This week in the Inside Ontario blog:

The TiCats may stay in Hamilton after all

The provincial government doesn’t want the bedbugs to bite

Fears that Ring of Fire jobs will go to China

Closing Toronto’s academic achievement gap for Spanish-speaking students

Downtown Ottawa’s elementary schools are overcapacity

(NOTE: special bonus points are available for anyone who can explain what the “Oskee Wee Wee” chant is all about.)

Hamilton city council is backing a plan to renovate Ivor Wynne Stadium in a last-minute effort to keep the Hamilton TiCats in the city and to put the stadium debate to rest. TiCats caretaker Bob Young has agreed to keep the CFL franchise at Ivor Wynne for 20 years under the renovation plan .

However, the stadium renovation will not be certain until Hamilton city council reviews a report on the plan that city staffers are expected to produce by Jan. 24.

The renovations would see the stadium’s north seats upgraded, while the south seats would be demolished and rebuilt. These improvements would give the stadium a seating capacity sufficient to host a Grey Cup game and could potentially bring some Pam Am events to the facility.

The plan is expected to cost $115 million, but the city and the TiCats are hoping to get enough funding from corporate sponsors and the provincial and federal governments to avoid a residential tax increase.

City councillors hoped a new building would replace the 81-year-old Ivor Wynne Stadium, but had rejected five proposed sites for the new facility. After many delays, the TiCats explored moving to Burlington.

Just in case you’re wondering, the Hamilton Spectator explained why the stadium is named Ivor Wynne. 

 
The Ontario government is spending $5 million to curb the rising number of bedbug infestations throughout the province. Under the new program, Ontario’s 36 local health units will be able to apply for funding for projects that will fight bedbug infestations.

The government has also launched a new website to educate the public about bedbug infestation prevention, identification and extermination. 

However, Michael Prue, NDP MPP for Beaches–East York, thinks the government should be making landlords accountable for infestations. Prue says Ontario should follow San Francisco’s example, where landlords must take action on a bedbug infestation within 72 hours of notification and provide tenants with alternative accommodations until the infestation is eliminated. 

Bedbugs are small insects that feed on human blood (they typically feed at night). Although their bites are initially painless, they can cause intense itching later. Bedbugs can reproduce quickly, travel between apartments and live for a year without eating.  

Ontario’s bedbug population has increased rapidly in a few short years. For instance, Toronto Public Health received 1,500 reports of bedbug infestations in 2009 compared to 46 reports in 2003.

Charlie Angus, NDP MP for Timmins-James Bay and the Teamsters union are concerned that Northern Ontario will not benefit from the mining of the Ring of Fire. They worry that the provincial government does not have a plan to ensure the mineral processing plant for the Ring of Fire will be based in Northern Ontario, instead of China (where costs are lower and environmental regulations are more lax).

The Ring of Fire is a rich mineral deposit in Northern Ontario. Under the Open Ontario plan, the provincial government has prioritized mining the mineral deposit.   

Michael Gravelle, Liberal MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North and the Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, is confident that a processing plant will be based in Northern Ontario. He said last week that the potential sites for the processing plant will be known within a month.

At the moment, Sudbury, Timmins and Thunder Bay appear to be possible locations for the processing plant.

A new report from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education examines the low academic performance of Spanish-speaking high school students in Toronto. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) reports that 40 per cent of their Spanish-speaking students do not finish high school.

Through focus groups, the study found the academic performance of Spanish-speaking students is hampered by: a lack of proper English language support; the need to enter the work force before graduation to contribute to their family’s income; and the prejudices of teachers and other students. 

The report made numerous recommendations for the TDSB, including: creating courses in Latin American history and culture to dispel negative stereotypes; encouraging Spanish-speaking students to take part-time jobs that will not interfere with their schooling; and creating a peer-to-peer support program that would assist recent immigrants navigate the education system.

Starting on Jan. 28 the Agenda with Steve Paikin will examine immigration in a special series of programs called, “Immigration and its Discontents.”

In recent years, young families have been moving to downtown Ottawa in large numbers. Now some downtown elementary schools are struggling with an overcrowding problem.

According to the CBC, the most pressing case of overcrowding is First Avenue Public School in the desirable Glebe neighbourhood. The school is presently operating at 115.1 per cent capacity and is expected to operate at 120.6 per cent capacity in 2011. At First Avenue Public School, the teacher’s lounge and almost half of the library have been converted into classrooms.

Some downtown Ottawa schools do not have enough property to accommodate further portables, thus leaving no easy solutions for school administrators. 

To learn more about Ontario provincial politics, visit TVO’s Civics 101 microsite.