Brock University facing explosive new allegations surrounding its handling of sexual assault complaints.

A CBC investigation has uncovered another reported assault, with the same history professor, just months before the allesged assault of another student who came forward in March.

The allegations are similar - that the professor gave the student alcohol and then groped and kissed her in January of 2014.

She reported the incident to the university, and after an investigation it was determined there wasn't enough evidence to support her claims.

The student telling the CBC she came forward because she didn't want it to happen again to someone else.

It was in March we first heard from a student who says she was told by the university to keep quiet about the investigation into her alleged assault in the Fall of 2014.

Brock says the student came forward 11 months later and they immediately launched an investigation.

The three month investigation accepted the student's claims that there was inappropriate and unwelcome sexual advances and touching.

Stemming from the outcry over the handling of her complaint, Brock University announced it was hiring a Sexual Violence Response worker to handle harassment cases

The province is expected to debut legislation today to make sure every eligible worker is part of the proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan by 2020.

The plan, if passed would give more than four million workers access to a workplace pension plan.

The legislation will see employers begin enrolling employees starting January 1st of next year with contributions beginning the following year.

In a landmark unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada says the 600-thousand Metis and off-reserve Indians across the country are in fact Indians under the constitution.
    
The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples had taken the federal government to court, saying non-status aboriginals were owed the same access to federal programs, services and rights as First Nations and Inuit.
    
The court said that since it is already long-established in Canadian law that the federal government has a fiduciary duty to the country's Aboriginal Peoples, there would be no practical utility in restating that in the ruling.

British Columbia's provincial health officer has declared a public health emergency after a dramatic increase in the number of overdose deaths in the province.

Dr. Perry Kendall says in the first three months of this year there has been more than 200 fentanyl overdose deaths and if that rate keeps up there will be 700 to 800 deaths this year.

This is the first time the provincial health officer has served notice under the Public Health Act to exercise emergency powers.

It may feel like spring, but it’s too early to bring out the soccer balls in St.Catharines.

Officials say the city’s sports fields are still wet and semi-frozen, and foot traffic on the fields at this time could destroy the grass and soil structure.

“While it may look and feel like spring, the fields are still in their dormant winter state,” said Jeffery Silcox-Childs, the City’s Manager of Parks, Cemeteries, Forestry and Horticulture.
“Using the fields too early can damage them. We all want to get outdoors and be active; all we’re asking is that residents wait a few more weeks before they start using sports fields.”

Officials say every fall, City staff aerate, top dress and prepare the fields to get them ready for the following spring and summer.

However, excessive foot traffic at the end of winter and beginning of spring can damage the fields and prevent them from being ready for regular use in the spring and summer.

The City’s baseball diamonds officially open for the season May 7 and soccer fields open May 14.

Reaction following news of a second reported sexual assault allegation against a Brock history professor.

A CBC investigation has uncovered another reported assault, with the same staff member, just months before the most recent case was made public.

The allegations are similar - that the history professor gave the student alcohol and then groped and kissed her in January of 2014.

She reported the incident to the university, and after an investigation it was determined there wasn't enough evidence to support her claims.

The student telling the CBC she came forward because she didn't want it to happen again to someone else.

Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies/Sociology Margot Francis tells CKTB's Larry Fedoruk this shows that Brock doesn't take sexual assault allegations seriously.

She says Brock made the wrong decision by not removing the professor from the classroom after the second allegation was made.

She says since he was working at the university, that made other students vulnerable.

Francis says it proves that the university was dealing with these situations "on the fly" with no support for alleged victims.

She calls the entire situation disheartening.

It was in March we first heard from a student who says she was told by the university to keep quiet about the investigation into her alleged assault in the Fall of 2014.

Brock says the student came forward 11 months later and they immediately launched an investigation.

The three month investigation accepted the student's claims that there was inappropriate and unwelcome sexual advances and touching.

Stemming from the outcry over the handling of her complaint, Brock University announced it was hiring a Sexual Violence Response worker to handle harassment cases.

Brock has responded to reports today of a second sexual assault allegation against a history professor.

The statement sent to the CKTB Newsroom says that Brock is making changes and moving forward

In a CBC report a second student claimed she had been sexually assaulted by the professor.

She also claimed she was then offered money by President Jack Lightstone if she dealt with the complaint "informally."

Brock says it never offers compensation to people in exchange for them agreeing to a particular investigative process.

The University says it continues to take clear steps to ensure its policies and practices deal effectively with all human rights issues, and guard the wellbeing of students and staff.
 
In March the University announced it would create a Human Rights Task Force that includes students, faculty and staff to examine Brock policies and procedures dealing with sexual harassment, sexual violence and unprofessional behaviour.
 
Brock officials say the terms of reference for the task force were finalized last week.

President Lightstone also issued a letter.

A letter to the Brock community from Jack Lightstone

I am writing to provide the latest update on how the University is reviewing its policies and procedures in dealing with sexual harassment, sexual violence and unprofessional behaviour.

Earlier today, news media reported on how Brock has allegedly dealt with a reported case of sexual harassment on campus. It is important to reiterate that we acknowledge our processes and responses can be improved, and we have put plans in place to do so. However, let me be clear: Brock University never offers compensation to people in exchange for them agreeing to a particular investigative process.

As we continue moving forward, a key step is creating the Human Rights Task Force of students, faculty and staff. As reported last week, terms of reference have now been finalized for the task force.

We are receiving offers of participation from a wide variety of individuals, and we are starting the process of identifying possible task force members, in consultation with faculty, staff and student representatives. We hope to have the task force assembled in the next two to three weeks, so it can hold its first meeting in May.

The task force will incorporate recommendations generated by the already-established Sexual Violence Prevention Committee. Chaired by Vice-Provost Anna Lathrop, that committee has been working to develop a survivor-led sexual violence prevention policy, as well as implementing new resources and training for sexual violence prevention across campus.

The committee is pursuing frank and open discussions about these issues, and last week committee members participated in a student-led forum that included student panels from a diversity of perspectives. More than 60 members of the Brock community were present, including students, faculty, staff and senior administration.

Throughout the spring and summer the committee will continue meeting and consulting with the Brock community as new policy is drafted, a new sexual violence response coordinator is hired, and new educational principles and initiatives on sexual and gender based violence are integrated into the University’s orientation activities in the Fall.

I will write again with further updates, and in the meantime I invite anyone in the Brock community to send me comments or suggestions at president@brocku.ca

Sincerely,

Jack Lightstone
President and Vice-Chancellor

Following price hikes in November and January, the Ontario Energy Board is set to hike rates again.

This time, prices are going up 2.5%, which works out to an added $3.13 for the average home.

But the reason may leave you baffled.

In a release, the OEB says "Ontarians consumed less electricity than expected over the recent milder winter.  As a result of lower usage, Regulated Price Plan (RPP) prices did not recover the full cost of serving RPP customers. One of the main reasons prices are increasing in May is to recover this shortfall. "

The release also says the average Ontario home is using less electricity every month and two-thirds of their usage is done during off-peak hours.

The Niagara Food & Wine Expo uncorks this weekend at the Scotiabank convention centre in NIagara Falls.

Starting today until Sunday, the expo will showcase the best the region has to offer.

Sample wines along with locally inspired cuisine from top chefs and restaurants around Niagara.

And if you prefer beer, than quaff a few from some of the top craft breweries.

It's all under one roof.

For more details log onto to niagarafoodandwineexpo.ca

Denis Morris Highschool the latest school to drop a controversial name for its sports teams.

The St. Catharines highschool will be dropping the name Redmen which the school has used for about 58 years.

Realizing its the morally correct thing to do, school officials says they will allow students to select a new name and logo.

It appears one of the key questions at the centre of the murder of Tim Bosma may have been answered yesterday.

Why would a man from a wealthy family steal a truck and kill a stranger?

On the stand yesterday, for a third day, a man described as a close buddy of one of Bosmas accused killers Dellen Millard.

Under cross examination, Andrew Michalski was asked why would Millard do it?

Michaliskis reply was simple, "For the thrill of it"

For a second Friday in a row, Niagara's two Liberal MP's are getting together again for what they are calling an important announcement for the Niagara Region.

It was just last week, Vance Badawey and Chris Bittle joined the federal economic development minister at Niagara College to announce more money to improve broadband for rural Canadians.

The two MP's will be at W-P Warehousing in St. Catharines this morning at 11:00.

We know who, just not when.

A 6-0 win over North Bay last night put the Barrie Colts into the OHL Eastern Conference Final against the Niagara IceDogs.

Dates for the 3rd round of the playoffs have yet to be announced.

Niagara advanced to the Conference Finals Tuesday at home after after sweeping Kingston in the series.

Tickets are already on sale at all Niagara IceDogs ticketing locations, or by calling the IceDogs office at 905-687-3641.

 A California panel has recommended parole for former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten more than four decades after she went to prison for the killings of a wealthy grocer and his wife.
   
A panel of the California Board of Parole Hearings made the decision Thursday after Leslie Van Houten's 20th parole hearing.
   
The decision will now undergo administrative review by the board. If upheld it goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who has final say on whether the now-66-year-old Van Houten is released.
   
Van Houten, a one-time homecoming princess, participated in the killings of Leno La Bianca and his wife Rosemary a day after other so-called ``Manson family'' members murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others in 1969.
   
Van Houten was the youngest Manson follower to take part in one of the nation's most notorious killings after descending into a life of drugs and joining Manson's cult.
   
While in prison she has completed college degrees and has  been commended for her behaviour as a model prisoner.

Reaction following news of a second reported sexual assault allegation against a Brock history professor.

A CBC investigation has uncovered another reported assault, with the same staff member, just months before the most recent case was made public.

The allegations are similar - that the history professor gave the student alcohol and then groped and kissed her in January of 2014.

She reported the incident to the university, and after an investigation it was determined there wasn't enough evidence to support her claims.

The student telling the CBC she came forward because she didn't want it to happen again to someone else.

Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies/Sociology Margot Francis tells CKTB's Larry Fedoruk that it showed Brock wasn't taking sexual assault allegations seriously.

She says Brock made the wrong decision by not removing the professor from the classroom after the second allegation was made.

She says since he was working at the university, that made other students vulnerable.

Francis says it proves that the university was dealing with these situations "on the fly" with no support for alleged victims.

She calls the entire situation disheartening.

It was in March we first heard from a student who says she was told by the university to keep quiet about the investigation into her alleged assault in the Fall of 2014.

Brock says the student came forward 11 months later and they immediately launched an investigation.

The three month investigation accepted the student's claims that there was inappropriate and unwelcome sexual advances and touching.

Stemming from the outcry over the handling of her complaint, Brock University announced it was hiring a Sexual Violence Response worker to handle harassment cases.

The Ontario government will widen a four-kilometre stretch of Highway 401 in Mississauga to 12 lanes from six.

The Canadian Press has learned Premier Kathleen Wynne is expected to make the announcement later Friday morning.

Wynne says the project will cost $81 million and be completed by 2019 and support 800 construction jobs.

She says the project will span Hurontario Street to Credit River and will have two high-occupancy lanes.

The government says the expansion is one of 230 highway construction projects that are expected to begin this year.

The federal labour minister says the application process for groups seeking grants to provide young people with skills training should be streamlined.

MaryAnn Mihychuk says the arduous process to apply for funding is partly to blame for the lack of projects in northern and rural regions.

She says the government wants to make the process simpler.

The federal government is announcing 195 youth employment grants worth more than $65.7 million for  skills-training and job-help programs across the country, with Ontario getting $28.4 million, the most of any province.

The money was approved under rules set by the previous Conservative government and the Liberals have committed to overhaul the program and add $165.4 million in spending this year.

Mihychuk says the requirements for funding grants are going to change to align with the Liberal government's priority to create jobs for young people and aboriginals.

The 3rd round playoff schedule has been released for the OHL Eastern Conference Final

A 6-0 win over North Bay last night put the Barrie Colts into the Finals against the Niagara IceDogs.

The series will start in Barrie on Thursday April 21 with the pregame on 610 CKTB starting at 7pm.

The first home game at the Meridian Centre Monday April 25th. The full schedule is below.

Niagara advanced to the Conference Finals Tuesday at home after after sweeping Kingston in the series.

Tickets are already on sale at all Niagara IceDogs ticketing locations, or by calling the IceDogs office at 905-687-3641.

BARRIE VS NIAGARA

Thursday April 21 - @Barrie - 7:30pm
Saturday April 23 - @ Barrie - 7:30pm
Monday April 25- @Niagara - 7pm
Wednesday April 27 - @Niagara - 7pm
Friday April 29 - @Barrie - 7:30pm
Sunday May 1 - @Niagara - 2pm
Monday May 2 - @Barrie - 7:30pm

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck southern Japan early Saturday, barely 24 hours after a smaller quake hit the same region and killed nine people.

Japanese broadcaster NHK said a number of calls were coming in from residents reporting people being trapped inside houses and buildings, and rescue workers were scrambling to help.

The quake shook the Kumamoto region at 1:25 a.m. Saturday, and several aftershocks soon followed.

Japan's Meteorological Agency issued an advisory for a tsunami up to 1 metre (3 feet) high along the coast west of the epicenter in Kumamoto; the advisory was lifted less than an hour later.

Sirens of patrol vehicles were heard on the background as NHK reported from the hardest-hit town of Mashiki.

The asphalt ground outside the town hall had a new crack, apparently made by the latest earthquake.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no abnormalities were found at the Sendai nuclear plant, where the only two of Japan's 43 operable reactors are online.

NHK video showed that stones tumbled from the walls of historic Kumamoto Castle, and a wooden structure in the complex was smashing, adding to damage Thursday at the site.

Thursday's weaker, magnitude 6.5 earthquake brought down buildings and injured about 800 people, in addition to the nine deaths.

The epicenter of Saturday's earthquake was about 12 kilometres (8 miles) northwest of Thursday's, and at a depth of about 10 kilometres (6 miles), Saturday's quake was more shallow.

It hit residents who were still in shock from the previous night's horrors and had suffered through more than 100 aftershocks in the interim.

On Friday, Yuichiro Yoshikado described the horror of the earthquake striking as he was taking a bath in his Mashiki apartment.

"I grabbed onto the sides of the bathtub, but the water in the tub, it was about 70 per cent filled with water, was going like this," he said, waving his arms, "and all the water splashed out."

"It's as if all control was lost. I thought I was going to die and I couldn't bear it any longer."

A bright spot broadcast repeatedly on television Friday was the overnight rescue of an apparently uninjured baby, wrapped in a blanket and carried out of the rubble of a collapsed home.

Police said Friday that concern about aftershocks was keeping many people from starting the huge task of cleaning up. Since Saturday's quake was bigger, Thursday's was technically a foreshock.

Yoshikado, whose building was undamaged despite the intense shaking, checked the damage at his aunt and uncle's home nearby.

Kitchenware was scattered on the floor, and a clock had stopped around 9:26 p.m., the time of the earthquake.

Power and water have yet to be restored, and many in the neighbourhood have yet to return because of the aftershocks.

About 44,000 people stayed in shelters after Thursday's quake.

The dead included five women and four men, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. One man was in his 20s, and the rest of the victims ranged from their 50s to one woman in her 90s.

Eight of the nine victims were from Mashiki.

There were varying reports on the number of injured. The government's chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said at least 860 people had been injured, 53 seriously. Kumamoto prefecture tallied 784 injured.

Suga said 1,600 soldiers had joined the relief and rescue efforts. TV reports showed troops delivering blankets and adult diapers to those in shelters.

With water service cut off in some areas, residents were hauling water from local offices to their homes to flush toilets.

Suga said there were no abnormalities at nearby nuclear facilities. The epicenter was 120 kilometres (74 miles) northeast of Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai nuclear plant, the only one operating in the country.

Most of Japan's nuclear reactors remain offline following the meltdowns at the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima plant in 2011 after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a huge tsunami.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Mashiki sits near two faults on Kyushu. The area is also near Mount Aso, a huge, active volcano. JMA officials said the quake was unusually strong for Kyushu.