Money Handed To Festivals

Northwestern Ontario is going to be lively this spring and summer thanks to new money from the Provincial Government.  Through the Celebrate Ontario 2014 program, the province is helping 229 festivals and events.  Thunder Bay's May 24th Franco-Festival is getting 68-thousand dollars.  Another Lakehead festival the Celebration of Pop Culture is 69-thousand dollars. The Hymers Agricultural Society will also see money to help put on Hunter Jumper Show. Around the region, Kenora will see 22-thousand for the Muskies on Main, and another 38-thousand for a summer arts festival. Fort Frances will get 73-thousand dollars for a music festival.

Film Fest Is Back

It's over two decades old and still going strong.  The 21st annual Film Fest presented by the North of Superior Film Association is back this year with a series of 16 feature presentations.  Organizer Marty Mascarin says there are 16 feature films to be presented this year 8 dramas, 5 comedies and 3 documentaries.  The movies will  presented at Silver City on consecutive Sundays, March 23rd and 30th. Mascarin says one of the highlights is the Canadian documentary "Watermark" )

City In The Middle Of Best Places Ranking

MoneySense.ca is ranking Thunder Bay 109 out of the 200 best places to live in Canada.   It shows the city with no population growth, a household income of about 75 thousand dollars a year and an average house price of almost 232 thousand dollars.   Northern Ontario cities that rank ahead of us include Sudbury, Timmins and Kenora, but we still rank ahead of Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay

Workplace Rights The Focus Of Ads

Ontario is launching an advertising campaign to help ensure vulnerable workers know their workplace rights. The ads will direct workers to a new section on the Ministry of Labour website. It is there where they can get more information on their rights to be treated fairly on the job, work in a safe and healthy workplace, and be trained to address workplace hazards. The information is also available in 27 languages.

Million Dollar Ticket Sold Here

The city has a new millionaire.  A winning million dollar ticket from last night's Lotto 6/49 draw was  sold in Thunder Bay.  And that's not the end of it, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming says a 100 thousand dollar Encore ticket was also sold in the Thunder Bay region, matching the last six of the seven Encore numbers drawn.

Afghan Mission Ends

Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan is now over.   The last of the soldiers left this week following a ceremony in Kabul.  A Canadian military officer in Thunder Bay says our city played a major role in the  conflict.  Lt. Colonel Geoff Abthorpe says that 140 reservists from here took part in the mission and 2 of  them died.   Abthorpe believes the mission was successful because Canada achieved all of its objectives.

Expect Late Start To Shipping Season

The new shipping season in the Port of Thunder Bay is still a couple of weeks away.   Port Authority CEO Tim Heney doesn't see it starting until the end of the month at the earliest after the Welland Canal opens on March 28th.  When the season does get underway, he says there will be a lot of prairie grain waiting to be loaded on to arriving ships.  Meantime, there will be some activity in the port in the near future.   Heney expects an American icebreaker in our harbour sometime next week.

Documentary Explores Soil

The Bay Street Film Festival is presenting the Symphony of Soil Documentary this evening above The Hoito restaurant.  Festival Administrator Zoe Gordan says the films director Deborah Garcia will be in attendance. The 104-minute documentary  feature film explores the complexity and mystery of soil and was filmed on four continents. Tickets are 7-dollars or pay what you can if you are a student or senior. The screening begins at 7pm. )

Plastic Pollution In Great Lakes

A scientific advocacy team says tiny plastic beads from facial cleansers and body scrubs have turned up in the Great Lakes at what they call "alarming levels".  Several companies plan to phase out the use of the microbeads. Stiv Wilson with Five Gyres Institute says the public can take action of its own. Wilson says unlike other plastics, the microbeads aren't adequately captured by sewage treatment and could pose a huge risk to wildlife and fish.

CRIBE Supports Pulp Mill Technology

The Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy is announcing that their partnership with Greenfield Alcohols is being extended.  The provincial research corporation is putting 1.3-million dollars into a project that looks to make pulp mills more efficient and provide new sources of revenue.  CRIBE has invested a total of just less than 3-million dollars into the project through two phases, CEO Lorne Morrow its something they are optimistic about. The technology will be put into use at the AV Terrace Bay Mill, its goal is to extract clean sugar from hardwood.

Investigators Conduct Interviews In Ottawa

Investigators with the Thunder Bay Police Service and Thunder Bay R.C.M.P are in Ottawa today. They are conducting interviews with people connected to the Ottawa University hockey program. It is part of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault that took place when the team was in Thunder Bay for a pair of games early February. Chris Adams is Executive Officer with the Thunder Bay Police and says they could be in the capital for several days.

More Water Problems

There's lots of ice on Memorial Avenue near Squire Street today and it has nothing to do with a water main break.   City spokesperson Gerald Luty says that because of the warm weather the melting snow flooded the catch basin and it overflowed and froze.  Crews will be working this afternoon to fix the problem.  Meantime Luty says his department continues to be busier than ever, yesterday there were three water main breaks on the north side they had to fix.

No Medal For Weldon....Yet

There's no medal for Thunder Bay's Robbi Weldon at the Paralymics in Sochi Russia. Weldon was one of a handful of Canadians who competed in the Nordic sprint cross country ski races today.    She along with her guide Phil Wood, of Canmore, Alberta., had their day come to an end in the semifinals of the women's visually impaired category.  Weldon competes again on Saturday.

T.O. Storm Cancels Flights

A winter storm that's hitting Toronto is causing problems for air travellers in Thunder Bay today.  Several arrivals and departures had to be cancelled or delayed because of the weather there.

More Grain Coming Soon

Grain elevators in Thunder Bay are soon going to burst at the seems now that the Harper government has ordered the railways to ship prairie grain ASAP.  Tim Heney of the Port Authority says  shipments should be coming through here in about a week or so.  Heney says there's room for about a million tons of grain so when it starts arriving it will be a big bonus.   He says it's always good to have plenty of grain in storage so that when the shipping season starts, there will be enough to fill the boats when they arrive.

Citizens Speak Out Against Events Centre

The seeds of discontent are being sown over the proposed events centre.   About a hundred disgruntled citizens turned out last night at the Mary J-L Black library to tell the city that the proposed arena is too expensive.  Some like Maryann Baarts-Matson don't like the proposed south side down town location. Kim Coreau called for a plebiscite on the issue while John Salamon spoke against the 106 million dollar cost.   Also making an appearance was Mayor Keith Hobbs and Councillor Joe Virdiramo.

Matthews Coming To Thunder Bay

Health Minister Deb Matthews is coming to the city again.   This time it's to help commemorate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.  While there is no indication Matthews will be coming with a cheque book,  some are hoping behind the scenes that she will be able to announce provincial assistance to ease the overcrowding problem at the hospital.

LU Prof Talks More Ukraine

Lakehead University political science professor Laure Paquette says the Russian government continues to control the message on Crimea during the crisis in Ukraine   With people  in the peninsula set to vote in an independence referendum on the weekend comes word that the Kremlin will consider whether or not Crimea should join Russia or remain with Ukraine in legislation to be discussed March 21st.  Paquette says this is a move most likely being made for appearances and they will continue to say and do things the Western world believes are wrong all along claiming a democratic process is taking place in Crimea.

Dementia Strategy Needed Says Director

Thunder Bay is now one of over the one-hundred Ontario communities making a push for the Federal Government to put a national dementia strategy in place. City councillors voted on Monday to support the push.   Allison Denton is Executive Director of the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay and says having a strategy in place would mean a more focused approach when treating those with dementia.   She notes that in a recent survey 83-percent of Canadian said they want a national strategy put in place.

Free Tax Clinic Today

Volunteer Chartered Professional Accountants are holding a free tax clinic for those with low incomes today.  Those with total household incomes of less than 30-thousand dollars, or less then 20-thousand if they have no dependants can file their taxes between 6-9pm at the Multicultural Association. The program helped file nearly 14-thousand tax returns across the province last year.