Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
No word on whether Sudbury will get a piece of $90 million in health care funding:
It will be days or even weeks before the administration at Health Sciences North learns if the hospital will be receiving any of the $90 million in new surge funding announced Wednesday by the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford. Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott announced the province will invest that money to create more than 640 new beds and spaces, and continue operating beds and spaces already open in the hospital and community sectors. The surge funding is to help hospitals deal with an expected patient influx when flu season hits. The Tories also said Ontario “is moving forward” with building 6,000 new long-term care beds of the 15,000 such beds it has committed to building in the next five years. Dominic Giroux, president and chief executive officer of Health Sciences North, said any investment of funds is much needed and the timing of the funding announcement is vital. It’s important for HSN to receive confirmation of additional surge beds in early October so it can prepare to open those additional beds when the flu season strikes in three months, he said. Read the full story here.
Did you miss last night's mayoral debate? Get caught up here:
Sudbury.com will provided a livestream for Wednesday night's all-candidates debate at College Boreal. Organized by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, the debate featured most of the 11 people running for mayor, including incumbent Brian Bigger. They answered questions from a panel made up of chamber members on a range of business-focused topics. The chamber debates – whether federal, provincial or local elections – are often the main forum for contenders to stake out their positions on a wide range of topics. You can watch last night's debate here.
Have you received your voter information letter yet?
Residents are encouraged to watch for their Voter Information Letters for the 2018 municipal and school board election, which runs from 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 15 to 8 p.m. on election day, Monday, Oct. 22. Each eligible voter in Greater Sudbury will receive a VIL, which identifies the voter’s ward and school board support and contains a unique Voter ID and PIN number needed to vote. The letters also include important information related to when and where to vote. Voters who need to update their information can do so in person at a library, Citizen Service Centre or Clerk’s Services during regular business hours with a valid form of ID. Residents who have not yet received their letter should also attend one of these locations with a valid form of ID to ensure they are on the voters’ list and to have their letter printed. Anyone with questions about the 2018 Municipal and School Board Election can call 311 or email [email protected]. Election information is available at www.greatersudbury.ca/elections.
Where Do They Stand? Mayoral candidates lay out their positions on the KED:
Voters want to know where the candidates stand on the issues and so does Sudbury.com. To that end, we’ve starting a new election feature: Where Do They Stand? We picked nine issues that mattered to us, and reached out to the mayoral candidates and invited them to give us their answers. Each candidate has 250 words or less to stake out their position on each of these issues: the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED); expanded casino gambling; large project spending; downtown Sudbury and the urban-rural divide; taxation (everyone’s favourite); roads (always top of mind in Sudbury); the health of our lakes; the state of firefighting in the city, and; transparency, openness and leadership. For the next nine week days we’ll be rolling a new story every weekday, an election issue per day leading up to Election Day. On Wednesday, the topic is one that has come to dominate this election, and dominate every political discussion for the past year or more: the KED. This election has practically become a referendum on the massive project. Find out exactly what the candidates think here and be sure to check back with Sudbury.com to find out where your mayoral candidates stand on a breadth of hot button election issues.
Election recap for Oct. 3:
Ward 11 candidate Derek Young is calling for a review of the City of Greater Sudbury's Waste Management plan, which was first written in March 2005 and updated in February 2016. The plan calls for Greater Sudbury to introduce a one bag limit starting in October 2019 with weekly collection and in October 2021, will switch to biweekly collection. Young said he is opposed to bi-weekly garbage collection and would like to see more innovative approaches to waste diversion with specific measurable targets as well as education. "Currently the blue box and green bin programs are voluntary,” said Young, in a press release. “Greater Sudbury has set a waste diversion target of 65% with no specific date to achieve this goal. Education and a willingness to participate are required.” Ward 11 candidate Bill Leduc is inviting voters to a meet and greet at Branch 76 Legion Oct. 4. The event runs from 7-9 p.m. Talk politics and eat pizza with the candidate. Non-perishable food items for the Sudbury Food Bank will be collected as well. The Ward 8 Community Action Network and the Social Planning Council of Sudbury will be hosting a candidate town hall on Oct. 10 from 7 - 9 p.m. The town hall will be taking place in Lasalle Secondary School’s auditorium. All four Ward 8 candidates have been invited to attend the Town Hall, where they will each have a few minutes to introduce themselves, and then answer three questions targeting their priorities for Ward 8 and the city of Greater Sudbury, and why they are the best candidate for the ward and city. Ward 8 candidates include Rob Franceschini, Kyle McCall, Stefano Presenza, and incumbent Al Sizer. Greater Sudbury mayoral candidate Cody Cacciotti said he believes strong leadership starts with being open and accessible to the public and engaging with the citizens of Greater Sudbury on a regular basis. Information should be consistent, thorough and easily accessible through a variety of different avenues including the mayor's website (which he points out hasn't been updated since 2014). “If elected mayor, I will ensure that I am working diligently to engage with the citizens of the community regularly,” he said. “I will ensure that monthly reports updating major projects, infrastructure developments and current issues are available through print and digital media.” Cacciotti also said he will host community forums in all wards annually throughout the city. “Based on the success of my Coffee with Cody campaign, an informal sit down with citizens once a week, I will continue hosting these casual chats as mayor as well,” he said. Candidate Jerry Desormeaux said it’s time for a change of scenery in Ward 5 and he’s the one to provide it. In a release this week, Desormeaux is which he runs down a litany of challenges facing the city, including an aging population, a stagnant economy, government spending and poverty. “We can no longer afford not to listen to and address the concerns of our community. We are tapped out by all three levels of government. Our current operating budget is roughly $550 million a year and somehow we exceeded the 2018 budget by $2 million,” he said. “My question is why? Well, in my opinion, it’s bad budgeting on our municipal government’s part by misspending taxpayers’ dollars.” He said the city government needs new blood that doesn’t “sugarcoat” things. Get caught up with all your election news at Sudbury.com's election page.
Wolves Fan Review: A (finally) happy Jim Stefanko dubs the Pack the 'comeback kids':
Sudbury Wolves superfan Jim Stefanko returns with another instalment of Wolves Fan Review this week. In this jam-packed episode, Stefanko recaps the team's first five games of the season...Five? Foreshadowing of another series in the works? Jim's spirits are high in this one as the Wolves have started the season much better than they did a year ago, and hold a record of 3-2-0 after their first five games and are in a tie for top spot in the Central Division. The Wolves are back on the road this week with games in Niagara, Erie, and Kitchener. The Pack return to home ice on Oct. 12 for their third meeting with the Barrie Colts. You can check out Stefanko's review here.
Sorry, weed smokers: Marijuana psychosis is real, researcher says:
When a man who went berserk at the downtown Sudbury Transit Terminal in April had his day in court, his lawyer told the judge that he was suffering from an episode of marijuana-induced psychosis. He had no prior criminal record, the lawyer said, and when he ran toward two Greater Sudbury Police officers, he was out of touch with reality. Alex Stavropoulos, 25, was sentenced to time served (99 days in jail), two years probation and was ordered to pay $215 in restitution to a Sudbury Transit employee. The worker was injured when police fired five or six shots to stop Stavropoulos, who came at them wielding a knife and ignored orders to stop. But his defence sparked outrage among some Sudbury.com readers, who argued that linking pot and mental illness doesn't jive with their experiences. “I've been a heavy smoker for 20 years and I've never ever had any experiences that would lead me to believe in marijuana-induced psychosis,” one critic wrote. “There is something else wrong with this guy and blaming weed wont get him the help he needs.” “Marijuana has nothing to do with that whatsoever!” wrote another. The issue is so new, Sudbury's health unit and the local office of the Canadian Mental Health Association don't have anyone who could speak to the issue. Dr. Candice Crocker, a Halifax-based researcher who has reviewed existing studies as well as conducted research on her own, says despite what marijuana advocates may want to believe, pot-induced psychosis is a real thing. Studies have consistently shown that people who are given THC in high doses experience psychotic episodes, Crocker said. Get the full story here.
14 Sudbury eateries serving food past your bedtime:
There’s nothing like finding yourself snackless after a night out on the town. In terms of minor irritations, it’s right up there with the internet going down and having to rely on whatever DVDs you have lying around for entertainment (if you even have DVDs still … or a DVD player, that is). Sudbury’s no Toronto or Ottawa when it comes to late-night eats (“Honestly, we're so hurtin for that,” as one friend wrote to me this week), but we do have a few options, some better known than others. That’s why we’ve put together this handy list of local spots for late-night snacking, from the South End to New Sudbury. They all serve food until 2 a.m. at the very least on weekends, with most extending even later. So go ahead, enjoy your night out, and the sweet anticipation of guaranteed snacks afterwards. Make sure to check out the map to see exactly where everything is.
Thursday Weather:
A cool day ahead, but we should avoid the rain. A mix of sun and cloud for Thursday with a daytime high of 11. A few clouds heading into the evening and the mercury will dip below the freezing mark tonight. Overnight low is expected to hit -1. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
