Push on to improve transit to industrial areas
Transit continues to be a barrier for some workers, but officials in London and St. Thomas are working towards improving service to industrial areas.
When it comes to manufacturing jobs, getting to the job site for many is the hardest part.
“Certainly the largest issue facing manufacturers today is finding workers and keeping workers -- and one of the things that can help them with that is reliable public transportation to industrial facilities,” says Jason Bates, the general manager of the London Region Manufacturing Council.
Paul Hubert from Pathways Employment Help Centre adds this acts as a barrier for people trying to get back into the work sector
“Many of the job sites are not accessible by public transport. And that limits their options to build their careers and reestablish themselves in the workforce.”
There are several studies that are being undertaken right now on how to best serve the outskirts of both London and St. Thomas -- where industrial jobs often are.
There is added pressure to come up with a solution as companies like Maple Leaf, and Aspire Foods, as well as an unnamed company that will open up at the former Ford Talbotville site are all looking to hire hundreds of jobs over the next year.
One of the ideas that is being floated around is On Demand Transit, which has been used in St. Thomas.
“The LTC has had commissioned a consultant to look at various options. And those recommendations are going to be in front of our (London) Transit Commission relatively soon to make some recommendations,” says London Mayor Ed Holder.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.