Loblaws/Shoppers Deal Approved

The Competition Bureau is approving Loblaw's acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart.  The deal is expected to close as of next Friday.  As a result of the deal Loblaws is selling 18 Shoppers Drug Mart stores around the Country.  Thunder Bay isn't on the list.

Volunteers To Be Honoured In Kenora

The region's volunteers will be honoured at a ceremony planned for Kenora this May.  The Ontario Volunteer Service Awards will be handed out to volunteers for continuous service to an organization of between 5 and 60 years.  Youth will also be recognized for two or more years of volunteer service. The Kenora event will take place May 27.

Chamber Makes Scholarships Available

The Chamber of Commerce is giving out two 500 dollar scholarships to local high school students. Applications are being accepted from students planning to attend a business related program at a Thunder Bay post-secondary institution for the 2014-15 school year.  The application deadline is April 16th.

Local Beekeeper Comments On Report

Premier Kathleen Wynne is thanking the Ontario Bee Health Working Group for their report into the risk honey bees face from pesticide use.  Wynne adds that the province is working with the Federal Government when it comes to the use of pesticides.  Barry Tabor says 1.2-million dollars in funding from the province is a good start.  Tabor says he would of liked to see more attention given to bee keepers instead of growers, in the bee health working group's report.

Investigators Back From Ottawa

Investigators with the Thunder Bay Police and RCMP are returning from Ottawa after conducting interviews with staff and players with the University of Ottawa hockey program.  According to a release from city police the majority of players cooperated with investigators however a few chose not to speak.  The investigation continues into an alleged sexual assault that took place when the hockey team was in Thunder Bay for a pair of weekend games early February.

Hernandez Verdict May 13th

It will be another month and a half before Christian Hernandez learns his fate.  The 28 year old is charged in connection with the 2010 traffic death of 45 year old Richard Carmichael, who was a pedestrian crossing the street.  He faces two impaired driving related charges along with failing to remain at the scene of an accident where death has ensued.  After hearing closing arguments from both the defence and the prosecution, Justice Joyce Pelletier will hand down her verdict in the case May 13th.

Anishinabek Nation Comments On Education Act

 

Chiefs with the Anishinabek Nation believe proposed education legislation from the Federal Government will render 18-years of negotiations useless.  Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee says that the legislation does not translate to first nation control over their own education.

Municipal League Meeting In Schreiber

Municipal League President
Larry Hebert

Municipal leaders from across the district are meeting in Schreiber this week.  The conference starts Friday morning and runs through the weekend with a variety of issues being discussed. Policing, Crown land policies, poverty, and nuclear waste are up for debate.

New Courthouse Opening Soon

We are getting closer to seeing the new consolidated courthouse open.  A spokesperson from the Attorney General's office says the Superior Court of Justice will be operational at the new building starting April 7th. The Ontario Court of Justice will be operating out of that building as well a week later on April 14th.

Stroke Forum On This Week

Health care providers from across the Northwest are in Thunder Bay this week for the Regional Stroke Forum.  Regional Stroke Educator Elaine Edwards says the region sees a number of stroke cases. Area doctors will learn from the leading stroke neurologists over the next two days. 

Trudeau Skypes With Dryden Kids

An experience that Dryden's New Prospect's Grade 5 class will never forget.  Yesterday the class skyped with Justin Trudeau and asked him 24 questions.  Teacher Mary Trist says the students may not have known who the Liberal Leader was at first but after a mock parliament they clued in. The skype session went on for a half hour.

Tbaytel Fixes Problems

Tbaytel is announcing that technical issues with their voicemail service have been sorted out and service is back to normal.  Users were unable to access their voicemail this morning but spokesperson Katie Crowe says if you were expecting an important message you will still get it. A change in software was required to fix the issue.

Bluesfest Lineup Announced

The 2014 Bluesfest lineup is out.   Among the headliners coming to Thunder Bay this summer, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmy Vaughn and the Wallflowers.   Community Auditorium General Manager Bob Halverson says there's several bands people should be excited to see.  Bluesfest takes place at Marina Park July 4th to the 6th.  Tickets go on sale tomorrow at the Community Auditorium.

Swing Bridge Work Continues

CN Rail officials say work continues at the James Street Swing bridge. Scaffolding is in place at the site to assist the consultants in their extensive review of the bridge. The final report is still expected to be complete at the end of the month.

Diversity Breakfast

Diversity Thunder Bay welcomed a prominent figure to their 'Celebration Breakfast' this morning.  Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish is a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee and spoke at their event in support of ending racial discrimination. Chair Tina Tucker says their guest speaker brings with him first hand experiences living near the Gaza strip. Abuelaish is now an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto.

Mercury Removal Planned

Mercury Sludge

Cole Engineering is pitching several ideas on how to clean up the mercury contamination in the Thunder Bay Harbour.  Around 40 people representing a variety of environmental agencies took part in a meeting Wednesday night. Cole spokesperson Mark Bassingthwaite says one of the ideas is to pour clean material on top of the spoiled sediment.  Another idea is to physically remove the sludge and dispose of it at either the Mission Bay facility, a new confined facility or at the landfill.  The price tag of the ideas range from 30 million dollars to over 90 million. It's not known yet exactly who will pay for the remediation.

College Float Plane Program Moved

A program originally based east of Atikokan is moving west. Confederation College Aviation Chair Paul De Oude says the school's float plane training program will now be based on the Kenora Harbourfront. De Oude says training will start as soon as possible.  He notes the partnership is with River Air and community support provides the long term foundation needed to run the highly successful program.

Resolute Fires Back @ Greenpeace

Resolute Forest Products is responding after Greenpeace unfurled banners in Montreal to denounce the company's forestry practices in the boreal forest. In a release, the company says Greenpeace's actions are consistent with those its taken since withdrawing from the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement a year ago.  Resolute also calls Greenpeace's allegations untrue, noting all of its woodlands are independently certified to one or more internationally-recognized standards. And it adds that only point 2 per cent of boreal forest is actually harvested with 40 per cent of the forest off limits to forest companies.

Rickford Named Natural Resources Minister

A major promotion for Kenora MP Greg Rickford. Rickford has been named Minister of Natural Resources in a Prime Minister Stephen Harper cabinet shuffle.   He says he's grateful for the confidence the prime minister is showing in him.   Rickford replaces Joe Oliver who replaces Jim Flaherty as Finance Minister.   He retains responsibility of FedNor and the Ring of Fire but gives up his Minister of Science and Technology portfolio.

Woman Injured In Rollover

A woman is in hospital after her vehicle rolled over in the ditch on Highway 61 between Arthur Street  and the Harbour Expressway just after 8:30 this morning.  Thunder Bay fire Captain Craig Venables says they used to the jaws of life to extricate the unconscious victim from her vehicle.   Police and paramedics were there as well.  Police say the victim suffered serious injuries and her immediate condition is not known.