Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Ontario might consider more restrictions as COVID case counts continue to rise:
Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said Thursday afternoon she wished she had better news. Yaffe was joined at a media briefing by Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario's coordinator of the provincial COVID-19 outbreak response. "Unfortunately our situation is dire. And the numbers I am about to report will reflect that," said Yaffe. She told the briefing that since her last briefing on April 8, more than 29,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Ontario alone. She said it brings the seven-day average to more than 4,200 cases a day. "This is a 36 per cent increase over last week's seven-day average," she said. Yaffe said Thursday's case count of 4,736 was the highest ever recorded in Ontario. While some people don't put much stock in case counts, Yaffe reported another grim number. "Very sadly we are reporting another 145 deaths since last week's update," she said. "Hospitalizations and ICU (Intensive Care Unit) occupancy are at the highest levels since the start of the pandemic," she added. More on this story here.
‘This is an act of intellectual vandalism’: House of Commons holds emergency debate on Laurentian U. for 5 hours:
In a more than five-hour-long debate Wednesday evening, MPs of all stripes spoke about the issues brought up by the use of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to restructure Laurentian University. Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus (NDP) pressed for the emergency debate, which was granted by the House of Commons. Although post-secondary education is a provincial responsibility, Angus said the federal government has a role to play. He said the CCAA laws need to be changed “so that we never again can have precedent where we can have a public institution that can be ripped apart and destroyed.” “There are national implications about what is happening there right now,” Angus said. “The use of the CCAA, the creditor protection act, to demolish a public institution, is something that we have to deal with at the federal level to make sure it can never happen again. “Because if we allow this precedent, you can bet your bottom dollar that premiers like (Alberta Premier) Jason Kenney and other right-wingers will use the CCAA to attack public institutions. That was not the reason that legislation was put in place.”The cuts to programs, faculty and staff announced by the university this week also have implications for Francophone and Indigenous populations, said Angus, and these two areas are under federal jurisdiction. “I’m calling on this prime minister to show up and come up with a plan to work to save Laurentian,” Angus said. More on this story here.
Haché: Laurentian is achieving ‘milestones’ that will ensure ‘the survival of the university’:
Days after massive cuts to programs and jobs were announced by Laurentian University, its president provided an update today on the court-monitored restructuring process. After declaring insolvency this winter, Laurentian has until April 30 to come up with a restructuring plan under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Laurentian president Robert Haché said in a written statement Thursday that as of today, “a number of major milestones in the first phase of Laurentian’s CCAA process have been completed.” At this juncture, he said, materials are being finalized for filing with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for an extension of the Initial Stay Order (which protects the university from its creditors) to allow Laurentian to continue to the next phase in the CCAA process. This includes additional financial support from Laurentian’s CCAA lender in order to continue to operate “as Laurentian implements its plans to position the university for long-term sustainability and a basis for recovery for its creditors and stakeholders,” said Haché. “While the steps taken have been difficult and impact many in the community, they were necessary to ensure the survival of the university,” he said. Full story here.
Ontario proposes to sever Northern Ontario School of Medicine from Laurentian:
In the wake of Laurentian University’s insolvency and the CCAA process it is currently going through, Premier Doug Ford’s Conservative government today announced its intention to introduce legislation to make the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Université de Hearst stand-alone entities with the power to issue their own degrees. In a news release the province said the legislation would “formally recognize the integral role these institutions play in providing students with access to medical training and French-language studies in Northern Ontario.” If passed, the legislation would see both institutions supported by independent governance and administration. The schools would have the ability to expand their course offerings and offering more programs in other communities in Northern Ontario. The legislation “would also provide a pathway” for NOSM and the U. of Hearst to grant their own degrees. Full story here.
Mayor and council were paid a combined $766,000 in 2020:
Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger and the 12 members of city council were compensated to the tune of a little more than $766,000 in 2020. The final remuneration and expenses report was presented to city council on March 23, outlining the salaries, fringe benefits and expenses of the mayor and council for last year. Mayor Brian Bigger was paid $180,448 in 2020, along with $48,424 in fringe benefits, which may include Canada Pension Plan, employer health tax, dental, extended health, OMERS, travel, life insurance, long-term disability, short-term disability, phone and internet allowances and parking benefits. In terms of expenses, council and the mayor combined for roughly $200,000 in expenses last year, with the mayor's far exceeding those of each member of council, coming in at around $155,000. Of the mayor's expenses, translation services for French-language press releases came in at $3,455, while office expenses ran a bill of $2,763 and advertising came in at a cost of $2,577 for 2020. The larger expenses included internal recoveries for staff support and program support, coming in at $52,535 and $51,655 respectively. Bigger also spent $23,446 on consulting services in 2020, all of which was paid to Todd Robson Consulting for communications and advisory services at a monthly rate of around $1,950. Bigger also accumulated $7,686 in travel expenses in 2020, with the majority of those expenses coming pre-pandemic. Full story can be found here.
Public Health Sudbury reports 23 new cases of COVID-19 for April 15:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) reported 23 new cases of COVID-19 for April 15. Public Health also said there are now 206 active cases being monitored. Also, since Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) began tracking COVID-19 cases just over one year ago, there have been 1,796 total COVID-19 cases confirmed locally. PHSD also said 1 ,590 of those cases have been resolved. With respect to where the newest COVID-19 cases might have occurred, the (PHSD) daily update page reported that 20 of the new cases were found to have occurred within the Greater Sudbury Area. Three new cases were reported for the Sudbury District. On the provincial COVID-19 register Thursday, the Ontario government daily website reported 4,736 new confirmed COVID-19 cases across the province — the highest Ontario case count ever.
Community members weigh in on Laurentian University situation:
The restructuring at Laurentian Univeristy that has seen cuts to numerous programs has had ripple effects throughout the community. Former employees, students and their family members have watched as Sudbury's university has been undergoing a severe reshaping under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Sudbury.com has received a number of letters to the editor about the situation, including one from retired LU associate professor Bill Crumplin, 10-year student Trevor Carniello and former Thornloe board member Mary Donato.
Friday Weather:
More of the same weather we've had throughout the week for Friday. Grey skies and rain showers in the forecast today. Periods of rain this morning then a 60 per cent chance of afternoon showers. Daytime high will be sitting at 7. Mainly cloudy this evening with a chance of rain showers or flurries. Overnight low will drop to the freezing mark. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
