Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to get you started on this Saturday morning.
Ontario announces stricter public health measures to combat Omicron variant
Ontario is strengthening public health measures ahead of Christmas. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says it's to slow the highly transmissible variant Omicron to allow more times for shots to get into arms. The new measures take effect Sunday, Dec. 19. Capacity limits at indoor public settings are being reduced such as restaurants, bars, gyms, pharmacies, grocery stores, shopping malls and personal care services. Food and drink service is being prohibited in specific settings such as sporting events, concerts, theatres, cinemas, bingo halls and other gaming establishments. The number of people who can sit together at restaurants or meeting and event spaces is limited to 10 per table. People are also required to remain seated at restaurants, concerts, theatres and cinemas. Dancing and singing are prohibited except for workers or performers. Restaurants and other places that serve food must close at 11 p.m., except for takeout and delivery. Alcohol cannot be served after 10 p.m. For informal social gatherings, there's a limit of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
Vehicle strikes escaped bison on Hwy. 64, more of the animals believed to be roaming the area
The OPP are warning people driving on Highway 64 between Field and Sturgeon Falls to use “extreme caution,” as it’s believed bison from a local farm are roaming in the area. The Nipissing West OPP say officers responded to a single motor-vehicle crash on Highway 64 in West Nipissing at 11:18 p.m. Dec. 16. The motor vehicle had struck a bison from a local farm. It is believed that seven more bison are still roaming the area. There were no injuries resulting from the collision. Bison are wild animals, said the OPP press release. Even though they look docile, bison are dangerous, unpredictable, and may charge without warning. The OPP are advising motorists who travel on Highway 64, between Field and Sturgeon Falls to use extreme caution and not to approach any of these animals.
Roughly $360M in claims against Laurentian have been filed by around 1,500 creditors
Court documents associated with Laurentian University’s insolvency released Dec. 16 reveal close to 1,500 in claims totalling around $360 million have been filed by creditors against LU. The university returns to court Dec. 20 to deal with several matters under its ongoing Companies Creditors’ Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceedings. One of those matters is appointing three people as claims officers to determine disputed claims against Laurentian. Those claims officers are the Honourable Clément Gascon, the Honourable J. Douglas Cunningham, Q.C., and W. Niels Ortved. The court document said that since the beginning of the claims process against Laurentian in June, LU and Ernst & Young, the firm selected as the court-appointed monitor of LU’s insolvency restructuring, “have received close to 1,500 claims in the aggregate amount of approximately $360 million.
Public Health says suspected Omicron case in Sudbury is not yet official
In response to an inquiry about the discovery of a case of Omicron variant assigned to a Sudbury COVID-19 patient, Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) said although cases are under investigation, there is no official case of that variant in the Sudbury health jurisdiction. “Public Health Sudbury & Districts has informed Laurentian University that cases positive for COVID-19 associated with the university are currently under investigation for the Omicron variant of concern," said a statement from PHSD. "To date, no Omicron cases have been confirmed in Public Health’s service area. All eligible COVID-19 positive samples across Ontario have been and continue to go to Public Health Ontario's laboratory for whole genome sequencing. Locally, multiple persons under investigation are awaiting confirmation for Omicron," the statement continued. Laurentian University saod it’s rescheduling exams that were to take place on campus today and Saturday (Dec. 17 and 18) after a positive case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant was detected on campus. The university’s president, Robert Haché, made the announcement on LU’s website Friday morning.
Three local school boards asking families to prepare for possible remote return to school in January
Rainbow District School Board, Conseil scolaire catholique Nouvelon and Sudbury Catholic District School Board have joined other school boards across the province in advising students to bring home personal belongings in case school resumes remotely in January. The Canadian Press reports that large Southern Ontario boards have issued similar memos to parents and guardians. The Rainbow board memo asks “that students please bring home any personal belongings and learning materials so they are ready for remote learning, if needed.” The memo stresses that based on information the board has at this time, in-person learning will resume on Monday, Jan. 3, as scheduled. “Given the situation with COVID-19 and the new variant of concern is very fluid, however, we want to ensure that we are prepared for any possible changes,” the memo said. “If case counts increase over the holidays, the Ministry of Education and/or Public Health Sudbury & Districts could impose a delay to in-person learning. It’s important to note that no decision has been made at this time.”
Here’s the list of the 11 members who stepped down from the Laurentian board this week, includes chair
Laurentian University has revealed the names of the board members who have stepped down as part of the terms of a financial package from the Ontario government. The university, which has been undergoing insolvency restructuring under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) since last winter, released the following written statement to the media Friday afternoon: "Laurentian wishes to acknowledge and thank its outgoing board members for their volunteer service and dedication during an especially challenging time: Claude Lacroix (Chair), Sonia Del Missier (Vice-Chair), Fabiola Garcia, Peter Faggioni, Kathy Dokis, Stuart Harshaw, Natalie Turvey, Karen Restoule, Nelson Toulouse, Martin Gran, and Dr. Jennifer Jocko. The university appreciates their leadership and continued commitment to the values and mission of Laurentian, and wishes them all the best in their future endeavours." The Laurentian board of governors’ website has been updated, showing the remaining board members.
Ontario cutting wholesale alcohol prices to restaurants and bars, freezing beer tax for consumers
Ontario is cutting LCBO wholesale prices for bars and restaurants, enabling curbside pickup of beer, wine and cider from licensed grocery stores, and freezing the basic beer tax rate. "The government is supporting bars, restaurants and other businesses with a licence to operate a liquor consumption premises by cutting wholesale prices for the alcohol they purchase from the LCBO, saving these businesses an effective 20 per cent when compared to retail prices," according to a news release. "This change will provide approximately $60 million in annual support to restaurants, bars and other businesses." “A permanent wholesale discount will put about $60 million a year back into these important businesses, so they can invest in themselves and their workers,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. The government has also frozen the basic beer tax rates that were set to be indexed to inflation on March 1, 2022 to support beer and craft beer brewers to recover and grow, and to save consumers money. The beer basic tax rates are prescribed amounts of tax added to beer sold in Ontario. The rates adjust annually based on the Consumer Price Index. The government is freezing the beer tax rates until March 1, 2023.
More seasonal weather in store for the weekend
Expect more December-appropriate weather this weekend. Today will be mainly cloudy with a 40-per-cent chance of flurries late in the morning and in the afternoon. The wind will be blowing at 15 km/h, bringing a -18 wind chill for the morning and -13 for the afternoon. Tonight, the mercury will dip to -18 with a 30-per-cent chance of flurries. For Sunday, expect sunny skies and a high of -12. Clouds will roll in overnight and bring some flurries. Low of -12.
