Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Pascale Marchand will carry the Green Party of Ontario banner in the upcoming Hamilton East–Stoney Creek byelection. The GPO made the announcement in a public statement earlier today (July 28, 2026).

Marchand was the Green Party candidate during the 2025 provincial election.

The City of Hamilton is reopening portions of Mountain Drive Park by Aug. 1, 2026.

The park, located north of Concession Street at Upper Gage Avenue, on the escarpment’s edge, has been closed since April 2024 when soil contamination was discovered.

In a memo posted to the City of Hamilton website this morning (July 28, 2026), Director of Environmental Services Cynthia Graham states the eastern greenspace portion of the park will reopen by Aug. 1 following confirmation the soil in this portion meets environmental standards.

Three isolated pockets in the eastern portion will remain fenced off for interim remediation. The city intends to issue a Request for Quotation in late summer or fall 2026 to excavate the impacted soil in those three areas, replace it with clean fill, topsoil, and sod, and remove four trees.

The remainder of the park remains closed, including the play structure.

The public washroom will also reopen by Aug. 1.

Major site remediation will occur in 2027 as part of the park’s major redevelopment project. The 2027 redevelopment and cleanup will require removing approximately 45 trees, though city staff worked with a consulting arborist to preserve 61 trees outside the affected zones and will use alternative preservation techniques to protect a separate four significant trees within the construction footprint.

The 2027 redevelopment will feature a new spray pad, sun shelter, walkways, and replacement playground facilities.