Morning News Tidbits – June 24

Weather – Periods of rain. Wind northwest 20 km/h. High 16. UV index 2 or low.
Tonight – Mainly cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers this evening and after midnight. Wind northwest 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low 9.

Rainfall warning remains in effect for: Chapleau, Missinaibi Lake, Gogama, and Foleyet. The heavy rain will continue today. Rain, at times heavy, will continue this morning before easing to light rain late this morning or this afternoon. Light rain will linger tonight and into Thursday giving additional, although lesser amounts. Total rainfall amounts of 50 to 75 mm are expected by late this morning over most areas. Locally higher rainfall amounts over 100 mm are also expected.

Marine Forecast – Wind northwest 15 knots backing to west 15 Thursday morning. Showers and fog patches ending this morning. Waves 2 metres subsiding to one early this morning.

Whitefish Bay – Strong wind warning in effect. Wind northwest 25 knots diminishing to northwest 15 this morning and to northwest 10 early this evening. Wind northwest 10 Thursday. Showers ending near noon. Waves 2 metres subsiding to one near noon and to one half metre or less this evening.

Statistics from Algoma Public Health  – June 23, 2020 (8:30 a.m.)

Algoma regions where residents have tested positive for COVID-19 include the following:

• Sault Ste. Marie & Area
• Central & East Algoma
• Elliot Lake & Area

Tested	10,581
Positive	24
Negative	8,838 (last updated June 17, 2020)
Pending	901 (last updated June 17, 2020)
Deceased	0
Resolved	22

Total confirmed cases by area of residence

Central & East  Algoma – Yes (less than 5)
Elliot Lake & Area – Yes (less than 5)
North Algoma – No
Sault Ste. Marie & Area – Yes (18)

(June 18, 2020, 10:30 am) – Due to a transition in the way we are collecting and collating information with partners, the pending/negative numbers will be updated early next week.  The numbers for tested, positives and resolved continue to be posted daily and are up-to-date.

News Tidbits:

There were no new forest fires confirmed by late afternoon on June 23, with eight active fires in the Northeast region. Sudbury has four, one near Cobalt, Peterborough, and Kirkland Lake. Wawa 4 remains under control at 7.4 hectares. It is located east Dubreuilville. The fire hazard is low to moderate in areas north of Greater Sudbury in the Northeast Region, while areas south of Greater Sudbury remain mostly moderate to high this afternoon.

No new fires were discovered in the Northwest Region by the mid-afternoon of June 23, with three active fires in the Northwest, all of which are under control. The regional fire hazard is beginning to rebound. Fort Frances and the southern portion of the Thunder Bay sectors feature hazard conditions ranging from moderate to extreme. Moderate to high hazard conditions also prevail in the far north of the Sioux Lookout and Nipigon sectors while central portions of the region are mainly under a low hazard.

An aerial fire suppression package has been sent to Quebec to help with their forest fires. This includes aircraft, pilots, aircraft mechanic engineers and an air attack officer. In addition,60 FireRangers and two overhead staff have also been deployed. AFFES remains well-resourced to respond to fires in Ontario.

As part of that huge storm system that went through Ontario yesterday, Wawa had lots of rain yesterday but thankfully not a tornado like the one that occurred (Tuesday, June 23rd) at Sturgeon Lake near Lindsay. One has been confirmed, as happening around 3:00 pm EDT, and tracking north through Sturgeon Point and likely north beyond that.

As of last night, the following rainfall amounts were recorded:
Sault Ste Marie Airport: 102
Muskoka Airport: 96
Bracebridge*: 84
Dixon Lake*: 65
Flame Lake*: 64
Chapleau Airport: 63
Timmins*: 49
Foleyet*: 45
Beatrice: 43
Collingwood: 41

Flooding has been reported in Muskoka, Bracebridge and Gravenhurst.

It was terrible to watch Doug Ford walk out during yesterday’s question period as Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa called on the Premier to take action, to stop any further deaths of young Indigenous people at the Thunder Bay District Jail. Mamakwa’s nephew recently died at the facility. Nine people have died at the jail since 2002 – seven were Indigenous men.

Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, announced the appointment of Betty-Lou Kristy as the new Chair of the Minister’s Patient and Family Advisory Council. In this role, Ms. Kristy will help the government’s ongoing work to engage with patients, families and caregivers and deliver patient-centred care.

Suze Morrison, Ontario NDP Tenant Rights critic, will hold a press conference Wednesday morning to sound the alarm about Doug Ford’s eviction bill as it heads to public hearings, amid troubling new revelations about its implications. Morrison will be joined by Chiara Padovani, Organizer, York South Weston Tenants Union, and Benjamin Ries, Staff Lawyer, Downtown Legal Services at 8:30 this morning.

Premier Doug Ford will be joined by Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, and Dr. Dirk Huyer, Chief Coroner for Ontario, to make an announcement at 1 p.m.

Premier Doug Ford will be joined by Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, and Toronto Raptors Superfan Nav Bhatia to address Ontario’s graduating class of 2020 at 4 p.m. today.