Birth Control Recall Leads To Legal Action

Thunder Bay Lawyer Chris Watkins is going up against pharmaceutical giant Apotex.  He is serving notice of a 800 million dollar class action lawsuit against the company who just issued a recall of the birth control pill Alysena.   Watkins is representing a local woman in the legal action, but says the suit is on behalf of all women who took the pill and could now be  facing an unwanted pregnancy or be fearing an unwanted pregnancy.  None of the claims have been proven in court.  There has been no response from the company to our request for a comment.

Noonan Accepts NDP Post

The new president of the Thunder Bay-Superior North provincial NDP Riding Association is David Noonan.  He says job one is to win a seat for candidate Andrew Foulds in the Ontario Legislature in an expected upcoming provincial election.Noonan also hopes to increase party membership in the riding.

Con College Gets Mostly Good Report Card

Confederation College is tooting its own horn.  They're celebrating mostly good marks in the Ontario Key Performance Indicators Report.  The report ranks Con College number one of all Ontario colleges for employer satisfaction.  The report also identified a decline in graduation rates from last year.

Tattoo Operation Shut Down

Thunder Bay's Health Unit is shutting down a local tattoo operation.  They've issued an order against Dale Doucet to stop providing uninspected home-based tattooing services.  The illegal tattoo services were offered at various home-based locations in the City.  It's not known how many people were tattooed by Doucet and if you were please contact the health unit.

Highway 11/17 Closed Accident

Highway 11/17 is closed between the highway 102 junction and Shabaqua.   OPP are on the scene dealing with a jackknifed transport that's blocking the road.  Highway 11 / 17 will be closed until the tractor trailer can be removed from the highway.

Boat Fire Brought Quickly Under Control

No injuries are being reported from a tug boat fire at Keefer Terminal.  Thunder Bay fire were called to the blaze that was quickly extinguished yesterday afternoon.  Crews found the fire in the furnace area of the boat.

Dump Truck Incident Leads To No Charges

A 50 year old man passed out due to a medical condition before ploughing his dump truck into a mobile home on Chippewa Road.  No charges are being laid in the Monday afternoon event.  Police are reminding drivers that medical conditions that can affect the ability to safely operate a vehicle will cause a review process and may result with possible suspension of driving privileges.

"Working For A Solution"

Controversy continues to swirl around the money for May 28th flood victims. MPP Michael Gravelle understands that there's a lot of people angry because the province is only kicking in 300 thousand dollars instead of matching local donations 2 to 1. He says he's working for a solution with the minister of Municipal Affairs Linda Jeffery.  Gravelle says he is making it a top priority to increase the amount available to the victims.

A Community "Under Crisis"

The Neskantaga First Nation (Landsdowne House) north of Thunder Bay is declaring a state-of-emergency. They say it comes following another suicide in the community, the second in a matter of a week, and the fourth suicide and seventh tragic death in a year. They say there have also been 20 other attempts. First Nation councillor Roy Moonias says they have reached a breaking point and the community is under crisis.

Horwath Slams Government Over Disaster Funding

The province's NDP leader is slamming the Wynne government for its handling of the disaster relief funding. Andrea Horwath says it's unacceptable that donations for victims of the May 28th flooding are not being matched 2 to 1. Horwath says if someone has dropped the ball on this issue they had "damn well better pick it up in a hurry."   She says it's the least the victims deserve.

Shaving Heads For Cancer

Sharon Bolen shaving Brad Comuzzi's head

Thunder Bay Police and the local Cancer Society are hosting the 17th anniversary Cops for Cancer head shaving event. Fundraising coordinator, Laara Losier explains that anyone can be a part of this event. The event takes place Saturday May 11th at the Intercity Mall outside of the old Zellers entrance.

Fletcher Addresses Funding Concerns

The head of the city's Disaster Relief Committee says it's not possible to give back money donated to victims of the May 28th flood. Wayne Fletcher says even though the funding is not being matched at 2 to 1 by the province, returning any money is a non-starter. He says there have already been tax receipts issued and it would be impossible to return smaller cash donations. Meantime Fletcher says while the committee knew it was a possibility the province might not match donations 2 to 1, they never thought it was probable.

Locals Nabbed In Dryden Bust

Three Thunder Bay residents are in trouble with the law in Dryden.  Police say three people were arrested last night following a routine traffic stop.  Officers found a large quantity of cocaine, morphine, hash oil, marijhuana, crack and ritalin as well as other property obtained by crime.  Police say the accused, 2-women and 1-man appeared in court earlier today.

City Working On Local Food Strategy

The city is taking in a local food procurement workshop this afternoon.  It will focus on bringing food from the farm into organizations such as schools and city hall.  Health Unit Spokesperson Catherine Schwartz Mendez says the workshop is taking place today with the President of Local Food Plus speaking. The event is being held at the Regional Food Distribution Association.

Public Board Comments On Confessions Page

A top educator in the city says it's concerning how high school students are using Facebook. Joan Powell of the Catholic School Board is reacting to news that some students are writing defamatory posts about fellow students and teachers.   Powell can't say what possible action they might take.

Diabetes EXPO This Afternoon

The Canadian Diabetes Association will be holding it's 2013 diabetes EXPO this afternoon at the DaVinci Centre. The EXPO will provide local diabetes information and tools to help manage and improve overall health. A key note speaker will talk about islet cell transplant therapy.

Pentti Lund Passes

The Executive Director of the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is remembering the contributions of Thunder Bay's Pentti Lund. The former Boston Bruins and New York Rangers player passed away yesterday at the age of 87.  Diane Imrie  says the local hockey community lost a legend.   She says Lund was always willing to help her organization when it came to teaching young people about the history of the game in this region.  Funeral arrangements are pendings.

Local Marathon Officials Ponder Security

Officials with Thunder Bay's annual marathon says it's too early to discuss security issues in the wake of the Boston Marathon explosions.   Charla Robinson says they will be looking at the process and reviewing protocols, but they will watch to see what unfolds in the Boston investigation.

"Horrible Feeling" Says Local Witness

The horror of yesterday's Boston Marathon bombings is still etched in the mind of Thunder Bay's Deb Frederickson.  She crossed the finish line two minutes before the two explosions and says after that it was pandemonium.  Frederickson says people were screaming and others were trying to herd people out of the area and there was lots of chaos. She calls it a horrible feeling.  As for other Thunder Bay marathon participants,  Marcia Migay says security at her Boston hotel was beefed up after the tragedy, Susan McDonald says her only concern was finding her son Ryan McDonald while Ryan admits he is still shaken up by the events.

Cause Of Crash Remains Mystery

Police still don't know what happened to cause a dump truck to slam into a mobile home on Chippewa Road yesterday.  They say they are still working to find out the cause.    A 71 year old woman who was injured in the incident at the Totem Trailer Park was treated and released from hospital.