Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Daycare centres getting ready for back-to-school time:
A daycare provider in Sudbury has words of reassurance for families preparing for the new school year, which begins in less than two weeks. In the brief time that daycares have been reopened, things have been going OK, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Tracy Saarikoski, executive director of Discovery Early Learning & Care, said ever since daycare centres were given permission to re-open earlier this summer, most have been operating with greatly reduced capacity and fewer children, but still functioning very well. There have been no cases of COVID-19 reported among any daycare youngsters in Northeastern Ontario. The City of Greater Sudbury lists 35 licensed daycare operations in the municipality. Discovery operates in four separate locations. Saarikoski said many parents have concerns about youngsters going back to school, but she said daycare centres have done well by working the bugs out of many scenarios that might have been a challenge. Full story here.
Province and feds partner with 3M Canada on new manufacturing facility:
The Ontario and federal governments are partnering with 3M Canada to expand its Brockville manufacturing facility to produce made-in-Ontario N95 respirators. Both levels of government are investing $23.33 million to support 3M's capital investment of $70 million. The expanded facility will produce enough respirators to meet private sector, provincial and North American market demand throughout the pandemic and beyond. The announcement was made today on the site of the expansion by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Doug Ford, Anita Anand, Canada's Minister of Public Services and Procurement, and Vic Fedeli, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. The Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada reached a five-year agreement with 3M for the provision of 50 million respirators annually beginning in early 2021 to meet current demand for frontline healthcare workers in Ontario and across Canada. The respirators will be shared equally between Ontario and Ottawa. The project is expected to create 30 jobs in Brockville, including production operators, maintenance technicians, process engineers, supervisors and quality assurance professionals. More on this story here.
Diversity committee works to keep policing equal for everyone in Sudbury, chair says:
Change in how some minority groups are treated by law enforcement has to come from the top down, said the chair of Greater Sudbury Police Services Diversity Advisory Committee (DAC). And, Navreet Kudari said, she is impressed that Police Chief Paul Pedersen listens. If he didn’t, she wouldn’t give her time to the committee. “I wouldn’t sit on any committee because I think it looks good (for me). It has to be something I really believe in,” Kudari told Sudbry.com. “When we talk to Chief Pedersen, he is genuinely listening to what we are saying. He hears what we are saying.” The mother of two said she wants her children to grow up in a community that is safe and one that allows them all the opportunities they are entitled to as Canadians. “I want to see change. I want to see my children are treated as equally as their peers. That is why I am on this committee.” The police service has been accepting applications from citizens and community organizations interested in participating on the DAC. The deadline to apply is this Sunday, Aug, 23. You can find the application here.
Cinéfest reveals most of the lineup for the pandemic edition of the Sudbury film fest:
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival revealed most of the films Thursday for the pandemic version of the annual Sudbury film festival, which runs Sept. 19-27. You can check out the films announced so far on the festival’s website (https://cinefest.com/) — the rest of the lineup and the festival’s full schedule will be revealed next week, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, when tickets go on sale. Last year’s Cinéfest featured around 130 films, but that’s been scaled down for 2020, with the festival’s executive director, Tammy Frick, estimating there will be around 60 film screenings in total, when all is said and done. And just like almost every event these days that hasn’t been outright cancelled, Cinéfest will look significantly different this year, with a mix of in-person and online screenings, and no post-gala parties, where physical distancing would be impossible. More on this story van be found here.
Flour Mill Community Farm helps youth grow in more ways than one:
Did you know there is an urban farm located in the heart of the Flour Mill? The Flour Mill Community Farm is the first urban farm in Northeastern Ontario, and employs students to grow tomatoes, carrots, zucchinis, strawberries, radishes and more. But the students aren't just growing vegetables. Farm co-ordinator Miranda MacLeod said the life skills and connections the youth make with one another will help prepare them for the future. "They go away with a sense of accomplishment seeing things grow from the ground up and a whole new world that they've never experienced before," MacLeod said. Best Ijomah is one of the students who worked in the garden this summer. He moved to Canada from Africa two years ago. Not only was this the first job Ijomah ever had, but the experience gave the 18-year-old the opporunity to learn how to grow and taste foods he's never seen before. Watch the video to see which vegetable is his favourite and how the experience helped him grow new friendships with his peers. The Flour Mill Community Farm and market is located at 736 Bruce Ave., next to the Ryan Heights Playground.
Gentili: Honestly, we’re still debating back-to-school at my house:
Sudbury.com editor Mark Gentili shares his family’s process for deciding what form back to school will look like for them. "I have two children, one of whom is set to start Grade 10 next month. Like many of you who have children, I’m sure you’re weighing your options when it comes to school in September," writes Gentili. "Like most parents, it seems, we’re leaning toward having our daughter in class. And like many of you, we’ve looked at the provincial guidelines and gone over our school board’s plan for a (relatively) safe return to in-class learning." Read more here.
CRA resumes online services with new security features after cyberattacks:
The Canada Revenue Agency has resumed all online services after fraudsters used thousands of pilfered usernames and passwords to obtain government services. The agency disabled the services Saturday after discovering more than 5,000 accounts had been the target of three cyberattacks. Online access to "My Business Account" resumed Monday and all others were brought back online Wednesday evening. The agency says it regrets the impacts on Canadians and has modified all its security systems to protect against future cyberattacks. All individuals affected by the cybersecurity breaches will receive a letter from the CRA explaining how to confirm their identity in order to protect and restore access to their account. Get the full story here.
