Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
‘Insolvent’ Laurentian U. learned in December a $100M liability was closer to $200M:
Calling the university “insolvent,” the president of Laurentian University said a number of events over the past decade have put an increased strain on the operational and financial health of LU. This as Laurentian announced Monday it has commenced a court proceeding under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). “These strains include a combination of factors such as historical recurring deficits, declining demographics in Northern Ontario, the closure of our Barrie campus in 2019 and the domestic tuition reduction and freeze that was implemented in 2019 and most recently various costs and revenue impacts due to the global pandemic,” said Laurentian president Robert Haché in a Feb. 1 statement. The statement is published on a special website set up by Laurentian dedicated to the university’s financial situation, www.laurentianu.info. Besides the statement from Haché, it also contains a FAQ section and documents related to the CCAA filing. A source told Sudbury.com Monday afternoon that Laurentian found out this past December that a liability it thought was about $100 million was actually closer to $200 million, and the university wasn’t aware of the size of the challenge it was facing. Full story here.
‘Egregious violation’ lands David Case, Celine Loyer 16 months jail for sexual assault in 2011:
Former track coach David Case and his former protege, Celine Loyer, were both sentenced to 16 months jail and two years probation for sexually assaulting another woman in 2011. Superior Court Justice Patricia Hennessy handed down the sentence Monday morning. Loyer were convicted of sexual assault and Case convicted of sexual assault by aiding and abetting in March 2020 after a woman, who cannot be named under a publication ban, said she was sexually assaulted by the pair at Case’s home after she became unconscious when she went there to have dinner and some drinks. The trial took place in January 2020. The Crown was seeking a two-to-three-year penitentiary term on the higher end of the range, or two years less a day, as well as three years of probation on the lower range. Loyer is represented by defence lawyer Michael Haraschuk, while Case is represented by Nicholas Xynnis. Both were seeking a six-month jail term, as well as three years probation. Although they have been sentenced to jail, both Case and Loyer are appealing. And although they have been directed to surrender themselves to police by Tuesday at 3 p.m., they won’t spend any time in jail pending the outcome of their appeals. Case is also in the process of appealing the conviction and sentencing for the second sexual assault of which he was found guilty. Those appeals likely won’t happen this year at all, said Xynnis. More on this story here.
‘Stay at home,’ mayor urges after deadly COVID-19 weekend in Sudbury:
After a deadly weekend in Greater Sudbury that saw two people pass away from COVID-19, Mayor Brian Bigger issued a statement urging the public to follow pandemic guidelines and reiterating his call for a Northern Bubble. A resident of the Finlandiakoti apartment building at Finlandia Village and a resident of Amberwood Suites retirement home both died over the weekend. Bigger extended condolences to the loved ones of the two people. “As we have been experiencing the sad and very real impacts of COVID-19 for almost one year and we are just a few weeks away from the anniversary of our first case appearing in Greater Sudbury, we now have a caseload of close to 100 and we are preparing for what could be the inevitable arrival of variant cases of COVID-19 in our community,” the statement reads “I would like to reinforce my earlier directions about keeping our community safe.” The mayor also highlighted that the surge in cases in 2021 can almost all be linked to travel. Full text of Mayor Bigger's statement can be read here.
New COVID-19 case at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School:
A confirmed case of COVID-19 has been reported at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School. The individual who tested positive is currently self-isolating and being monitored by Public Health Sudbury & Districts, said a letter dated Jan. 31 that has been posted on the Rainbow District School Board’s website. Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School remains open for in-person learning. Two classes at the school have been asked to self-isolate up to and including Feb. 11 - Ancient History Grade 11 and Basketball Class Grade 11. The affected students, their parents/guardians and relevant staff have been notified. Students on the morning secondary run on Route L880 as well as the afternoon secondary run on Route L811 have also been asked to self-isolate until Feb. 11. Again, the affected students, their parents/guardians and relevant bus drivers have been notified. The Sudbury Student Services Consortium announced on its website Monday that the two bus routes mentioned above are cancelled until Feb. 11.
One new COVID-19 case reported by Public Health Sudbury and Districts:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts(PHSD) has reported only one new confirmed case of COVID-19 on this first day of February. PHSD also reported there are now 81 active cases now being monitored. This is a drop from the 86 active cases reported on Sunday. Since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, there have been 520 total COVID-19 cases reported to the Sudbury health unit, with 439 of those cases being resolved. With respect to local geography,the PHSD daily update page also reported that the single new case was deemed to have occurred within the Greater Sudbury Area.
Black History Month: Acknowledging the history, honouring the contributions:
Observance of Black History Month began in the United States as an opportunity to acknowledge, on a formal scale, the accomplishments and endurance of the Black people of America. Once known as Negro History Month, then African American History Month, the observance grew from the ideas of historian Carter G. Woodson and since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. February is chosen for two important birthdays that occur in the same week: Abraham Lincoln, and Fredrick Douglass, an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman who escaped enslavement and became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York. But in Canada, observance of Black History Month did not begin in earnest until 1995, when the House of Commons officially recognized February as Black History Month in Canada, with a motion officially completed in parliament when in February 2008, Senator Donald Oliver, the first Black man appointed to the Senate, introduced the Motion to Recognize Contributions of Black Canadians and February as Black History Month. Find the full story here.
Lecce announces expanded asymptomatic testing in schools, $381M in education funds:
In a Monday morning press conference, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced expanded targeted asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in the province’s schools, as well as $381 million in education funding provided through the federal Safe Return to Class Fund. That funding includes money for improved ventilation such as HEPA filters, personal protective equipment, summer learning for kids who have fallen behind, devices for virtual learning and mental health supports. Read the full breakdown here. To support the expansion of targeted asymptomatic testing, the Ministry of Education has procured test collection capacity for up to 50,000 tests per week, to be deployed at the discretion of local public health units in collaboration with schools, said a Feb. 1 press release from the province. A combination of lab-processed PCR and rapid antigen tests will be used. Lecce also announced he has worked with the Ontario College of Teachers to allow student teachers to work as substitute teachers, given the current shortage due to COVID-19. You can watch Monday's press conference here.
Let’s eat! Coping with COVID: Restaurants addressing the challenges of the stay-at-home order:
Last week, the question was “How are restaurants coping?” Here we are now under a lengthened stay-at-home order, so we unhappily return to the topic, and dig deeper. It really is important to ask how much more can the industry take? We love them. We need them. Restaurants at key geographic locations are essential. Along highway routes, they not only provide nourishment, but also house other services. Clean washrooms at the Espanola turn-off are the first stop heading west. And east, Kate’s pies -- and all the foodstuffs in her emporium, Kate's Kountry Kitchen -- are another reason to take your foot off the gas. Clear Sky at the Sudbury airport -- a favourite for a soup or sandwich while waiting for arrivals or pre-flight -- surely watched traffic diminish with some trepidation and initially hoped for improvement. When flying to a February 2020 funeral service in Washington, DC murmurs were that empty terminals and lounges were surely only a minor blip. Then, it all dipped even more radically. Jean-Mathieu Chenier, director of marketing, airport excellence and innovation at the Greater Sudbury Airport, shared startling numbers indicating a near 90-per-cent decline in passenger volume. Get the full story here.
Tuesday Weather:
Mostly sunny today with some cold temperatures to start the day. Tuesday's high will get up to -5, but it's going to feel like -28 with the wind chill this morning. Partly cloudy into the evening with the low dropping to -12. It's going to feel like -20 with the wind overnight. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
