Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
Hot, humid weather spurs heat warning for Sudbury and area
With hot, humid weather in the forecast for the next few days, Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a heat warning within Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ service area beginning Thursday, June 1, for Greater Sudbury and vicinity, Markstay – Warren and St. Charles, and West-Nipissing and French River. Heat warnings are issued when the forecast rises to 29 degrees Celsius or above during the day for two days and 18 degrees Celsius or above at night, or the humidex is 36 or above. Continuous exposure to high levels of heat can lead to dehydration and illnesses such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat fainting, heat edema (swelling of hands, feet and ankles), heat rash, heat cramps (muscle cramps), and even death.
Sudbury conference on BEVs draws hundreds of delegates
The second annual BEV In Depth conference kicked off in Sudbury on May 31 with hundreds of delegates from across Ontario joining the effort on how to continue bringing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) into the mainstream for mining and general automotive purposes. Greater Sudbury is working to find ways to improve the city's role in developing local industries — not only to serve the automotive battery electric market, but also to promote and enhance the role of the mining industry for the large industrial BEV market. The event is being held at Cambrian College and includes public areas where battery electric automobiles and mining equipment is on display for Wednesday and Thursday. This marks the second year for the conference, which debuted last spring, attracting delegates from across sectors — government, mining, automotive, battery development — to discuss battery-electric vehicles and their future in Ontario. Sudbury, and other Northern Ontario mining jurisdictions, is positioning itself as a source of the raw materials — critical minerals like nickel, palladium, lithium, and others — to make the components needed to manufacture batteries that will keep these vehicles running.
Downtown holds a party to celebrate the start of festival season
Celebrate the start of summer festival season with a downtown party on June 2. “...Savor delectable delights on downtown patios. Northern Lights Festival Boreal, Up Here, and River & Sky have united to curate an extraordinary experience at Downtown's patios,” Downtown Sudbury BIA said in a May 31 press release. The event is held June 2 across the downtown core. Two different patios will offer a live musical performance every hour between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. “culminating in an electrifying performance on the main stage in front of the iconic Y on Durham at 8 p.m. We invite everyone to join us for a night of community, specials, and nonstop fun!”
Expect slow traffic on The Kingsway Thursday-Friday
Expect another slowdown in traffic on The Kingsway due to water main work later this week at its intersection with Silver Hills Drive. The work is part of a larger infrastructure project on The Kingsway, and is anticipated to reduce traffic to one lane in each direction from 6 a.m. June 1 through until 12 p.m. June 2. “Motorists should expect significant delays and are advised to take alternative routes when available,” the city urged in a media release. The last time a major traffic backup occurred on The Kingsway was last week, when the city’s 911 centre was reportedly “inundated with calls” from people complaining about the traffic jam. In response, city police issued a public reminder that traffic jams do not constitute an emergency, and to not phone them about it.
Investigators clear Sudbury officer for 2022 arrest
Greater Sudbury Police Service officers have been cleared by the Special Investigations Unit for an arrest they made back in October 2022. On Oct. 2, 2022, at 12:40 a.m., the report states GSPS officers on patrol on Notre Dame Avenue passed a vehicle in which officers believed a person wanted on outstanding warrants was an occupant. A traffic stop was initiated by officers in two separate police cruisers after following the vehicle north on Notre Dame Avenue, east on LaSalle Boulevard and north on Rideau Street, and finally pulling it over on Grandview Boulevard. The SIU investigation found that the complainant in the SIU case, a 23-year-old man wanted on numerous warrants, was the passenger in the vehicle. Initially, SIU said the man gave officers a fake name to avoid arrest, but they were soon able to determine who the man really was and attempted to place him under arrest.
Sudbury lithium explorer proposes processing plant west of city
Sudbury-based Frontier Lithium is proposing to build a lithium hydroxide processing plant west of the city near Nairn Centre. Documents were posted on Ontario’s Environmental Registry on May 4. The company is expected to reveal more details during a presentation May 31 at the BEV In Depth: Mines to Mobility conference in Sudbury, taking place May 31 to June1. If approved by regulators, it would be Ontario’s first lithium conversion facility to supply the electric vehicle market. Frontier is asking the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks for a environmental compliance permit for air and noise.
Hot, humid with a chance of thunderstorms today
Expect a sunny morning and early afternoon for your Thursday, then a mix of sun and cloud with a 40-per-cent chance of showers in the afternoon. There is a risk of thunderstorm in the afternoon, too. The wind will be southwesterly at 20 km/h, becoming light in the morning. Today’s high is 31 with a humidex of 34. The UV index today is eight, or very high. For tonight, expect partly cloudy skies with a 40-per-cent chance of showers in the evening, then clearing skies. There is the risk of thunderstorm in the evening as well. The overnight low is 18.
