Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Tuesday morning.
Laurentian University professor killed in November car crash
Laurentian University linguistics professor Ali Reguigui passed away in a motor vehicle collision late last month. Interim provost Brenda Brouwer announced Reguigui’s death in an internal email to the Laurentian University community on Nov. 30. “I am deeply saddened to inform you that early yesterday, Dr. Ali Reguigui passed away in a tragic motor vehicle accident,” said the email from Brouwer. “This news is a shock to our community, and please know that support services are available to you. Dr. Reguigui was a highly regarded faculty member who contributed immensely to all areas of Laurentian University since he began his role in 1990. “He was the editor of the journal Nouvelles perspectives en sciences sociales and the Revue du Nouvel-Ontario, and the editor of the Human Sciences Monograph Series. He also served as director of the Department of French Studies, director of the PhD Program in Human Studies and the French-speaking vice-dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Laurentian University.”
Cautious optimism after Greater Sudbury Summit on Toxic Drugs
Cautious optimism is the most common refrain from the social service and harm reduction agencies that attended the Greater Sudbury Summit on Toxic Drugs on Dec. 7-8, but many wonder why the summit didn’t result in an aggressive push to fund Sudbury’s supervised consumption site. Organized jointly by Public Health Sudbury & Districts and the City of Greater Sudbury, Sudbury.com spoke with several people in the harm reduction and social service field who had hoped the summit could help to inform decision-makers in the city, and perhaps, result in actionable recommendations. To that end, Kaela Pelland, director of peer engagement for Réseau ACCESS Network, told Sudbury.com, “A seed was planted.” The summit was held in Azilda on Dec. 7-8, a chance, organizers said, to bring together the voices of those who work in addiction and harm reduction with the decision makers in government, including City of Greater Sudbury staff and council members.
Family's grocery bill to go up $702 next year: U of G research
University of Guelph researchers used AI technology to predict the rising costs of groceries for 2024. The Canada’s Food Price Report found food prices could rise from 2.5 to 4.5 per cent next year, said a press release from the U of G. The increase is less than what was predicted for 2023 which was an increase of five to seven per cent. This means for a family of four it would be an increase of $701.79. This may not be “the news some people were hoping for. I think some people are really hoping for food price decreases,” said Kristina Kupferschmidt, U of G PhD student and contributor to the report, in an interview. The report was a collaboration between the U of G’s Arrell Food Institute, the Vector Institute in Toronto and Dalhousie’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab.
Science North addressing auditor's concerns about Dynamic Earth expansion
Criticism of the Dynamic Earth expansion project in the recently released auditor general’s annual report doesn’t tell the full story of the project’s challenges, said the organization’s CEO. Ashley Larose, who helms Science North, which is overseeing the project, noted that the organization has been working with the auditor general’s office for the last year on recommendations that were made in the report released on Dec. 6. “One of the things that isn’t transparent in the process is that the value-for-money audit doesn’t necessarily take into account activities that are happening at the present time,” Larose said. “So we’ve actually made those changes 12 months ago, but because the audit is past-facing, you don’t really see that. It doesn’t really form part of their narrative.” Chief among Auditor General Nick Stavropoulos’ criticisms is that the cost of the science centre’s expansion project had tripled to $15 million in just three years, and that the estimated date of completion had been pushed back to 2024 from 2023.
Rainbow board ends 2022-23 with $4M surplus
With factors including increased enrolment (and thus government grants), a return to school fundraising following the pandemic and a jump in investment income, the board finished its 2022-23 financial year ending Aug. 31 with a surplus of slightly more than $4 million. Trustees with the school board approved the 2022-23 audited financial statements at their Dec. 5 meeting. You can view those statements online here. This year’s surplus figure is up from a $1.5 million surplus in the previous school year, 2021-22. The board had been expecting to post a small $150,000 surplus for 2022-23. Rainbow had revenues of more than $245 million in the last school year and expenses of $241 million. Its revenues were up $13.9 million over last year, while its expenses were also up by $11.5 million. The board now has an accumulated surplus of about $26.6 million, up from $22.6 million last year.
Donate to the Sudbury Food Bank and we’ll match it 23 times!
Join in today! The Sudbury.com Cares: Food Drive is bringing our whole community together to support the Sudbury Food Bank and make a real impact. Recognizing the increased demand over the festive period, we collaborated with the Real Canadian Superstore to offer food packages for purchase through an online pop-up store. Sudbury.com is matching all purchases with a cash donation to the Sudbury Food Bank. But that's not all… Sudbury’s generous local businesses have also pledged to match every purchase with a cash donation! That means that until December 14 at 12 p.m., every dollar spent on food packages in our pop-up store will be multiplied 23 times, with all proceeds directed to the Sudbury Food Bank.
