Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
Court approves Laurentian’s plan of arrangement
Laurentian University said it finally expects to exit creditor protection next month after an order issued by the courts today. The local university has been undergoing court-supervised restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (or CCAA) since Feb. 1, 2021. In September, the university’s creditors narrowly approved the plan of arrangement that lays out how Laurentian plans to pay them back, with most expected to receive only a small portion of what they’re owed over the next three years. The Oct. 5 court order from Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz, the judge who has dealt with most matters related to Laurentian’s insolvency, involved granting the university a “sanction order” approving the plan of arrangement.
City staff compensation in candidates’ crosshairs
Approximately 43 per cent of the City of Greater Sudbury’s annual budget is spent on wages and benefits, which is much greater than some other municipalities. Although he doesn’t refute the accuracy of this statement, Kevin Fowke, the city general manager of corporate services, told Sudbury.com there’s important context to consider, in that the City of Greater Sudbury offers a much broader range of services than most other municipalities. Stripped of this context, the number has been making its rounds throughout the civic election campaign trail, with candidates citing it as evidence of excessive wages. During a Sept. 26 debate among Ward 7 candidates at the Capreol Arena, all four candidates latched onto the statistic. Randy Hazlett pushed for an audit to address “duplication of staff,” Daniel Wiebes questioned how much redundancy there is at city hall, and Natalie Labbée said when looking at areas of city finances to tackle, “the big one is wages.”
Fire affects same Flour Mill building twice in less than a year
A vacant Flour Mill apartment building that had already been damaged by a fire just under a year ago was affected by another fire early Wednesday morning. The Nov. 23, 2021 fire at the three-unit Whissell Street building ended up displacing seven people. Greater Sudbury Fire Services Deputy Chief Jesse Oshell told Sudbury.com that a second fire affecting the same building was called in at 6:30 a.m. Oct. 5. “There were calls related to smoke and flame on the side of the building, so on the front corner of the building,” he said. “Firefighters were very quick to arrive on scene and were able to contain the fire to the outside and to just that front and side corner of the building. So there is certainly exterior damage, but we were able to contain the fire before it spread inside.”
Group rallies at Tom Davies for ‘neglected’ outlying communities
Chantelle Gorham and Dave Kurtis believe that the outlying communities of Sudbury have been neglected by the City of Greater Sudbury, and so, they organized a rally outside of Tom Davies Square yesterday, Oct. 4. It was organized by Chantelle Gorham, who told Sudbury.com previously the rally “is a reminder for the incoming council, whomever it may be, that we can’t endure another four years of what we have gone through.” The rally was originally scheduled to coincide with the Oct. 4 council meeting, but a city spokesperson told Sudbury.com the meeting was rescheduled “to deal with the ratification of matters from the planning committee, which are time sensitive.” The small but passionate group led by Gorham feel that communities like Levack, Onaping Falls, and Capreol are underserved and told Sudbury.com that they feel they are underserved by the municipality, and they feel they are taxed without a return on investment.
Four in custody after early morning gunfire on Willow Street
Early morning gunfire on Willow Street in the city’s West End sent one person to hospital and three into police custody. Greater Sudbury Police said they received a call for service just before 2:15 a.m. this morning (Oct. 5) after receiving reports of what was believed to be gunshots. “Information provided was that multiple gunshots had been heard and that a man had possibly been shot,” police said. Officers dispatched saw a vehicle leaving the area where the gunshots were reported and conducted a traffic stop. “While speaking with the individuals (officers) determined that one of the parties had sustained what appeared to be gunshot wounds,” GSPS said. “The 19-year-old man was transported to hospital by City of Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services with serious injuries. “Upon searching the vehicle, a loaded gun was located. An additional occupant of the vehicle, a 35-year-old man, was taken into custody.”
Place des Arts design among 2022 Queen’s Park Picks
Greater Sudbury’s Place des Arts has been selected among eight other Ontario buildings for this year’s Queen’s Park Picks exhibit program. Every year to mark World Architecture Day, the Ontario Association of Architects teams up with MPPs to highlight outstanding Ontario buildings. The Queen’s Park Picks program is presented as a special exhibition at Queen’s Park. The year, the exhibit is being held virtually. You can check out the online exhibit at OAA.on.ca/QPP. “An emerging theme from this year’s QP Picks is community, with numerous buildings playing important roles as spaces where people gather,” the association said in a news release. “As public health restrictions continue to ease and members of the public find themselves sharing spaces once again, the important role of community-centred buildings has come to the fore.” In advance of World Architecture Day, the OAA invites MPPs to nominate a favourite building in their riding, which are then evaluated by a jury of architects and narrowed down to nine choices.
Forecast says flurries possible tonight
Expect a high of 13 today under cloudy skies. There is a 40-per-cent chance of showers early in the morning, with more showers as the morning moves on. While the daytime high is 13, the mercury is expected to drop to 5 in the afternoon. The wind will be northerly at 30 km/h gusting to 50 late in the morning. The UV index today is two, or low. Tonight, the temperature will fall to 1 degree with rain showers or (eek) flurries.
