Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Wednesday morning.
Feb. 1 was the deadline for Laurentian to comply with Speaker’s warrants, hand over documents
Besides being the one-year anniversary of Laurentian University declaring insolvency, today is also the deadline for LU to comply with rare Speaker’s warrants issued by the Ontario legislature in December. The warrants are aimed at Laurentian University president Robert Haché and former board chair Claude Lacroix, and require them to provide certain documents to the clerk of the Ontario legislature’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts. The two men are required to provide the documents listed here (with a couple of exceptions, as per a recent court decision) “on or before Feb. 1, 2022 at 5 p.m. EST.” The Speaker’s warrants, signed by Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott, the Speaker of the Ontario legislature, contains the line: “IF YOU DISOBEY THIS WARRANT (sic), you may be subject to punishment, including punishment.”
Ontario's science advisers say easing restrictions will increase COVID-19 cases
COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions will likely increase following this week's reopening, Ontario's expert science advisers said Tuesday in new modelling that shows "prolonged" pressure on the health system. The size of the resurgence, however, is difficult to predict because it will depend on factors such as vaccination and masking, and the spread of the Omicron variant, the experts said. The spread is challenging to track because of limits on who can access PCR testing, but Ontario's COVID-19 wastewater signal suggests cases peaked around Jan. 11, and there may have been between 1.5 million and four million infections since Dec. 1. "Public health measures helped control this phase," the experts say in the modelling. "Relaxation of these measures will increase the spread of COVID-19."
Read the full story here.
On the one-year insolvency anniversary, we ask what will Laurentian 2.0 look like?
The president of the Laurentian University Faculty Association said he had no idea at the end of January of 2021 that the university was planning to declare insolvency. One year ago, on Feb. 1, 2021, Laurentian University said it was out of money, and filed for creditor protection and restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). It was an unprecedented move for a Canadian post-secondary institution, taking both academia and this community by surprise. “No, it came as a shock for everybody,” said Fabrice Colin, president of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA). That’s despite the fact that Laurentian, which was in collective bargaining talks with the union at the time, had been “claiming financial difficulties for some time before,” he said. “But that was totally unexpected, especially given that, you know, the CCAA proceedings are totally inappropriate for a not-for-profit and public institution,” Colin said. He said it could have been avoided through “better transparency and accountability,” government intervention, or using the “financial exigency” clause in LUFA’s collective agreement, which he said would have allowed for carefully-thought-out cuts.
Vagnini ‘categorically’ denies wrongdoing in conversation with Leduc
Finally weighing in on the accusations lodged against him, Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini has denied wrongdoing in a conversation he had with Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc last week. Leduc claimed that Vagnini threatened him by phone after the Jan. 25 city council meeting. Although Leduc declined to offer any additional details, he said it was a “very serious” matter. “It’s got more to do with the safety of my family – me as a public figure, I’m fine with that, but my family has a private life … and I have to look out for their personal safety now.” Greater Sudbury Police Service confirmed that they had received a threat complaint from a city councillor in relation to a Greater Sudbury Police Services board member, which Vagnini sits on. To “protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure objectivity,” they passed the investigation on to North Bay Police Service.
Police make arrest on New Sudbury Centre sexual assault case
Greater Sudbury Police have made an arrest in relation to a sexual assault that occurred at the New Sudbury Centre mall over the weekend. Police said on Jan. 29, officers were called about a sexual assault that had taken place at the New Sudbury Shopping Centre. According to the report, a man entered one of the stores in the mall, walked up to an employee of the store and inappropriately touched her while making a sexually explicit comment. The man then left the store. Police released an image from security camera footage of the suspect and reached out to the public for help in identifying the man. This morning, Greater Sudbury Police say based on information provided by the public, a 44-year-old man was identified, arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault. The man is to appear in court on April 6 to answer to the charge. His name cannot be released as it has not yet been sworn to through the court process, police said.
Remaining protesters say they won’t leave Ottawa until all COVID restrictions are lifted
Crowds have thinned out considerably on Parliament Hill and the surrounding area, where anti-COVID restrictions demonstrators have been protesting for days. But those that remain say they are staying put until all the restrictions are lifted, with the president of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association saying some protesters have been extending their stays at hotels, or are asking to rebook for the coming weekend. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday he will not meet with anyone involved, noting reports that some participants have been seen harassing local businesses, waving Nazi flags, defecating on residential lawns, urinating on National War Memorial and stealing food from the homeless. The Ottawa Paramedic Association reported that paramedics asked for police escorts after rocks were hurled at an ambulance from a truck in the convoy. But Conservative Deputy Leader Candice Bergen said Trudeau was "gaslighting" the protesters, who deserve the chance to be heard and be given some respect.
Milder weather continues today
Today won’t be quite as mild as yesterday, but it will still be a pretty decent day. The skies will be mainly cloudy with a 30-per-cent chance of flurries in the morning. The wind will be blowing at 15 km/h, so expect a wind chill of around -13. Tonight, the skies will stay cloudy and the temperature will dip to -21.
