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Good morning, Nickel City! Here are stories to start your day

230922_Tiffany_Deredin_BlueHeron_LilyCreekSized
Tiffany Deredin sent us this lovely image of a blue heron in the Lily Creek marsh. Sudbury.com welcomes submissions of local photography for publication with our morning greeting. Send yours to [email protected].

Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are stories to start your weekend.

Laurentian wants to extend creditor protection to Nov. 30

Laurentian University expects to ask for creditor protection to be extended to Nov. 30 at an upcoming hearing, according to court documents filed Friday. The “stay of proceedings” protecting the insolvent university from its creditors currently expires Sept. 30. Laurentian University has been undergoing court-supervised restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (or CCAA) since declaring insolvency in February 2021. However, Laurentian’s emergence from the CCAA is now in sight after its creditors approved the plan of arrangement earlier this month, which lays out a plan for LU to pay back at least a small portion of what it owes. The court document filed Friday said Laurentian is initially seeking a short stay of proceedings extension until Oct. 7. The motion for this short stay extension is to be held “in writing,” meaning the judge will make a decision based on the documents filed. The short extension of the stay of proceedings has been requested to give Laurentian enough time to attend a “sanction hearing,” which has been scheduled for Oct. 5. At the Oct. 5 hearing, Laurentian would request an order from the court approving the plan of arrangement and authorizing LU to proceed with plan implementation. It’s at that hearing that Laurentian expects to request the further stay extension until Nov. 30. Read the full story.

Food bank use dramatically increasing in Sudbury

An increasing number of families and households in Sudbury are turning to food banks in the wake of the pandemic, with a recent report from Food Banks Canada stating what Caroline “Ro” Mullen already knew: people are going hungry and supplies are short. Mullen is the administrator for the Inner City Home of Sudbury, an emergency food bank service that also offers crisis support and life skills programs. She said their food pantry has seen a 42 per cent increase in food bank usage. “And that's not since the beginning of COVID, that’s since 2021,” she said. When Mullen began with the home in January, having previously spent a decade with the Salvation Army, she said she was prepared for a daily high of 35 households during the food banks limited and volunteer-run hours of 1 to 2:45 p.m. But the increases have come so quickly that the number was exceeded in her first week. “I never saw anything less than 50,” Mullen said. “We've had as many as 69 households in one day” with limited hours. She said that not only is the food pantry facing increased need, but their ability to fill the shelves is hampered by the rising cost of food, and the lack of it, especially staples like eggs. This spring found the Inner City Home forced to close their doors half an hour early due to lack of food, for the first time ever. Read the full story on Sudbury.com's home page.

Vale and Glencore team up on electric mining vehicle safety

Sudbury’s two large mining companies are working together on the transition to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to make it safer to operate those vehicles on surface and in underground mines. The partnership between Vale Canada and Glencore was revealed at the Maintenance, Engineering and Mine Operators Conference in Sudbury held in Sudbury this week. This was one of several sessions that were held in the Innovation and New Technology category. The presentation was made by Raphael Tiangco, Vale's Superintendent of Mobile Fleet Management and Steve Holmik, Glencore's Mobile Equipment Specialist at Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations. Tiangco said that back in 2019 it was realized that while the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) companies knew how to design and build mining vehicles, they didn't know the demands or specifications from the mining companies. Holmik said the specs have changed and improved considerably in the past couple of years and he said it was thanks to the openness and sharing of the OEMs and the mining companies. Tiangco said Sudbury area mining companies have been using different types of electric powered vehicles since 1976, in various configurations and for numerous equipment trials. Read the full story here.

Jobs of the Future: Mining no longer the ‘dirty’ job it once was

The future of mining is safe, it's clean, it's environmentally sound and it is well-paying. That's the message the mining industry needs to put out on the job market, said Jason Bubba, the chief operating officer at NORCAT. Bubba was one of the many speakers at the Maintenance, Engineering and Mine Operators Conference in Sudbury this week, where part of the focus was discussing workforce strategies aimed at attracting more people to the mining industry. Bubba quoted from the Canadian Mining Industry Human Resources Council, which spoke to the need for more skilled workers. Bubba said a new study has forecast "a significant labour market shortage that we're experiencing right now, but also cites the skills and competencies required are dramatically changing as the industry continues to adopt and deploy new technologies and mechanized  equipment." Learn more here.

CARP releases list of priorities for municipal candidates

In advance of the “Meet the Mayoral Candidates” debate they’re co-hosting Oct. 1, the Sudbury chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons has issued their list of priorities. The list, president John Lindsay said in correspondence with local media, was compiled for this year’s slate of municipal candidates by their membership of older adults, and includes things that “are likely concerns of voters of all ages.” Read our full story get that list.

Donate your old tires so they find new life as industrial mats

If you have old tires taking up space at your home or business, B2B Industrial, Inc., in partnership with reThink Green, is accepting donations of old tires to be recycled into industrial mats for use in the mining, construction, forestry, military, fishing and car repair industries. Tires can be dropped off for free year-round at Rainbow Concrete Industries – Quarry & Landscape Products in Sudbury, or A-1 Blasting Mats in Sturgeon Falls. “B2B Industrial, Inc. recycles almost 100 per cent of car and truck tires received, producing high-quality blasting mats.” said Kevin Fitzgerald, VP Global Sales at B2B Industrial. “More than 85 per cent of all expenditures made are made in the North to employ people from the North and produce services in the North. The funds remain localized for the development of products and services to be delivered worldwide.” B2B Industrial is a member of Green Economy North, a sustainable business program of reThink Green. Read the full story on Sudbury.com's home page.

Weekend weather:

Current Weather

Light Snow

Light Snow

-2.3°C

Pressure
101.5 falling
Visibility
24.1 km
Dewpoint
-3.3 °C
Humidity
93%
Wind
SW 7 km/h

Radar Satellite


Hourly Forecast

Today
8 AM
-2°C
Chance of flurries
Today
9 AM
-2°C
Chance of flurries
Today
10 AM
-1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
11 AM
-1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
12 PM
0°C
Chance of flurries
Today
1 PM
0°C
Chance of flurries
Today
2 PM
1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
3 PM
1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
4 PM
0°C
Chance of flurries
Today
5 PM
0°C
Chance of flurries
Today
6 PM
-1°C
Chance of flurries
Today
7 PM
-2°C
Chance of flurries

7 Day Forecast

Chance of flurries

Today

1 °C

Mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of flurries. Wind southwest 30 km/h. High plus 1. Wind chill minus 9 this morning. UV index 3 or moderate.


Chance of flurries

Tonight

-9 °C

Cloudy. 30 percent chance of flurries early this evening. Wind southwest 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low minus 9. Wind chill minus 7 this evening and minus 12 overnight.


Overcast

Friday

3 °C

Overcast. Wind up to 15 km/h. High plus 3. Wind chill minus 14 in the morning. UV index 1 or low.


Clear

Friday night

-6 °C

Clear. Low minus 6.


Chance of flurries

Saturday

4 °C

Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries. High plus 4.


Chance of flurries

Saturday night

-4 °C

Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 4.


Sunny

Sunday

6 °C

Sunny. High 6.


Cloudy periods

Sunday night

-4 °C

Cloudy periods. Low minus 4.


Cloudy

Monday

4 °C

Cloudy. High plus 4.


Chance of flurries

Monday night

-2 °C

Cloudy with 40 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 2.


Chance of flurries

Tuesday

5 °C

Cloudy with 40 percent chance of flurries. High plus 5.


Chance of flurries

Tuesday night

-6 °C

Cloudy periods with 40 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 6.


Chance of flurries

Wednesday

5 °C

A mix of sun and cloud with 40 percent chance of flurries. High plus 5.


Yesterday

Low
0 °C
High
0 °C
Precipitation
0.3 mm

Normals

Low
-7.4 °C
High
2.9 °C
Average
-2.3 °C

Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
7:10 AM
Sunset
7:49 PM

Record Values

Type Year Value
Max 1993 15.3 C
Min 1959 -18.3 C
Rainfall 1977 34.3 mm
Snowfall 1971 11.7 cm
Precipitation 1977 34.3 mm
Snow On Ground 1959 99.0 cm

Based on Environment Canada data