Anything someone told you about winter tires from 10+ years ago has nothing to do with current tire technology. There has been a real push in the past decade by the government to require tire manufacturers to provide proof that their winter tires actually do something (they used to just throw a logo on their tires, but now they have to pass various tests to get the logo.)

I'd like to see Ontario go the same way as Quebec has with mandatory winter tires after Nov 15th.