Dogged by protestors, Trudeau makes campaign stop in Sudbury
Protesters opposed to COVID-19 restrictions and vaccinations have dogged Liberal leader Justin Trudeau across the country during this federal election, and his Aug. 31 stop in Sudbury was no different. Trudeau spoke about federal funding for Francophone post-secondary education at an event held on the balcony at the University of Sudbury on the Laurentian University campus, while protesters chanted in the background. Trudeau said he called an election because he believes that the people of Canada can’t wait any longer to have their say about the future. The Liberal leader, who did not take questions from reporters during the Sudbury event, announced a re-elected Liberal government would provide $80 million per year in funding for “les institutions postsecondaire en milieu linguistique minoritaire.” The announcement, which Trudeau made in French, will support post-secondary institutions that offer a minority-language education. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also held a campaign event at the University of Sudbury on Saturday. Laurentian University has been the centre of controversy this year after declaring insolvency in the winter and entering court-supervised restructuring. Read more here.
Opponents put Liberals on the defense during broad-sweeping debate
Federal candidates in both the Nickel Belt and Sudbury ridings brought a collegial atmosphere to today’s debate at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76. Hosted by the local chapter of CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) and Friendly to Seniors - Sudbury, the event centred not only on seniors issues but also broader topics. “Seniors cover a wide gamut from 65 to 95 and beyond, and I think seniors are concerned about a lot of issues they have, but they’re also concerned about the upcoming generation — their children and their grandchildren,” CARP interim president John Lindsay said after the debate. “A lot of the decisions politicians are making now are not necessarily going to affect seniors as much because it’s going to take time for any action to take place with pharmacare or seniors housing.” Having held a number of debates such as this covering municipal, provincial and federal elections, Lindsay said it’s safe to say this is one great group of candidates, whose dialogue proved meaningful. Included in today’s event were Sudbury candidates Viviane Lapointe (Liberal), Nadia Verrelli (NDP) and Ian Symington (Conservative). Nickel Belt candidates included Charles Humphrey (Conservative), Marc Serré (Liberal), Andréane Chénier (NDP) and Craig Gravelle (Green). Sudbury.com community editor Mark Gentili moderated the event, which opened with candidate introductions and was followed by candidates asking questions of one another. Learn more here.
Opioid Crisis: Northern cities working toward supervised consumption sites
With all eyes focused on COVID-19 statistics, another set of stark numbers need attention. Drug overdose deaths have grown exponentially across the country. While safe consumption sites have been touted as part of the solution to alleviate the crisis, some working on the front lines say a sense of urgency to make such services more widely available and easier to establish appears to be lacking. Time is of the essence. For many, time has run out. Ontario saw 2,426 overdose deaths in 2020 and the situation in Northern Ontario is especially dire. Read the full story here.
Timmins area prospectors rescue moose stuck in mud
A Timmins moose is back on the loose thanks to a group of seasoned prospectors. Last week, Moe Vallier was one of three people to save a moose from a deep, muddy ditch. It happened about three to four miles down Highway 655 and about two miles into the bush, he said. “An old prospector friend of ours was taking soil samples down that road and he came across the moose and he spent an hour or so trying to get him out by throwing dead trees and branches and everything, but the moose couldn’t lift his leg high enough to get out,” he said. Vallier was one of the friends to receive the call to go help. They loaded up, cut a trail through the bush to get to the area, which he said was swampy and had a corduroy (log) road to get to it. On either side of the road are ditches to help keep the road from washing away, explained Vallier. “The ditch must have been seven, eight feet deep because there was no body at all — just a head and that’s it. He was going under a few times so we tried to hurry up as much as we could before he drowned,” he said. To haul the moose out, they used a couple of nylon slings that are soft and wouldn't hurt the animal, and their Argo. Learn more here.
Nickel Belt candidates denounce vandalization of Liberal campaign signs
At least seven of Nickel Belt incumbent Liberal candidate Marc Serré’s campaign signs have been defaced with spraypaint depicting graphic imagery. On Monday, Serré hosted a media event next to one of the defaced campaign signs, which was in front of the house of a young family in the McCrae Heights neighbourhood. “I always took pride in working for the people in Nickel Belt, working for individuals and earning their respect, to try to help people,” he said. “It’s really hard for me to be here talking about this because that’s not who I am … I choose to be positive, I choose to help people, and it’s really not right, and not only vandalizing signs with graphic images but also intimidating volunteers on social media -- that is not acceptable.” In one case, he said a 14-year-old Liberal volunteer was threatened on social media. Although still wrong, Serré said there’s a “certain level of acceptance” when the attacks are directed at him, but the intimidation of volunteers is “unbelievable” and “totally unacceptable.” Read more here.
Scarborough man IDed as deceased in Aug. 23 fatal collision on Hwy. 144
The Nipissing West OPP has released the name of the man killed in an Aug. 23 single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 144. The driver has been identified as Ali Alwazzan, 39, of Scarborough. The crash occurred north of the Windy Lake Motel and south of Cartier. Alwazzan was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have been able to locate his next of kin. The investigation is still ongoing as to the cause of the collision, and further information will be released as it becomes available. Read the full story here.
Wednesday weather:
Looks like a gorgeous first day of September, with sunny skies and a high of 20 C. Wednesday night will be clear with a low of 7 C.
