Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Rooming house residents rally after landlord gives them a week to vacate premises:
A group of roughly 20 Sudburians gathered at the corner of Notre Dame Avenue and King Street Saturday morning to protest what they deem illegal evictions by the landlord of a rooming house. The landlord in question is Paul Gervais, owner of local sewing shop Pro Stitch at 495 Notre Dame Ave. The business operates at street level and the upper floor is occupied by as many as 12 tenants. According to one of the organizers of Saturday's rally, seven of the tenants are still living in the building, while as many as five have been forced out of their homes and are scrambling to find a place to live. Raymond Landry, coordinator with the city's Homelessness Network was marching up and down Notre Dame Avenue near the King Street intersection on Saturday, megaphone in hand, shouting that the evictions that had been imposed by Gervais were illegal. "We caught wind of this landlord kicking people out illegally, not following the rules, actually bullying them out of their rooms, taking doors off their apartments," said Landry. "There's no refrigerators in there, the last few days people have had no heat or hydro." The landlord's actions started roughly 10 days to two weeks ago when he informed tenants that the property had been sold and that they were to vacate their rooms. More on this story here.
10 years in the making: Azilda therapeutic pool finally gets the go ahead:
The work of former city councillor Evelyn Dutrisac is still being realized today, as a project that she championed a decade ago finally got the thumbs up from city council. Meeting on March 31, the city's finance and administration committee approved the business case for the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre therapeutic leisure pool in the 2021 budget. The project is slated at around $5.7 million for a multi-use pool that will accommodate not only therapeutic pool use, but also a wide range of activities including swimming lessons and leisure swimming for infants, toddlers and young children. The aquatic facility would be approximately 7,400 square feet and will include a pool tank, deck space, change rooms, studio, control desk and a mechanical area. Former Ward 4 Coun. Evelyn Dutrisac brought the project to the attention of council a decade ago, and when she retired from her seat in 2018, Geoff McCausland happily took up the mantle and in the wake of the business case's approval, commended his predecessor's dedication to the project. Get the full story here.
Health unit reports 68 new cases of COVID-19 over Easter weekend:
Public Health Sudbury & Districts reported 68 new cases of COVID-19 between Friday, April 2 and Sunday, April 4. Nine new cases were reported on April 2, and 59 cases were reported over the weekend with 27 and 32 new cases on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. As of the April 4 update from PHSD, there are 266 active cases of COVID-19 in the health region. Since reporting began in March 2020, Greater Sudbury and area has had 1,533 total cases, with 1,267 cases being reported as resolved.
Seven dead in seven days; COVID-19 is leaving a grim mark on Sudbury:
Health Sciences North president and CEO Dominic Giroux is hoping the Easter long weekend doesn't create a new surge of COVID-19 infections across the Sudbury district in the next few weeks. Giroux, who engaged in a series of local media interviews Thursday, spoke earnestly about how serious and grim the situation has become not just with COVID-19 but also the Variants of Concern, which represent new strains of the coronavirus. A technical briefing held at Queen's Park Thursday said there is especially a worry about the B.1.1.7 UK variant. "The variant of concern is a concern," said Giroux. "Sadly we've had seven deaths at HSN due to COVID in the last seven days alone, and we offer our condolences to the families and friends of these patients," said Giroux. He added that the profile of a typical COVID-19 patient has changed in the past month. "So until January or February, most of our COVID patients were elderly patients. This is no longer the case. Our COVID patients in the ICU in March were between the ages of 28 and 71. And the average of a COVID patient in the ICU was in his or her fifties," he said. Giroux added that most of the new patients in ICU are being screened for Variants of Concern, meaning indications of a mutation are evident which means a more thorough follow-up test is required. Find the full story here.
COVID-19 outbreak declared at Health Sciences North:
Public Health Sudbury & Districts has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Health Sciences North’s Ramsey Lake Health Centre affecting the sixth floor, north tower. Public Health is actively working with the hospital to investigate the outbreak and ensure patients and staff are protected. Currently, there are two active outbreaks at Health Sciences North, both are contained and there is no evidence of ongoing transmission. Public Health or Health Sciences North will directly contact anyone identified as a close contact and provide further direction. “The need for everyone to monitor and screen for COVID-19 symptoms daily and to stay home when ill is critical in limiting the spread of the virus. If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, please take it seriously, and get tested,” said Stacey Laforest, Director, Health Protection Division, Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
LU terminating its agreement with federated universities amid insolvency:
As of May 1, Laurentian University is terminating its agreement with the three federated universities operating on the post-secondary campus - Huntington University, Thorneloe University and the University of Sudbury. Laurentian made the announcement April 1. This is occurring as Laurentian University undergoes court-monitored restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) due to insolvency. The university has until April 30 to come up with a plan to cut costs. We’re expected to get a fuller picture about this plan in mid-April. Each of the federated universities are separate legal entities and are each governed by a board of governors independent of Laurentian. They own certain buildings on land that is owned by Laurentian and is leased to the federated university by Laurentian. The federated universities currently do not recruit or register their own students, nor do they grant their own degrees. All federated university programs and courses are offered through Laurentian. More on this story here.
Cutting ties with federated universities will result in $15M economic impact says Save Our Sudbury:
The end of the Laurentian Federation will cost Sudbury $15M in annual economic impact and will affect hundreds of students, says a group working to save Laurentian University programming. On Thursday, April 1 it was announced that Laurentian University was cutting ties with the University of Sudbury, Thorneloe University, and Huntington University. Save Our Sudbury, a community organization dedicated to saving Laurentian programming through public funding, reacted to the announcement at a Good Friday afternoon media conference. “The programs offered by Thornloe, Huntington and University of Sudbury are no more, “ said Darius Garneau, a spokesperson with the group. “Without the ability to grant degrees, these independent institutions with their own faculty and support staff will not be able to operate. Apart from the loss of jobs, this means hundreds of students in the process of completing degrees are being abandoned by Laurentian University.” Programs offered through the federated universities include Indigenous Studies, Gerontology, and Communications. Much of the Francophone programming is also based there. Hundreds of students are enrolled directly in these programs, or are integrating these subjects into their studies. Get the full story here.
GSPS notes marked increase in drugged-driving tests:
In the first three months of 2021, Greater Sudbury Police conducted 50 evaluations on suspected drugged drivers — more than half the total amount for all of the previous year. National Impaired Driving Prevention Week was recognized nationally from March 21-27. The intent of this initiative is to educate Canadians about the consequences of impaired driving due to alcohol, drugs, fatigue or distraction which destroys the health and lives of thousands. Last month, GSPS investigated 34 incidents of impaired driving and laid 48 criminal charges. Furthermore, they trained an additional 12 frontline officers in standard field sobriety testing. Breath technicians have conducted more than 30 breath tests so far on suspected alcohol-impaired drivers. “We want those who choose to drive while drunk or high to know that we intend to continue ramping up our efforts to combat impaired driving,” said GSPS in a news release. “We’re asking our community to continue to assist us in our efforts by being mindful of Operation Lookout and encouraging you to report suspected impaired drivers to 911 as a crime in progress.”
Monday Weather:
Mix of sun and cloud to start the work week. Monday's high will get up to around 12. Clear skies overhead into the evening with the low dropping to 1. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
