Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Taxpayers may never know if they were repaid for KED court case:
Greater Sudbury taxpayers may never know if they got their money back related to the Superior Court challenge a resident launched against the city to try to stop the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED) project. Launched at the end of June, Tom Fortin was using the Municipal Act as the basis to ask the court to quash four bylaws passed by city council to OK the KED. Those bylaws permitted the development of an arena/event centre and a casino outside of the city’s downtown area, at the Kingsway Entertainment District. The three anchors of Fortin’s submission were that the bylaws were passed following a flawed process, that city council was biased in their decision and that city council acted in bad faith. In September, Superior Court Justice Gregory Elies ruled on the matter, dismissing Fortin’s arguments. Fortin said in October he would be appealing that ruling and a few days later the city said it would be seeking to recover court costs associated with the case to the tune of approximately $200,000. Then, on Oct. 30, Fortin abandoned that appeal as he and the city had reached a settlement. But, because that settlement is confidential, the city taxpayers whose money funded the city’s defence against Fortin’s court action can’t know the details of that settlement, including whether they got their money back. Get the full story here.
‘Handful of employees’ at Sudbury’s Weston bakery test positive for COVID-19:
A “handful of employees” at the Weston bakery on Lorne Street have recently tested positive for COVID-19, the company has confirmed in an email statement. Based on the company’s contact tracing, Weston believes these infections are tied to a community outbreak, said the statement from company spokesperson Chris Davies. “We immediately took steps to thoroughly clean and sanitize the facility while it was shut down, complete contact tracing and have asked certain employees to self-isolate and monitor for any symptoms,” the email said. “We also immediately contacted Public Health and reviewed our procedures with them. They were satisfied with our actions taken to ensure the safety of our employees and our products. Our bakery remains open.” Weston went on to say that as a food company, it has always invested in practices around employee and food safety, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has stepped up this work to a new level. “Teams across our company are working every day to take the needed actions, including enhanced sanitation procedures, social distancing protocols and personal protective equipment and limiting visitors to our facilities to keep our frontline teams safe while they help keep North America’s food supply up and running,” the statement added.
Ontario confirms 1,575 new COVID cases Thursday:
Public Health Ontario confirmed 1,575 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, the sixth daily record noted in November so far and the third day in a row that the province has set a new daily record. The province has also reported 18 deaths including two people between 60 and 79 years old and 16 people over the age of 80 years old. Since yesterday's report, 69 people have been hospitalized with the coronavirus and 11 COVID patients have been admitted to intensive care units. Of the 1,575 new cases confirmed, 448 are from Peel and 472 are from Toronto. York Region reported 155 of Thursday's cases and Ottawa reported 91. More than 1,000 of Thursday's cases are individuals between 20 and 59 years old. The province has reported 103 new school-related cases, including 51 student cases, 14 staff cases, and 38 unidentified cases. There have been 3,166 school-related cases reported to date and 1,046 of those have been reported in the last 14 days. In Ontario 653 schools currently have one or more reported COVID cases. Get the full report here.
Crown, defence for Robert Steven Wright eye spring trial for 2nd-degree murder charges:
A spring trial for Robert Steven Wright, accused of killing Renee Sweeney, has been tentatively scheduled. Five weeks have been booked for the jury trial, possibly beginning May 25, a date that will be confirmed Nov. 17 in Superior Court assignment court. While the case has moved forward, the trial still has a chance to be held in another jurisdiction outside of Greater Sudbury. In October, a judge dismissed a change-of-venue application from Wright’s defence team, which argued it is not possible to have an impartial jury in the northeast due to the widespread dissemination of information in the media and the public reaction to that information, both before and after Wright’s arrest. After Justice Gordon Ellies denied the application, it was learned that due to COVID-19 restrictions, the jury trial might still have to be held elsewhere in order to proceed safely. More on this story here.
Northern seniors want better Internet connectivity, says federal seniors’ minister:
Federal seniors’ minister Deborah Schulte said an online town hall meeting held this week was productive in that she and others are learning of better ways for people to access health care in remote areas of Northern Ontario. Schulte took part in a video teleconference Tuesday along with Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre, Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré, Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger, along with representatives of long-term care homes and other agencies that provide health care to seniors in Sudbury. Several local senior citizens also took part in the call. Schulte said one of the things that stood out for her was the stated importance of broadband and Internet service in the more remote parts of the North in terms of helping people stay connected, especially now during the pandemic. She said one of the concerns she will bring back to Ottawa is the level of importance Northerners place on having improved Internet service. "What I heard was the importance of connectivity," said Schulte. "Broadband connectivity, internet connectivity were really important. “Also heard about the transportation challenges that are experienced by rural and remote communities and the access to health systems. You know it is harder to get access to doctors and services," said Schulte. Get the full story here.
High school winter sports championships, festivals cancelled:
While some winter sports will be offered to local high schools, there will be no regional or provincial championships for those respective sports, said the athletic administrator for Sudbury District Secondary School Athletic Association. Both the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) and the Northern Ontario Secondary School Athletics determined the current reopening regulations within the province have not progressed to the point where winter championships and festivals can take place. “On top of concerns related to travel and overnight accommodations and the lack of local district sports programming going on presently, there was no way NOSSA and/or OFSAA could host their championships while still observing provincial gathering limits,” said David Makela, athletic administrator. Makela said winter sports will still be offered by local high schools, though not a full slate, with basketball, wrestling, swimming and hockey still not at a return-to-gameplay status according to their corresponding provincial sport governing body. Hockey may modify its rules to facilitate a return, but no plan has been developed just yet. Find the full story here.
Sudbury’s Flour Mill neighbourhood: Writers looking for stories about area's early Francophone population:
Moulin-à-Fleur; The Flour Mill. A founding community in Sudbury, and former home to much of the city’s original Francophone population. But whether you are Francophone, or your French-language education featured a talking pineapple, you might notice something gets lost in translation. Fleur: flower. Not flour. But there is no mistranslation here, but for the modern one; in this case Fleur, a remnant of old French, means "finest, best, choicest," and refers to "Fleur de farine” - the finest part of the flour. The French name translates correctly as "Flour Mill" and not "Flower Mill.” Now, for another interesting tidbit. Though the area of Sudbury is still known today as The Flour Mill, the silos that still stand in the area were only an actual flour mill for 10 years. More on this story here.
Friday Weather:
A few rain showers this morning, ending in the afternoon. Cloudy throughout the day with 40 per cent chance of flurries or rain showers. Today's high will only get up to 5. Skies will clear this evening but the temperature will dip below the freezing mark. Overnight low will be -3, feeling like -5 with the wind chill. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
