Federal minister Bill Blair talks groceries in Wellesley

Bill Atwood

Observer Staff

THE GOVERNMENT HAVING LAST WEEK issued the 2023 federal budget, Liberal representatives have spread out across the country to promote its new measures.

That’s how Bill Blair, the president of the Privy Council and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, could be found in Wellesley on Monday. He was visiting Pym’s Village Market to tout the budget and hear from the independent grocer.

Pym’s manager Katie Devries said while she liked what she heard from the minister and Kitchener-Conestoga MP Tim Louis, she also expressed concerns about the actions of the big players in the grocery industry, particularly those that supply products to the store.

“You can walk into a

Walmart and pay $4.99 for a box of cereal. Our wholesale price from Sobeys is $7. How can we justify Sobeys charging us so much more than what they can retail it for?” she said following the visit.

“If we’re paying $7 for a box of cereal, you’re not going to pay $9 when you can walk into Walmart and get it for five – that’s sort of an unfair competition thing. How do you compete with that? How do you change that? I don’t have the answer to that, but I wish I did.”

Devries said she appreciates the work the government is doing to investigate the record profits that large grocery chains are making. That includes last month’s questioning of the CEOs of Loblaws, Empire Foods and Metro by the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Decluttering your home can pay dividends for Chord Spinners

Bill Atwood

Observer Staff

A LOCAL WOMEN’S CHORUS IS hoping spring-cleaning season will encourage people to declutter their homes. More specifically, that it will encourage people to send unwanted items their way.

Over the month of April, the St. Jacobs-based Chord Spinners are holding a “decluttering fundraiser” with the goal of collecting some 465 items per household. Those things will then be taken to Value Village at month’s end. As a non-profit, the Chord Spinners would get paid for the items under Value Village’s FUNDrive program.

This is the second time the chorus has gone this route, the first such fundraiser having occurred in 2018.

“Music costs money and rental spaces cost money, so we try to do a lot of fundraising so that we can help keep our costs for our members as low as possible,” said Mikayla Schmidt, a member of the group of women who sing a cappella four-part harmony.

“We really like to find different types of fundraisers so we’re not just constantly asking for money... and we came across this one. It helps other people get rid of stuff in their house and then they don’t have to pay us out directly – it’s through

Value Village,” she added. The choir, which celebrated its 40th-anniversary last year, has 12 members and sings a four-part harmony of contemporary music and songs that date back to the 1950s.

In the decluttering challenge, the choir is calling on residents to declutter the number of items corresponding to the date on the calendar. So, if someone started today (April 6), they would declutter six items. Tomorrow it will be seven items and so on.

While the task may seem daunting initially, momentum builds over time, said Schmidt, who previously did the decluttering challenge herself. She added that it is easier to start with one item and work your way up instead of looking at it as needed to get rid of 400 items all at once.

“You’re not starting right away. I need to declutter 300 items, which I think is really helpful getting you into that mindset of ‘I only have to declutter one thing today. Now, I have to declutter two today.’ And I think it would surprise you how quickly you find yourself going over that [number].”

Once the items are collected, participants can contact the Chord Spinners via email (csmembership@hotmail.com) to make collection arrangements.

The chorus has a fundraising goal of $250.

Digital fraud attempts on the rise in Canada

Digital fraud attempts in Canada jumped 189 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, finds a new TransUnion report.

Some 57 per cent of Canadians surveyed report being targeted by scams; retail, logistics, financial services, and travel and leisure sectors see highest increase in fraudster targeting.

The 2023 State of Omnichannel Fraud Report found that digital fraud continues to rise globally. TransUnion’s analysis revealed that three per cent of all consumer transactions originating from Canada in 2022 were suspected to be fraudulent, compared to two per cent in 2019. At the

MARCH 30

7 : 30 PM | Emergency services responded to a two-vehicle collision at Nafziger and Carmel Koch roads in Wilmot Township. One of the drivers, a 70-year-old woman, was pronounced deceased due to her injuries. The other driver, a 19-year-old male, was taken to an out-of-region hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The road was closed for approximately four hours during the investigation, which is ongoing. Police ask anyone with information to call the Traffic Services Unit at 519-570-9777, ext. 8856. To provide anonymous information, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2228477 or submit online at www.waterloocrimestoppers.com.

MARCH 31

5 : 19 AM | Emergency services responded to a single-vehicle collision on Puddicombe Road in Wilmot Township. The driver was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The investiga- same time, the number of transactions conducted digitally has markedly risen in the last few years by 103 per cent in Canada. That means that the total volume of suspected digital fraud attempts has increased dramatically, TransUnion says in a release.

Globally, such attempts increased by 80 per cent from 2019 to 2022, compared to 189 per cent for digital transactions originating in Canada during that same time.

According to proprietary insights from TransUnion’s global intelligence network and a specially commissioned consumer survey, the pivot to increasingly digital transactions tion remains ongoing, anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-570-9777.

4 : 40 PM | Waterloo Regional Police made an arrest after responding to a shooting incident at an address in the area of Township Road 50 and Letson Drive in Woolwich Township. Upon arrival, officers located an 86-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. Through the initial investigation, police learned that a youth discharged a firearm toward a residence where the victim was struck. The victim was transported to hospital with serious injuries. As a result of the investigation, a male youth was charged with ‘criminal negligence causing bodily harm,’ ‘careless use of a firearm’ and ‘unauthorized possession of a firearm.’ The accused was held in police custody for a bail hearing.

APRIL 1

7:30 AM | Emergency services responded to the area of Wilmot Easthope Road and Christner Road in Wilmot Township since the beginning of the pandemic means the overall risk to individuals and organizations is even greater than it was pre-pandemic.

“Digital fraud trends point to industries that saw significant growth in consumer digital engagement,” said Patrick Boudreau, head of identity management and fraud solutions at TransUnion Canada.

“At the same time, the pandemic crystallized the reality that fraudsters focus their efforts to prey on organizations and institutions that have direct access to money, products or services with easily transferable monetary value. In Canada, we have seen for reports of a barn fire. The Wilmot Township Fire Department limited the spread of the fire, which was contained to the barn. There were no animals housed in the barn and there were no physical injuries sustained in this incident. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time and is not considered suspicious.

7:00 PM | Wellington County OPP responded to an address in Mapleton Township and initiated an intimate partner violence investigation. As a result of the investigation, a 62-year old Woolwich Township resident was charged with ‘sexual assault,’ ‘sexual assault cause bodily harm’ and two counts of ‘criminal harassment.’ The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Guelph at a later date.

APRIL 3

4:13 AM | Police received a report of a single-vehicle collision in Woolwich Township after a driver travelling south on Arthur Street North near Sideroad 5 struck a deer dramatic increases in digital fraud attempts within the retail, logistics, financial services, and travel and leisure sectors. Staying ahead of these constantly evolving and ever more sophisticated fraudsters is a challenge that no company or organization is exempt from.” that was crossing the roadway. Damage to the vehicle was severe, but the driver was uninjured. No charges were pressed.

For transactions originating from Canada, the analysis showed that the retail sector saw the most significant rise in suspected digital fraud, with an increase of 179 per cent from 2019 to 2022. That was followed by the logistics sector (123 per cent), financial services (28 per cent), and travel and leisure (20 per cent).

2 : 15 PM | Police are investigating a break and enter at a residence in Wilmot Township. An unknown male gained entry inside a residence on Huron Road, where he stole property. The suspect was travelling in a red Chevrolet Silverado with an obstructed plate. The investigation is ongoing by WRPS’ Break, Enter and Vehicle Theft Team. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 519-570-9777.

APRIL 4

4:00 AM | A 50-yearold Kitchener man was pronounced dead at the scene of a single-vehicle collision on Bridge Street East in Woolwich Township. The road was closed for several hours between Hollinger Crescent and Ebycrest Road in both directions for the investigation. Anyone with information or dash-camera footage is asked to call the Traffic Services Unit at 519-570-9777, ext. 8856.