Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Wednesday morning.
Labbée: If I were CAO, I would resign over the wage hike issue
The city council meeting of May 14 has been weighing heavily on my mind. Following that meeting, the press released their summary and it has definitely cast a questionable light on the competency and comprehension of Councilor's Parent, Fortin, Signoretti and myself, who were the only ones who chose to speak up about it. (It's no fault of the press, it's just difficult to condense a four hour meeting into a short news article). Comments made by a few others suggest that it's "rather unfortunate" that we weren't able to grasp or understand what they feel had been obvious regarding the details of the 9 and 11 per cent raise increases to certain staff. For context, I feel it's important to note that most municipalities have a Delegated Authority Bylaw for their CAO and other Directors. It's not something we suddenly thought was a "good idea".
Young actors have out-of-this-world chat with astronaut Chris Hadfield
Members of YES Theatre’s Young Company got an out-of-this-world opportunity to meet virtually with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield earlier this month. From May 11-16, the company staged a production of the play One Small Step, in which Hadfield plays a prominent role. In recognition of that, a virtual conversation between the astronaut and the young actors was arranged. “We were so excited that Chris found the time to meet with our Young Company,” said Ruthie Nkut, the associate artistic director of YES Theatre, of the pre-opening conversation with the astronaut. “It’s been a very important week for them as they head into opening a show which they’ve been working on all year.” Predictably, the students wanted Hadfield to tell them what it was like to be in space. He told them that it was "just like magic."
Kings Cricket Club of Sudbury excited to launch first season
The sports landscape in Greater Sudbury just got more diverse with the launch this month of the Kings Cricket Club of Sudbury. The influx of new Canadians taking up residence in the Nickel City have brought their culture and traditions with them, and for many, the game of cricket is a big part of that. Kings Cricket Club (KCC or the Kings) will be playing in the Sault North League this summer with plans to play in the Northern Ontario Cricket League as well, one of the founder, Gurpreet Broca, told Sudbury.com. The club was founded by Broca alongside Muhammad Safwan Raza, Navdeep Singh Brar, Simarjeet Singh Khosa and Sahilpreet Singh. “Our club includes many international students, newcomers to Canada, as well as many Sudbury residents from our community,” Broca said. “These members come from Canadian backgrounds and Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Pakistani, UAE and Nepalese communities, bringing their versatility of talent to the team.”
Paramedic Week celebrated by young graduates and city leaders
While community leaders and first responders in Sudbury came together May 21 to mark the annual observance of Paramedic Week in Ontario, the event was a special time for 11 young students who were officially hired on with the Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services (GSPS). The event was held at the municipal paramedic base in Azilda part of the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre. One of the newly hired paramedics was 22-year-old Isabella Francioni, originally from Toronto. She began her post secondary education by planning to be a HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) technician but changed her mind after one year. She can't remember what inspired her other than liking people and liking to help people, and that's when Francioni signed up with Cambrian College's paramedic program. "So I got into the program and it took me three years to get through. But I felt like that extra year really helped me gain confidence and gain knowledge and everything," she said.
Police warning: Northeast sees spike in apparent opioid-related deaths
The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service is issuing a community safety alert regarding the high potential that extremely toxic drugs are now circulating in the northeast. Police have seen a significant spike in apparent opioid-related overdoses in communities within the Northeast Region this month. Some of these recent incidents have been fatal. Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid, and it can often be made more dangerous when drug traffickers mix additional chemicals, or, cutting agents, to their supply. Fentanyl is often dyed in a variety of colours, but investigators cannot provide a specific description of the drugs suspected of causing this overdose spike because drug traffickers can change the colour of their product quickly, such a description could present a false sense of security for users.
Harm reduction is about science, compassion, Nurses Assoc. Says
As a finale to Nursing Week, May 6-12, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) held a province-wide press conference speaking to the depths of the opioid crisis, taking 10 Ontarians every day in what RNAO president Claudette Halloway calls “preventable deaths.” “Nursing Week is a time of celebration, a time to thank and honor nurses for their hard work, their clinical knowledge, that dedication and compassion or a mandate is speaking out for nursing and speaking out for help,” said Holloway. “That's why we're gathered here today, to raise our voices on an issue that continues to claim lives, and for which we need the government to act in an urgent matter.” Held virtually on May 10, the press conference featured RNAO CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun, Kathy Moreland, registered nurse and representative of Moms Stop the Harm, as well as two speakers from Sudbury: Registered nurse, Neil Stephens and Marie Pollock co-founder of STOPs, a driving force behind Sudbury’s supervised consumption site. The Spot was forced to close at the end of March due to lack of provincial funding, despite applying for it more than two years previous.
