300-thousand raised for Attawapiskat

The Red Cross has raised 300 thousand dollars for the troubled community of Attawapiskat.  Spokesperson Karen Snider says they've ended their fundraising campaign.  Donations came in from across Canada.

Rafferty surprised by swear

Thunder Bay MP John Rafferty says opposition MPs are frustrated with the Conservative Government.  Rafferty's remarks come after Environment Minister Peter Kent chided the NDP's Environment Critic for not being at a climate conference in South Africa.  The Environment Minister's questioning prompted Liberal MP Justin Trudeau to use a swear word in the House of Commons.

Highway near Kenora closed

The winter weather has resulted in a Highway closure. Highway 17A is closed at Airport Road near Kenora. The road was closed around 2:30 this morning. OPP say traffic is being re-routed through Kenora. Motorists are urged to use caution on the road today due to blowing snow and slippery conditions.

Aboriginal Affairs and Attawapiskat meet today

The housing crisis at Attawapiskat will be examined today when Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan meets in Thunder Bay with Chief Theresa Spence.  Spence has threatened to sue Ottawa for imposing a third party to manage the band's finances.

T.Bay Tel restores service to most areas

Thunder Bay Telephone is reporting that all cell service in the Westfort area of town is back up and running. Landline and Internet service is also restored to most impacted areas. Service issues still remain in some rural areas and crews continue to work towards fixing the problem.

Plane makes emergency landing in Geraldton

No one was hurt after a twin engine plane made an emergency landing in Geraldton Wednesday afternoon.  Greenstone Mayor Renald Beaulieu says a Thunder Air plane flying from Attiwapiskat to Thunder Bay had one of its engines die during the flight.  Beaulieu wasn't sure but thinks the passengers are band officials from the troubled First Nation coming to Thunder Bay for a meeting with the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

Wojak barred for 6 months

It could be 6 months before local man Henry Wojak can speak at council again.  Wojak was barred after swearing at council in November and his punishment will last 6 months unless he apologizes.  Wojak says council is trying to silence him and says he will "apologize for council's behaviour but that's all." If Wojak apologizes his punishment would be reduced to 3 months.

Councillor looks to feasibility study for multi-plex answers

One city councilor says we'll get more answers about the proposed multi-plex once a feasibility study is done.  Andrew Foulds says we need to know how this facility would be configured.  Foulds says he is looking forward to seeing the results of the study this spring.

Man on the Street: open border

There doesn't appear to be much support for a open border policy with the United States if it means some sacrifices. We asked people in Thunder Bay...do you agree with an open border in exchange for increased security and a loss of some personal freedoms?

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Duncan to meet Chief in Thunder Bay

The Attawapiskat controversy makes its way to Thunder Bay on Thursday.  That's when Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan will be meeting with the Chief of the James Bay First Nations community Theresa Spence.   The two have been waging a verbal war with each other over the Harper Government's decision for third party management on the reserve.

OPP hope to solve Kenora mystery

More details will be released Thursday in Orillia on an unsolved mystery in Kenora. The investigation centres around human remains found in June of 2009. OPP say a Forensic Artist has enhanced the investigation with facial re-creations. OPP will be seeking further assistance from the public and medical community to identify the individual.

Waboose trashes government over FASD

There's an accusation that the McGuinty Government isn't doing enough about the problem of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose says the province needs to get serious about the problem because his people can't do it on their own.  He says "countless children" born with the disorder "are falling through the cracks because of  Ontario's continued failure to fully address FASD"

Solar farm? No problem

There doesn't seem to be any complaints from residents in Shuniah to a proposed solar farm in the community.  Many people who attended an open house on the proposal were satisfied that the project will not pose a problem.   GTE Solar plans another open house in Thunder Bay today about a separate solar farm in the Dawson and Paquette Road areas.

Mac's store robbed again

There may be added security measures, but that didn't stop someone from robbing another city Mac's Convenience Store.  Police say that the store on North Cumberland was robbed by a man with a knife around midnight and ran off with some money, police won't tell us how much.  No one was hurt

Homeowner captures suspect

A 20 year old Webequie man is in police custody after a homeowner on the 500 block of Marks Street captured him after he broke into the house. Police say the homeowner held on to the culprit until they arrived. Another suspect got away and police are still looking for him. The incident happened around 1:30 am

Christmas Cheer busy again today

It's going to be another busy day at the CLE Colliseum Building as Christmas Cheer hampers are given to needy families.  Today it's the south side families that will be picking up their goods, yesterday it was for the north.    The organization still needs 65 thousand dollars to meet this years goal

Loss of judge upsets lawyers

Lawyers in the Rainy River district are seeking a meeting with the Ontario's Chief Justice to explain the reasoning behind a decision not to replace a judge who's relocating to southern Ontario. President of the District of Rainy River Law President Barbara Morgan says the province should be hiring more judges. Morgan says the loss of a resident judge will delay court proceedings in Fort Frances and reduce the number of court dates available in Rainy River and Atikokan.

Forestry strategy proposed by MP

A national strategy on forestry is being proposed by Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty. He put forward three motions in the House of Commons last week he hopes will lead to some discussion. A similar motion failed to see the light of day in the last parliament.

City may re-work funding proposal

Don't count out the city's chances of getting future federal funding for a new convention centre even though we were turned down. City manager Tim Commisso says the city can resubmit the application for the public and private partnership program without the arena component. However, that doesn't mean the dream of a multi-plex is dead.  He says they could apply under different government programs for the arena funding.  Commisso hopes they can resubmit the re-worked application if the P-3 program is revived in the spring.

Vacancy rate in the city down this year

The rental market in Thunder Bay is getting a little tighter with news that the vacancy rate in the city is down according to Warren Philp of Canada Mortgage and Housing. He says the rate for 2011 went down to 1.7 per cent compared to 2.2 per cent last year. Philp says one of the reasons sited for the decline was fewer first timers getting into the home buying market