LU meeting about lobbying

Lakehead University is staying mum on a report released by the NDP.  The NDP announced yesterday that nine colleges and Universities paid for lobbying efforts.  The report says Lakehead put 33 thousand dollars towards a lobbyist. LU's President Dr. Brian Stevenson is out of town and administration is holding a meeting today.

Hobbs thinks administration runs city council

Keith Hobbs calls it the tail wagging the dog.   The mayoralty candidate believes administration has too much influence on city councils decisions.   He implies  administration is running council instead of the other way around, citing the waterfront and the wind farm as two prime examples.   Hobbs says council has to start dictating to administration what the people want.

Matawa F.N. to talk environment

The first ever Matawa First Nation Environmental Conference is coming to Thunder Bay.  The conference will focus on environmental assessments, land and water management, source water protection, mining and exploration on First Nations lands.  The conference will also offer a number of hands on workshops.  It runs from October 26th to the 28th at Fort William Historical Park.

Student mugged while walking home

For the second time in recent memory two young girls are in trouble with the law.  The girls aged 14 and 15 were arrested and are charged with robbery after a LU student was robbed on Enniskillen Avenue when she was walking home from school last night. Police are still looking for a third suspect in the case.  The victim received only minor injuries.

NOSM vote postponed

Unionized workers at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine have put off their vote on their tentative first contract to Tuesday.  No details on the agreement will be publicly released until after the vote.  The union says the picket signs will stay up until the agreement is ratified.

LU puts money towards lobbying

The NDP have revealed that Lakehead University is one of nine colleges and Universities to pay for a lobbyist.  Lakehead put 33 thousand dollars towards lobbying efforts.  The provincial government is planning to table a bill that would stop taxpayer dollars from flowing into the pockets of lobbyists.

Annual Food Drive does it's job

The numbers are in.  The weekend Food Drive by the Regional Food Distribution Association collected 12 tons of  food.   That's 1 ton more than last year.   Along with that,  16 thousand dollars in cash was collected.  It will all be put towards stocking the shelves of the food banks in Thunder Bay and the rest of Northwestern Ontario.

Shag trouble in "the Bay"

City couples remain on pins and needles as to whether it'll be worth holding a Shag anymore.   The local liquor inspector has served notice that prizes aren't allowed to be raffled off at the pre-marriage fund raisers that are as unique to Thunder Bay as Persians.  However, City Police spokesperson Chris Adams says there's no formal plan to enforce the law and will likely be handled on a complaint driven basis.

Shchepanik pulls out of race

A former city councillor who was trying to make a comeback in Neebing Ward is pulling out of the municipal election.  Gary Shchepanik says he was elected to a position with the Power Workers Union which won't allow him to do a councillors job properly.   Because Shchepanik made the decision after the deadline, his name will still appear on the ballot. 

Transit union sets strike deadline

Talks are continuing between the City and the amalgamated transit union; however the union has set a strike date for midnight October 12th.  Union Spokesperson Charlie Brown says they will continue to bargain throughout the Thanksgiving long weekend.  135 employees could be on strike if an agreement isn't reached by next Wednesday morning.

Operation Red Nose Part 2

Volunteers are need to help with Operation Red Nose this Christmas season.  The program allows drunk party-goers to phone for a ride home. Local organizer Karen Wood says help is needed in all areas, from driving and escorting to answering phones and dispatching.  It's the second year for the program in the city.

Ambassadors of safety

It's fire prevention week and the Thunder Bay Fire Service is targeting children.  Fire Chief John Hay says they find kids are the best ambassadors for fire safety.  The Fire Service hosted a group of students from St. Elizabeth School for the kick-off

Police make minor drug bust

The Combined Forces Organized Crime Unit has taken more drugs off the street.  Officers searched a house on the 300 block of Simpson street Friday and found 220 grams of marijuana and other drugs as well as just over a thousand dollars in cash.  The drugs have a street value of just under 22 hundred dollars.  Six people were arrested and face a number of charges and will appear in court in December. 

CAA Worst Road List

For the first time ever, two Northwestern Ontario Roads have made the list in the Canadian Automobile Association Ontario Worst Roads campaign.  Pelican Falls Road in Sioux Lookout has been selected as the Worst Road in all of Ontario.  Onion Lake Road in Thunder Bay was voted-in as the 9th worst.  CAA Spokesperson Kory Kennedy says the final list is encouraging for local residents.  Kennedy points out that 90% of the roads that make the Top 20 Province-wide, have either been repaired or are slated to be repaired.

NW LHIN new faces

An Ear Falls resident has been appointed to the Northwest Local Health Integration Network Board of Directors. Dennis Gushulak will sit on the Board for 3-years. The retired teacher and vice-principal has sat as Board Chair of the Red Lake Hospital and is a member of the Ontario Hospital Association.

Accident claims life

A 33 year old Toronto man is dead after a fatal collision on Highway 17 near Lett township. Nipigon OPP say the driver of an eastbound tractor trailer unit lost control causing the vehicle to leave the roadway and enter the North ditch of the highway. Police continue to investigate the cause of the collision.

Police deal with early morning B&E

Thunder Bay police arrested one man after an apparent early morning Break and enter.  Officers responded after an alarm was set off just after 2 o'clock this morning on Red River. A 22 year old man was arrested and will be in court later today.

Waterfront development work awarded

The city has awarded the contract to take away the dirty soil at the site of the proposed hotel and condos on the waterfront. LTL contracting came in the lowest at just over 1 million 137 thousand dollars. The total cost for remediation is within the approved 47.5 million dollar waterfront budget.

Norwester Protection group protests

The Norwester Escarpment Protection group picketed in front of City Hall Monday night.  Around 20 people rallied before the start of council's weekly meeting.  The group is concerned about the information being provided by Dillon consulting.  Spokesperson Irene Bond says they wanted to see more information in the report and calls it a waste of money. Administration will bring more recommendations to council on Tuesday on their wind farm options.

Report provided, no decision made

City council will take just over a week to mull over a report provided by Dillon Consulting about the proposed wind farm.  Council is expected to make a decision on the wind farm at a special council meeting on Tuesday, October 12th, and ratify it at its last meeting before the municipal election.  Consultant Mario Buszynski says they only had just over a week to carry out their review on Horizon's viewshed analysis.  Dillon Consulting reviewed Horizon Wind's layouts and viewsheds and ensured that the information they provided was accurate.

Random acts of poetry week

It's Random Acts of Poetry week here in the City of Thunder Bay. The group stopped by city hall last night to tell them about this year's event. Songs, poetry, and other forms of art will be taking place across the city. You'll know a random act of poetry performance by the people in their orange construction jumpsuits. It's the sixth year for the event that is sponsored by the Definitely Superior Art Gallery.

Transit talks back on

The amalgamated transit union and the city are back at the bargaining table tomorrow. They'll meet at the Whitefox Inn at 10 on Tuesday. Union boss Charlie Brown says they're prepared to bargain all this week. Brown adds there won't be any strike action as long as talks continue to progress.

Terrace Bay Pulp is back!

It's a monumental day in Terrace Bay. The community's main employer is back in business. Terrace Bay Pulp is making pulp again putting 300 people back to work. It came after it's parent company, Buchanan Forest Products of Thunder Bay, managed to bring it out of creditor protection. The provincial government kicked in a 25 million dollar loan to help refinance the start up

Research ca$h for LU

Lakehead University officials are pumped about their latest research grants. These grants total over 700 thousand dollars. The money is being shared by various LU faculty members and graduate students. It is funded by your federal taxes through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

City compiles historical council info

More of Thunder Bay's history can be found on the Internet. This time it's on the City of Thunder Bay website. City Archivist Matt Szybalski  says it's a listing of past mayors and councils. He says the need was there.  He explains that a lot of people, especially students, were asking for the information and there wasn't any one place this basic information was easily available.  You can see the site by following this link

Vigil held to remember missing and murdered

The memories of missing or murder native women are being kept alive. The Ontario Native Women's Association held it's annual Spirit Vigil for those women. The Association's Lorene Rego  says the event helps to draw the spotlight on to a very critical issue.  The vigil took place at Patterson Park Monday afternoon.

Health officials scramble to fix hospital gridlock

The behind the scenes work continues to ease the pressure on the Regional Health Sciences Centre.   An official at the Local Health Integration Network  says the organization is doing what it can to co-ordinate an end to the hospitals gridlock crisis. Susan Pilatzke says  says all groups are meeting constantly help find solutions.  That group involves, the LHIN, the Health Sciences Centre , St. Joseph's Care Group and the North West Community Care Access Centre.

Hearing Society has new home

The Canadian Hearing Society is operating out of it's new digs. The office is now located in the Victoriaville Mall.  The Society has operated in Thunder Bay for 35 years.

September a decent month for Port

Numbers at the Port saw a small jump in September but its still been a slower year in Thunder Bay.  The port saw over 541 thousand tonnes of good pass through the city last month up from 525 thousand tonnes in the same month last year.  Year to date numbers have declined however.  This year the port has seen 4.4 million tonnes pass through down over 300 thousand tonnes from last year.

Its a hot start to October

Don't put away your golf clubs just yet, its going to be beautiful this week. Environment Canada's Geoff Coulson says a high pressure system will be bringing in some nice weather this week, with temperatures pushing close to the 20 degree mark for most of the week. Coulson says the rest of October should be closer to seasonal temperatures and we could even see some snow before the end of this month.

NOSM and OPSEU reach tentative deal

The Northern Ontario School of medicine strike could be over.  NOSM and OPSEU have reached a tentative contract after another round of negotiations over the weekend.  Support staff have been on strike since August 16th.  The deal still has to be ratified by union members and the NOSM board of Directors.

Run for a Cure a huge success

The Run for the Cure for Breast Cancer Research was a complete success yesterday.  The annual event saw over 900 people take part and 133 thousand dollars was raised.  Organizers say it was an increase of almost 10 thousand dollars from last year. 

Fatal crash near Nipigon

A late afternoon crash near Nipigon claimed the life of a man when his tractor trailer left Highway 17 yesterday around 4 p.m. 

It's been reported the man was a 33 year old from Toronto.

Police are still working to notify next of kin.

Mission Terminal expansion

Grain silos at Mission Terminal are currently at capacity but there's relief on the way with the help of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.


The terminal will be getting three new storage bins within the next couple of weeks.

The provincial government is contributing a million dollars towards the expansion through the fund.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro was on hand for the announcement yesterday and says that Mission Terminal is an asset to the area and the expansion will help provide jobs.

Wind Park Review Update on Monday night

The city expert reviewing the wind park project will provide an update to city council Monday night. Dillon Consulting will be speaking about the status of its review of the proposed Big Thunder Wind Farm on city lands.  Council wants to know how much it would cost to move the turbines to a new location.

New Chair for LU Board of Governors

Newspaper publisher Colin Bruce is the new Chair of the Lakehead University Board of Governors. Bruce says the board has several challenges facing it in the next year. He says on the top of that list will be meeting and delivering a balanced budget.   Bruce calls the appointment one of the greatest honours he's ever had

LU students to vote on bottled water

Lakehead University Students will be asked to take an environmental stand on bottled water. Student Union President Mike Snodden says a referendum will ask students to recommend that bottled water not be sold on campus.   He says there are two reasons for the move, one is that water is a basic need and we shouldn't have to pay for it, and secondly, we need to break our addiction to plastic.   The referendum will take place next month.

LU President plans activites for swearing-in

The new President of Lakehead University is making sure his installation day next month is an event. Brian Stevenson says it will include a series of activities surrounding his swearing in. One is a conference on the role of the University in the economic development of Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. The second is a breakfast meeting with Lloyd Axeworthy who will discuss First Nations, Metis and Inuit in higher education. The so called "24 hours of activities" takes place November 4th and 5th.

NOMA conference wraps up

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association has wrapped up its fall conference in Thunder Bay. President Anne Krassilowski says she was pleased with the Premier's attendance, and feels he heard their concerns about the Far North Act and future economic opportunities in the area.  Krassilowski feels the conference was a success and delegates left with new economic development ideas.

NOMA hears from panelists

How does Northwestern Ontario get their voices heard at Queen's Park?  That was the topic of a panel discussion at the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association conference. Director of Ontario Chambers of Commerce Ian McCormick, Columnist Christina Blizzard and Past President of the Ontario Associated Community Futures Development Corporation Bill Spinney were panelists.  All three of them said NOMA needs to focus on one or two issues, solve them and then move on. The 2 day fall conference wrapped up on Friday afternoon.

McGuinty leaves hospital crisis to locals to solve

Premier McGuinty isn't making any promises to help dig the Regional Hospital out of it's gridlock crisis. Speaking in Thunder Bay on the issue, McGuinty is satisfied the situation is under control, with the Local Health Integration Network being "all over this".  McGuinty says the government is providing all local agencies with the policies and funding to see the problem through.

Howarth brings HST fight back to the Lakehead

The Provincial government is getting more heat about the HST. NDP leader Andrea Horwath was in Thunder Bay today visiting with a local family who is worried about the HST's impact on their living expenses. Horwath met with Fred and Carol St Jean and says its a similar story for many across the province.  Horwath says removing the HST from Hydro will save Ontarians hundreds of dollars each year.

Organizations join to help prevent child abuse

It's Child Abuse Prevention month. The Children's Aid Society is one organization which sees a lot of abused kids. Executive Director Rob Richardson hopes people will be on the watch for children who may be victims.  Dilico Anishinabek Family Care is also taking part in this months campaign. Director Susan Verill says its a problem

New hospital prez takes over during crisis

The new president of the Regional Health Sciences Centre has her work cut out for her. Andre Robichaud is dealing with a hospital in gridlock because it can't free up needed beds. She notes most of the work to try to solve the problem is already underway. She says all she can do now is to support the partners and make sure there is a long term plan to address the crisis.   Robichaud says she dealt with similar problems while working in New Brunswick.

NAPS seizes more Oxy

Nishnawbe-Aski Police continue to intercept illegal shipments of OxyContin. They say recent seizures took place in 3 northern First Nations communities. They confiscated over 46 thousand dollars worth of the highly addictive opiate. In total, 3 people are facing charges.

Rafferty introduces FASD bill

MP John Rafferty has introduced his second Private Members' Bill on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. The Thunder Bay Rainy River MP is calling on the Federal Government to develop a national strategy on the issue.  The bill, C-569 will not be debated before the next election.

Kaszicky named Ring of Fire Coordinator

The new Ring of Fire Coordinator feels she has a good working relationship with area first nations.  Dr. Christine Kaszicky was the assistant deputy minister of Northern Development and Mines; during the time members of KI First Nation were sent to jail over a mining dispute.  Kaszicky says she's learned from that incident.  Kaszicky starts her new job on October 25th and will spend her time between Toronto and the North.  An office with a director and some staff will be set up in Thunder Bay.

McGuinty says Far North Act a good balance

Premier Dalton McGuinty is defending his government's Far North Act. Numerous groups including business and First Nations organizations are condemning it. However McGuinty believes there will be ways to work around any concerns.  McGuinty says the act is the way to balance development and conservation in the north.

McGuinty defends choice of co-ordinator

Premier McGuinty's choice for Ring of Fire co-ordinator is getting some heat. There is concern that as Assistant Deputy Minister at the Mines Ministry, Christine Kaszycki, was there when KI First Nations protesters were jailed. McGuinty calls it a learning experience for her. McGuinty says Kaszycki has the qualifications for the position.