The Orléans Star

Saturday Oct. 31, 2026

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Oct. 22, 2026

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22 octobre 2026

REAL ESTATE LISTINGS

Natural Health Tips
Last updated Oct. 26, 2026

Upcoming events

ROYAL OAK ORLEANS HALLOWE'EN PARTY – Time to get in that costume and get ready to trick or treat at the pub on this Spooky Saturday night!! DJ KWIZZ spinning the tunes starting at 10pm!! Hallowe'en highballs only $5.95 an ounce all night!! PRIZE FOR THE BEST COSTUME!!

LA FANTÔME D'ORLÉANS HALLOWE'EN DANCE PARTY from 9 p.m. at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 150 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. Costume theme: Ghosts. DJ Reverie & DJ RZR will be playing a highly danceable mix of goth, industrial, EBM, darkwave, and goth rock, with plenty to discover throughout the night. Tickets $6.66 available at eventbrite.ca.

HEART OF ORLEANS HOLIDAY MARKET from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Orléans Town Centre Plaza on Centrum Blvd. 130+ vendors. Free admission. Pet friendly. Free parking. There’s always something new to discover, lots of great food to grab while you shop, and plenty of reasons to stay awhile.

TRIVIA NIGHT from 7:30 p.m. every Monday night at the Royal Oak Pub Orléans. Free to play. Prizes for the winning team! The Royal Oak Pub is located at 1981 St. Joseph Blvd. near Jeanne d’Arc. For more info visit facebook.com/ RoyalOakPubsOrleans.

TRIVIA NIGHT from 6:30 p.m. at the Stray Dog Brewing Company. Exercise your grey matter before it turns to mush over the holidays. Reservations are a must to secure your spot. Send your team name and number of people to info@straydogbrewing.ca. The Stray Dog Brewing Company is located at 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park.

CORK AND FORK FESTIVAL at the Shenkman Arts Centre – Enjoy wine tastings, local craft spirits, gourmet food, live music, and chef-led cooking demos, all in an upscale, intimate atmosphere. Choose from three sessions: • Friday, Nov. 6 | 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM • Saturday, Nov. 7 | 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM • Saturday, Nov. 7 | 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM

COMPLETE BILLBOARD LISTINGS

Opposition grows over ALTO high speed rail plans
Fred Sherwin
April 27, 2026

More than 450 people packed the Crosspoint Baptist Church on Navan Road last Tuesday, April 21 to hear from a series of speakers on why the proposed ALTO high speed train from Montréal to Ottawa and Ottawa to Toronto is a bad idea.

The project is a federal government initiative that is being supported by the provincial govern-ments of both Ontario and Quebec. When it’s eventually completed it would link Quebec City to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto using high speed trains that will travel up to 300 km/h.

The Montréal to Ottawa section would be built in the first phase of the project starting in 2029. It is projected to be operational sometime between 2035 and 2038.

The projected cost estimates range between $60 billion and $90 billion by the time it’s completed.

Before construction can begin, however, the consortium behind ALTO must first undertake an environmental impact assessment and iden-tify a 60-metre wide corridor through which the train will travel. One scenario has it following the old CP Rail line which runs immediately south of Navan and is now being utilized as a recreational trail.

A good number of the people at the infor-mation meeting were farmers from Eastern Ontario who have the most to lose if a high speed rail line is built through their backyards, literally. Among them was John McWilliams who owns a farm on Trim Road that abuts to the proposed corridor and his cousin Wyatt who also owns a farm near Navan.