Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day.
Laurentian gets union backing on plan of arrangement
After further negotiations with Laurentian University, the union representing the insolvent university’s faculty is now recommending its members and former members vote in favour of the plan to pay off LU’s creditors. Laurentian continues to undergo court-supervised restructuring after declaring insolvency in February 2021, and filing for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (or CCAA). Laurentian’s creditors will vote on the “plan of arrangement,” in which the university lays out how it plans to pay them back, on Sept. 14. Provided the plan of arrangement is approved, the university expects to seek a court motion to exit insolvency on Oct. 5. A plan of arrangement is essentially a plan put forward by an insolvent organization to pay out its creditors, and it must be approved by these creditors. Among LU’s creditors are current and former employees of the university, including those who were terminated in 2021 as a result of Laurentian’s insolvency. An Aug. 4 memo distributed to members of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) said electronic ballots will be distributed this month for members to vote on the plan of arrangement, and voting will take place over several weeks. However, the union said several issues related to the plan of arrangement remained outstanding and must be addressed “before we can recommend a ‘Yes’ vote.” A follow-up memo was issued by LUFA on Aug. 15, in which the union said it is now in a position to recommend that members vote in favour of the plan of arrangement. Read the full story.
City's first-ever film officer aims to up Sudbury shoots
A “fixer” for local film and television productions, film officer Clayton Drake, has started work in a position city council created in this year’s budget to help spur the industry locally. Drake draws experience from his five years filling various roles in the industry, including as assistant location manager for “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,” which filmed in Greater Sudbury in 2020. “I was really impressed that we were able to shoot such a big-budget film in Sudbury, considering the scale and impact of it,” he told Sudbury.com, adding the effort was aided by the COVID-19 pandemic, oddly enough, due to various things being shut down. “They wanted everything to be wet at all times and it was October, and the whole thing was shot at night, so difficult working conditions.” Drake has also worked on the television series “Letterkenny,” also filmed in Greater Sudbury, and various other film and television series throughout the province. What’s even more exciting than what has already been filmed in Greater Sudbury are the possibilities ahead, he said, noting that eight productions have been filmed thus far in 2022 and more are on the horizon. Read the full story on Sudbury.com's home page.
Sudbury milk operation being converted to plant-based production
Lactalis Canada, formerly Parmalat, is ceasing milk production at its Sudbury plant as of Sept. 30. The dairy producer said over the next few months it will be converting the plant on Palm Dairy Road in the city’s east end into a modern operation dedicated to growing its offerings of plant-based products. Lactalis Canada said the decision to cease milk processing and packaging is as a result of a “long-term volume decline and increased costs in the fluid milk market in Ontario that have led to decreased profitability and economic sustainability of Lactalis Canada's fluid operations in Sudbury.” The company declined an interview request. Lactalis said it will retain a “majority” of the Sudbury workforce during the transition with the intention creating new jobs once the new production facility is in operation. The refrigerated warehouse will remain in operation. Learn more here.
Photos: ‘Jai Hind!’ Sudbury celebrates India Independence Day
Celebrating the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, more than 100 community members, dignitaries and members of the India Canada Association of Sudbury came together at Tom Davies Square Monday. August 15 is the annual celebration of the day 75 years ago, in 1947, that India was freed of British rule. India Independence Day was marked in Sudbury with a flag-raising, singing of the national anthems of both India and Canada, as well as traditional foods such as samosas and gulab jamun, and more than anything, coming together. The words “Jai Hind,” meaning ‘Long Live India’, echoed through the venue during the celebration. The day also marks the anniversary of what is known as the Partition, when India and Pakistan were divided into two countries, which resulted in violence and death. It occured at midnight on August 14, so Pakistan honours independence on August 14 (you can read the story of celebrations in Sudbury here) and India on August 15. Read the full story here.
US study says masking curtailed COVID in university classrooms
A study at a U.S. university said the move to vaccine and masking mandates appeared to have brought the incidence of COVID-19 in classrooms down to virtually zero. An essay on the study was published this week in the online THE (Times Higher Education) publication. Boston University (BU) published details of its study on August 8. "Some Boston University employees and students feared a COVID-19 outbreak might follow the return to in-person learning in fall 2021. But a new study of the university’s 33,000 students across 140,000 class meetings found that BU’s classroom mask mandate and vaccination requirements for students and employees kept the virus at bay and the community safe," said the BU online research newsletter The Brink. The lead author of the study was John Connor, an associate professor of microbiology, who also published his findings in the online Open Network of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Connor said the outcome provided "solid evidence" that the steps taken by the university limited the transmission of COVID in roughly 140,000 classroom events. Learn more here.
Much to advocate for at AMO conference: Bigger
Mayor Brian Bigger has a lengthy list of things to advocate for with provincial officials during this week’s Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference. Speaking to Sudbury.com by phone from the Ottawa-based meetings at mid-day Monday, Bigger said front and centre in his mind has been affordable housing and the city’s vulnerable population. Although the city has decided to move forward with both a supervised consumption site and transitional housing complex, they’ve yet to receive provincial funding for operations. “Now that we have the (federal) exemption … the funding of the supervised consumption site I believe is imminent,” Bigger said, drawing this opinion from a series of meetings with provincial officials, albeit without a guarantee to date. The transitional housing complex, for which city council approved a $14.4-million design-build tender for last week, remains more of a question mark. Both facilities require staff members made up of medical professionals, which Bigger has publicly noted to the province since last year should be their funding responsibility. Read the full story here.
Pursuit: Beaton paddler John Larmer still formidable in his 70s
There are some – solo champions Sara McIlraith and Dan Whalen, for example – who prefer to tackle the diversity of the Beaton Classic, launching themselves into all four disciplines of the demanding summer test. Those four disciplines are swimming, biking, canoeing and running. Most, however, who gathered at the shores of Moonlight Beach this past Sunday, find their way to their own personal athletic niche. Sure, they are capable of likely tackling pretty much any leg of the local quadrathlon, but there is generally an area of greater comfort. If you’re looking to track down 30-plus year Beaton Classic veteran John Larmer, best not to stray too far from the beach area. Out on the water is his happy place. And if you are looking to seriously track him down, best to be ready as the first of the canoeists exit the water. Larmer has been part and parcel of the very fastest teams to conquer the early August challenge for as long as I have made my way out to the event – which is to say the better part of two decades now. Did we mention yet that the local paddling legend is well into his 73rd year, set to celebrate his next birthday in December? Read the full story here.
Wednesday weather:
Wednesday there will be a mix of sun and cloud. Forty per cent chance of showers in the afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. High of 25 C. Humidex of 30 C. UV index 7 or high. Wednesday night will be clear with a low of 14 C.
