Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Friday morning.
Desperate, man killed in encampment fire used candle for warmth
A man who died in a fire at a homeless encampment Dec. 3 was warming himself with an open flame inside a tent, Greater Sudbury Fire Services told Sudbury.com. “It’s a sad story related to an individual who was attempting to keep warm,” said Deputy Chief Jesse Oshell. “I do know that we had responded to that area in the past and spoken to that particular individual, not formally or officially, but certainly they were known to many in the area and had chosen to be there.” The death occurred just before 12 p.m., said GSPS spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn. “Officers were dispatched to a wooded area near North Field Crescent in relation to a sudden death. Greater Sudbury Fire Services responded to a fire in the bush at what was described as an encampment. Upon extinguishing the fire, firefighters located a deceased person,” she said. “No foul play is suspected and the incident did/does not appear to be suspicious in nature.”
Former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent dead at 87
Former federal New Democrat leader Ed Broadbent has died at 87. The news was shared today by the Broadbent Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank founded by the former member of Parliament. Born in Oshawa, Ont., Broadbent served as a member of Parliament for a riding in the area for 21 years, leading the federal NDP from 1975 to 1989. That leadership period included four different prime ministers: Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark, John Turner and Brian Mulroney.
Pedestrian struck and killed in parking lot on Martindale Road
A 57-year-old pedestrian has died after being struck by a vehicle in a parking lot of a business on Martindale Road on Jan. 10. Greater Sudbury Police said officers were dispatched to the scene just after 1 p.m. on Jan. 10 in relation to a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian. “The driver of the vehicle involved in the collision remained on scene,” GSPS said. Greater Sudbury Fire Services and Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services attempted life-saving measures on the 57-year-old woman who had been struck, but to no avail. “The pedestrian was transported to hospital by paramedics. Unfortunately, she was pronounced deceased by medical professionals,” GSPS said.
The Soapbox: Bill C-21 will hardly bother gun-toting criminals
The year 2023 proved to be a contentious year for gun control in Canada. After much acrimony in both the House of Commons and the Senate, Bill C-21 was finally passed unamended, and received Royal Assent shortly before Christmas. Whether or not this is to be considered a good thing depends on where one sits in the Canadian gun control debate. C-21 ushered in a huge, sweeping net of laws and regulations. For the proponents of gun control in Canada — Polysesouvient, Doctors for Protection Against Guns and the Coalition for Gun Control — C-21 is largely satisfactory, as well it should be as in its essence. It is a shopping list of their sundry gun control demands of the Trudeau government. Nevertheless, they have not been shy in stating that it does not mark the end of their demands. On the other side of the issue, groups such as the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights, the National Firearms Association and various provincial hunting/sportsmen’s organizations have been steadfast in their opposition to C-21. They claim it will do very little in terms of combatting crime committed with firearms while further hobbling the firearms/hunting industry in Canada and burdening legal gun owners with yet more pointless layers of red tape and bureaucracy.
Man facing three murder charges will wait longer to see trial
A man charged in relation to three Sudbury murders, who also escaped from Sudbury Jail earlier this year, was in court today, but rather than a chance to set a date for trial, the matter was postponed again. An articling student who appeared on behalf of Joel Roy’s defence attorney, Toronto lawyer Alison Craig, told Justice Peirre Bradley the attorney needed more time, and asked for an adjournment. Though Crown Jose Rodriguez noted how long the case had been waiting to go to trial, Bradley agreed to it, and adjourned the case until Feb. 1. Roy, who did not appear in court but is still in custody, is facing charges related to several murders; on Jan. 11, the intention was to set a trial date for the charges related to the death of 31-year-old Emad Ali. Greater Sudbury Police put out a press release in January, 2023 saying they were concerned for the well-being of Ali, who had last been seen in the Sudbury area in October to November of 2022.
Federal dollars to fight gender-based violence coming to Sudbury
More than half a million dollars in federal funding has been announced for a Sudbury organization to do research for collecting evidence on behalf of survivors of sexual assault in rural and remote communities. The funding was announced by Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe and Lisa Hepfner, the parliamentary secretary to the minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth. The overall announcement was roughly $19 million for 34 organizations to prevent and address gender-based violence in Ontario and across the country, said a new release from Tom Davies Square. The Sudbury funding is being directed to She Matters, a community organization in Sudbury that is working on research into collecting forensic evidence for survivors of sexual assault. Lapointe told the news conference that since 2018, no less than 44 per cent of women in Canada — more than six million people — reported experiencing some form of intimate partner violence in their life.
