Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
It could cost you up to $750 if you don't tell a police officer where you live and why you're not at home:
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced new, stricter measures for Ontarians as the provincewide stay-at-home order will extended by two weeks. Initially slated at four weeks, the order will be extended until at least May 20, bringing with it new restrictions. "I've never shied away from tough decisions and today I'm here to do just that," said Ford, speaking at a press conference Friday afternoon. "We're losing the battle between the variants and vaccines. The pace of our vaccine supply has not kept up with the spread of the COVID variants." The Ontario government intends to implement the following public health and workplace safety measures effective Saturday, April 17 at 12:01 a.m.: Prohibit all outdoor social gatherings and organized public events, except for with members of the same household or one other person from outside that household who lives alone or a caregiver for any member of the household; Close all non-essential workplaces in the construction sector; Reduce capacity limits to 25 per cent in all retail settings where in-store shopping is permitted. This includes supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, indoor farmers' markets, other stores that primarily sell food and pharmacies; and, Close all outdoor recreational amenities, such as golf courses, basketball courts, soccer fields, and playgrounds with limited exceptions. The premier indicated that police and bylaw officers will be given more authority to enforce public health rules and that restrictions will be strongly enforced. Effective Saturday, April 17 at 12:01 a.m., police officers and other provincial offences officers will have the authority to require any individual to provide their home address and purpose for not being at their residence. You can watch Friday's press conference here.
New data shows Ontario's COVID-19 situation getting worse as hospitals in hot spots filling up:
Ontario's Science Table, the group that looks over all the COVID-19 issues in the province, said Friday that the pandemic situation is worse now than ever before in Ontario. A technical briefing was presented to the Ontario media indicating that tougher provincial restrictions could be on the way, which might also include a longer six-week shutdown. It was also revealed that in terms of new COVID-19 cases developing in the midst of Ontario's vaccine rollout plan, the vaccines are losing the race right now. Taking part in the event was Dr. David Williams, chief medical officer of health, and Dr. Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, who both indicated they're pushing the government to have tougher restrictions. Brown said during the briefing that health care measures in Ontario are no longer "normal." He said extraordinary measures are being taken to look after a growing number of COVID-19 patients being sent to hospital and more of those patients are needing intensive care. More on this story can be found here.
Public Health Sudbury reports 14 new cases of COVID-19 for April 16:
Public Health Sudbury & Districts (PHSD) reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 for April 16. Public Health also said there are now 197 active cases being monitored. Also, since the PHSD began tracking COVID-19 cases just over one year ago, there have been 1,810 total COVID-19 cases confirmed locally. PHSD also said 1,613 of those cases have been resolved. With respect to where the newest COVID-19 cases have occurred, the Public Health Sudbury & Districts (PHSD) daily update page reported that the 14 cases were found to have occurred within the Greater Sudbury Area. In terms of possible causes of the new cases, PHSD reported two cases associated with outbreaks, 19 new cases linked to close contact of a confirmed case, two cases that are travel related, and one case with no known epidemiological link. On the provincial COVID-19 register for Friday, April 16, the Ontario government daily website reported 4,736 new confirmed COVID-19 cases across the province.
Laurentian restructuring means ‘economic devastation’ for Sudbury region, Angus says:
The federal New Democrats continue to push for the government to step in and stop the CCAA process at Laurentian University, and to provide funding to prevent program and job cuts announced earlier this week. On Friday, party leader Jagmeet Singh was joined by northern MPs Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay), France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) and Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing), as well as Laurentian University faculty member Nadia Verrelli, who lost her job, and student Katlyn Kotila. On Wednesday, Angus pushed for and was granted approval by parliament for an emergency debate on Laurentian. That debate went on for five hours, with the NDP pushing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals to wade into the Laurentian situation with funding to stop the CCAA process and prevent the program cuts announced this week. More on this story here.
Dozens of protesters gather near Laurentian president’s home to protest cuts:
Ava Carter, who is finishing up her first year in Laurentian University’s English-language midwifery program, had her life turned upside down this week. Both Laurentian’s English and French-language midwifery programs were among the 69 programs cut as the university undergoes restructuring. This after Laurentian announced earlier this year it is insolvent and was granted creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Carter and a group of pals from Laurentian were among at least 100 people who gathered along Paris Street near John Street on Friday to show their anger about the cuts at the university. The demonstrators gathered near the home of Laurentian University president Dr. Robert Haché. The protesters were all wearing masks, and attempted to space themselves out along the roadway. Carter said midwifery is actually a very in-demand program — only about 30 students are chosen per year out of 300 applicants. Midwives are important for providing health-care services in remote areas of Northern Ontario, the student said. Laurentian has told the midwifery students they can switch to the university’s nursing program, said Carter. “It shows a lack of respect they have for us,” she said. Carter said she plans to “fight” to get into another midwifery program so she can finish her studies — either at McMaster or Ryerson University in Southern Ontario. Full story here.
Two men arrested in connection to Chelmsford carjacking:
Two men are in custody after a carjacking that occurred in Chelmsford in the early hours of April 9. Shortly after 4:15 a.m. on April 9, GSPS received a call regarding a robbery that had just occurred on Errington Avenue in Chelmsford. Information provided was that multiple men approached two other men outside of a residence and demanded the keys to the vehicle while holding the two men at gunpoint. The men then stole the vehicle and fled the area. One of the men sustained minor injuries as a result of being assaulted during the interaction. Two 32-year-old men have been arrested and charged in connection to the incident. Charges against the men include assault, assault with a weapon, pointing a firearm and theft of a motor vehicle. More on this story here.
Thorneloe U. files for court order to stop Laurentian’s attempt to terminate 60-year-old federation agreement:
Thorneloe University has filed a motion with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice requesting a court order to stop Laurentian University's attempt to terminate the Federation Agreement between Thorneloe and Laurentian in existence for more than 60 years. The motion seeks the court to confirm that the 1962 Federation Agreement, which was intended to permanently federate Thorneloe and Laurentian and have them operate as one university to benefit all students, cannot be unilaterally terminated by Laurentian, despite Laurentian's erroneous comments to the contrary. On April 1, Laurentian sent Thorneloe a "Notice of its intention to disclaim or resiliate" the Federation Agreement with Thorneloe, effective May 1. Thorneloe filed an objection to Laurentian's disclaimer with the Court under section 32 of the CCAA, which will engage the court to decide the validity of the disclaimer. Get the full story here.
