Treaty 5 ceremonies set to go

Wednesday is an important day for First Nations people in Northwestern Ontario. They're celebrating the 100th anniversary of Treaty 5 with federal government. Nishnawbe Aski Grand Chief Stan Beardy says it's a day to remember that without treaties there would be no Canada. He says those treaties were signed to allow settlers to access lands under international law. Ceremonies are taking place in Sandy Lake and Deer Lake First Nations. You can get more at the Treaty 5 website.

Triple Nickel owner charged

Charges are being laid against the owner of the former Triple Nickel on Simpson Street. City of Thunder Bay Licensing and Enforcement Manager Ron Bourret says they filed charges with the Provincial offences court. The building was completely destroyed in a massive fire in the winter; leaving nothing but a pile of rubble. Bourret adds that if the owner of the property is found guilty, the city will clean up the site and add the cost of the work to his property taxes.

Thunder Bay's housing starts on the rise

Thunder Bay's housing market continues to see positive signs of recovery.  The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation is reporting 24 single-detached starts last month.  Analyst Warren Philp says that's the highest May tally for singles starts since 2003.  The 24 singles started in May were four units higher than the five-year-average for this month.

Beardy optimistic about HST solution

Nishnawbe Aski Grand Chief Stan Beardy says he is encouraged a solution may be reached in the HST point of sale controversy. Beardy's comment comes in the wake of a meeting held this week between Ontario First Nations and the federal and provincial governments. He says both levels of government have come a long way and is confident the point of sale exemption will continue for Natives when the HST comes into effect July first.

Construction nixes Canada Day Parade

There'll be no Canada Day Parade in Thunder Bay this year. The city's coordinator Melissa Wnuk says the waterfront construction forced them to cancel this year's parade and replace it with a short procession instead. That will start at Camelot and Cumberland and move into Marina Park where the opening ceremonies will take place. As well this year Canada Day festivities will be expanded to include Water between Red River Road and Cumberland Streets.

Fort William mill sold for scrap

Thunder Bay's Fort William Paper Mill has been sold for scrap. Abitibi Bowater sold four papermills across Canada to American Iron and Metal Company for 8.4 million dollars. National Representative for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union Marvin Pupeza says it doesn't come as a shock.  Abitibi will also be paid 40 percent of the net proceeds from any sale of papermachines from the four mills.

LU steel bridge team places third

Lakehead University's steel bridge team has taken third place in a National competition. Zack White says they're bridge faired well against competitors. White and his team mates are all civil engineering students at Lakehead University.

PETA calling on horse drawn carriage ban

The animal group PETA is calling on Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson to ban horse drawn carriages in the city. PETA's request follows a May 31st incident in which 4 year old Willow Scott-Hannam was killed. PETA says similar incidents have happened in other city's as well. Director Debbie Leahy says forcing horses to pull heavy loads is cruel and is an accident waiting to happen. Mayor Lynn Peterson has yet to comment.

Students study social issues

Public School students in the city are now more in tune with a number of social issues. It follows a one day conference on diversity in education. Organizer Robin Laye says it's the third year for the program. This year the topics for discussion were, anti-homophobia, cultural sensitivity, racism, sexism and women's issues. The purpose of the program is to allow students to learn the skills needed to deal with the problems they face in the system on a regular basis.

No early drinking in Thunder Bay

You won't be able to celebrate the FIFA World Cup in Thunder Bay by indulging in an early morning alcoholic beverage. Council is opting out of the province's longer bar hours that start at 10 am for the World Cup only.  The City will be writing the Alcohol and Gaming Commission telling them their intentions to not allow the earlier drinking time.

Green bike lanes?

What colour should the bike lanes be? That was one of the main topics of discussion at last night's city council meeting. Councillor Aldo Ruberto brought the subject up suggesting the bike lanes should be a different colour than the white traffic lanes. Councillor Iain Angus isn't in favour of changing the colour; he says its a waste of taxpayer money. Ruberto feels if the bike lanes were green seniors and others would be able to easily identify what lanes you can drive in.

Bottled water vs tap

The City of Thunder Bay is sticking with the status quo. A policy limiting the sale of bottled water at muncipal facilities was amended to allow people the choice between drinking municipal water or paying for bottled. The original policy was written to say you wouldn't be able to buy bottled water or get bottled water at any municipal facilities. Several councillors were in favour of the original policy and Andrew Faulds voted against the amended version. Foulds feels the new policy is watered down. The city will be conducting an education study and will promote the use of municipal tap water.

High props for Power

Thunder Bay's Michael Power is being hailed for his accomplishments. The 38 year old Power has been recognized for his work at the Health Sciences Centre by Caldwell Partners International. The organization has put him on their annual list of the top 40 Canadians who have made great achievements before the age of 40. Power founded the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute

Six arrested in drug raids

City police now have 200 thousand dollars worth of drugs and cash after a bust.  They say the raids took place at a business on the 200 block of Pearl Street and homes on Bay and South May streets along with homes on Dublin and Carl  avenues. They say 6 men were arrested who ranged in age from 19 to 40.  Drugs seized in the raids included cocaine and marijuana worth an estimated 140 thousand dollars.

Mac's robbery spree continues

City police are still investigating two unsolved robberies at local Mac's Mart Stores since May 22nd. The latest was early Sunday morning at the North May Street location. Police spokesperson Chris Adams says it's part of a string of robberies at south side Mac's locations. In the last two weeks there have been 5 separate robberies altogether and Adams say police are trying to look for any links between them. Meantime, police have a person in custody who was believed to have been carrying a knife outside the North May Street store early Monday morning.

Mourners gather for Willow

Family and friends said good-bye to Willow Scott-Hannam today at a funeral service at the Everest Wesfort Chapel.   The 4 year old died last week after an accident at Fort William Historical Park involving a horse drawn wagon. She had been part of a school field trip.    There are several investigations taking place into the incident including one by the Lakehead Public School Board, the Coroner's Office  and the Ministry of Labour.

Aids organization gets info on drug users

New research shows that the typical chronic drug user in the city isn't what you might expect. The study for AIDS Thunder Bay was conducted over two years at a cost of 50 thousand dollars. Executive Director Lawrence Korhonen  says they now have valuable information.  He thinks the most important finding gathered from the survey is how well they got a better understanding of the population that uses drugs in the city and how much and how frenquently they are using drugs.  Korhonen says they were surprised to learn that many frequent drug users in the city are beween 35 and 54 years old.  The findings will help to re-direct priorities within the organization.

Construction delay at marina will effect boaters

Boaters using the marina will have to deal with no water or power for a couple of weeks. The city's parks manager Paul Fayrick says boaters can still use the docks but won't have water or power for about two weeks. Fayrick says he doesn't expect other problems for boaters this year.

A man roller blading across Canada stops in Thunder Bay

A man roller blading across Canada made a stop in Thunder Bay Tuesday. Daniel Cloutier says he's raising money for cancer research. He says he has many family members who were diagnosed with Cancer and lost his uncle last year. Cloutier's goal is to raise one hundred thousand dollars.

Ad campaign attracts tips

A two month ad campaign to help solve a 44 year old double murder appears to be working. It's been a week since police re-opened the probe into the deaths of Doreen Hardy and Jane Bernard. Inspector John Horne of the OPP says the response is encouraging.   In the last week he says there have been 13 tips and they appear to be good.   Horne says investigators are hopeful the information can be helpful. 

Robbery Arrest

A 23-year old city man made a court appearance by video this morning after being arrested in connection with the armed robbery at the Mac's Mart on North Edward Street. Police say he was taken into custody around 10:30 Saturday morning. The emergency task unit and a police dog were involved. The robbery took place on Friday morning. Police say that cash and lottery tickets were taken. No one was injured.

Thunder Bay firefighter remarks irksome

A Thunder Bay City Councillor is standing up for the municipality's fire fighters and scolding his fellow councillor.
Councillor Robert Tuchenhagen made public comments about the City's fire fighters saying they were spoiled. Aldo Ruberto says he doesn't agree with Tuchenhagen's comments. An arbitrator is going to make a decision on the fire fighters contract with the municipality in the near future.

NOMA President gets honorary diploma

Confederation College honored the President of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association. Dryden Mayor Anne Krassilowski received an honorary diploma for business administration marketing. Krassilowski says she's grateful for the award. Confederation College campuses across the region graduated 180 students.  Meanwhile, in Thunder Bay 14 hundred and 40 students received their diplomas on Friday.

Another armed robbery on City's southside

Thunder Bay Police are looking for one man who robbed a Mac's Mart at gun point this morning. Officers say the man entered the store on North Edward Street at around 2 o'clock.  They say he produced a handgun.    No one was injured and the suspect ran off with cash and lottery tickets.

Tourism Organizations set to go

It won't be long now before the provincial government officially announces the formation of 13 new tourism regions. The Regional Tourism Organizations will effectively kill the three regions we now have in the northwest and bundle them into one. Tourism Minister Michael Chan tells The Giant News it should be announced within a month. Chan says no decision has been made on where the announcement might take place



 

City man fined in easement case

A resident is being fined for building his garage illegally. Don Cooper of Ryerson Crescent was dinged 2 thousand dollars after court was told he ignored information given to him as part of a permit he received from the Building Division. It was found that telephone lines run underneath the garage. Cooper has been ordered to remove that portion above the easement.

Students cuts hair for cancer patients

Westmount Public School student Finn MacDonald's head is going to feel a bit breezy for the next while. The 11 year old got his haircut in his his battle against cancer. His hair will be donated to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program that provides wigs to cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy.

820-thousand dollars of pot seized in T-Bay

A Thunder Bay man has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and other drug related offences. Police say a John Street residence was searched by Thunder Bay's combined forces organized crime unit on Thursday. That search resulted in the seizure of 89 pounds of Marihuana, 1 pound of Cannabis resin, and 13 thousand dollars in cash. OPP Detective Sgt. Randy Belluz says they spent three weeks investigating before searching the John Street home. The street value of the druges is 820-thousand dollars. Charged is 50 year old Theodore Bobrowski. Belluz says the illegal drugs will be destroyed at a later date.  The combined forces organized crime unit consists of members from the OPP, Thunder Bay Police, R.C.M.P., The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service and the Anishinabek Police Service. 

Walmart expansion underway

The expansion of Thunder Bay's Walmart store is now underway. Store manager Ryan Holomego says when it's completed next year the store will be 60 thousand square feet larger. The renovations will allow the store to provide a wider selection of groceries and other products He says it'll also mean an expanded staff adding that more employees have already been hired to prepare for expansion and there will be "quite a bit of hiring" taking place as the opening day approaches. The construction also means the store will not be open 24 hours anymore. Starting July 2nd store hours will be 7 am until 11 pm.

Garage fire is under investigation

Thunder Bay Fire and rescue dealt with a garage fire this morning. Crews responded to the call on Mountain Road around 4 o'clock his morning. When they arrived the garage was engulfed in flames and crews worked to stop the fire from spreading to other buildings. No one was hurt and the cause is under investigation.

Thunder Bay has second lowest jobless rate in Canada

For the second month in a row the Jobless rate in Thunder Bay has seen a big drop. Our rate fell from 6.1 percent in April to 5.4 percent in May. That's way below the national average of 8.1 percent and the Provincial average of 8.9. Saskatoon is the only City in Canada with a lower rate.

First Nations history available for viewing

There's a bit of history on display at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. Starting Friday you can view the original Treaty 5 document signed 100 years ago between the government and area First Nations. The Gallery's Allistair MacKay says that the original hand written document and another accompanying one will be well protected in a special case to prevent any accidents or vandalism. The documents will be on display beginning at noon Friday until June 13th.

A record field to graduate from Con College

It's graduation day on Friday at Confederation College. A record 14 hundred and 40 students will get their diplomas. President Pat Lang says it's a special day for her as well, one she never gets tired of.  She enjoys seeing how the students have grown since they first arrived. There are a couple of firsts at Friday's ceremonies. 16 grads will get Aboriginal Relations certificates and the first group of Med Lab assistants will graduate. There are 2 ceremonies, at 9 in the morning and then at 2 in the afternoon.

School field trips not being cancelled

Public schools in the city are not being told to cancel field trips in the wake of this weeks tragic accident. 4 year old Willow Scott-Hannam died after being injured during such an excursion to Fort William Historical Park. Director of Education Cathy Siemieniuk says schools are being asked to review trips to make sure they comply with board policy.  As such,  she says there's no blanket decision on field trips but schools are taking the extra step to make sure the process is followed.  Siemieniuk says it will take several weeks to complete the  internal investigation into the accident.

Safety lane nets unsafe vehicles

City Police continue their efforts to get clunkers off the road. Last Wednesday night they were pulliing over vehicles at Water and John Street. Sgt. Andy Clark says they look for private and commercial vehicles that look like they may need some work . Two mechanics on site look over the vehicles and determine if they are safe to drive or not. Last night they took the licence plates off of at least 20 vehicles.

Great Lakes mayors agree to protect shorelines

Mayor Lynn Peterson is just back from a mayors conference on the Great Lakes. Peterson says 8 Ontario mayors agreed to protect beaches and coastal areas of their lake shorelines. The mayors are working with the provincial government on six different projects including the testing of beaches and sewage outflows around the Great Lakes. The deal will also see a new organization created to bring experts together to exchange ideas and practices

4 organ donations performed in Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay performed 4 organ donations after cardiac death last year.  Those operations helped Ontario lead Canada with the most C-D organ donations.  Trillium Gift of Life President Frank Merkel says there's strong support for organ donation in Thunder Bay. Across the province 100 organ donations were made after cardiac death.

Aquatic species invade Lake Superior

The United States and Canadian Governments are taking a stand against the spread of invasive species. The Lake Superior Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Plan was unveiled on Wednesday in Thunder Bay. Canadian Chair of the Lake Superior Binational Forum Glen Dale says they want to post tips on invasive species at the border. To prevent invasive species anglers can power wash their boats and equipment. Live baits are to be properly disposed of away from streams and water systems.

Tourism Minister calls child's death devastating

This weeks tragedy at Fort William Historical Park has the attention of Ontario's Tourism Minister. In an exclusive interview with The Giant News, Michael Chan calls the death of 4 year old Willow Scott-Hannam devastating. She was struck by a horse drawn wagon Monday on a school field trip and later died of her injuries.  Chan is calling on the city to pull together and grieve together and come out of the situation stronger. He says he's being kept up to date on the investigations and his staff are in touch with Fort officials almost on an hourly basis. Chan expects lessons will be learned from the tragedy.

Irwin kicks off the Border Cats season

Olympic women's hockey gold medalist Haley Irwin throws out the first pitch to start the Northwoods League season for the Thunder Bay Border Cats. The Cats went on to win the game 1-0 on the shoulders of starting pitcher Garret Yount who went 6 and a third innings giving up just a pair of hits.  Drew Irwin got the save for the Cats.

Northern Ontario Heritage Party soon a reality

The Northern Ontario Heritage Party is one step closer to gaining official party status. Party spokesperson Ed Deibel says they're waiting for a letter from the Ontario Elections Commission. More than 1 thousand one hundred and fifty signatures in favour of the party were sent to the commission. The NOHP is hoping to put 11 candidates in place for the next provincial election.

Innova developer backs out

A southern Ontario company isn't building a new shopping centre at Innova Business Park after all. The city's Mark Smith says the developer is claiming global market conditons are making it impossible to find anchor tenants. Smith says the company wasn't under any legal obligation to develop the property. He says First Gulf Developments had the ability to back out of the agreement in a certain period of time and exercised that right before that time expired. First Gulf planned to develop a 600 thousand square foot plaza. Smith says all is not lost for Innova though. He says interest in the area has prompted the city to build two entrance roads into the property over the summer

Facebook page set up for Willow

The death of 4 year old Willow Scott-Hannam is being felt by everyone in the city. There is a Facebook site that is dedicated to the kindergarten student who died following an incident at Fort William Historical Park on Monday. Mayor Lynn Peterson is also expressing condolences.   She says the entire community is saddened by the tragedy and our hearts and prayers are with the family.  Funeral arrangements are still being worked out.

Coroner's probe begins into 4 year old's death

The Regional Coroner's office is investigating the death of a four year old Hyde Park kindergarten student. Willow Scott-Hannam was on a field trip to Fort William Historical Park on Monday when the accident involving horses and a wagon occurred. Dr. Michael Wilson says the investigation has begun and could take several months to complete. Wilson says after the investigation concludes they will decide whether or not to launch an inquiry into the death.

City gets a C minus for transparency

The Canadian Newspaper Association has given the City of Thunder Bay a C minus when it comes to being transparent. President John Hinds says they asked several simple questions to City representatives ranging from the Mayor's travel expenses to pieces of property the City purchased. He says as an example they asked for the amount of money that the municipality spends on cell phones for city employees. For information he says should be readily available Hinds says they requested over 2 thousand 500 dollars for that information. For the Mayor's travel expenses the cost would have been 62 dollars. Hinds says out of 35 municipalities Thunder Bay comes in at 31.

Local Tim Horton's outlets present Camp Day

Tim Horton's coffee shops in Canada are collecting money for underprivleged kids today.  It's Camp Day, where money from coffee sold at each outlet goes towards sending children to camp. All the company outlets in Thunder Bay participated with local celebrities helping to promote the cause.   Pictured:  Tim Horton's employee Darcia Harasym serves up doughnuts at the Memorial and John location.

Holy Cross students get active

Holy Cross School students are celebrating Clean Air Day. The Mayor, school administration and parents led students in some morning activities. The school is taking the Earth Week to Clean Air Day Challenge by taking part in a province wide movement to increase physical activity. In Thunder Bay, schools in both the Public and Catholic Boards are registered to participate.

Another person pulled out of the Kam River

Another intoxicated person had to be rescued from the Kam River. A 20 year old woman was pulled from the River at Kam View Park yesterday morning just before 5 AM. When officers arrived they found a 60 year old man assisting the woman up the ladder. They were both taken to the Health Sciences Centre as a precaution.

Border Cats kick off season today

Its time to play ball at Port Arthur Stadium. The Border Cats open the Northwoods League season against the Duluth Huskies. Currently there's construction work taking place around the stadium to prepare for the Junior championships. Owner Brad Jordgenson admits it will be be an inconvenience to fans. The first pitch will be thrown at 6:35 by Thunder Bay's Golden Girl Haley Irwin.