Good morning, Greater Sudbury. Welcome to the weekend. Here a few stories to get you started this Saturday morning.
Photos: Here's to you, class of 2020! They won't walk the stage this spring, so we're honouring them here
Due to the pandemic, the class of 2020 won't get to walk across the stage this spring, as graduation ceremonies have been postponed until it's safe for people to gather once again. In our own small tribute, we asked for pics of graduates to feature in our photo gallery. Congratulations, graduates!
Take a look at the photo gallery here.
Friendly reminder: Income tax deadline is June 1
In case it slipped your mind with everything else that has been going on, the deadline to file you income tax is coming up on Monday. Rather than the typical deadline of April 30, the federal government extended the deadline until June 1 as part of Canada's COVID-19 pandemic response. Besides extending the filing deadline, the federal government has also extended the deadline to pay off outstanding income tax balances interest-free. The new deadline is July 31. This also applies to corporate taxes.
344 new COVID-19 cases and 41 deaths reported in Ontario today
Public Health Ontario is reporting 344 new cases of COVID-19 today, which is a 1.3 per cent increase in the total number of confirmed cases in the province. The province is also reporting 41 new deaths related to the coronavirus. The most recent victims reported include 12 people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 29 people over the age of 80. In total, 2,230 people have died from COVID-19 in Ontario, including 1,412 residents living in long-term care homes. The province has reported 310 additional recoveries since yesterday’s update, bringing the total number of resolved cases to 20,983. There have been 27,210 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Ontario to date. Since last report, Public Health Ontario notes there have been 18,525 coronavirus tests processed with another 13,351 awaiting results. It's been two weeks since the Sudbury or Manitoulin areas have had a new case of COVID-19.
Officers cleared of wrongdoing when man killed himself at Elliot Lake parole office
Two Ontario Provincial Police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in an April 20 shooting incident in Elliot Lake, where a 49-year-old man shot himself in the head at the community's parole office, said the director of the Special Investigations Unit. “There are no reasonable grounds to believe that any police officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the complainant’s death,” said Joseph Martino in his report. “I am satisfied that the complainant is alone responsible for his self-inflicted death.” On April 20, at 11 a.m., the man attended the Elliot Lake Probation and Parole Office for a scheduled meeting. A few minutes later, two Ontario Provincial Police officers arrived at the office to arrest the man for having breached a condition of a prohibition order. At news that the officers were there to arrest him, the man became agitated and asked that the officers not enter the room he was in.
Worker killed at northwest mine May 27 was employed by Sudbury company
A New Brunswick mining contractor died May 27 at Impala's Lac des Iles Mine (LDI), northwest of Thunder Bay. The Ontario Provincial Police's (OPP)Thunder Bay detachment reports Edward Gallant, 64, of Dunlop, N.B., died as a result of injuries sustained underground. According to the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, the worker was killed in a run of muck. The deceased's employer is SCR Mining and Tunnelling of Sudbury. A ministry inspector and engineer are attending the scene in a joint investigation with the OPP and the regional coroner's office.
Laurentian to offer majority of classes remotely this fall
Laurentian University has determined that it will deliver a majority of its courses through remote teaching, and at the same time, deliver as many courses as safely possible with face-to-face teaching starting in September. This announcement is made possible by a memorandum of understanding between the University and the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA), signed on May 27. The agreement details the specific modalities and working conditions for professors. With this agreement now signed, the university will convene a special meeting of the Laurentian University Senate on Monday, June 1 to approve the plan for the Fall Semester and full year courses starting in September 2020.
Do you have a vision for our city? Enter the Sudbury 2050 competition
Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture has announced that its Sudbury 2050 Urban Design Ideas Competition is in full swing. You can check it out at sudbury2050.ca. http://sudbury2050.ca/ The Sudbury 2050 Urban Design Ideas Competition offers a unique opportunity for urban thinkers from around the world to present their visions for our city’s future. It’s a chance to reimagine the entire urban core of a city. There has never been a design competition like this in Canada, said a press release. The competition is open to anyone interested in the future of our city. That includes not just architects, students, urban planners, engineers, environmental designers, but all visionaries and urban thinkers of any age or background.
Regional openings more than just about number of cases, says province’s top doc
There is more to look at than just how many active cases of COVID-19 there is in a community to determine which regions in the province will open first, said Ontario's chief medical officer of health. Dr. David Williams said due to increased data coming from a new testing strategy, health officials are getting a better picture of what's happening in nearly real-time across the province. About two-thirds of COVID-19 cases are focused around the Greater Toronto Area, and some health units, such as those in Northern Ontario, have not reported any new cases for two or three weeks in a row. While that's encouraging, Williams said they have to be careful in determining which parts of Ontario can open first, because if cases started to surface again in remote communities in the North, especially where there are border crossings, it would be very difficult to contain the spread of the virus. "We do not want to take that risk," Williams said. "It's not just some numbers at one time, it's a wider picture that we have to consider."
Read the full story on the Sudbury.com homepage.