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Inco/Falco merger top story of ?05

The historic takeover bid of Falconbridge Ltd. by its traditional rival Inco Ltd. is Northern Life?s top news story for 2005. It could be the biggest local story of the century. It certainly is one of the biggest stories in Sudbury?s history.

The historic takeover bid of Falconbridge Ltd. by its traditional rival Inco Ltd. is Northern Life?s top news story for 2005. It could be the biggest local story of the century. It certainly is one of the biggest stories in Sudbury?s history.

The $12.5 billion cash and stocks takeover bid will make the new Inco one of the world?s top mining companies. The deal, which will give the new mega-company more than $25 billion in assets, is expected to become a reality in the first few weeks of 2006, as regulatory authorities in Canada, the United States and Europe must give their approval.

2. Another historic moment in 2005 was the opening of The Northern Ontario School of Medicine in September.

3. In late October, Greater Sudbury was the first city to welcome residents from Kashechewan after the province ordered the emergency evacuation
of the small James Bay community due to the presence of E. coli bacteria in the town?s water system. After an initial assessment of the community?s resources, the city agreed to take in 250 evacuees. By Dec. 19, only 42 evacuees remained in the city, mainly due to water damage from burst pipes in their homes on the reserve. The city has sent the federal government a bill for $1.35 million for costs incurred during the evacuation, but the
amount is expected to rise to around $1.5 to $1.7 million when the final tally comes in.

4. Health care is always big news in Sudbury. From funding announcements, to the long-term care crisis, to the hospital CEO?s salary increase, citizens never seemed to stop talking about health care in 2005.

5. Water played a dominant theme in the headlines. Whether it was a killer wave overseas, deadly flooding to the south, or polluted beaches in Sudbury, nary a day went by without this liquid life force making the news. The direct impact was felt in Greater Sudbury in the summer when various beaches were posted as unsafe for swimming because of high level of E. coli bacteria detected in the water.

6. In December 2004 music students at Huntington University learned the board of regents planned to cancel their program. There was a grassroots effort to save the program. On Jan. 26, 2005, Laurentian University president Judith Woodsworth announced Laurentian would be taking over the music program. The papers making the agreement final were signed Dec. 12.

7. It was a relatively quiet year on the labour front in 2005. While many unions threatened strike action as their collective agreements expired throughout 2005, the biggest and most promiment labour dispute of the year involved 50 unionized workers at CBC in Greater Sudbury. The only other workers to hit the picket line were two dozen Hydro One employees and about 100 members of the Northern Horsemen?s Association at Sudbury
Downs.

8. Weather can be a friend or foe. In 2005, we saw evidence of the darker side of nature. We watched with horror the aftermath of the tsunami in Southeast Asia and destruction of the hurricanes in the southern United States. Closer to home,a 48-year-old hiker, university professor Victor Rossokhaty, was killed by lightning in Killarney Provincial Park in April.

9.News stories about marijuana-grow operations and pharmacy thieves looking for OxyContin grabbed front-page headlines. OxyContin, also known as ?hillbilly heroin,? is a synthetic opiate prescribed for pain relief and can be found in medicine cabinets throughout the city. The increased use and growing addiction problems related to OxyContin led to the creation of a task force to curb the drug?s effects in the community.

10. The year 2005 may be remembered for the longest federal election campaign in Canadian history. Prime Minister Paul Martin made it clear from the beginning of his mandate in June 2004, he would call another election in 18 months once the inquiry into the sponsorship scandal was over and Judge
John Gomery filed his report.

But almost from the beginning of 2005, the wobbly Liberal minority government was put on notice by the opposition parties that they could topple it at any moment. When the election was finally called in December, it was anti-climatic.



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