Demand For Mine Safety Inquiry

The province's labour minister is turning aside a demand by the NDP to hold an inquiry into mine safety in the province. This comes following a weekend mining death in Sudbury. Labour Minister Yasir Naqvi says the government is relying on its review of mining health and safety to provide answers. The review will stop in Marathon May 1st. Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says an inquiry would dig deeper into possible issues in mining safety then a review.

OPA Mining Awards

A couple of junior mining companies doing work in the Thunder Bay area have been handed the Discovery of the Year award by the Northwestern Ontario Prospectors Association. Transition Metals and Impala Platinum Holdings are recognized for identifying a significant platinum find near Sunday Lake, about 25 kilometre north of the city. They received the award during Association's annual awards dinner last night.

Health Coalition Hold Referendum

A provincial health lobby group says there's strong support to keeping health services in Ontario hospitals. The Ontario Health Coalition says it attracted more than 56-thousand people to a voluntary province-wide referendum on the weekend.  The referendum was in support of local hospitals and stopping private clinics from being set up to take over their services.  The group received 2-thousand votes from Thunder Bay.

Trailer Fire

No one is hurt after a tractor trailer loaded with automobiles caught fire on the Trans Canada highway west of Upsala yesterday afternoon.  Highway 17 had to be closed for at least an hour so emergency personnel could deal with the blaze.

Drugs Seized

A Thunder Bay woman is being charged following a drug seizure on Highway 17 Tuesday. Upsala OPP Detachment say 42 year old Sherri Lynn Mcqueen was arrested during a traffic stop at 9:10 pm.  The arrest led to a vehicle search, where police found small amounts of prescription opiates and ritalin pills.  The woman faces multiple charges and was held in custody for a video court appearance.

New PC Candidate In T.Bay

Derek Parks is the PC candidate for Thunder Bay-Superior North. Although Parks was born and raised in the City he hasn't lived in Thunder Bay for sometime and brushes off the suggestion he was specifically brought in to replace ex candidate Tamara Johnson.  Parks was acclaimed at the party's nomination meeting last night. 

Union Still Has High Hopes

A union official is confident Bearskin Airlines will come out stronger after restructuring regional operations. Michael Corrado of the Machinist and Aerospace Workers Association says the company's re-shuffling of services means all aircraft maintenance work is now taking place in Thunder Bay until further notice. Corrado hopes the Sioux Lookout operations and the 11 temporarily laid off workers will be brought back online by the end of the year.

12 Year Old Charged With Arson

City police say that a 12-year old boy is charged with arson in connection with a recent house fire in rural Thunder Bay. The home in the 500 block of Onion Lake Road sustained serious damage on April 1st. No one was injured.  Police say the boy was in foster care at the time.

Pink Day

Lakehead Public Schools are taking a stand against bullying and discrimination today.  It's part of Pink Day where students make a statement by wearing pink clothing to their schools. Pink Day is meant to confront stereotypes and support diversity.

Whiteside Suing City

The city is confirming that local hydro developer Robert Whiteside is taking the city to court over his concerns about the fish ladder at the Boulevard Lake Dam.    Whiteside is claming over 7 million dollars for what he calls a breach of contract by the city. He operates a power dam at the site and claims that since the fish ladder was built it has cost  him money in potential revenue  and is looking for a court order to stop operations.   The city will look for direction from council on its next move. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Man Injured In Collision

A 54 year old man is recovering from minor injuries after police say he was hit by a pick up truck.   They say that the collision happened at around 8:30 Tuesday morning as the man was crossing Mary Street at Syndicate Avenue.   The driver of the truck is now charged.

XP Concerns In Thunder Bay

Computer repair companies in Thunder Bay are being swamped with calls now that Microsoft is no longer supporting the Windows XP operating system.   Jaime Gratton  of Northern Computer Innovations says they've been receiving several calls from concerned people who believe their computers will shut down. She assures them that is not the case, but that they will probably start noticing problems in the weeks or months to come.   Gratton says they are recommending upgrading to Windows 8 or getting newer computer.

Beardy Calls For Funding To Be Restored

Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy is calling for the Federal and Provincial Government to restore funding they've cut to area First Nation organizations.  Beardy feel the lack of funding is an attempt to silence the voices of First Nations.

NOSM Gets Award

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is receiving a Rural Medical Education Award.  NOSM is getting the award because they excelled at matching the most graduates to rural family medicine programs.  In 2013, 64% of NOSM’s graduating MD class were matched to a rural family medicine residency program.

Former Attawapiskat Co-Manager Charged

The former co-manager of Attawapiskat First Nation has been charged with fraud over 5-thousand dollars and theft over 5-thousand.  The charges, laid by Nishnawbe-Aski Police, come after an investigation that started in February 2013.  62-year-old Clayton Kennedy was co-manager of the northern Ontario band's finances from July 2010 until the end of the summer of 2012.  There is no word from police if the two are linked.  Kennedy will appear in court on May 28th. In his private life, Kennedy is also the partner of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence.

Land Use Official Plan Meeting Tonight

The City wants your opinions on it's official land use plan.  An Open House to discuss the document will be held tonight at the Jackpine Community Centre from 3 until 8.   There will be another five public meetings held throughout the rest of this month.

Future Mining Jobs Report Released

A local think tank is looking into its crystal ball and forecasting the future job demands in mining.   The North Superior Workforce Planning Board released it's ten year outlook for ten area mining projects and next year they feel the companies will need to fill almost 5-thousand positions. The report goes onto say that the most in demand employment fields in the mining industry include haul truck operators and heavy duty mechanics. To view the full report click here.

Housing Starts Hit A Wall

New housing construction is slowing down to a crawl in Thunder Bay.  According to government figures from Canada Mortgage and Housing, so far this year construction has started on only two new houses.  That compares to 7 starts for the first three months of  last year.

Another Money Scam

City Police warning residents of yet another scam.  People here in town have received letters out of Montreal stating they have been chosen for a consumer research program. The letter comes with a fake cheque for a large sum of money and instructions to cash it and send some of the money back to the scammers through Western Union.  Police reminding residents that if a deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Young Offenders Captured

Two young offenders back in custody after bolting from the Creighton Youth Centre.  Just after 8 o'clock last night, the pair took off from the centre after attending a presentation at the Oliver Road facility.  Police arrested the two males a short time later at Lakehead University.  The two, who stay at the McGuire Youth Centre, will be in court today to answer to escape of lawful custody charges.