Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Saturday morning.
Sudbury Sikhs, Hindus share message of unity in wake of violence
In the wake of recent violence between Sikh and Hindu communities in the GTA and British Columbia, Greater Sudbury’s Indian community is assuring citizens that no such issues exist here. The clashes have involved Hindu groups clashing with Sikh separatists. The violence has further heightened tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi after Canada expelled six Indian diplomats last month when the RCMP flagged them as persons of interest in alleged crimes against Canadians. A press conference was held at Tom Davies Square Nov. 8 by the India-Canada Association of Sudbury, which has members from many religions, including Hindu, Christian, Muslims and Sikhs. Representatives of both Greater Sudbury’s Sikh and Hindu communities spoke at the event.
Indigenous Remembrance Day honours a sacred promise
When the drums of the “Veteran’s Honour Song” echoed from the walls of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek community centre on Nov. 8, it sounded like the guns of war, a reminder of what so many heard in their final moments, or still hear in their nightmares. Indigenous Remembrance Day is observed on Nov. 8, recognizing the courage and sacrifice of First Nation, Inuit and Métis people in military service. It is estimated that, in total, more than 12,000 Indigenous people fought on the front lines, serving in all conflicts in which Canada has been involved. Co-hosted by the First Nation and Royal Canadian Legion Branch 215, the ceremony was a chance for healing, and to come together as a community in a culturally significant way, said Brandy Saikkonen, the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek event planner behind the ceremony.
New parents and pregnant mothers: Where to get an RSV vaccine in Sudbury
With Ontario now in the midst of flu season, the pressure is on from public health to have babies and elderly people immunized against RSV, the respiratory syncytial virus. Some area parents have already expressed concern about the availability of RSV vaccines for infants. Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) said the vaccine is now available, but it must be administered either in the hospital for newborns, or from local physicians. Two RSV vaccines are available for babies: Abrysvo is provided to pregnant women (32 to 36 weeks) by their doctor before the child is born; while Beyfortus is for infants and high-risk children. Parents looking to be vaccinated against RSV should note the health unit does not provide RSV vaccinations. "Infants can receive Beyfortus in the community including through their primary health care provider, community health centre, or walk-in clinic. It is not available through pharmacies," said the communications email.
Memory Lane: The wartime connection to these Gatchell street names
One hundred and six years ago, what was then called “The Great War” ended with the capitulation of the German Army in a railway carriage in France. Over the previous four years, more than 650,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in this war; at least 66,000 of them gave their lives and another 172,000 were wounded. All across Canada, memorials were erected to the valour of both the living and the dead. Here in Sudbury, not only was a cenotaph erected at the corner of Elm and Lorne Streets, but our forebears also specifically memorialized 11 names (as 11 is that most special number of remembrance) who came from the city (which was a town at the time of the war) and gave the supreme sacrifice. In the Gatchell neighbourhood, 11 streets are named after these men. Ten run perpendicular to Lorne Street (on the north side) heading westward from Martindale, with the eleventh crossing most of these streets one block North. In honour of Remembrance Day, today we will share the wartime stories of those local men memorialized in local street names.
Commemorative statue created by Sudbury man is going to Norway
A statue created by Sudbury artist Tyler Fauvelle is being sent to Europe. The piece, a bronze statue of Second World War Canadian radio operator Fern Blodgett Sunde, will be installed in Norway next year. The piece was first unveiled in 2020 at the Victoria Park waterfront in Cobourg, Ontario. A second version of that original Cobourg statue was created to be shipped overseas, where it will be formally unveiled in May 2025 to observe the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic. The statue, titled Make Waves, was first created to honour the legacy of Sunde, who grew up in Cobourg, Ontario and dreamed of one day working on ships at sea. The statue shows a life-sized likeness of Sunde next to a stylized ocean wave.
Lumberjacks slash Cubs win streak at 13
It had to come to an end sometime. On Thursday night at the Claude Larose Recreation Centre, the Greater Sudbury Cubs’ 13-game winning streak came to an end when they fell 6-3 to the Hearst Lumberjacks. If the streak had to come to an end, it’s fitting perhaps but little consolation that it came at the hands of the No. 2 ranked team in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. Hearst opened the scoring at just 39 seconds in after DonHeaven Veilleux chipped the puck ahead and darted down the right wing, firing a pass through the crease that found the stick of a hard-charging Aiden Kalin who directed it past Cubs’ starter Noah Beaulne. The Lumberjacks made it 2-0 about 10 minutes later after Henry Ouellet stuffed a bouncing puck into the open side of Greater Sudbury’s net. “Greater Sudbury got one back, moments into a man advantage, thanks to Noah Kohan swiftly swatting in a crisp cross-ice pass from Samuel Assinewai at 12:31, in eluding Lumberjacks’ netminder Alexandre Boivin,” said a league game report.
