Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Man gives himself up to police without incident in Lively:
A 23-year-old man who GSPS say was in distress exited a residence Wednesday afternoon and surrendered himself peacefully to police. Greater Sudbury Police responded to an individual in distress on 7th Avenue in Lively, police said in a tweet on Wednesday. The man was the only person inside the residence and the scene was contained by members of the Tactical Unit, as well as Uniform Patrol. Police indicated that there was no threat to public safety at the time of the incident, but did ask that community members remain away from area. The public was also asked to refrain from posting any videos or images of police online while the incident was being responded to. Check out video from Wednesday's incident here.
Cinéfest Sudbury releasing some of its lineup July 18:
If you're a superfan of Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, you're probably waiting with bated breath for today's announcement. The festival will be releasing some of its film lineup, as well as the poster that will be used to promote the event. So stay tuned to Sudbury.com for our coverage of the press conference. The 31st edition of Cinéfest is being held Sept. 14-22.
CUPE ratifies four-year deal with the city:
CUPE Local 4705 has a new four-year deal with the City of Greater Sudbury after members voted July 16 to ratify a tentative agreement reached this month. Inside workers voted 91 per cent in favour of the deal, while outside workers voted only 62 per cent in favour. The deal is retroactive to April 1, 2019, and runs until April 2023. Highlights of the deal include wage increases in all four years of the contract, on par or slightly lower than the provincial average of 1.7 per cent per year. It also includes enhancements to members' benefits package. President Mike Bellerose said the biggest win for members is a big increase in mental health benefits. The city agreed to increasing the benefit by a factor of five for counselling and treatment of mental health issues. Full story here.
Sudbury doc defies Health Canada order to stop performing stem cell treatment:
A Sudbury plastic surgeon is calling on representatives of Health Canada and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to visit his clinic to see first-hand how he uses stem cells to treat patients for a variety of medical ailments. For two and a half years, Dr. Scott Barr’s Ontario Stem Cell Treatment Centre has been offering the treatment to ease inflammation that causes pain in hips, knees and backs, and to treat lung, heart and other disorders. Barr visited a clinic in Los Angeles some years ago for stem cell treatment to ease chronic back pain from 15 years of playing varsity football. It eased his suffering where pharmaceutical and other treatment modalities could not, and he set out to offer it to patients in Sudbury. He also operates Barr Plastic Surgery, where he performs esthetic procedures, which are the bulk of his practice. Last week, Health Canada ordered three dozen clinics like Barr’s in Canada to stop offering stem-cell and platelet-rich plasma injections to patients. Health Canada argued that removing stem cells from patients and then transplanting them back to them was modifying the cells and says doctors like Barr are essentially manufacturing a drug. Barr dismisses that theory and is continuing to offer stem cell treatments, defying the order from Health Canada. He said this week that he has reached out to Health Canada and the college that regulates doctors and surgeons in Ontario and invited them to come to his clinic and watch him perform stem cell procedures. So far, neither the federal department nor the college has responded to his requests.
Meet the Fishers — The family behind Fishers’ Paradise: Home of River & Sky:
The short story of how Julie Bertram and Chris Fisher wound up hosting River & Sky seven years ago is that the festival needed a new home, and they had the space. The long story is considerably more interesting. River & Sky returns for its 11th year this weekend, and while you might be familiar with the festival, chances are you don’t know much about its home on the sandy banks of the Sturgeon River: Fishers’ Paradise. Bertram and Fisher’s story starts around 2006, when they met in Toronto. Bertram was a local, while Fisher had grown up in England, and moved to Canada at the age of 12. One of the things that brought them together from the very start was music. After gigs at the Kensington Market bar where they’d met, Fisher would host afterparties at his place. They called these parties Club Fisher — they were a sort of urban predecessor of Fishers’ Paradise. Get the full story here.
Demand for electric car batteries, fears of shortages driving up nickel prices:
The long-awaited increase in nickel prices has materialized this week, with prices rising to US$6.44 a pound Wednesday, up 6.8 per cent in the last month and up more than 14 per cent since the beginning of 2019. Analysts say the increase is related to both short- and long-term factors. In the short term, Indonesia has announced it plans to ban ore exports in 2022, after lifting the ban in 2017. While there is skepticism that would actually happen, the threat was enough to boost prices. A long-term factor behind the rising prices is increasing demand for nickel to make electric vehicle (EV) batteries. As electric cars become more popular, demand for the high grade nickel needed for the batteries is increasing. And newer EV batteries have a much higher nickel content, as manufacturers use less cobalt. That's in part because much of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where child labour and other human rights abuses are common. Last week, Volkswagen announced plans to invest US$56 billion on electric car batteries to encourage the mass production of electric vehicles. Those batteries will have a much higher nickel content and lower amounts of cobalt.
Gem and Mineral show runs Friday-Sunday at Carmichael Arena:
The Sudbury Rock and Lapidary Society presents the 37th Annual Sudbury Gem and Mineral Show at Carmichael Arena July 19-21. This is Northern Ontario’s largest gem, mineral, rock, fossil, beads, jewellery and lapidary arts show and sale. The show features: dealers, including an outside dealer area on Saturday (weather permitting); displays, including prospecting and metal detecting; demonstrations, including flint knapping and mineral identification; and door prizes. There are also kids' activities, a video theatre, silent auctions, free information handouts, and guessing contests. The show is rounded out by a field trip Sunday at noon, and the Greater Sudbury Venturer and Rover Scouts’ barbecue at the show on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. One lucky visitor to the show will be the winner of the large Brazilian amethyst geode grand door prize valued at $750. All children attending the show will receive a show favour consisting of a sample of iron formation from the Temagami Iron Mine.
Thursday Weather:
Mainly cloudy skies today with a 60 per cent chance of showers this afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. Thursday's high is expected to hit 27, feeling like 34 with the humidity. Cloudy into the evening with 60 per cent chance of showers and risk of a thunderstorm. Overnight low will be around 17. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
