PARO shines during women's week

It's International Women's Week which helps to recognize the advances females have made, and here in Thunder Bay women have made strides in the business community thanks to the efforts of PARO.  Spokesperson Suzanne Tighe says the organization has been able to help three thousand women start up a business in a welcoming atmosphere

Cancer Centre opens up new clinic

Thanks to 150 thousand dollars in funding, Thunder Bay will be home to one of 3 new pilot clinics to help cancer patients transition out of treatment.  Vice President of the Cancer Centre Michael Power says the Transition Clinic will help get patients back to their family doctors and primary care. Power hopes the clinic becomes a permanent fixture.

Only 2 cases of flu in T.Bay

Thunder Bay's Health Unit is reporting only 2 cases of influenza this year. It follows a flu trend that's being reported nationally as well as in Europe and the US. Spokesperson Darlene Binette says they like to think the reason for the quiet flu season is the increase of people getting immunized.

Prospectors conference wraps up

Thunder Bay's contingent at the Prospectors conference in Toronto is coming back with contacts in the mining industry.  Mining Services Manager John Mason says the networking was well worth the price of his plane ticket.  Harold Wilson of the Chamber of Commerce, Lakehead University's President and Mayor Keith Hobbs were also in attendance.

KI chief protects traditional lands

The Big Trout Lake First Nation is taking to YouTube to air its concerns over God's Lake Resources gold mine operation.  Chief Donny Morris released a video this morning showing he's staying at Sherman Lake the site he's guarding from the mining company.  Morris released a video on YouTube this morning asking Minister of Northern Development and Mines Rick Bartolucci to hold negotiations between God's Lake and the First Nation.

Watermain closes Central

The City of Thunder Bay is dealing with a water main break in the area of Central Avenue. City employee Peter Viita says they're working on fixing the break.  Central Avenue is closed from Golf Links to Balmoral.  Meanwhile, Lakehead University had planned to close the school due to a lack of water. But water has since been restored to LU and they will reopen their doors.

Group of First Nation Communities band together

A number of Northwestern Ontario First Nation communities are banning together to work towards improving infrastructure.  The group of 5 First Nation communities signed the agreement that will help in the development of an East-West Corridor in the Ring of Fire.  The communities want to work together to capitalize economic benefits from the mining industry.  Officials say the ultimate goal of the agreement will be to develop an infrastructure, transportation and service corridor for the Ring of Fire.  Chief Harry Papah says ownership of this corridor would give his people new opportunities for training jobs and business.

Ring of Fire alliance formed

Area First Nations are still demanding more decision making involvement in the Ring of Fire mining development. That's why the Aroland and the Marten Falls First Nations have formed an alliance. Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon says they don't want to watch from the sidelines anymore, they want to "take ownership, take partnership" over what will happen in the Ring of Fire.  Gagnon calls the alliance a pro-active move.

Mix up could have led to users death

The Regional Coroner says that one person somewhere in Northwestern Ontario is dead in a case related to the end of Oxycontin. Dr. Michael Wilson says the unexpected death may have been the result of a prescription mix-up.  He says the medication had been prescribed to replace the Oxycontin, but it appears it was prescribed at a higher rate than he usually was on, meaning he may have died due to a drug overdose.  As a result, Dr. Wilson says he's recommended there be better communication between doctors and pharmacists.

Fire in group home

No one is hurt after a small fire at a group home on Sequoia  Street.   A fire official says it happened just before eight o'clock this morning after one of the residents accidentally lit a bed sheet ablaze with a lighter.   St. Joseph's Care Group runs the home which has five residents and two staff members.

New school for Attawapiskat

Relief for the troubled Attawapiskat First Nation. The Federal Government has awarded the construction contract to build a new school to Manitoba-based Penn-Co Construction. Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development John Duncan says Penn-Co has extensive experience working with remote First Nation communities on the construction of large facilities.The 58-hundred square-metre school will accommodate 540-students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 and is scheduled to open during the 2013-2014 school year.

Greenstone launches website and survey

The Municipality of Greenstone is hoping for big results from its new look website.  The site, http://www.investingreenstone.ca/, is designed to help businesses and investors get the information they need on the community.  The website also helps to promote mining and exploration in the region.  Included in the site is a survey which is a coordinated industry effort to encourage graduates, skilled workers and others remain in the Greenstone region and possibly attract skilled workers back.

Declare, Declare, Declare

People continue to lie about their purchases at the Pigeon River Border. Two Canadian residents are in trouble after importing a vintage car that was purchased online. The importer swore they paid 8 thousand dollars for the vehicle but after closer examination border agents found they actually paid 12 thousand. The man was forced to pay over 2 thousand dollars in penalties. Had he declared the vehicle at its proper value he would have only paid around 200 dollars in taxes.

KI rallies in Toronto today

The Big Trout Lake First Nation are rallying in front of the world's leading mining convention today.  They'll have 100 supporters in Toronto today.  They claim God's Lake Resources proposed gold mine will desecrate their sacred burial grounds.

Impaired driving collision

Thunder Bay Police are charging a man with impaired driving and various traffic act offences after a bumpy ride this morning. Witnesses say the vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed, crashed through some construction pylons, went through a hole dug by a road crew, over a snowbank and struck a building on Simpson Street. He's also charged with dangerous driving.

2012 Budget is in the books

This year's city budget increase is a bit lighter than what we were expecting.  Council approved the budget last night but after Councillor Marc Bentz put forward a motion that prevented the hiring of 5 full time city employees.  The savings should amount to a bit more than 200 thousand dollars and dropped the tax increase from 2.67 to just under 2 and a half.  Councillor Trevor Geirtuga says its time the city decided whether they want to invest in infrastructure or invest in human resources.  The average home will now pay just over 60 dollars more this year in taxes.  

Council is looking at a Master Transit plan

The city has a new Master Transit Plan in the proves. Council approved in principal the 3-5 year plan that calls for a major transit terminal in the intercity area that comes with a price tag of around 7 million dollars. The plan also will keep using the Water Street terminal unless future development forces the closure of that terminal. There will also be 3 major transfer points in the south core, Lakehead University and Confederation College. The consulting firm who helped develop the plan, predicts a 25 percent increase in ridership over the next 5 years. The plan will also call for the end of HAGI transit and instead it would become part of City Transit. It will come back to council June 4th.

The city will be holding onto the Whalen Building

Our Municipal Leaders have decided to hold onto and improve the Whalen building.  Council voted in favour of a recommendation that will see the city spend over 9 million dollars over the next 20 years in capital improvements to the building.  Councillor Rebecca Johnson voted against the plan saying that money could be better spent on other projects instead of propping up a 100 year old building.  Administration predicts that keeping the building will bring profits to the city through taxes and leasing out office space. 

Council approves changes to waterfront deal

Despite a deputation speaking out against the proposed changes, City Council has approved the changes to the waterfront deal with the developers. One woman spoke out against the deal saying council is treating the developers differently than others in town. She referenced the proposed Marriott Hotel near the Superstore which will pay for its own parking lot while the waterfront hotel will now see the city pave the parking lot there and then lease it to the developer. Administration said the difference is the Marriott is on private land while the waterfront is on city owned land.

City hands out Green Awards

The City handed out the municipal Green Awards at Monday night's meeting. The awards were handed out to the Regional Health Sciences Centre, Superior Collegiate, Ecole Catholique Franco Superieur and the OLG Casino. The winners were recognized for successful waste reduction and other environmental successes.