Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
More collaboration needed as services for homeless population can be confusing and frustrating:
There is no shortage of services and organizations in Greater Sudbury that are in place to assist the city's most vulnerable citizens. Members of more than 20 different organizations attended a more than three hour special meeting of city council on Jan. 27 to discuss an issue that Greater Sudbury mayor Brian Bigger called a crisis. Homelessness is not a new issue in Greater Sudbury, but it is one that has come to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mayor opened the public input session, noting what work has been ongoing to assist the city's homeless population while acknowledging there there is still a long way to go. "There is a crisis right now in our city and this has been highlighted and amplified by COVID-19," said Bigger. "To address our homelessness challenges we must take a collaborative approach as no one agency can address these challenges alone. We need everyone to play a part." Those words from the mayor rang true in the presentations and comments that were made over the course of the evening, as many different speakers noted a lack of collaboration among different agencies and a sense of confusion among the city's homeless population who oftentimes do not know where to turn for the services they require. More on this story here.
Three Sudbury long-term care homes being offered COVID-19 vaccines:
Public Health Sudbury & Districts announced that COVID-19 vaccines were offered to residents at Pioneer Manor, Extendicare York, and Extendicare Falconbridge Wednesday. The residents of the three long-term care homes were offered the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination. “This is an amazing news story, being able to offer the COVID-19 vaccine signals the next stage in our fight against COVID-19 and protecting our most vulnerable from the virus,” said Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Medical Officer of Health with Public Health Sudbury & Districts. “Our ability to offer residents this vaccine is the result of significant and extensive planning efforts with long-term care homes and key community partners.” The Ontario Government announced that public health units will receive sufficient shipments of COVID-19 vaccine over the next two weeks to immunize all residents of the long-term care homes, high-risk retirement homes, and congregate living settings for seniors in First Nations communities (for example, Elder’s Lodges) in its service area by Feb. 5. Get the full story here.
Public Health Sudbury reports five new COVID-19 cases Jan. 27:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) has reported five newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the area. This is a drop from the 13 new cases that were reported Tuesday and is the lowest daily count so far this week. The new case count means there have been 482 confirmed cases in the local jurisdiction since COVID-19 case tracking began back in March of 2020. PHSD also reported there are now 82 active cases being monitored at this time. This is a decrease from the number of 86 active cases that were reported in the PHSD update on Tuesday. The health unit said it means 400 cases have been resolved since the pandemic case count began locally last March.
Anti-abortion bus ad angers many but city says its hands are tied:
A recent Facebook post critical of an anti-abortion ad that appeared on a city bus has garnered hundreds of comments and shares, with most people questioning the advertising standards for GOVA Sudbury Transit Buses. Despite the criticism, the City of Greater Sudbury told Sudbury.com their hands are somewhat tied when it comes to what ads it can accept or reject, advising those who take issue with certain advertising featured on city-owned property to take up their grievances with Advertising Standards Canada. On Jan. 18, Brittany Tate took a photo of an advertisement on the side of a GOVA bus, one that was at that time running the Main Line – directly past the hospital. The advertisement features the hand of a baby reaching towards the hand of a woman, with the text reading ‘Take my hand, not my life.’ In her post, Tate questioned why the city would accept such an advertisement in the first place. “I know this might cause a stir but I’m so incredibly disappointed in Sudbury Transit,” Tate wrote. “Today getting on the PUBLIC (sic) city bus I came across this advertisement on the side of the bus. Can someone please explain to me how this is okay? It’s one thing to have an opinion, a complete other to purchase an advertisement for the side of a public city bus in order to shame women (I might add, women from various different situations, environments, backgrounds etc.) for abortions.” More on this story here.
Drug charge against former Sudbury reporter being diverted:
There was progress in the court case against former Sudbury reporter Callam Senyk-O’Flanagan (also known as Callam Rodya) on Wednesday, but not for the child pornography charges he faces. The court heard Senyk-O’Flanagan has retained a second lawyer on his matters, who will represent him alongside defence lawyer Jacob Gauthier. Disclosure needs to be reviewed by the new counsel, said Gauthier, and asked the matter be adjourned to Feb. 24. The one drug possession charge Senyk-O’Flanagan faced has been dealt with by way of diversion, Gauthier said. That means it was dealt with out of court, and will likely result in no criminal record for that particular charge. The matters involving materials related to child sexual abuse return to court Feb. 24. That will mark more than two years since Senyk-O’Flanagan was first charged with three counts each of possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography, and making available child pornography.
45 charges and 40 witnesses: Contractor accused of fraud heading to trial:
A 15-day trial is scheduled to begin March 8 for former Sudbury contractor David Murray, who is charged with 45 counts of fraud. Murray, owner of the home renovation firm EcoLife Home Improvements, is being represented by Elliot Lake defence lawyer Antoine Fabris. There are almost 40 witnesses in the case, said the Crown’s office. The trial will start March 8 and go until March 11, then resume March 22-26 and March 29-30, April 1 and May 3, 4 and 6. A case management conference will take place Jan. 28, then the matter returns to readiness court on March 1 prior to the trial getting under way. Find more on this story here.
Wiikwemkoong Tribal Police chief charged with sexual assault, report:
A 44-year-old man from Manitoulin Island, identified by media there as the chief of Wiikwemkoong Tribal Police, has been charged with sexual assault, the Ontario Provincial Police announced today. Terry McCaffrey was arrested and charged after the OPP received information from an individual who had been the victim of sexual assault in 2019, said police. Further media reports state the chief of the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territories Ogimaa Duke Peltier will be issuing a statement in response. If anyone has information regarding this investigation, they are urged to call the OPP non-emergency number at 1-888-310-1122 or, if they wish to remain anonymous, contact CrimeStoppers.
‘We will pay this forward’: Guilletville family overwhelmed by generosity after house fire:
Chantal Beauparlant said she’s overwhelmed with the community’s generosity after her family’s Guilletville home was destroyed and they lost nearly all of their possessions in a fire Saturday evening. A friend of her older daughter has been collecting donations of essential items for the family, while another family friend started a GoFundMe page. “We’ve never thought we’d get even half of this support, and it’s just unbelievable, and we’re like we will pay this forward,” said Beauparlant. “I know I would help somebody out like that, too, but when it happens to you … you don’t know what to say. What are the best words to say what you really, truly feel like? Overwhelmed, that’s all I can say. We’re very overwhelmed with all the generosity.” She said the family has been keeping a list of those who have helped, and plan on sending them a token of their thanks later on, perhaps thank-you notes. Find more on this story here.
Thursday Weather:
A mix of sun and cloud Thursday with 30 per cent chance of flurries. Bundle up today as the high will only hit -15, feeling like -24 with the wind chill. Partly cloudy this evening with a 30 per cent chance of flurries. Overnight low will dip to -21, feeling like -28. There is a risk of frostbite overnight. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
