Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Additions to Junction Project could cost up to $12 million:
Project changes including the possible addition of an underground parking structure have bumped up the total cost of the city's Junction project by an estimated $8-12 million. Greater Sudbury council received a large projects update on June 9, outlining major construction projects on the horizon, including the Kingsway Entertainment District, the Junction East and West and Place des Arts. Ian Wood, the city's executive director of strategic initiatives, communication and citizen services provided the update to council, indicating that he is expecting the request for proposal (RFP) process for the Junction West to be completed in roughly six weeks. In January of 2018, city council selected 240 Elgin St., the Sudbury Community Arena site, as the preferred site to construct the Library/Art Gallery shared facility and the Convention/Performance Centre, or simply put, The Junction. Since that time, the project has been divided into two portions, Junction East will include the main branch of the library, the Franklin Carmichael Art Gallery of Sudbury, and possibly the Sudbury Theatre Centre and the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association. Tuesday's report indicated that city staff is continuing to work with STC and SMFAA as prospective partners and an additional 5,000 sq. ft of additional new or renovated space will be required. Full story here.
Ford announces daycares can reopen as of June 12:
The Ontario government gave child care centres across the province the green light Tuesday to begin reopening to support the next stage of the province's reopening framework. Developed in consultation with Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health and medical leaders at The Hospital for Sick Children, the plan will require child care operators to follow strict health protocols to ensure the safety of child care staff and children. As the province continues to implement its Framework for Reopening the Province, child care centres and home care providers across Ontario will be able to reopen with strict safety and operational requirements in place, similar to the safety guidelines required for emergency child care centres. Find more on this story here.
Man arrested in 2018 King Street sexual assault:
Greater Sudbury Police say they have arrested and charged a 37-year-old man who allegedly sexually assaulted a young woman on King Street in 2018. Around 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018 a young woman was walking on the west side of King Street, when she was approached by a man on a bicycle. The man offered to provide the young woman a ride to Notre Dame Avenue. She travelled with the man on his bicycle to a parking lot off of Notre Dame Avenue between King Street and St. George Street (east side), where he sexually assaulted her. The victim was able to flee to a nearby residence where she contacted police. She sustained minor injuries as a result of the altercation. Greater Sudbury Police said the two individuals were not known to each other. The suspect was described at the time as being between 30 and 50 years old, with a slim build and short to medium length hair. Nearly two years later, on June 6, 2020, the 37-year-old man was arrested at a home in Greater Sudbury. He has been charged with sexual assault and forcible confinement in relation to the 2018 incident. The man has been remanded into custody, and will appear in court June 11.
M’Chigeeng taking down ‘wellness checkpoints’:
What M’Chigeeng First Nation called “wellness checkpoints” that restricted access to the community’s territory are coming down, it was announced this week. The checkpoints aimed to limit the spread of COVID-19 to the community, but were the source of considerable consternation and tension between Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents and visitors to Manitoulin Island. The checkpoints went up on April 25 and prevented travellers from accessing M’Chigeeng territory using Highway 540 and Highway 551. But on June 8 and with no new cases in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts for more than three weeks, the First Nation made the decision to take down the checkpoints. However, that doesn’t mean the community won’t be controlling access. Access to M’Chigeeng will instead be restricted to highways crossing the territory. As well, the removal of the checkpoints doesn’t mean seasonal residents can visit. Cottagers who lease space on M’Chigeeng First Nation are still not allowed to visit. “The only people that are permitted to travel … are permanent residents of M’Chigeeng First Nation, seasonal residents are not permitted,” the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service said in a news release on Monday. Signage will be placed on entrances and intersections leading into the community from Highway 540 and Highway 551. UCCM Anishnaabe Police and OPP will be conducting enforcement in the area and vehicles will be stopped.
‘Infuriating’: LU student mulling break from classes during pandemic, and he’s not alone:
Brandon Saunders just finished his undergraduate degree in architecture at Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture, and had already confirmed his intention to attend the school’s architecture master’s program this fall. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada, and all Laurentian classes were moved online as students finished out the school year. Saunders called his experience with distance learning in March and April an “infuriating process,” as architecture is very much a hands-on discipline. Laurentian recently announced the majority of its classes will be delivered through distance learning this fall, with a few in-person classes as needed. Most colleges and universities in the country have made similar announcements. For its part, the McEwen School of Architecture has informed students that its curriculum is moving entirely to distance learning in September due to the pandemic. Saunders said he is considering deferring his master’s studies until he can receive a more conventional education. Get the full story here.
Report finds patients of colour less likely to get pain meds among racial issues plaguing health care:
The amount of pain relief a person receives can often depend on their skin tone, stated a report by the Ontario Health Coalition released this month, citing studies from several journals. The findings of these studies show racism is a public health crisis in Ontario, said a statement and some statistics provided by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC). The OHC is a lobbying and advocacy group that promotes universal public health care in Canada. The group released a statement on June 5 in support of the rising protests against what it called anti-black racism. More on this story can be found here.
No surprise, home building off to slow start:
The global pandemic and the cessation of all 'non-essential' construction by the provincial government this spring put the brakes on new home starts in Northern Ontario's two largest cities. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released the May housing starts showing only two single-detached starts in Greater Sudbury, compared to seven in May 2019. Thunder Bay registered three starts last month, compared to eight during the same time last year. Home construction in Ontario resumed on May 19 as per the first phase of the provincial government's reopening plan. What's categorized by CMHC as other types of multi-residential dwellings listed four starts in Greater Sudbury in May, compared to 11 in May 2019. In Thunder Bay, construction in the 'other' dwelling categories was actually up 69 per cent. CMHC recorded 27 starts in the city last month compared to only 16 in May 2019. The trend in housing starts was 196,750 units in May 2020, down from 198,644 units in April 2020. Excluding Quebec, the trend was 151,072 units in May 2020, down from 155,600 units in April 2020. Residential construction in Québec resumed on April 20.
Sudbury.com welcomes new reporters, new beats under federal program:
The federal government’s Local Journalism Initiative program has allowed Sudbury.com to hire two reporters to focus on important areas of coverage. Local journalism continues to struggle in Canada as the industry’s traditional business model has been upended by the impact of the internet on operations. Dozens and dozens of local newspapers have closed across the country, with hundreds of journalists thrown out of work. The federal government’s Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) uses public dollars to support civic journalism in underserved communities across the country. The program has helped preserve local news coverage in dozens of communities. At Sudbury.com, this program has allowed us to hire two journalists to focus on important coverage areas in the community. Len Gillis is our newest hire. Gillis has been covering news in northeastern Ontario for four decades and has worked in print, radio and TV. His byline has appeared in Maclean’s, the Globe and Mail and other publications. Keira J. Ferguson formerly served as a general and weekend reporter for Northern Life and Sudbury.com. The LJI program has allowed us to hire her to cover a new beat. Called Communities, the beat focuses on the region’s Indigenous, immigrant and Francophone communities, digging into the issues, the culture and the people that make up Sudbury’s diverse population. Learn more about these two reporters here.
Wednesday Weather:
Periods of rain this morning, ending near noon then cloudy with 30 per cent chance of showers. There's a risk of a thunderstorm in the morning. Wednesday's high will get up to 25, feeling like 33. Cloudy tonight with 60 per cent chance of showers and risk of a thunderstorm. Overnight low will get down to 13. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
