Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Saturday morning.
Serré says rural MPs pushing back on handgun ban amendment
Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré says the rights of Canadian hunters should not be impacted by federal efforts to protect the public from deadly non-hunting-related firearms. Early last month, MP Paul Chiang, a Liberal member of the House of Commons public safety committee, added an amendment to federal gun-control legislation Bill C-21 that could lead to a ban on many models of shotguns and semi-automatic rifles used by hunters and farmers. While it is not unusual for amendments to be added to legislation at second reading, Serré said, the language should have been “vetted and tested” before inserting it into the bill to ensure the new language didn't have unintended consequences. In this case, it does. “The amendment didn’t target hunters,” he said, but the somewhat imprecise nature of the amendment means “it did.” The Nickel Belt MP said he was inundated with calls and emails in December from members of the public concerned how the amendment would affect them.
Greater Sudbury police want 24 more sworn members
Citing a need for more officers on patrol and a dedicated homicide unit, Greater Sudbury Police Service is seeking to increase their number of sworn members by 24. Police Chief Paul Pedersen announced the request during Thursday’s police board meeting, at which he tabled a 2023 budget proposal which carries a 6.7 per cent budget increase. The proposed boost in members would include 18 officers for patrol operations, a four-member dedicated homicide unit and two more members for their drug enforcement unit. “Despite having one of the highest homicide rates in the province, we do not have a dedicated homicide unit,” Pedersen said during Thursday’s meeting. The two-member addition to the drug unit is a “minimum” requirement, he said, adding that they undertake “comprehensive and complex” investigations linked to not only the drugs that have resulted in recent years’ spike in fatal overdoses, but also guns and gang activity.
Sobush scores two as Cubs clip Red Wings
The Greater Sudbury Cubs welcomed the Elliot Lake Red Wings to the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex on Jan. 5 and sent them home with a loss on their record. Led by Cubs’ star Pierson Sobush’s two goals, Greater Sudbury clipped the Red Wings’ wings by a score of 4-1. The win improves the Cubs’ record to an NOJHL-best 28-5-2-0 overall, while the Red Wings fell to 12-19-1-1 in defeat. With 58 points, Greater Sudbury has a solid lead in the league. They’re three points ahead of the Timmins Rock and four points ahead of the Hearst Lumberjacks. Next for the Cubs is a Jan. 7 visit to Espanola to take on the Paper Kings.
Sudbury author paired with Shostakovich in Jan. 7 SSO show
Fans of reading and classical music may want to purchase tickets to a Saturday, Jan. 7 event featuring a collaboration between Greater Sudbury author Waubgeshig Rice and the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra String Quartet. Rice will be reading excerpts from his 2018 book “Moon of the Crusted Snow,” interspersed with a performance by the SSO string quartet of Soviet-era Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3. The members of SSO's string quartet are Beth Schneider-Gould on violin, Melissa Schaak on violin, Geoff McCausland (you may remember him as the past Greater Sudbury city councillor for Ward 4) on viola and Dobrochna Zubec on cello. The idea for SSO’s collaboration with Rice was originally floated in 2020 by Mélanie Léonard, the symphony’s past artistic director. Unfortunately, the pandemic intervened, and Léonard has since left the SSO.
Hospital board of directors seeking candidates
The Health Sciences North board of directors is seeking applicants for its board of directors. “Health Sciences North (HSN) is soliciting applications from residents of Northeastern Ontario who would be interested in serving a renewable term of up to three years, beginning no later than June 2023,” a press release from the hospital states. More specifically, the board is seeking members from across the Northeast; members who are Indigenous and/or Métis; members who are Black or otherwise racialized, and; members who serve in a leadership role at an academic institution. “Persons who identify as 2SLGBTQ+, and persons with disabilities or from vulnerable populations are also strongly encouraged to put forward an application,” the hospital said. Governance experience is an asset, HSN added.
Mechatronics lab celebrates completion in Sudbury
Students studying mechatronics at the Bharti School of Engineering in Sudbury now have a fully equipped lab at their disposal. The school's mechatronics, robotics and automation lab has been fully upgraded with new workstations, furnishings, and multimedia equipment. That's thanks to a generous donation from HARD-LINE, a Sudbury-based mining supply company, which pledged $250,000 toward Laurentian's mechatronics program in 2018. The company said that, as of December, that promise has been fulfilled. “Working together with Laurentian University is an opportunity we value because it is the students that we invest in today that we will welcome into the workforce tomorrow,” Walter Siggelkow, president of HARD-LINE, said in a release sent out on Jan. 5.
Mostly sunny weekend in the forecast
Expect a mostly sunny weekend, according to the forecast. Saturday will be sunny with a high of -11 and winds of 15 km/h. The morning wind chill will make it feel -21, though, with a wind chill of -16 expected in the afternoon. For Saturday night, the skies will stay clear with an overnight low of -14. Sunday should be mild, with a mix of sun and cloud expected and a high of -4. For Sunday night, expect cloudy periods and a low of -6.
