Tbaytel Expands Free Wi-Fi Area

Thunder Bay's WiFi corridor is now open a little wider. Tbaytel's President Dan Topatigh says it's part of staying competitive against other wireless companies. The city has announced that City Hall, the Current River Rec Centre, the 55 Plus Centre and the West Thunder Community Centre are now free Wi-Fi hot spots.

Resolute Faces WSIB Accusations

A spokesperson for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is confirming that Resolute Forest products is facing some legal problems involving the company's Thunder Bay sawmill.   The board says that it's accused of four counts of failing to report work related accidents within three days.    The board would not confirm the exact safety issues that are involved saying they are now before the provincial offences court.  

Police Confirm Death In Highway 17 Crash

One person is confirmed dead in a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 17 between Vermilion Bay and Kenora.  Provincial Police say the crash occurred about 20-kilometres east of the Highway 71 junction overnight. Police say the victim is an unidentified man. Several other collisions involving transports were reported on the highway and the road is closed to remove all of the debris. Provincial Police say the highway won't reopen until the MTO completes sanding operations. OPP are asking motorists heading west from Thunder Bay to take Highway 11 at Shabaqua Corners.

CN Bridge Road Repairs Started

CN bridge officials are working on the road section of the James Street Swing Bridge. Spokesperson Lindsay Fedchyshyn says work is ongoing. Fedchyshyn says they're not sure what other work needs to be done and when it will be complete. The bridge is still closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Police Looking For Driver

City Police are looking for the driver of a stolen truck that was involved in a collision this morning in the area of Hilldale Road and Wardrope Avenue.  A call was made to police about the single vehicle accident just after 6:20 this morning.

AFN Chief Shawn Atleo In T.Bay

The Assembly of First Nation's Chief Shawn Atleo is speaking at A chiefs conference on the Fort William First Nation this morning.  Yesterday, Regional Chiefs rejected the Federal Government's Education Act. They plan to implement their own education plan on a community level.

DSSAB Looking At Draft Budget Today

The Social Services Board's 2014-2015 budget is coming in at just over 73 million dollars.  The board will discuss the fiscal document at it's meeting today and CAO Bill Bradica says there are some savings that will bring the total cost down.  The board is looking at decreasing the amount area municipalities pay by two and a half percent.

Rickford Not Amused With Province

The federal minister responsible for the Ring of Fire says he's not amused by some of the rhetoric coming out of Queen's Park this week.  Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford is responding to premier Wynne's invitation to come to the table.  Rickford says they've been a willing participant all along.  Rickford says he was caught off guard by the announcement of a development corporation for the Ring, because the federal government was not consulted beforehand.

Horwath Says Open Government Meeting Is Interesting

Thunder Bay is going to play host to the Provincial Government's first "open government" engagment team meeting that's taking place on Monday at the Valhalla Inn.  NDP Leader Andrea Horwath thinks its interesting that the Liberals need to create a committee to find ways to become more open. The meeting will take place from six until 9.

Alzheimer Rendezvous Tonight

The Alzheimer Society is hosting an evening with TVO's Steve Paikin.  The host of "The Agenda" is speaking at the 12th annual Alzheimer Rendezvous. Spokesperson Ashleigh Quarrell hopes the event will raise 50-thousand dollars.  The event gets underway tonight at the Victoria Inn.

Local Officer Honoured

City Police Staff Sergeant Ryan Gibson is being honoured for his part of the Ontario Law Enforcement Torch Run. He took part in the Torch Run's International Conference in Orlando, Florida. Gibson was selected to take part because of his volunteer involvement with Special Olympics Ontario.

Charges Laid In Suspicious Death

A 26 year old Seine River man has been charged with 2nd degree murder following a police investigation in Fort Frances. Provincial Police say they have arrested Peter Deafy for the death of 45 year old Leo Whitecrow. Whitecrow was found dead at the Midtown Motel on the morning of November 2nd, last year. Deafy is set to appear in court tomorrow to answer to the charge.

Bearskin Execs Get Award

Bearskin Airlines top execs are being honoured for their charity work.  President Harvey Friesen and VP Cliff Friesen won the Jim Glass Humanitarian Award.  The award is presented by the Air Transport Association of Canada and Transwest Air.

United Way Needs Help

The United Way Campaign is closing in on the halfway mark for their fundraising campaign with five weeks to go. Campaign Chair Walter Flasza says there will be several events in December to help them reach their goal. There has been just under one and a half million dollars raised so far, the goal is to reach two point seven million.

Salvation Army Gets Money From Target

The Salvation Army's breakfast program in Thunder Bay is benefiting from a charity donation by Target Canada.   The department store giant is splitting the 160 thousand dollar donation among 23 Salvation Army programs in the country.

T.Bay Man Charged In Collision

OPP are charging a 24 year old Thunder Bay man with a drinking and driving related charge.  It stems from a single motor collision on Highway 622 just north of Atikokan. He'll appear in Atikokan Court on January 23rd.

Safe Drivers In T.Bay

Thunder Bay drivers are being recognized as some of the country's safest. The Safe Driving Study comes from Allstate Canada and is based on the amount of collisions per one-hundred cars the company insures. Thunder Bay placed tenth amongst communities with the best collision rates at 4.3 percent between 2011-2013.

DSSAB Meeting To Discuss Pets

The Social Services Board is going to discuss how best to deal with client's pets ruining their housing units. In some cases the board has been left with a 30 thousand dollar repair bill. CAO Bill Bradica says it's a tricky situation. Bradica says there's been reports of staff being bitten by animals and even some tenants being hurt by other people's pets.

Police Seize 50K Worth Of Drugs

A 44 year old Montreal man is facing a variety of drug related charges after a search of a North side hotel room on Monday.  Staff Sergeant Murray Brown says they seized 50-thousand dollars worth of crack cocaine and prescription Fentanyl powder. The man will be in court on Friday and Police are asking the court to deny his bail.

NOMA Meets With Premier & Ministers

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is pleased with their recent meetings with the Premier and Natural Resources Minister. President Dave Canfield says they spoke about the Thunder Bay Generating Station and the property reassessments on large industrial properties. Canfield says talks with the MNR's David Orazietti went ok and notes there are still some struggling points with the Forest Industry.