Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Michael Marois pleads guilty to second-degree murder in 2020 Hanmer shooting death:
The man charged in the murder of a 51-year-old man in Hanmer on July 12, 2020 has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Michael Marois, 51, was initially charged with first-degree murder in the death of Michael Young, but the charge was reduced to second-degree murder. Marois pleaded guilty via CCTV from Sudbury Jail on March 12, with his lawyer, Robert Beckett, joining over Zoom, and was convicted by Superior Court Justice Alex Kurke. Sentencing will take place May 25. A pre-sentence report has been ordered and is expected in May. Get the full story here.
Major donors who have given millions to Laurentian retain lawyers in CCAA proceedings:
Four major donors to Laurentian University that have collectively given the university millions of dollars have retained lawyers with regards to the university’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceedings. Laurentian University is in the process of coming up with a restructuring plan after declaring on Feb. 1 that it is insolvent. The university has until April 30 to come up with a plan. On March 10, David Harquial and the Harquail family, the Goodman Family Foundation, Rob McEwen and the Bharti Charitable Foundation filed a “notice of appearance” with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. They have retained the lawyers Steven L. Graff and Jonathan Yantzi of the Toronto law firm Aird & Berlis LLP to represent them. The court document says they “intend to respond to this application.” However, a representative of Ernst & Young, the court-appointed monitor of the CCAA proceeding, told Sudbury.com that the individuals/families have not filed any motion materials in the proceeding. More on this story can be found here.
Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre won’t seek re-election:
Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre won’t be seeking re-election in the next federal election, he announced on his Facebook page on March 12. “I have valued every moment I have spent in Ottawa, working for Sudburians,” Lefebvre said in his statement. “But the time away from my family these past six years has been difficult, and it’s time someone else earned the chance to serve this great riding.” Lefebvre was first elected as MP in 2015. “As Sudbury’s voice in Ottawa, I have worked with many of you to exceed the goals we set in 2015,” he said in the statement. Lefebvre said he has helped bring more than $500 million in federal investments into the riding of Sudbury, in roads, public transit and active transportation, flood mitigation, public safety, social services, health care, housing, arts and culture, seniors services, trades and employment training, post-secondary research and more. “We have nurtured the partnerships that made all of this possible and helped raise Sudbury’s profile nationally and internationally,” he said.
Dr. Sutcliffe says community risks at school outweigh the benefits of in-person learning:
Public Health Sudbury & Districts isn’t saying exactly how long students in the Sudbury area will be out of their real life classrooms. The area’s move from the Red-Control zone into the Grey-Lockdown zone that came into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday was announced Thursday by PHSD and the Ontario government as a way to put an "emergency brake" on the current spike in COVID-19 cases. On Thursday, the health unit reported 55 new COVID-19 cases, a record high number locally. It was also revealed there are 263 active cases being monitored by PHSD, again a record high daily total. On the same day, Public Health Sudbury also announced a shutdown for area primary and secondary schools that will come into effect this coming Monday morning, March 15, 2021. All schools in the Greater Sudbury and Sudbury and Manitoulin districts will transition to virtual learning. The exception is Chapleau area schools. Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, the medical officer of health, said the decision to shut down the schools was not taken lightly. She said the health unit has had regular communication with the school boards to discuss the options. Full story here.
Public Health Sudbury reports 28 new COVID-19 cases for March 12:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) has reported that there are 28 new cases of COVID-19 in the area. This is a significant drop from the 55 cases reported on Thursday. PHSD also said there are now 232 active cases being monitored, a decrease of 31 from the day before. Also, since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, there have now been 924 total COVID-19 cases reported to the Sudbury health unit. PHSD said 692 of those cases have been resolved locally. As to where the new cases might have occurred, the PHSD daily update page reported that 27 cases were found to have occurred within the Greater Sudbury area. One new case was located in the Manitoulin district. On the provincial COVID-19 register Friday, the Ontario government daily website reported there were 1,371 new confirmed COVID-19 cases across the province.
COVID-19 outbreaks declared at HSN and St. Gabriel Villa in Chelmsford:
Public Health Sudbury & Districts has declared COVID-19 outbreaks at St. Gabriel Villa in Chelmsford and at Health Sciences North’s Ramsey Lake Health Centre affecting one hallway of the sixth floor, South Tower. Public Health is actively working with the long-term care home and the hospital to investigate each outbreak and ensure patients, residents, and staff are protected. Currently, the outbreaks are contained and there is no evidence of ongoing transmission. Public Health or Health Sciences North will directly contact anyone identified as a close contact and provide further direction. “The need for everyone to monitor and screen for COVID-19 symptoms daily and to stay home when ill is critical in limiting the spread of the virus. If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, please take it seriously, and get tested,” said Stacey Laforest, Director, Health Protection Division, Public Health Sudbury & Districts. The protection of our most vulnerable populations and health care system is of the utmost importance. Everyone is urged to continue following public health measures to protect others and stop the spread of COVID-19.
Another outbreak, several more cases of COVID-19 at Sudbury-area schools:
A COVID-19 outbreak has been officially declared at another Greater Sudbury school, and several others are reporting new cases. This after Public Health Sudbury & Districts has announced all schools in Greater Sudbury and the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts will transition to virtual learning effective Monday, March 15. There are currently 57 active cases of COVID-19 and seven outbreaks declared at area schools. After two new cases of Walden Public School were detected, all students and staff at the school must self-isolate until March 19, said a letter dated March 12 posted to the Rainbow District School Board’s website. Walden Public School, which has been closed all week by the board as a precaution, has four students and one staff member with confirmed cases of COVID-19. More on this story here.
