Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
Five new COVID-19-related deaths reported in past few days
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) has reported five new COVID-19 related deaths in the past few days. Posting in the daily summary, PHSD revealed there were four deaths reported on Wednesday and one new death reported on Monday. In the new death reported on Monday, PHSD said COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death. That death was reported to have occurred in Greater Sudbury. In the four new deaths reported Wednesday, PHSD said COVID was the underlying cause of death in three cases and that COVID "contributed to" but was not the underlying cause of death in one case. All four of those deaths were reported to have occurred in Greater Sudbury. This brings the total number of local deaths since March 2020 to 183. Also on Wednesday, the health unit said the total number of accumulated COVID cases is now at 20,172. The vast majority of those cases — 19,779 — have been resolved in the past two years and seven months.
Laurentian dead last for reputation again in Maclean’s survey
Laurentian University ranked 15th out of 19 primarily undergraduate universities in the Maclean’s Magazine annual university rankings. This is the same ranking it had a year ago, although two years ago, Laurentian was in 12th place in its category. In early 2021, Laurentian declared insolvency and filed for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), making widespread cuts to its programs and employees in April of that year. The university hopes to exit the CCAA in November after creditors voted in favour of a debt plan. Last year, the now outgoing Laurentian president Robert Haché explained that Maclean’s rankings are derived from data that are mostly “slipped” by at least one year. This could mean the impacts of the CCAA are still not factored into all of LU’s data.
'It is what it is' Kirwan says of decisive election loss
In the most decisive vote in this year’s civic election, Greater Sudburians chose Mike Parent over incumbent Robert Kirwan in Ward 5. In the city’s unofficial results released during the early morning hours following the Oct. 24 election, Parent received approximately 81 per cent of the vote to Kirwan’s 19 per cent. “I think going door to door and meeting with people meant a lot,” Parent told Sudbury.com on Tuesday morning while driving around his ward to pick up the 130 campaign signs he and his team planted. “Some had suggested they haven’t had anyone at their door since Ron Dupuis,” he said, making reference to Kirwan’s predecessor. Though everyone chooses a candidate for different reasons, Parent said his leadership approach might have been one of the key factors.
Fortin overcomes shaky start to secure Ward 4 over McCausland
Overcoming a shaky start to her campaign, Pauline Fortin was narrowly elected to Ward 4 during the Oct. 24 civic election, beating incumbent Geoff McCausland by only 106 votes. Candidate Alice Norquay trailed behind with a total of 160 votes, according to the city’s official results confirmed on Tuesday afternoon. “I’m a little tired this morning,” Fortin told Sudbury.com by phone while collecting campaign signs on Tuesday morning, after staying up until 2 a.m. to get the full unofficial results. “How can you fall asleep not knowing if you’ve got a job for the next four years on council or not? … It was quite the close call, there.” Fortin’s campaign was one of the most unique during this year’s civic election due to the fact she announced in July that she was withdrawing from consideration in Ward 4. At the time, she likened Greater Sudbury to the Titanic, the doomed ocean liner that hit an iceberg and sank in 1912. She said she’d rather not spend the next four years “banging my head against the wall.” Given the infrastructure deficit and city debt load, she said it was “like being the only applicant for a job as a deckhand on the Titanic – sure, you will get the job, but reporting for duty doesn’t change the location of the iceberg.”
As winter looms, homeless outnumber shelter beds in Sudbury
With winter fast approaching, it does not appear that Greater Sudbury has enough shelter beds, or people to staff those shelters, for the number of people on the active homeless list. Called the Coordinated Access List, or the ‘By-Name list’, it was first created in July 2021 and mandated as part of the federal directive called Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. The document is a comprehensive list of every person in a community experiencing homelessness. The list is also updated in real-time. Using information collected and shared with their consent, each person on the list has a file that includes their name, homeless history, health and housing needs. The urgency of their case is also noted. According to the City of Greater Sudbury, to date, 429 people have been added to the By-Name List since inception. Of the 429 individuals, 181 have been housed and 70 have been “deactivated,” referring to their move to ‘inactive’ on the list. This includes people who became stably housed, those who died, those who are missing or who have not had contact with their worker in 60 days, have moved out of the area, or have moved into systems like the jail, the hospital or a recovery program. They can be added again if they so desire. There are currently 178 actively homeless individuals on the list.
Impaired suspect fled into bush near Maley after crash
A 45-year-old man accused of crashing a pickup truck while driving impaired near the Maley Drive extension Oct. 24 and fleeing the scene didn’t get very far. Although he fled on foot into the nearby bush after the incident, Greater Sudbury Police said he was located an hour later, after a K9 track. Greater Sudbury Police said just before 11:25 p.m. Oct. 24, officers were dispatched to the scene. Based on the police description, the crash occurred on or near the eastbound off-ramp from Notre Dame Avenue onto Maley Drive. Upon arrival, officers located two passengers in the vehicle, a Black Ford F-150, who had sustained injuries as a result of the collision. A 39-year-old man sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries and a 19-year-old man received minor injuries. They were both transported to hospital. A K9 track was conducted in order to locate the driver of the vehicle, who had fled the scene prior to police arrival. Shortly after 12:30 a.m. Oct. 25, officers located the driver in the bush off of the Maley Drive extension.
Mix of sun and cloud, high of 8 today
Expect a mix of sun and cloud today and a high of 8. The wind will be out of the northwest at 20 km/h, before becoming light early in the afternoon. The UV index today is three, or moderate. For tonight, expect the skies to clear late in the evening. The overnight low is zero.
