Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Friday morning.
Northeastern Ontario stays mostly orange
The NDP held onto a good portion of the ridings in northeastern Ontario in the 2022 general election. The party held onto its seats in Sudbury (Jamie West), Nickel Belt (France Gélinas), Temiskaming-Cochrane (John Vanthof) and Mushkegowuk-James Bay (Guy Bourgouin). Meanwhile, in the Timmins riding, longtime NDP MPP Gilles Bisson, who held the riding for 32 years, was defeated by former mayor and PC candidate George Pirie, marking the end of an era. The Tories also held onto the Nipissing riding where Vic Fedeli won handily. In Parry Sound-Muskoka, a riding held by Norm Miller since 2001, elected another Tory after Miller didn’t seek re-election. Graydon Smith is the PC MPP in that riding as of tonight. In Sault Ste. Marie, PC candidate Ross Romano held onto his seat as well.
City working toward all-electric bus fleet by 2035
While the City of Greater Sudbury could move forward tomorrow morning with running battery electric transit vehicles, the city still needs to create the infrastructure so that the buses could be charged up tomorrow night. Sudbury's transit plans were one of the many topics discussed at the recent battery electric vehicle (BEV) conference that was held at Science North last week. The Greater Sudbury economic development office is moving to establish the city as a centre of innovation and excellence for BEVs since many of the critical minerals (nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium) needed for batteries come from Sudbury and other parts of Northeastern Ontario. Brendan Adair, the director of Transit for the City of Greater Sudbury, told the conference that a feasibility study is underway to determine the economics of battery electric buses as well as the logistical challenges of putting BEV buses on the roads in Sudbury. "The challenge is our infrastructure. The challenge is our routes. And we talked about range within the wintertime. We need to do the work now to prepare for exactly what we need from an infrastructure standpoint to charge. What routes need support in terms of additional buses or additional staff," Adair said.
Junior Spartans take on Skyhawks this weekend
The Sudbury Junior Spartans football team welcomes the Quinte Skyhawks to James Jerome Sports Complex for a June 4 match. Kick-off for Saturday’s match is 4 p.m. The Spartans are looking to keep the momentum on after obliterating the Peel Panthers on May 28 by a score of 31-6. Sudbury is sitting at 1-1 after falling in their season opener to the Durham Dolphins earlier in May. The 2022 Sudbury Spartans season is proudly presented by Technica Mining. Tickets are available at the gate for $10. Kids 12 and under get in for free. Meanwhile, the Spartans Men’s team kicks off their regular season this Saturday on the road against North Bay before facing Sault Ste. Marie on June 18 in their home opener.
Video: We take on 9-year-old spelling bee champ Sophia Matthew
This isn’t Sophia Matthew’s first spelling bee competition. In fact, the upcoming annual Spelling Bee of Canada National Championship will be Matthew’s fourth such event. The Sudbury spelling queen bee has been competing in spelling competitions since Grade 1 and has won three regional level championships. This is her third time advancing to the finals, and this year, the finals are taking place in-person, in Toronto on June 12. “I feel excited,” the fourth grader said in a Zoom call with Sudbury.com. “I don't feel nervous because I know I worked hard no matter what the turnout. It's luck of the draw what words I get, and I can't control that. And if I've studied hard, then whatever happens is the best I could have hoped for.” The Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary student has been studying every day for up to an hour to prepare herself for the national championship. Despite being homeschooled for the past couple of years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Matthew’s work ethic has been stellar even with the extra hours of studying for the spelling competition. “I usually write some of the pages of words in dictionaries three times each. I also write them out on index cards, and the index cards are shuffled and quizzed on me,” Matthew said.
Read the full story and watch the TikTok here.
Take a page from B.C., local gimaa tells conference goers
A Northern Ontario First Nations leader said Ontario needs to learn from British Columbia on how to encourage and include First Nations in business initiatives so that they too can enjoy the benefits of economic development. Craig Nootchtai, the Gimaa (chief) at Atikameksheng Anishnawbek nation west of Sudbury, was one of several First Nations speakers at the BEV (for ‘battery electric vehicle’) In Depth conference held at Science North last week that brought together municipal leaders with automotive and mining industry representatives to explore economic development related to BEVs. Nootchtai said some of the early treaties signed with First Nations were because the British wanted to take advantage of mining and logging. "And I say that it's important because the reason why there are treaties is because of mining. You know, there was a lot of mining in the early 1800s in the States, in the lower part of Canada, and basically, the mining companies and the British Crown wanted to not overtake First Nations or the Native peoples, they wanted to have treaties with them, so that they could get their consent to mine the resources in their traditional areas, and on their reservation lands," Nootchtai said. He said his great, great, great, great grandfather was one of those who signed a treaty on behalf of his nation. Nootchtai said one of his roles now is to honour the treaty and not to challenge business or government, but to be a partner.
'Gentleman' Mike Frost remembered as a model firefighter
A full honour firefighter funeral procession made its way through downtown Sudbury today in honour of first-class firefighter Mike Frost, who died unexpectedly at his residence on May 19. “Mike was a gentleman,” Sudbury Professional Fire Fighters Association president Mike Squarzolo told Sudbury.com after the subsequent funeral service at Church of Christ the King wrapped up this afternoon. Behind him, a large Canadian flag held up by two ladder trucks was being rolled up by firefighters in such a manner that it didn’t touch the ground. “He was polite to a T, he was quietly proud, he enjoyed making people smile,” Squarzolo said of his 40-year-old colleague. “He was a hard-worker, all around a model firefighter by all accounts and we miss him a lot.” The afternoon funeral was sombre in tone, but something Squarzolo said he believes Frost would have been proud of, with the distinguished way in which the city’s emergency services departments came together to celebrate him “the way he deserved to be honoured.”
Nice day to end the work week
Expect a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 20 to end the work week. The wind will be out of the south today at 20 km/h, gusting to 40 in the afternoon before swinging to blow from the west at 20. The UV index today is seven or high. Tonight, expect cloudy periods and a low of 5.
