Good morning, Greater Sudbury!
Here are some stories to start your day.
Ontario returning to modified step two of Roadmap to Reopen
With Ontario facing a "tsunami" of new cases, Premier Doug Ford said Ontario is bracing for impact. A host of temporary restrictions are being implemented this week including lowering social gathering limits, closing gyms and indoor dining, and moving schools to virtual learning. Ford made the announcement today surrounded by top cabinet ministers and Ontario chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore. Ford said there's an alarming number of new hospital admissions and one per cent of people who get the highly contagious omicron variant will end up in hospital. Jan. 5, the province is returning to a modified step two of the Roadmap to Reopen. The measures will be in effect for at least 21 days (Jan. 26). It means schools will not return to in-person learning on Wednesday, Jan. 5. There will be virtual learning until at least Jan. 17.
For the full story, click here.
Lively man faces additional charges of kidnapping, indecent act in sexual assault case
A 29-year-old Lively man faces additional charges after provincial police arrested the suspect on Dec. 29 at a home on West Branch Road in Massey. On Dec. 28, at about 11:55 p.m., officers responded to a report of someone who had sexually assaulted and threatened several people at a home on West Branch Road in Massey. Police attended the location and arrested Michael Laplante, who is charged with sexual assault of a person under the age of 16, as well as two counts of sexual interference, three counts of forcible confinement and assault with a weapon. Laplante is now also charged with three counts of kidnapping and three counts of committing an indecent act in public. The investigation is being conducted under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) and the OPP Manitoulin Crime Unit. The accused was held for a bail hearing and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury on Jan. 6.
Year in review: Laurentian’s declaration of insolvency in Feb. 2021 shocked the community
Laurentian University’s declaration of insolvency and filing for creditor protection as it engaged in court-supervised restructuring is undoubtedly one of the top stories of the year locally. The university’s filing under the Companies Creditors’ Arrangement Act (CCAA) Feb. 1 shocked the Greater Sudbury community. Given that a CCAA filing by a post-secondary institution was previously unheard of, Laurentian has also grabbed headlines nationally over the past 11 months. Court documents associated with the CCAA filing show that as of April 30, 2020, Laurentian had liabilities with a total book value of $322 million, and owed $91 million to three different Canadian banks. Laurentian had been experiencing recurring operational deficits in the millions of dollars each year for the past number of years, and the university also had a number of “structural issues” causing financial challenges, the court document said. The university’s situation was blamed, among other reasons, on the university’s building spree in recent years that failed to attract more students, LU having a large number of programs relative to its number of students and the terms of the collective agreement with faculty being “above market.”
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Year in review: Homelessness issue comes to a head in 2021
The homelessness crisis was ever-present in the headlines of 2021, in Ontario, in the North, and in Sudbury, specifically. Many of those interviewed over the year told Sudbury.com that the existing gaps in the social systems designed to help those who are in need were blown open by the COVID-19 pandemic. These issues, paired with Sudbury’s dubious distinction of having the highest death rate, per capita, in the entire province, created several encampments across the city, the largest being Memorial Park, the centre of the city with a view to the Greater Sudbury Police Station and Tom Davies Square. On October 19, the Point in Time count would show that there were 398 people without a home in Sudbury. In the downtown core for early 2021 was STOPS, the Sudbury Temporary Overdose Prevention Society. Made up of volunteers, STOPs offered a place for those who use drugs to do so in a safe and supervised location. This puts their clients in a position to receive medical care if the need arises, but at the same time, it provides a support system.
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In memoriam: Notable Sudburians we lost in 2021
Another year is gone, and as is the case every year, 2021 has seen the passing of Sudburians and former Sudburians who have made a mark on the city or on the wider world. Sadly, a few of those on our 2021 list are casualties of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As of Dec. 31, 47 people in the area coveredby Public Health Sudbury and Districts have died from COVID-19. Our condolences go out to everyone who has lost a loved one over the past year.
For the full story, click here.
Let’s eat! Nourish yourself at Nourish in 2022
If you look up the word ‘nourish’ in the dictionary, the definition says “to furnish or sustain with nutriment.” That’s exactly what Nourish in Sudbury’s downtown aims to do with nutriment and merriment. The new cafe with its relaxing decor on Durham Street offers a sure-fire way to drink your calories with scrumptious megafit shakes. Brooke Peterson is the woman behind the concept, along with her mother Monique Lacasse, who owns the shared space with Serendipity Day Spa. The cafe opened six weeks ago and Brooke says customers are loving her passion for exploring health combinations.
For the full story, click here.
More snow in the forecast Tuesday
Whether it’s your first day back to work, or your second, this week, you can expect a cloudy sky and a 40-per-cent chance of flurries this afternoon. Winds gusting up to 15 km/h. High -7 C, with the windchill making it seem more like -16 C in the morning and -10 in the afternoon. Tonight, expect the snow to continue with a low of -7.
