Other News

On July 24, 2020 at approximately 10:00 p.m., members of the Sault Ste. Marie Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Echo Bay Fire Department and Algoma Emergency Services responded to a house fire on Government Road in Laird Township.   Occupants of the residence were located without injuries.   The Sault Ste Marie Crime Unit is continuing the investigation ...

Au moment où j’écris la chronique de cette semaine, assis ici, dans mon bureau de Queen’s Park, c’est le jour après que les conservateurs ont déclaré les vacances d’été de l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario. Pour la deuxième fois seulement de ma carrière, je me suis retrouvé à la Chambre pendant les mois d’été. Cependant, je ne le regrette en aucun ...

As I write this week’s column, sitting here in my Queen’s Park office, it’s the day after the Conservatives declared the summer recess of the Ontario Legislature.  For only the second time in my career, I found myself in the House during the summer months.  However, I do not regret this in any way.  There is no doubt that the ...

Dear Brenda: I believe all Northern Ontarians owe a debt of gratitude to the publicly-funded Northern Policy Institute (NPI) for that report by a Manitoba academic undermining the case for passenger trains and praising intercity bus transportation as a northern travel alternative.  This landmark report clearly establishes some previously unrecognized points sure to warm the cockles of northern hearts, including: ...

The Ontario NDP has done some research, and say that despite Doug Ford’s claims, the Conservatives have been spending less and less on education infrastructure.   “It’s insulting for Doug Ford and his education minister to claim they’re doing anything to fix our crumbling classrooms and jam-packed schools when they’re actually cutting the budget, year after year,” said Marit Stiles, ...

With summer upon us there is an increase in foot traffic on our local streets which can lead to crimes of opportunity. Members of the Schreiber Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are reminding the public to help assist in preventing these types of crimes by locking their vehicles and keeping valuables out of sight. During the evening of July 18th and the ...

With one charge now laid in the case of stolen customer data from the 407 ETR, the NDP says Premier Doug Ford still hasn’t answered lingering questions about how that data may have been used.   “We asked during the 2018 election whether the PC Party or any of their candidates used even a single name from that stolen customer ...

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Doug Ford shouldn’t just hope it’ll be safe for students to attend school five days a week in the fall — he should make it safe.   The Official Opposition leader was in Brampton Friday, where she acknowledged the pressure parents are coping with, and the solution she believes the premier should be putting in ...

The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to announce the appointment of Ryleigh Dupuis as its new Executive Director/General Manager. Ryleigh returns to Thunder Bay after several years away. She brings with her extensive corporate management experience and a passion for working in the creative sector. Ryleigh worked as an HR Specialist turned Station Manager for WestJet where she moved ...

Governments do not have an unlimited pile of cash. This point often gets missed in the public debate about what government should, or should not, do. Passionate advocates for projects will simply argue that their program is worth it, or that it only costs so many cents per taxpayer. Politicians and public servants on the other hand, face the reality ...

In support of the ongoing fight against COVID-19 and as part of the province’s plan to end hallway health care, the Ontario government is announcing five new Ontario Health Teams and is providing additional funding to better connect care. “Over the past several months, Ontario Health Teams have demonstrated remarkable responsiveness to the COVID-19 outbreak by simplifying the purchase of ...

Au soutien de la lutte constante contre la COVID-19 et dans le cadre du plan de la province pour éliminer les soins de santé de couloir, le gouvernement de l’Ontario annonce la création de cinq nouvelles équipes Santé Ontario et offre du financement supplémentaire afin de mieux coordonner les soins. « Au cours des derniers mois, les équipes Santé Ontario ont fait ...

Doug Ford fait encore une fois faux bond aux Franco-Ontarien(ne)s en déposant une loi omnibus qui pose de sérieux risques pour l’intégrité de l’éducation en langue française, ont déclaré la porte-parole de l’opposition officielle en matière d’éducation, Marit Stiles, et le porte-parole de l’opposition officielle en matière d’affaires francophones, Guy Bourgouin.   L’annexe 15 du Projet de loi 197 élargira ...

Doug Ford is failing Franco-Ontarians yet again with omnibus legislation that poses serious risks to the integrity of French language education, said Official Opposition Education Critic, Marit Stiles, and Official Opposition Critic for Francophone Affairs, Guy Bourgouin.   Schedule 15 of Bill 197 will expand the mandate of the Ontario French-language Educational Communications Authority and further centralize the establishment, administration ...

NDP MPP Monique Taylor (Hamilton Mountain) tabled a motion in the Ontario legislature Tuesday urging the Ford government to implement a plan to meet the needs of children with special needs and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.   “For months, families have been struggling to support their children with special needs and parents are feeling isolated and burnt out.” ...