Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Province pauses use of AstraZeneca vaccine:
Ontario announced Tuesday afternoon it has stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine as a first dose in view of an apparent increase in the occurrence of blood clots among first dose recipients of the vaccine. AstraZeneca users had reported symptoms associated with thrombocytopenia in several European countries in March and April, but Health Canada said the vaccine was still safe to use, given the extremely rare incidence of blood clotting. The announcement to halt the vaccine came officially at a late afternoon news briefing with Dr. David Williams, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Dirk Huyer, co-ordinator of the provincial outbreak response, and Dr. Jessica Hopkins, chief health protection and emergency preparedness officer with Public Health Ontario. Williams made the announcement adding that it is being made out of “abundance of caution.” Ontario is expected to reveal more details about the vaccine halt later this afternoon. Williams said the province is "pausing" the rollout. More on this story here.
Council holds closed-door meeting to discuss possible acquisition of Laurentian assets:
Greater Sudbury city council met in closed session on May 5 to discuss the possibility of the city potentially acquiring assets from Laurentian University. Council is permitted under the procedures bylaw to meet in closed session, though members aren’t permitted to discuss the specifics of the matters that are dealt with while in closed session. Mayor Brian Bigger explained the nature of the meeting to Sudbury.com without diving into specific details, stating that the meeting was really about ensuring that council was plotting the best course of action in the event that Laurentian University finds itself in a position where it is selling assets. “The key thing here to recognize is that councillors have been quite engaged with citizens, with any of their contacts at Laurentian, with MPPs and MPs and everyone involved, as have I,” said Bigger. “This was an opportunity for council to deal with the acquisition or disposition of land in our position that we know Laurentian will be putting forward in the second phase of their CCAA filing.” Laurentian hasn’t yet produced a list of assets, but Bigger says that he and council have been fully engaged in the process. As part of its restructuring process after having declared itself insolvent back in February, Laurentian is compiling a list of its real estate holdings. Full story here.
Flooded MR 55 to remain closed until at least Wednesday morning, says city:
Municipal Road 55 between Koti Road and Bruno Street will remain closed until at least Wednesday morning, said the City of Greater Sudbury. The road is closed after a beaver dam burst, flooding the road as a result. The road was closed at around 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning due to the busted beaver dam.
Leaked: Former Laurentian leaders break their silence on insolvency roots in letter to the province:
Laurentian University was hit with a “perfect storm” over the past four years that pushed it over the edge into insolvency, states a March 24 letter signed by the university’s former president and three former LU board of governors chairs. The letter said Laurentian has been affected by a number of factors in recent years, including a foreign policy dispute in 2018 that led to the withdrawal of 137 Saudi students, who each paid up to $36,000 in tuition. Second, the province cut domestic tuition rates in 2019 and froze it in 2020. “Instead of domestic tuition going up by say six per cent over the last two years as would normally occur, it went down by 10 per cent,” the letter said. “That’s a gap of 16 per cent in only two years.” And finally, COVID-19 hit. “It looks like the impact of these factors outside of the university’s control exceeds $18 million this year alone. That’s more than three times the university’s projected annual deficit. “It was too much, too fast when the storm hit,” the letter continues. “No one could have predicted the sudden departure of Saudi students. No one could have predicted a tuition cut. No one could have predicted the pandemic of the century. No one could have predicted all three factors hitting all at once.” Get the full story here.
Local firms have so far refused to erect a billboard that uses the word ‘abortion’, Sudbury Pro-Choice Coalition says:
Of all the billboard designs created by the Pro-Choice Coalition to display around the city, one was more controversial than the rest and has yet to be approved by any advertising company. It reads: Abortion is essential healthcare. Could be that the word itself, ‘abortion’, is one that carries a lot baggage. But also, there were those who argued that it was not essential and also, not health care. Lucy*, a 42-year-old Sudbury woman, would beg to differ. (*Lucy’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.) An abortion saved her life. She is pro-choice not just because she believes every person with a uterus should make that choice for themselves, but that being pro-choice also means being pro life, in this case, the life of a mother. Get the full story here.
Public Health Sudbury reports six new cases of COVID-19 for Tuesday May 11:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) reports six new cases of COVID-19 for today, Tuesday May 11. PHSD also said there are now 79 active cases being monitored by public health officials. Also, since the PHSD began tracking COVID-19 cases just over 14 months ago, there have been 2024 total COVID-19 cases confirmed locally. PHSD also said 1,945 of those cases have now been resolved. With respect to where the newest COVID-19 cases might have occurred, the PHSD daily update page reported that five cases were found in the Greater Sudbury area and one in the Manitoulin District. In terms of possible causes of the new and recent cases, PHSD reported four cases were linked to close contact of confirmed cases, one case is travel related, and two cases have no known epidemiological link. On the provincial COVID-19 register Tuesday, the Ontario government daily website reported 2,073 new confirmed COVID-19 cases across the province.
Council gives GSPS freedom to move forward with new headquarters:
City council cleared the path for the Greater Sudbury Police Services board to explore options for a new police headquarters. The police service wasn't being impeded per se, however, a resolution passed in 2019 had the GSPS somewhat bound to the city's fire and emergency services when it came to planning a new building. The resolution directed the services to work together in its facilities study that would include the viability of a shared headquarters. Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre tabled a members' motion on May 11 that requested a reconsideration of that resolution, which was passed and the original motion was subsequently defeated. "As we can see, this decision was made in 2019, and then COVID happened and this was all back-burnered," said Lapierre. "We've come to the conclusion that GSPS is a little ahead (of fire and EMS) and want to move forward with a new building." Greater Sudbury Fire Services is in the process of procuring a facilities analysis on their 24 stations, and results are expected later this year, around August or September. More on this story here.
Former Laurentian political science prof to seek federal NDP nod:
An associate professor in Laurentian University’s now defunct political science program has announced her intention to seek the federal NDP nomination in the Sudbury riding. Nadia Verrelli announced her intentions this morning (May 11). She said she developed her passion for politics through debates with her father, during which she found herself “pushing for what I came to understand as the progressive social justice politics championed by Canada’s NDP.” She obtained her doctorate in political science, becoming a professor first at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and then at Laurentian University. “Since then, Sudbury has been home, a place to live and grow with my partner and his daughter. I fell in love with it,” Verrelli said in a news release. Laurentian, she said, exposed her to students from diverse backgrounds and with diverse interests, while continuing her research pursuits “and exploring ideas in areas of policy and political systems where Canada still has to grow — particularly our commitment to ending violence against women and to reconciliation. Find more on this story here.
Wednesday Weather:
Mostly sunny day with a few clouds overhead. Warmer weather is finally rolling in with the daytime high hitting 16. A few clouds into the evening then clearing overnight. Low will drop down to 4. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
