck on Highway 401 due to the snow and poor visibility.
“It’s just been an absolute mess,” Schmidt said on CTV News Channel Monday. “It’s just a day of frustration for pretty much everyone on the roads.”
Schmidt declared Monday as the day people “should stay home.”
Despite the warning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford headed out into the storm and was photographed in Toronto helping a few stranded motorists dig out their cars.
On Monday, several southern Ontario school boards cancelled what was supposed to be the first day of in-class learning since December. Canada Post also halted services and vaccination clinics in Toronto, Durham, Peel, York and Ottawa were closed until Tuesday.
Both Toronto and Ottawa reported it could take days to clear all the snow from the cities’ roads, where multiple crashes were reported. In Ottawa, a life was saved thanks to a quick-thinking eight-year-old boy, who had his parents call 911 when he saw an elderly man almost buried in the snow.
Much like its neighbour, southern Quebec was blanketed with snow and Environment Canada warnings on Monday as the massive winter storm made its way across eastern Canada.
Snowfall and winter storm warnings were issued for much of southern Quebec, with anywhere from five to 25 centimetres of snow anticipated. Across from Ottawa, Gatineau was expected to receive the most in the province, with 30 to 50 centimetres in the forecast.
South of Montreal, highways were shut down and at least a dozen people were taken to hospital following three pileups involving nearly 75 vehicles. The Greater Montreal Area was expecting as much as 25 centimetres of snow Monday.
In addition to snow, storm surge warnings were in effect for several coastal regions along the St. Lawrence River and Gaspe Peninsula on Monday. Further north in Quebec, the regions of Waskaganish, Parent-Gouin Reservoir, Matagami, Chibougamau and Abitibi were all under extreme cold warnings, with wind chill estimated to make it feel like -38 to -42 C from Monday night to Tuesday morning.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.