Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Monday morning.
Bigger throws barbs at rivals during CARP debate
Incumbent Brian Bigger threw a few barbs at the candidates hoping to replace him as the mayor of Greater Sudbury at an Oct. 1 election debate. During a section in which candidates were invited to share their ideas on public meetings and communicating with the public, Bigger said his political rivals seemed to be promising things that are already in place. “I can tell you that it's all on the city website, it's all in the media, if you're paying attention, and pretty much everybody here has never attended a council meeting,” he said. “I've never seen most of the candidates in any council meeting and, you know, they just kind of tuned in to what's happening in council in the last month.” That comment elicited some boos from the crowd. The Saturday mayoral debate hosted by the Sudbury chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (or CARP) was attended by well over 100 people, with some not even able to snag a chair at the Older Adult Centre venue. Eight of nine candidates running for mayor locally participated – Bigger, Evelyn Dutrisac, Don Gravelle, Bob Johnston, Devin Labranche, Paul Lefebvre, Miranda Rocca-Circelli and Mila Wong. Read the full story here.
Neighbours oppose 179-unit Minnow Lake development
Minnow Lake-area residents aren’t impressed by a 179-unit residential development proposed for construction off of Estelle Street, with hundreds of people opposing the project. A public hearing for the project was scheduled to take place at last week’s planning committee meeting, but Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc successfully petitioned to have it deferred to Oct. 3 so more area residents could be notified about it in advance. The item was previously deferred at the June 27 planning committee meeting, and the city’s policy doesn’t require deferrals to be re-advertised via mail-outs, which Leduc has pledged to hand deliver in advance of the Oct. 3 meeting. Leduc had requested the matter be deferred later, so the city council elected on Oct. 24 would deal with it, but the applicant’s agent, Kevin Jarus of Tulloch Engineering, said delaying it further would make the likelihood of construction taking place next year “minimal at best.” Learn more here.
Standard & Poor’s reconfirms city’s AA+ credit rating
The City of Greater Sudbury announced Sept. 30 that credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has confirmed in its global ratings that the Nickel City continues to enjoy a AA+ credit rating. The rating is “an assessment of the municipality’s financial health based on factors such as historic financial performance, policies, economic growth and long-term plans.” The better the rating, the better the interest rate paid on any new debt the city takes on. “Sudbury's financial management practices are strong, and largely in line with those of similarly rated peers,” the city said S&P’s report states. “The city provides transparent, easy-to-access disclosure of pertinent information and prepares robust operating and capital budgets. Its annual operating and capital budgets reflect the broad goals outlined in the 10-year financial plan, which contains what we view as realistic assumptions.” The city’s CAO, Ed Archer, said the reaffirmed rating confirms the city’s financial footing is solid. “This is one of the highest ratings available and reaffirms the view that Greater Sudbury's financial fundamentals are solid,” Archer said. “This result reflects council's and staff's strong focus on fiscal discipline and our commitment to the goals of our long term financial plan.” You can read the full report here.
Laurentian asking courts to unseal docs kept secret during CCAA
Laurentian University plans to ask permission to finally make public letters between LU and the province that were sealed by the courts at the beginning of its insolvency in early 2021. On Sept. 14, the university’s creditors voted narrowly in favour of Laurentian University’s plan of arrangement, allowing Laurentian to clear a major hurdle to finally being able to exit creditor protection. A plan of arrangement is essentially a plan put forward by an insolvent organization to pay out its creditors, and it must be approved by these creditors. Laurentian expects to go back to court Oct. 5 to seek a “sanction order motion” which approves the plan of arrangement, authorizes its implementation, and releases creditors’ claims against the university. It would also terminate the stay of proceedings protecting Laurentian against its creditors as of the implementation of the plan of arrangement. Laurentian plans to ask for creditor protection to be extended until Nov. 30 as it implements its debt plan. Documents filed before the courts ahead of the Oct. 5 hearing also say Laurentian is seeking an “order unsealing the Sealed Exhibits to the Initial Haché Affidavit, on the Plan Implementation Date.” Learn more here.
Photos: Cutting-edge mine tech at first-ever underground show
The feedback has been resoundingly positive for the mining technology exhibition that was held in an underground environment in Sudbury this week. Don Duval, the CEO of NORCAT in Sudbury, was commenting on the four-day Mining Transformed event where scores of mining supply and mining technology companies set up to showcase their goods and services in an actual mine. It was a first for Sudbury and for anywhere else for that matter. NORCAT billed the event as the "world's first," and Duval said the response from both the vendors and the investors was positive on all fronts. He said that was expected and he was pleased to see it happen. "It validates our hypothesis, you know, does it matter to bring together buyers and sellers in an operating mind environment to help expedite potential procurement technology, adoption and deployment? And the answer is a resounding yes," Duval said. Read the full story and view our photo gallery.
Photos: Run for the Cure returns to Sudbury
Allison De Luisa, who is undergoing treatments after being diagnosed with breast cancer less than two months ago, was flanked by more than 40 supporters at the Canadian Cancer Society’s CIBC Run for the Cure Oct. 2. “Team Allison” raised more than $9,000 for breast cancer research. De Luisa, who’s Cambrian College’s vice-president of student services and human resources, said it “means everything” to have the support of her friends, family and colleagues. “When you get diagnosed with cancer, a lot goes through your mind,” she said. "And in my mind, there's two things that are so critical in terms of our recovery. And No. 1 is community. So you look at this community, and you look at those people that support us with cancer, it means everything. I want to thank Team Allison that is here. They have raised so much money. It is unbelievable, your generosity. I can't even describe how grateful I am.” De Luisa said her mother-in-law died from breast cancer 23 years ago, but the experience she’s having during her own treatments is far different. “It's because of the researchers and the incredible, incredible medical community,” she said. The 2022 Sudbury Run for the Cure event saw more than 300 people register, and raised more than $50,000. Starting on the Cambrian College campus, participants were invited to walk or run either one or five kilometres. After an interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Run for the Cure returned to its normal format for the first time since 2019. Read the full story and view our photo gallery on the Sudbury.com home page.
Retired Cambrian pres comes out with time travel romance novel
In 2013, after filling the role for nine years, Sylvia Barnard retired as the president of Cambrian College. She has used some of the newfound spare time that came with retirement to devote to one of her passions — writing. The result is Barnard’s debut, self-published, 400-page novel entitled “Rhubarb, Strawberries and Willows.” She’s holding a couple of upcoming book-signings for the novel in the Greater Sudbury area. Those take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Greater Sudbury Public Library Main Branch, 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Oct. 4 at the South End library branch and at 1 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Valley East library branch. She also previously held a book signing in Espanola Sept. 29. Read the full story here.
Laurentian international student loves para-rowing
Tenacity, resilience and courage. These are words that come to mind when people describe Konan Blaise Koko, a third year Biochemistry student at Laurentian University. A proud francophone from the Ivory Coast in West Africa, Koko is a Fulbright scholar alumnus. He held this prestigious scholarship when undertaking his Master’s of Science in Nutrition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “I love learning,” said Koko, who immigrated to Canada in 2018 with his wife and three daughters, in a press release from Laurentian. For Koko, the decision to continue his studies in Greater Sudbury, made sense. “I am happy to be here and I feel supported in this community,” he said. “I chose Laurentian because of my future professional goals. I would like to work in the medical field, and I’m happy to study at a university that offers bilingual programs. Keeping my career in mind, I felt that Biochemistry would be a program to help me get to where I want to be.” Learn more here.
Monday weather:
Monday will be sunny with a high of 16 C. UV index 5 or moderate. Monday night will be clear with a low of 5 C.
