Mar 5: Keeping Our Elbows Up for Local Business & Community News

Plus: Grey County's 'Community Services Year in Review' offers a snapshot of our housing, income, and childcare needs and challenges

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Dear Readers,

Canada’s Elbows Up movement is gaining momentum. The phrase — a nod to “Mr. Elbows” Gordie Howe — resurfaced in a big way this weekend when, during his Saturday Night Live appearance, canuck icon Mike Myers mouthed “Elbows up” and pointed to his elbows while wearing a ‘Canada is not for sale’ T-shirt.

Elbows Up symbolizes Canada's defiant stance against unfair U.S. tariffs and political pressure, underscoring our national pride and readiness to defend Canadian interests. It reminds us just how important it is to stand together. After all, choosing Canadian-made products and services keeps jobs in our neighborhoods and strengthens our communities in uncertain times. And that starts here at home.

The same goes for local journalism.

Independent media work to ensure the public stays informed, hold officials accountable, and help protect fair elections. Strong, community-focused reporting cuts through misinformation and gives people the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.

Without it, crucial stories about government policies, school boards, and infrastructure (among other issues that impact our lives daily) could go unheard.

A well-informed community is essential for a healthy democracy.

That’s why we created The Owen Sound Current in the way we did. Not as a corporate or investor-backed media outlet selling ads and personal data, but as a community-driven effort. We believed that if enough people in this community supported independent journalism, it would prove that this kind of reporting is both wanted and necessary.

Thanks to our full subscribers, that vision has become a reality.

Without you, we couldn’t afford the $1000+ we’ve paid the City of Owen Sound so far in fees levied on our Freedom of Information requests, for example.

I would not have been able to dial back my other writing and editing commitments to focus on local issues.

We wouldn’t have the time or resources to review Council and committee meetings, attend press conferences and community events, investigate tips we receive from the public, or offer special features on impactful issues like elections.

We could not have engaged a dozen additional contributors who bring you stories, advice, and insight from various parts of this community on the things that matter to us all. (And a huge thank you goes out to our Sustaining Supporters for ensuring those contributors are compensated fairly for their work.)

Canadians have always been good at standing together, supporting one another, and building something greater than the sum of its parts. It’s in our nature. It’s how we weather the most brutal storms, push back when we’re underestimated, and carve our own path on the world stage.

This is what Elbows Up is all about, and it’s happening in communities across Canada.

That same spirit built The Owen Sound Current. You helped create this. Your support has proven that reliable, community-focused journalism isn’t just wanted but essential. It allows us to ask tough questions, uncover important stories, and amplify local voices that might otherwise go unheard.

This is how we keep our community strong. This is how we make sure our stories get told. This is how we stand together.

And we’re just getting started. There’s so much more to do.

If you're a free subscriber and have the means, please consider upgrading. You’ll gain access to premium benefits like commenting, event listings, and our full archives. More importantly, you'll help us expand our reach and engage more people with the stories that matter to this community.

Stronger communities start with informed citizens. Thanks for being one of them.

~ Miranda Miller, Editor

Public Notices

• The City’s Corporate Services Committee meets on Thursday, March 6, at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. On the agenda: committee orientation and 2025 workplans, an update on tenders and contracts between $50,000 and $249,000 awarded in H2 2024, a communication strategy for the 2025 Asset Management Plan, and more. See the agenda here.

• City postpones March 5th Strategic Planning Ad-hoc Committee Meeting; new date TBD

Local News

Keep reading for local events, our original reporting, and curated local news updates. Among today’s reports, you’ll find news on the closing arguments in Wazhir Gafoor’s trial for killing a Toronto woman in Northern Bruce Peninsula, the sale of GBTel, and Grey County’s Community Services 2024 Year in Review, which I highly recommend reading for the important community data points it reveals.

If you can’t see the info below, you’re missing out. (Nope, it doesn’t all appear on the website.) Upgrade your subscription for full access.