Wilson Looks At Positive Side

Smelter or no smelter, the message is not all doom and gloom from the president of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce.   Harold Wilson says even though the region will not be getting a chromite smelter it's important to remember that the Ring of Fire project has plenty of opportunities and that there's a lot of wealth to go around. Wilson believes however that Cliffs Natural Resources may not have considered everything when they made the decision on the smelter's location.

Commissioner Talks Competing Rights

Ontario's Human Rights Commissioner is travelling the province educating the public on a new policy by the commission on the issue of competing rights. In Thunder Bay, Barbara Hall, explains the policy is designed to help community leaders settle such issues out of court and avoid costly legal bills.  Competing rights takes place when two sets of human rights clash and both sides have legitimate claims.

Hobbs Slams Government Over Smelter Decision

There is huge disappointment among city leaders to the decision by Cliffs Natural Resources to locate its Ring of Fire chromite smelter near Sudbury.  No one is more upset than our Mayor Keith Hobbs who wasn't able to hide his outrage.  He says not only did Thunder Bay get nothing but so did area First Nations.  He says the government didn't bother to include our leaders in discussions with Cliffs on the smelter location.

Waboose Lashes Out At Minister

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kathleen Wynne is going to remember this day for a long time. She was confronted openly at a Thunder Bay news conference by Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose. Waboose was upset the McGuinty government and Cliffs Natural Resources chose not to include First Nations in the talks leading up to the announcement of Cliffs chromite smelter. The following is the entire discussion between Waboose and Wynne.

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Cliffs Selects Sudbury

And the winner is...Sudbury. That's the site Cliffs Natural Resources has selected for the Ring of Fire Chromite Smelter. Sudbury was selected due to various economic and technical factors including transportation logistics, labor, long mining tradition, community support and access to electrical power.

Cocaine Bust

Two Thunder Bay residents have been charged with possession of Cocaine. City Police conducted a raid on a home on Highway 61 where they seized $11,400 worth of drugs. A 33 year old man and 27 year old woman will appear back in court on June 6th.

Drug Bust In Sioux Lookout

O.P.P. have arrested two people in Sioux Lookout for drug possession. Police say they found Oxycontin and Codeine pills worth $8,000. Effie and Cornelius Matthews have each been charged with two counts of possession.

Some Work Still To Be Done For New Hotel

Construction on Thunder Bay's newest hotel is expected to start this summer.  Thompson Centres Development is meeting today with Marriott Town Place Suites to nail down some of the finer details of the new hotel that will be located on the property in front of Superstore.  Developer Lou Meandro says they'll be discussing an Ontario Municipal Board complaint from Loblaws over the size of the hotel.

Atikokan Renewable Fuels Talks Future

Atikokan Renewable Fuels is looking for some buyers before it can complete its wood pellet plant. President Ed Fukushima says Ontario Power Generation and some European Businesses are interested in their product. Fukushima says they should know more in 30 days.

Bear Wise Cut Backs Upset OPSEU

A union leader is warning Northern residents that they face greater danger from bears this year because of Provincial government cutbacks.  Smokey Thomas of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says the number of staff trained to deal with bears has been cut by more than 50 percent.  The M.N.R. has said that relocating nuissance bears was simply not working.