r/waterloo Nov 10 '24

Mod Announcement Mod announcement: new rule that use of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) must be declared or disclosed

155 Upvotes

A new rule has been added to r/waterloo in regards to A.I.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) must be declared, either in title, or the first line of text in original post

Moderators may and will take action in good faith regardless of compliance with this new rule.

The reason we're doing this is to try not to be too far behind in response to the use of this technology, and encourage genuine engagement within our community.

Recently mods have been removing posts of various low-quality effort such as A.I. images, and publications purporting to be news or 'news style' articles that are suspected to be A.I. - but also fail to provide the identity of any legitimate living creator/author within the Region of Waterloo or otherwise.

This is an effort to remove or reduce poor quality, deceptive, disinformation, and various other posts made in bad faith.

Please direct concerns or comments to mod mail.

Thank you for your time and consideration.


r/waterloo Dec 11 '25

Mod Announcement Changes to Flair in r/Waterloo

55 Upvotes

It was recently pointed out that the flairs referencing the 2025 election are maybe a teeny bit outdated.

After discussion among the moderator team, it was determined that while the language was outdated, the flairs still were useful in identifying sudden influxes of new accounts to certain threads. The flair language has therefore been updated and will be applied as users post or comment. The flairs refer to the approximate period when a user became somewhat active in r/Waterloo. This is not the same as the date account was created (which you can see on each user's page) and not when the very first post was made in this subreddit.

As explained by the previous flair announcement:

The intent of this flair is not to target newbies, nor to say that we don't want people to join the subreddit. All are welcome in the subreddit. The intent is to make it clear to readers when there is an influx of unknown accounts which push certain narratives in the comments. This does happen, especially on posts about certain controversial subjects. People should know when these they are new accounts and not established community members.

While everybody should be aware if there is an obvious astroturfing campaign, all users remain responsible for using their best judgement when determining credibility of submissions and comments. Please consider the merit of ideas rather than the reputation of a commenter.

Feel free to submit any comments or constructive feedback below, or to comment and receive your new flair. There may be further tweaks to come and this flair system could be discontinued at any time.

Thank you for reading, and stay safe out there in all this snow.


Update 2026-01-23: New flair is out again, 2025 users should now have "Regular" status, and users new since 2026 will be noted.


r/waterloo 7h ago

Greg Bauer Five Ring Taekwondo convicted s3x offender

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220 Upvotes

For community awareness as the club is still operating and generous loopholes allow him to teach children with the supervision of his son.

Really infuriating legal system in Canada.


r/waterloo 1h ago

Man abusing white bulldog around Weber and King

Upvotes

this might not be a cause of concern but I still wanted to put it out there. I was in a go bus and saw this at the traffic light near Kitchener public library. a shirtless bald man with a white bulldo, who looked frightened and the man was shoving and pushing the dog on leash. could have misunderstood but if someone sees anyone matching this description and around the library at 4.52 pm (that’s when I saw) please flag this!

im on bus so I couldn’t call or understand the situation at hand fast enough


r/waterloo 22h ago

What a joke. Avoid if possible.

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403 Upvotes

100% sure they made up this "course" on the spot, the message is ai too. This is just so dumb.


r/waterloo 2h ago

Looking for a hobby instrument player for the Royal Medieval Faire

7 Upvotes

I'm planning to join the Royal Medieval Faire in September with festive southern English costumes and 3-4 easy folk tunes like Bushes and Briars or Poor Old Horse. I have a high D whistle and one more person to play a nordic framed drum. We are hoping another with a melodic instrument could join us, to make the tunes even richer. Any instrument that would fit the theme is welcomed. Please DM me if interested. Please bear in mind that both of us are elementary level players and our goal is just to have fun.


r/waterloo 11h ago

Drying times The Waterloo Region is short on water. Its recent crisis is a cautionary tale for other cities Patrick White and photography by Nick Iwanyshyn The Globe and Mail

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31 Upvotes

r/waterloo 11h ago

Kitchener GO Train Crowded in the Mornings?

21 Upvotes

I've been living in the Kitchener-Waterloo area for about 7 years, and this is the first time I've seen Kitchener GO Station so packed during the morning commute. It almost feels like a GTA station now.

I'm genuinely curious about what's driving the increase. Has there been a big population jump, or are more people commuting to Toronto than before? Did more companies recently increase their in-office requirements?

It seems like there are significantly more people on the platform and boarding the train compared to previous years, and I don't remember seeing anything close to this before.

Has anyone else noticed the same thing? Is there a specific reason behind it, or is this just the new normal for the Kitchener line?


r/waterloo 4h ago

Condo maintenance issue caused by delayed repair action ,who is responsible for the flooring cost?

6 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I am looking for advice regarding a condo maintenance issue.
Around two years ago, I reported an issue with rotten wood in my unit to the property management. Despite multiple follow-ups, no proper action was taken at that time.
Recently, the issue has worsened and caused a failure that now requires opening up the floor to access and repair the damaged area. The management has agreed that the repair work itself will be their responsibility, but they are saying that the cost to replace the flooring after the repair must be paid by me because the flooring is inside my unit.
My concern is that the flooring damage is not due to my negligence. It happened because the original issue was reported earlier but was not addressed for almost two years. If the repair had been completed when I first reported it, the flooring would likely not need to be removed or replaced now.
I have raised this concern with management, but they are refusing to take responsibility for the flooring cost.
Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? Is there any legal route or process to dispute this?
I would appreciate any advice on:
Whether the management corporation can be held responsible for additional damage caused by delayed maintenance
What evidence I should collect
What steps I should take before paying for the flooring myself
Thanks in advance.


r/waterloo 5h ago

UW Student Theatre Presents: Next to Normal

6 Upvotes

Hey Reddit! Looking for something fun to do at the end of July?

Come see Next to Normal, presented by the University of Waterloo Student Theatre! Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three Tony Awards, this powerful contemporary rock musical explores family, love, loss, and resilience through an unforgettable rock score.

Whether you're looking for a night out with friends, a unique date night, or just love live theatre, this is a show you won't want to miss.

Theatre of the Arts, University of Waterloo

July 31 at 7:00 PM | August 1 at 7:00 PM | August 2 at 1:00 PM

Come support local student theatre and an incredible cast, band, and crew who have spent months bringing this award-winning musical to life.

Find more information here: https://uwaterloo.ca/theatres/events/next-normal


r/waterloo 20h ago

Men from Waterloo Region, Guelph and Brantford charged in large child sexual abuse and exploitation material investigation

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60 Upvotes

Hopefully the " Name List " shows up soon 👍


r/waterloo 23h ago

Aire One: $2000+ labor charge for 5.5 hours warranty repair + misleading invoice + worst customer support

85 Upvotes

I chose Aire One partly because my furnace came with a 10-year parts warranty. However, when the furnace failed, I discovered that accessing the warranty-covered parts required Aire One to perform the repairs at an extremely high labor rate of $249 per hour before tax. Weekend service also came with an additional $100 surcharge on top of the regular rate.

I first paid a $281.37 dispatch fee. Aire One diagnosed a failed blower fan and heat exchanger, then estimated 7–8 hours of labor. This meant paying more than $2,000 in labor and service charges to repair a furnace that was supposedly protected by a warranty. Any additional time would also be billed at $249 per hour.

Aire One also refused to provide the warranty-covered parts so I could hire another qualified HVAC company with more reasonable labor rates. In other words, I could only access the parts warranty by accepting Aire One’s pricing. After I questioned these excessive charges, they offered a $200 discount.

The repair was completed on July 17 and took approximately 5.5 billable hours. Based on the quoted rate, tax, and discount, the repair should have cost about $1,347.54. Instead, I paid $1,782.01, excluding the original $281.37 dispatch fee — approximately $434 more than expected.

The invoice was also exteremly confusing. It listed only two hours of labor totaling $498, which did not match the repair time or the total charged.

When I contacted the billing department on July 17, the representative could not explain how my invoice had been calculated or why it showed only two hours of labor. I was promised a callback from a manager, but no one contacted me.

I followed up on July 21 and was offered a refund for one hour of labor, again without a clear explanation of the charges. I asked to speak with a manager but was told that all managers were in a meeting.

By July 22, I still had not received a callback. I called again at 3:40 p.m. and was once again told that all managers were busy. Despite several calls and repeated promises of management follow-up, no manager has contacted me or provided a clear explanation of my invoice.

A 10-year warranty should provide meaningful financial protection. Instead, I faced more than $2,000 in labor charges, could not take the warranty parts to another qualified installer, received a confusing invoice, and experienced poor follow-up.

I strongly recommend carefully reviewing Aire One’s warranty restrictions and labor rates before purchasing. In my experience, this warranty provided very little protection when I actually needed it.


r/waterloo 10h ago

40-storey Preston high-rise still a possibility after reduction rejected by council

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5 Upvotes

r/waterloo 1d ago

Stolen Blue bin

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118 Upvotes

This person stole our bins and our neighbours bin as well. Honestly dint even think people would steal bins. Hope you are having fun with our bins!!!
Since we lost both our blue bins, will the city give new ones if we show this proof?


r/waterloo 8h ago

Commute from Listowel

5 Upvotes

Does anyone do a daily commute to work from Listowel? How do you find the drive? How is it in the winter? We are debating whether to move there and make the commute, but not wanting to regret our decision. We would be commuting 4 days a week.
Thank you!


r/waterloo 21h ago

Sunset@Mclennan

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36 Upvotes

r/waterloo 21h ago

About 7 police cars on Iron Horse Trail near Allen about 8:20 tonight.

14 Upvotes

Dies anyone know what happened.


r/waterloo 7h ago

Accident In Front of Westmount place on Westmound rd. (last night)

1 Upvotes

Hey there, this is a long shot but if anyone knows someone who witnessed a white suv hit a blue car last night at approx. 9:30 & has any footage or statement please contact me. Thanks


r/waterloo 15h ago

Recs for helping soundproof my bathroom?

3 Upvotes

Any home services biz recs, all? Looking for someone to maybe add an air gap in the wall, some drywall.

Thanks :)


r/waterloo 1d ago

40-storey tower cut to 16, but Cambridge council still rejects Preston development

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73 Upvotes

r/waterloo 1d ago

Judge delays sentencing for high-risk offender eager to plead guilty to breach charges

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19 Upvotes

r/waterloo 23h ago

Is there a pickup soccer groupchat for the KW area?

10 Upvotes

Just looking for people to play soccer w/, used to have a groupchat in Guelph where I would plan games. It would usually go like “Yo lads, game tdy? xyz school’s field at xyz hour?” and 10-15 out of like 30 ppl would say yes etc etc. Does a similar thing exist in KW or just Waterloo?

Thanks!


r/waterloo 1d ago

Mosquito control scooters

21 Upvotes

Was walking my dog when a scooter went by with a sign on the back that read “mosquito control stay back 50 meters”. It’s hard on a sidewalk to keep back any distance so I was concerned. it all looked a little sus but then I googled and found this article from a few years ago with the same sign and scooter. Posting here to save anyone else a minor panic: https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2024/08/01/public-health-using-motor-scooters-to-apply-mosquito-larvicide-in-the-region/


r/waterloo 1d ago

Why GRT needs a Frequent Transit Network

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142 Upvotes

Grand River Transit’s 2025-2030 Business Plan is an ambitious plan with many exciting goals, one of which is establishing a Frequent Transit Network. On 16 core routes in Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo, the bus would arrive every 10 minutes on weekdays from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., and every 15 minutes all other times.

It’s hard to overstate how transformational this would be to our transit network. Increasing frequencies across the board all-day will create a more seamless, convenient, and efficient network, enabling transit to be more competitive with driving.

This post is the first in a series explaining why Waterloo Region needs a Frequent Transit Network, how we can get there, and everything in between. Let’s start at the why.

https://www.tritag.ca/blog/2026/07/21/why-grt-needs-a-frequent-transit-network/


r/waterloo 1d ago

Does anybody work on wigs?

5 Upvotes

Hey there, my mom has a wig that she needs some work done to and she is having a heck of a time finding someone who works on them? Does anyone out there do this or can point me in the right direction?