Plans for gold mine coming along

Construction of an open-pit gold mine near Atikokan is not that far off. It's expected to begin in 2014. President of Osisko Mining Sean Rosen says the company has projected the area to have more than 10 and a half million ounces of available resources.

Syria is in a crisis

Syria is on the verge of falling into a brutal civil war and Lakehead University Political Science Expert Laure Paquette says the latest developments are unheard of.  Paquette says the Arab League which until recently was a band of dictators that got together for coffee have suspended Bashar Assad and are planning on advising the protesters on how to better organize. 

Charges laid in connection to the death in Sioux Lookout

A 15 year old from Sandy Lake is facing charges in connection to the death of an 11 year old girl in Sioux Lookout last year.  The boy has been charged with sexual assault and criminal negligence causing death in the death of Chloe Matthews.

Occupy Protest is all about trust

Thunder Bay's own Keith McCullough has worked on wall street for much of his career and understands what the root cause of the Occupy movement is about.  The Founder of Hedgeye Risk Management says the problem the protesters have is they don't trust the financial system and until Old Wall Street becomes accountable and transparent the protests will continue.

L-U prez to talk about the future

Lakehead University takes centre stage Friday morning.  It's President Brian Stevenson will tell a breakfast crowd what the future holds for the institution.  It's being dubbed a Report to the Community and described by some as a State of the University

Bundle up....it's La Niña time

Expect a cold winter with less snow. The United Nations weather agency says we'll have a La Niña winter.  Speaking of winter,  Giant Meteorologist Bill Laidlaw says it usually means a colder winter with less snowfall in Northwestern Ontario.  Speaking of winter, Laidlaw says it's been arriving later and later over the last 40 years, he estimates by about 2 weeks.

Pope John Paul students walk across City

Pope John Paul's Grade 8 class is walking across the City today to raise awareness of the upcoming Rick Hansen Man In Motion campaign.  Student Grace Simpson says they want to do their part to share his story. Simpson says one way it took them two hours walking from Franklin Street to the Waterfront.

Rafferty defends fellow NDP member

Thunder Bay Rainy River MP John Rafferty is defending fellow NDP'er Pat Martin. Martin dropped a couple of F-bombs on Twitter after the Conservative government invoked closure on a budget debate.  Martin called the move an expletive disgrace and told a follower who dubbed him a foul-mouthed socialist to impolitely buzz off.  Rafferty adds Martin is colourful and that's what he's known for.

Salvation Army kicks off Kettle Campaign

The Salvation Army is gearing up for another Christmas Kettle campaign.  This year they're looking to raise 150 thousand dollars.  Volunteers will be at seven different locations across the City including Intercity, the Superstore, Walmart and the LCBO.  The Sally Ann still needs help and if you have some time to donate you can call 345-6492.

OPP internal investigation underway

A Red Lake OPP officer is under investigation after allegations that they took a person in custody several kilometres out of town and released them.  Provincial police say they're conducting an internal investigation into the alleged incident on Oct. 29th. A member of the Red Lake detachment has been suspended from duty while the investigation is conducted.

Victim's father wants to move on

The father of a woman beaten to death in the city last year is accepting the apology of the two women who have plead guilty to killing her. Philip Gliddy admits it was hard to hear the details of how daughter Patricia Sturgeon died in a city hotel room, but says he  will not worry about how long each of them may have to spend in jail. He says he just wants to put the incident behind him and let Patricia rest in peace.   Joanne Vivier and Michelle Morris will be sentenced on February 15th. 

Ring of Fire meeting in Cleveland went well

Its being called a very successful meeting with Cliffs Natural Resources.  A contingent of area officials went to Cleveland in an attempt to convince the mining company to locate a processing plan here.  Mayor Keith Hobbs says the meeting went well.  Hobbs says even if they don't get the processor, they have at least increased Thunder Bay's profile south of the border.

Don't expect the markets to level out anytime soon

Calling the current problems in Europe complex would be an understatement.  Thunder Bay's own Keith McCullough is the founder of Hedgeye Risk Management says the volatility is causing some governments to print more money than ever, which is causing inflation to rise and in turn hurting economic growth.   McCullough says don't expect the volatility to end for another 3 months at least. 

Syrian situation is escalating

The situation in Syria is on the verge of breaking down into civil war.  Lakehead University Political Science Expert Laure Paquette says army defectors have attacked an air force intelligence building that was the main hub for intelligence gathering on protesters.  Paquette says unfortunately this will most definitely lead to far more violence that will last a very long time.

Grann trial continues

The trial of a city police constable continues at the Ontario Court of Justice.   Toni Grann is charged with 11 counts of Breach of Trust.   It involves the local records of the Ontario Sex Offender Registry which she was responsible for.   Some parts of the trial are under a publication ban and some of the witnesses can't be identified.

Vehicle accident in Oliver Paipoonge

Thunder Bay Police are confirming an accident in the four thousand block of Oliver Road.  The incident in Oliver Paipoonge was reported just after 11:30.  Thunder Bay's Fire Department is sending a unit to help out that includes extrication equipment.

Beck Street House Fire

Thunder Bay Fire had five trucks on route at a house fire on Beck Street. Crews laid a water hose line and started fighting the fire just after the eleven o'clock hour. Neighbours called in the fire after seeing smoke. No one was injured. Crews are still looking into where the fire started.

Northern Raffle Launched

The Red Cross needs your help to continue offering disaster relief services.  The organization has launched its Northern Raffle and hopes to sell over 4-thousand tickets.  Disaster Manager Coordinator Ken Widdifield says tickets can be purchased at Halfway Motors, Northern Credit Union, George's Market and the Canadian Red Cross.  This year's prices include a 2012 Nissan Murano, a 2012 Polaris Sportsman and a thousand dollars cash.

Public consultation on Eagle's Nest project

Public consultation has started in Noront's Eagle's Nest Project.  It's part of the Environmental assessment process and the public can comment up until December 16th.  Noront wants to operate a nickel-copper-platinum mine at the site in Northern Ontario.

Union upset with pay bump

The Canadian Union of Public Employees isn't happy that some Liberal MPP's, including Thunder Bay's Michael Gravelle and Bill Mauro, are getting increases in their pay. The union claims cabinet members, such as Gravelle, will earn an extra 49-thousand dollars, above the 116-thousand MPP salary. Mauro and 28 other parliamentary assistants get an extra 16-thousand a year.