Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Saturday morning.
Fire marshal investigating after fatal fire on Hyland last night
A person has died as a result of a fire in a three-unit apartment building on Hyland Drive last night. This is the first fatal fire of 2024 in Greater Sudbury. Greater Sudbury Fire Services said firefighters were dispatched at around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 16 to a three-unit apartment building on Hyland Drive, which connects Regent Street to Riverside Drive. Crews from Downtown, Long Lake, New Sudbury and Minnow Lake were dispatched to the scene. When crews arrived, Deputy Fire Chief Jesse Oshell said smoke alarms could be heard going off in the building, and two people had to be rescued from a balcony because they were unable to escape the building due to the heavy smoke. “We rescued them from the balcony and they were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation,” Oshell said.
Chief critical of proposed closed door ‘training’ to review police budget questions
Although they ultimately decided against it, the Greater Sudbury Police Service Board planned a closed-door meeting to “review questions” in advance of a public meeting in October 2023. This, according to an email board administrator Matthew Gatien sent to the board at 11:36 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2023, in preparation for the Oct. 30 public board meeting, which was scheduled for members to discuss the police service’s proposed budgets for 2024-25. Sudbury.com received this email as part of a collection obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for emailed correspondence between board members and GSPS staff in relation to the Oct. 30, 2023, public budget meeting. Sudbury.com filed the FOI request earlier this year in response to what we perceived as a performative tone throughout the Oct. 30 board meeting. During that meeting, members repeatedly praised GSPS staff and asked supportive questions largely uncritical of budgetary requests, which included hiring 26 additional staff. Given the way the meeting unfolded, Sudbury.com was curious if more fulsome discussions had been held behind closed doors prior to the meeting, hence the filing of the FOI request.
City hosting a book of condolences for Michael Vagnini’s family
The City of Greater Sudbury is hosting a book of condolences for Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini, who was located deceased this week after being reported missing two weeks prior. Pages will be available for people to fill out at four locations throughout the municipality from Feb. 21 until March 15: Tom Davies Square – One Stop Services (200 Brady St., Sudbury); McClelland Community Centre and Arena (37 Veterans Rd., Copper Cliff); Lively Library and Citizen Service Centre (15 Kin Dr., Lively), and; T.M. Davies Community Centre and Arena (325 Anderson Dr., Lively). An online book of condolences is also available at greatersudbury.ca/michaelvagnini for those who wish to send messages or submit photos of the late member of city council.
Ontario’s broken family medicine system is driving physicians away
Some member doctors of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) are calling on the Ontario government to step up with better funding and better working conditions to stem the flow of physicians who are quitting their jobs and leaving family practice. The doctors say they're just small businesses after all and if they can't survive in business, there's no point in continuing. The comments came out Thursday in an online news conference hosted by the OMA to discuss why so many family physicians are quitting the practice of family medicine because the system no longer works for them. The session was hosted by OMA president Dr. Andrew Park. He was joined by Dr. David Barber of Kingston, Dr. Natalie Leahy of Whitby and Dr. Dannica Switzer of Wawa. "The reality is family doctors didn't go into medicine to do paperwork. We want to see patients, we want to help our patients, a
You may be entitled to a forgotten pension benefit
Pension Awareness Day was held on Feb. 15, to let Ontario residents know they might be able to reconnect with a lost pension. As odd as it sounds, there is data to indicate that thousands of Ontario are entitled to huge chunks of money they might have lost track of over the years. There is a formal office in Ontario - the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario - that oversees the rights of consumers in Ontario by promoting high standards of business conduct and transparency within the financial services we regulate, said a news release. Andrew Fung is executive vice president for pensions at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). Fung said the law in Ontario changed in 2017 and "it requires pension plan administrators to, every two years, send a communication or a statement to people who have left employment, so that they can keep in contact with these previous plan members that may still have an entitlement to the pension plan."
Fishing is free this Family Day weekend
To help celebrate Family Day weekend (yes, this is a long weekend, folks), Ontario has once again made Feb. 17-19 a free family fishing weekend. This means Ontario residents can drop a line in the water anywhere in the province without having to purchase a licence or carry an Outdoors Card. “Fishing is a family-friendly activity that is easy to learn and can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities on thousands of lakes and rivers in Ontario,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, in a news release. “Family Day weekend is a great time to get out with your family and enjoy this fun activity. Just remember to stay safe and fish responsibly.” Conservation catch limits and other regulations still apply.
