Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
CarePartners axes nearly 30 Sudbury jobs as company and union can't reach agreement:
A lockout that lasted more than five months has come to an end, with CarePartners deciding to permanently eliminate dozens of jobs in Sudbury. CarePartners, a private corporation that profits from public tax dollars, locked out 29 Sudbury employees on May 31 after they refused to accept the company's concession demands at the bargaining table. "For more than five months, this for-profit operator tried to break the resolve of these workers – all but one of whom are women – who were seeking modest improvements to their low wages and difficult working conditions," said Marty Warren, Ontario Director of the United Steelworkers (USW), which represents the locked-out employees. "They tried to put the squeeze on a group of low-paid women, but failed. These workers stood strong and refused to be bullied. So the company decided to shut down this operation and permanently take these jobs out of the community." Find the full story here.
Report: Drawing immigrants to Sudbury essential to address 'severe labour shortages':
Attracting and keeping immigrants in Greater Sudbury is an essential part of the city's future as more and more skilled workers retire, says a report that brought to city council Tuesday. Sudbury is one of 11 cities taking part in the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program, which is aimed at encouraging newcomers with confirmed job offers to make the city their permanent home. “The goals of this program are to retain newcomers as long-term residents in the community and to help employers address the current skills shortage and overcome a key barrier to business growth,” the report says. “While at the same time helping to confront Greater Sudbury's labour shortages due to youth outmigration, declining birth rates and aging population.” Unlike other cities in the North, who are losing residents, Greater Sudbury has seen its population increase slightly, a trend expected to continue in the coming decades. But without an infusion of new residents, that trend will reverse. More on this story here.
Busy flu season expected to impact ER wait times at HSN:
Health Sciences North is preparing for an increase in patient volumes during flu season – volumes that could mean longer wait times in the Emergency Department. Flu season runs from late fall to early spring, which is also when HSN has historically experienced its highest patient volumes. Symptoms of the flu include fever, chills, cough, runny eyes, stuffy nose, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, extreme weakness and tiredness, and loss of appetite. While these symptoms are similar to the common cold, in some cases the flu can potentially lead serious health issues. HSN is engaging and planning with staff to ensure it is able to meet this anticipated increase in demand over the coming months. This also includes working with community partners, long-term care homes and the Northeast Local Health Integration Network to make sure patients are navigating the system so they get the care they need, where they need it, in the most efficient way. More on this story here.
Is there a lead problem with your drinking water? We asked the city:
A recent Toronto Star series on the dangers of lead in drinking water found that one-third of the 12,000 tests for lead in Canada since 2014 exceeded national safety guidelines. The year-long investigation collected historic data from 11 major Canadian cities, and 120 journalists involved in the story also fanned out across 32 cities to test water in older homes. They found 39 per cent of those homes exceeded national safety guidelines for lead content of five parts per billion. So what's the situation in Greater Sudbury? Should we be concerned? In an interview last week, infrastructure GM Tony Cecutti said Greater Sudbury was contacted by the Toronto Star for the series and the city provided the data they wanted. Cecutti said there is no issue whatsoever with lead content coming from municipal water sources. The problem emerges in older homes and institutions and the pipes they use on their property to connect to the municipal system. Get the full story here.
This new scam could lock you out of all your devices and accounts:
The latest scam earning warnings from police involves fraudsters locking you out of your own phone and your accounts. The Serious Fraud Office, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre are all raising the alarm after receiving numerous reports from victims that crooks are using SIM swapping and phone number porting to gain access to email, social media and bank accounts. Gaining access to your phone and accounts in the fashion gives these scammers access to your personal information, calendar, contacts and money. This opens a world of possibility for fraud. It works like this: The SIM card connects your phone number and mobile service to your device. The apps you download connect to your mobile device (and therefore your mobile service) by way of the SIM card, mostly by linking to your email address, phone number or both (if you set up two-factor authentication). To gain access to your accounts, the scammer impersonates you, often by claiming the phone (your phone) has been lost or stolen. They will then use your phone number and link it to a new SIM card and a new phone that the fraudster controls. From there, all the scammer has to do is downloads popular apps (calendar, banking apps etc) and use the 'Forgot Password' function all apps use. If an account is associated with your phone number or email address, the fraudster will receive a verification code. They will then use this code to confirm ownership of the account, create their own password and take over your accounts.
Canada among three G20 countries least likely to hit emissions targets: report:
Canada's plan to meet its greenhouse-gas emissions targets is among the worst in the G20, according to a new report card on climate action. Climate Transparency issued its annual report Monday grading all the countries in the group of 20 with large economies on their climate performance and finds none of them has much to brag about. The international group compiles data on countries' emissions and policies in an attempt to push them into investing in clean technology. The report says about half the G20 members — 19 countries with advanced economies plus the European Union collectively — are on track to meet their current targets for cutting emissions by 2030 but those targets are much too mild. Canada, South Korea and Australia are the farthest from meeting targets to cut emissions in line with their Paris Agreement commitments, but those commitments are nowhere close to enough, the report says. Canada's per-capita emissions, the greenhouse gases it releases divided by the number of people who live here, are the second-highest in the G20, behind only Australia.
Wednesday weather:
Mainly cloudy today with a few flurries beginning late in the afternoon. Risk of snow squalls late in the afternoon, Wednesday's high will be -7, feeling like -13 in the afternoon. Flurries with risk of snow squalls tonight and up to 20 cm of snowfall. Temperature steady near -7 tonight, feeling like -14 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.
