http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx News brought to you by TbNewsWatch.com Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:21:51 GMT 5 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/images/tbnewswatchlogo.JPG http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83993 A local school board won’t be requesting an additional trustee for the upcoming municipal election after a vote Tuesday night. After expanding to include Armstrong and Collins, the Lakehead District School Board had until March 15 to ask the Ministry of Education to add one more trustee to the eight-person elected board. But with less than 100 students from the newly incorporated areas, trustees such as Lori Lukinuk said expanding the board wasn’t necessary. Board chair Deborah Massaro said the decision means the number will now stay the same as the 2006 election. "We will continue with eight trustees and all trustees will represent all area of our district," Massaro said. "Equality for all of our schools will continue including Armstrong and Collins." Trustee George Saarinen was the only member to vote against the decision. He said adding another trustee from a rural area would have benefited the whole region. "I just felt that we needed rural representation and that we should return to it," said Saarinen. "It would have been nice t have rural rep for all of the surrounding areas of Thunder Bay including Armstrong. That person could travel to various communities and represent their needs." The board did make one request Monday, to have their administration look into the process and impact of an aboriginal trustee. While the board can request the addition of a First Nations representative, the position would not be elected but appointed by the various First Nation communities with students in Lakehead Public Schools "We would welcome the opportunity to have an aboriginal trustee," Massaro said. "They would be appointed by their communities. We would not have an election." Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:20:13 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83993 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83959   OPP officers located the body of a Terrace Bay man who was reported missing Saturday. The OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit located the body of 41-year-old Jean Steven Giguere Monday. Giguere was reported missing Monday evening when he failed to return to his vehicle after being on Lake Superior. Local residents say they saw the man walking on the ice from the shoreline of Lake Superior toward Cat Islands. Giguere had told family where he was going and had planned to return later that evening. Members of the Schreiber detachment of the OPP, with assistance from the OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit and Emergency Response Team had been searching for the man since Saturday. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:31 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83959 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83960 Police in Kenora are investigating a fatal collision that took place in that area Tuesday morning. Kenora detachment OPP officers say the crash occurred on Highway 71 in the area of Calliper Lake at about 12 a.m. Police responded to the collision involving a transport truck and a van. Police say the transport truck was heading southbound while the van headed northbound. The crash took place in the southbound lane. The driver of the van was killed as a result of the collision. The OPP continues to investigate the incident. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:58:40 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83960 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83982 Police say an armed man recently broke into a south-side apartment and threatened the woman occupant. Officials with the Thunder Bay Police Service said Tuesday that the man entered the South Vickers Street apartment with a knife. The woman occupying the apartment told investigating officers that she did not know the intruder. A neighbour heard the commotion and was able to scare off the would-be attacker. No arrests have been made and police have not revealed any other details. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:03:29 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83982 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83976 Paramedics brought one person to the hospital following a single-vehicle crash this morning. A pickup truck heading eastbound on Government Road headed into a ditch near Mapleward Road and struck a tree. Thunder Bay Police Const. Kerry Dunning says the female driver was shaken up, but was otherwise doing fine. Police say she was brought to hospital as a precaution. The fire department had to help pull her out of the vehicle. Dunning says the road was slippery. And although it may look clear there was still some ice. As a result, police are advising people to take caution while driving. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:22:54 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83976 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83936 Tourism in Thunder Bay held its own last year despite a slight decline in visitors to the city says tourism manager Paul Pepe. In a report to city council Monday night, Pepe said 419,000 people came to Thunder Bay last year even though a high Canadian dollar, slow North American economy and poor weather conditions set unprecedented poor tourism conditions. Pepe attributed the resilience to a shift in Tourism Thunder Bay’s marketing focus to attract tourists who wouldn’t depend on those factors to come to the city. "We recognized going into last year that there were going to be markets that would stop travelling and we recognized that there are markets out there that are affluent, are educated are avid experience seekers," Pepe said. "So we focused on them." Touring visitors, such as motorcycle enthusiasts, and people looking for outdoor activities became a central focus said Pepe. Pepe dais marketing Thunder Bay as a gateway to those activities helped U.S. residents crossing into Canada decline only .08 per cent even though the national average was down 9.2 per cent. "The experiences don’t necessarily happen in Thunder Bay but they might happen around Thunder Bay," Pepe said. While hotel occupancy rate was down over 3 per cent from 2008, Pepe said the rate was still higher than Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. A lot of the drop had to do with a slow economy’s impact on conventions and conferences said Pepe. "The number of corporate events didn’t decrease at all but the number of delegates that people were sending to events certainly declined as companies were tightening their belts across North America," Pepe said. Coun. Joe Virdiramo wanted to know if Tourism Thunder Bay keeps track of such tourism reviews like Lonely Planet which referred to Thunder Bay as having a "small town environment". Virdiramo also said the site called Thunder Bay an "isolated town". Pepe said those remarks aren’t necessarily negative as people from large urban centres want to get away from busy cities sometimes. Coun. Brian McKinnon wanted to know why Northwestern Ontario was left out of an Ontario tourism advertisement during the Olympics. Pepe said Tourism Thunder Bay has so many partnerships with the province’s tourism ministry, he’s not too worried about the impact of one commercial. "There are so many places where we can showcase Thunder Bay in a single area I don’t get to worked up," said Pepe. Also Monday, high school football players in Thunder Bay will be playing on NFL-quality artificial turf after council awarded the rehabilitation on Fort William Stadium to NMP Golf Construction. The $2.7 million project also includes upgrading the track, along with new throwing venues, so Thunder Bay could have the potential to host national track and field competitions. The city’s share of the project, $500,000, comes from a TbayTel performance dividend. The remaining 80 per cent of the funding will be provided by the province, federal government and school boards. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:11:56 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83936 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83871   AbitibiBowater struck a tentative deal with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, which could move the newsprint giant closer to an exit from bankruptcy protection. CEP officials announced Sunday that the union and company had reached a tentative labour agreement. If ratified, the union says the deal could save the pension plan and may even pull AbitibiBowater out of CCAA protection. "We fixed the pension plan for our pensioners and our (members) in active service," said CEP vice-president Kim Ginter. "We’ve reached a tentative agreement with AbitibiBowater that will hopefully bring them out of CCAA." With a potential deal in place, Ginter said the company now has to meet with provincial and federal government officials to try and have rules surrounding pension-plan funding relaxed. "We just need the governments to come to the table now and give AbitibiBowater a pass on the rules," Ginter said, adding that the company is only interested in those rule changes and is not seeking money. "We just want them to come to the table and make changes to the rules so we can move ahead. This is the only thing that we see that can save this company from bankruptcy." Meanwhile, the union will organize ratification meetings for the tentative deal. There is no date set for those ratification meetings, but Ginter said CEP hopes to begin touring cities where AbitibiBowater has mills sometime in April. The company and union made the tentative deal after AbitibiBowater scrapped a proposal to terminate pension plans. Company spokesman Jean Philippe Cote confirmed the existence of the agreement, but said he could not confirm any of its details. "It is important and essential in the context of the restructuring process that we do reach agreements with the union, so yesterday was certainly a notable achievement in that direction," Cote said. AbitibiBowater has been operating under creditor protection in the U.S. and Canada since April. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:24:01 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83871 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83906   The annual Bayou Boogie celebration has been canned. Official with Grand Portage Lodge and Casino confirmed Monday that this year’s annual instalment of the event was cancelled. The Mardi Gras-style party that takes place just south of the border has been held at the casino every Labour Day weekend since 1992. "We were just informed about the decision last week," said Nancy Ting, co-owners of the Bayou Barn in Crown Point, La. "The casino decided that due to the economy it would be really hard to produce the festival this year. There were some other things that may have affected it, like the passport issue. All of us are hurting in our personal and business lives so we all have to make some adjustments." The Bayou Boogie featured musicians and cuisine from Louisiana and attracted thousands of people from Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. Grand Portage officials issued a news release Monday stating the decision to cancel the event after 18 years was not easy. Ting said they're disappointed, and added that she had no idea the Boogie was in jeopardy. Ting said they're hoping to bring the Bayou Boogie to another area venue. The possibility of the event being held at the Thunder Bay Casino, if OLG is interested, has not been ruled out. "We’re looking for another sponsor," she said. "They don’t have to do it on such a grand scale and they don’t have to make it a free celebration." Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:58:01 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83906 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83909 The City of Thunder Bay’s parking authority announced Monday that effective immediately, calendar parking regulations are waived. In consultation with the general manager of the Transportation and Works Department, the parking authority may waive the enforcement of calendar parking at any time after March 1. Restrictions can apply until the end of March if forecasted weather conditions or road conditions warrant. Based on the short-range weather forecast and current road conditions, the decision was made to waive calendar-parking restrictions as of Monday. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:26:42 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83909 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83915   The province outlined a five-year plan to help grow the Ontario government in its throne speech Monday. From pledging more seats for colleges and universities to creating almost one million jobs over the next decade, MPP Michael Gravelle said the speech had numerous references that could benefit Northwestern Ontario. He said he was excited and encouraged by references to mining in particular. "We do know that the Ring of Fire presents the most promising mining opportunity in Canada in the last century and it’s right there in Northwestern Ontario" Gravelle said. "We’re talking about thousands and thousands of job opportunities that could be presented." Gravelle said the government’s pledge to cash in on the upcoming global demand for clean water could also help stimulate job creation in the region. "I can see the North benefiting from that in a very significant way," Gravelle said. While the speech is general in nature, MPP Bill Mauro said he was glad to hear references to health care. "Certainly it won’t be at the levels that it has been at for the last six years," Mauro said. "It’s still going to remain a priority." Mauro said he is also excited to see what kind of opportunities mining activity will bring to Northwestern Ontario. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:02:59 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83915 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83876 Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay officials are warning the public about an email scam that is using the organization’s name. Board chairman Andrew Campbell said the fraudulent emails claim to originate from Habitat for Humanity International. Campbell said the emails also claim to be collecting donations for the aid effort in Haiti. "It is a fraudulent email that is asking for donations via credit card or cheque and it is also asking for some personal information," Campbell said. The email scam was first reported in Toronto last week, and has since spread across the country. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:19:06 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83876 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83825 A federal member of Parliament said he is disappointed the federal budget didn’t include pension protection. NDP MP John Rafferty (Thunder Bay – Rainy River) held a town hall meeting at Confederation College on Sunday. Rafferty held similar town hall meetings in Fort Frances and in Atikokan. The meetings are informal and open to any topic but were primarily dominated by the issues of pensions, the federal budget and the harmonized sales tax. Less than eight people attended the meeting. Rafferty said Canada is in the dark ages when it came to pension protection. He said he expected some kind of pension support in the new budget. "We were given those subtle signals from the government that there would be something in the budget," Rafferty said. "It is a budget that I’m very disappointed with. I guess you could call it a Bay Street budget." The budget announced on Thursday focused on tax cuts for corporations and a continuation of stimulus spending to the tune of $19 billion. Rafferty said the tax breaks would help banks and oil companies but not seniors and pensioners. Rafferty said the government should spend money on seniors who are struggling financially and estimated it would cost $700 million dollars to get seniors out of poverty. "Where do seniors spend their money? They spend it in the community," he said. "They give birthday presents to their grandchildren, pay their rent and pay for all the other things that seniors are struggling with. If you want to talk about a stimulus package, that is $700 million dollars directly back into communities across Canada." Last November, Rafferty said he would move heaven and earth to help pensioners get a meeting with the federal government. He said he made a package for the budget with pensions as a major concern. At the time, he said he hoped the government would have agreed with the idea. Rafferty said there is a chance to amend the budget when it goes through the debate process next week. Rafferty added he is working on a new piece of legislation to protect pensions and would introduce the bill sometime in April. Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:08:11 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83825 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83725 Paramedics took a family of five to hospital for smoke inhalation after a fire engulfed their home. Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue Service received a 911 call about a house fire on Back Street on Fort William First Nations about 10 p.m. Friday. Three adults and two children were taken to hospital for observation. Platoon Chief John Mill said the hospital might have already released the family Saturday morning. "There were no daring rescues or anything like that," Mill said. "The fire crews got there and everyone was out of the house at the time. I think they inhaled a little smoke so to be on the safe side I believe the hospital is just hanging onto them." Mill said the fire gutted the house but it is still standing. Wooden boards cover the front and basement windows. The fire started in the basement and took fire crews an hour to get the fire undercontrol. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:24:23 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83725 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83684 With a crowd of more than 100 fans, friends and family chanting her name in unison, cowbells clanging and a planeload of fellow WestJet passengers wondering what the kerfuffle was all about, hockey star Haley Irwin arrived home in Thunder Bay on Friday, her Olympic gold medal held aloft for all to see. An exhausted-looking Irwin, 21, caught a second win upon passing through security, where she was greeted by a raucous throng, and after hugging her mom Kerry, her aunt and some friends, she began signing autographs. She didn’t stop until everyone who wanted one got one, or got the chance to have a picture taken or touch the medal hanging around her neck. It was a little overwhelming, she said. “It was bigger than I thought. I was expecting my mom and a couple of news reporters, but I think that the kids that came out and showed support for me means a lot,” she said. “Even when you’re in Vancouver you get letters and emails, but to have them here at the airport is very special.” Irwin, who plans to return to the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the fall, didn’t mind that many of the kids skipped school on a sunny Friday afternoon, at least one of which told her teacher she was going to a dentist appointment. “I’ll support that, for today only,” said a smiling Irwin, who scored four goals and one assist in her Olympic debut, including a pair of semifinal goals against Finland. Irwin began her day in Calgary, her home-away-from-home for much of the last year, a city where she joined the senior national women’s program and made her mark, ultimately forcing Hockey Canada officials to name her to the Olympic squad last year. Getting back to Thunder Bay wasn’t without its obstacles, she said. Like fellow Olympic champion Eric Staal of the men’s hockey team, Irwin had a little explaining to do when she went through security. “They wanted to see what was in my bag. Obviously it was a medal. After that they were more than happy to let me go through,” she said. “It was in its case, but once they looked at it, they put everything back in (my bag).” If Irwin was overwhelmed at the crowd, the kids who came out to greet their newfound hero were bowled over at the chance to get up close and personal with someone that just eight days ago they watched win gold on TV. “It was pretty amazing,” said nine-year-old Hana Whalen. “I’ve never actually seen an Olympic champion, and it’s just really amazing.” The youngster wasn’t sure what was cooler, meeting Irwin herself or getting a chance to touch the medal. “It’s just incredible,” she said. Her friend, eight-year-old Erica Vidotto, was equally thrilled. “It was pretty amazing. It was much better than seeing it on TV. I think it was pretty good that they won the gold medal.” Erica, the guilty party who told her teacher a little white lie to be at the impromptu celebration, has special plans for the picture and autograph she got. “I’m going to bring it home and show my mom and we’re going to put it up on my room.” Eight-year-old Kaleigh Power said she’s proud that Irwin is from Thunder Bay and brought home the gold. “Just to see her up close, I was saying in my head, wow, this is so incredible.” Hana’s mother, Julie Whalen, who also brought seven-year-old daughter Esme to the airport, said her family had so much fun watching the Olympics that she wanted some of the excitement to continue for her daughters. “It’s overwhelming. It’s so exciting. It was everything we wanted it to be and more,” Whalen said. “For Haley to be from Thunder Bay, that’s the craziest and best thing ever. It was really important for us to come and show her support and show her that we just think she’s awesome.” Mayor Lynn Peterson, who skipped meetings in Schreiber to be at the airport, called it a wonderful tribute, holding a bouquet of red and white flowers she would later give to Irwin on behalf of the city. “The look on her face when she came around the corner was wonderful,” Peterson said. “To have this many people come out with sincere congratulations, and they’re so proud of her, I mean this is this community at its best celebrating one of this community’s best.” Could she get used to this every four years? “Absolutely,” Peterson beamed. Meanwhile, Irwin’s older brother Brent, a former Fort William North Star, joked he’s a little jealous at what his sister has accomplished – though he did join his mother and other sister in Vancouver for the Games. “I’ve been riding on her coattails my entire life,” he joked. “No, I’m very proud of her though. From the turnout on Friday, so is most of Thunder Bay. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:33:38 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83684 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83678 Town officials in Ignace say the community can't afford to keep paying the current rate for OPP policing services. Ignace currently pays approximately $500,000 annually for police services. Councillor Dianne Loubier said a delegation from the township raised the subject with Rick Bartolucci, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, during the recent Ontario Good Roads Conference. Ignace currently receives the equivalent of 4.5 full-time police positions. Loubier said over the last few years, Ignace has seen a significant population decline due to the downturn in the local economy and the township wants to re-evaluate the level of service required. Ignace officials say they will continue to negotiate OPP costs with the Ministry of Correctional Services. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:00:20 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83678 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83668 The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Deb Matthews announced new programs to recruit doctors to underserviced areas like Northwestern Ontario Friday afternoon. The province will be eliminating their Underserviced Area Program and replacing it with the Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention (NRRR) Initiative. Through the initiative, physicians starting practices in the north and in rural Ontario areas will get incentives starting at $80,000 over four years to $120,000 over four years – the more remote the community, the higher the amount. About $5.8 million is accessed through the program annually. "What this announcement means for the people of the north is that the incentives for physicians to locate in the north will be significantly higher than they are today," Matthews said. "It also means the incentives for physicians to settle in the south are significantly less." It will make a large difference in the ability of northern communities to attract doctors, said Matthews, adding there were real flaws in the previous program. "The old program simply wasn’t working anymore," she said. "A city like Burlington would have the same incentive as a community in the north. It just didn’t make sense. Too many southern communities had access to the incentive grants." Matthews also said the province will change their Postgraduate Return of Service Program. The program has international medical graduates agree to practice for five years in exchange for postgraduate training opportunities. Previously there was a restricted list of Ontario communities these students could practice in. Now the program is being opened up to any community except for Ottawa and the Toronto area. Northern Ontario School of Medicine dean Roger Strasser said both programs will provide extra support for recruitment officers in Thunder Bay. "Almost every student in the Northern Ontario School of Medicine has grown up here in Northern Ontario," said Strasser. "This will provide extra encouragement for them to decide this is the best place for them to provide medical care and pursue their careers." Strasser added the incentive grants will help put a dent in the students’ loans. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:53:51 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83668 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83665 Inadequate funding in the federal government’s budget could lead to a "crisis situation" for First Nations communities in the region says a First Nations leader. Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief said capital infrastructure in the 49 communities he represents needs to be replaced and repaired and the funding proposed by the Conservative government isn’t adequate. Beardy said 5,000 homes need to be replaced, schools need to be upgraded in the northern communities. Roads, fire halls and other infrastructure also need to be built. "Those are the type of facilities we desperately need," Beardy said. "I’m just hoping that without additional support for infrastructure I’m hoping somehow the First Nations can manage. If they cannot manage then we’ll be pushed into a crisis situation." While the government has proposed $179 million for the First Nations Water and Wastewater Action Plan, Beardy said that money is for First Nations communities across the whole country. In most cases, water and sewer facilities in NAN communities are at capacity added Beardy. "When you start breaking down those numbers it doesn’t go far," Beardy said. "If they start breaking down because they’re working at full capacity year round I’m very concerned about what could happen." Beardy said the budget does have some positive aspects such as funding for residential school survivors. "We need that in a very bad way," Beardy said. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:29:40 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83665 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83646 Senior officials with Dougall Media have confirmed application has been made to the CRTC requesting an amendment to its license for CKPR-Television.    Company vice-president and general manager Don Caron on Friday said the application requests permission to amend a condition of its license related to its affiliation with the CBC.    The network has informed the company  it will not be renewing any of its affiliation agreements beyond 2011, a move that will leave CKPR-TV without programming.    Caron called the CRTC filing a technical move that will allow Dougall Media to begin exploring other options.    He said he is saddened by the networks decision, as the CBC has provided services since the station began broadcasting in 1954.  But Caron said when the change-over does occur, locally produced services will not be impacted.  Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:09:55 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83646 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83575 The proposed federal budget is getting a B plus from a local accountant and a shake of the head from a local MP. Don Carson, with Canada’s Chartered Accountants, said he’s optimistic the government’s proposed budget will lighten the $50 billion deficit and help Northwestern Ontario. But given Canada’s relatively small role in the global economy, Northwestern Ontario’s fate lies with U.S. consumption. "I guess we just have to cross our fingers that a lot of the projections and assumptions that have been used will in fact pan out or in fact things will turn out better than they are because we’re digging ourselves a pretty big hill of debt," Carson said. "It can be done we just have to hope that external factors don’t cause the economy to go into a tangent." With the government’s commitment to continue stimulus spending to the tune of $19 billion, Carson said the region will also get a leg up with Employment Insurance and research and development dollars filtered through Lakehead University. "It’s pretty much a stay the course budget," Carson said. "There’s a lot of money continuing to go into the economy." MP Greg Rickford, Conservative Kenora, said the budget is a continuation of last year’s "Canada Economic Plan" budget. He said through stimulus spending, Northwestern Ontario has already benefited from the first year of the two-year plan and will continue to do so. "Some of these are extensions obviously it’s important to keep commitments that you made last year," Rickford said. " The emphasis is personal income tax relief…protecting and creating jobs and building on infrastructure programs from last year." Rickford said new initiatives such as the $100 million green transformation program for forestry will finally correct a "structural deficit" in Northwestern Ontario’s forestry sector. Lowering the corporate tax rate, with a pledge to have the lowest rate among G7 nations by 2012, will help mining and forestry companies in the region to be more competitive Rickford said. And the proposed tariff-free zone for Canada’s manufacturing sector will help those regional industries as well he added. "The bottom line is that we want to provide corporations with the opportunity to be more flexible and be more responsive to a changing economy as we emerge from this recession," said Rickford. "Tax relief is an important part of making it easy for them to invest in growth and expansion." But MP Bruce Hyer, NDP Superior-North, said the budget offers very little for Northwestern Ontario. For Hyer, who won’t vote for the budget in its current form, the budget does nothing to help Northern industry and hurts the average Canadian. "In its present form it’s a bad budget. It fails to create jobs, it fails forestry in Northwestern Ontario," said Hyer. "It’s a huge tax shift from big oil. Big banks, big insurance companies to average Canadians." For Hyer, the Conservative government is "spending" recklessly by lowering the corporate tax rate. As for the green transformation program for forestry, he said such a tiny amount of funding isn’t enough and energy renewal was never the issue for forestry in Northwestern Ontario. "We need loan guarantees. We need drastic action for the forest industry," Hyer said. Hyer said he’ll be working hard with the Conservative and Liberal parties to change the budget before he can vote for it. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:57:24 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83575 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83561 The Cascades Conservation Area is open to visitors following a temporary closure that began in mid February. Work crews have spent the past two weeks clearing out trees damaged during last September's wind storm. Conservation Authority chairman Bill Bartley said the work wrapped up about a week ahead of schedule. Seedlings will be planted this spring and summer at Cascades to replace the damaged trees. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:18:53 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83561 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83552 A group of local citizens says the city’s taxi services aren’t meeting the needs of people with disabilities. Ron Ross, president of Persons United for Self-Help Northwest, said some people are waiting up to four hours for accessible taxis and sometimes are even told one won’t be available until the next day. "There is not enough accessible transportation in the city to enable people to live an independent life," Ross said at the Thunder Bay Police Service board meeting Thursday. "We see people on the street with their wheelchairs all over the place and recently someone even got hit because he was on the street with his scooter. Those are signs." On behalf of PUSH Northwest, Ross recommended the board approve 10 more licenses for accessible taxis, bringing the city’s total to 23. That would require changing the city’s bylaw to allow for more taxi licenses. The city’s licensing and enforcement manager Ron Bourret said it’s time to review the taxi bylaw, but there are interested parties – taxi companies – that will be affected. "Basically regulating taxi companies comes with how it’s going to impact them financially and is it going to put them out of business," he said. However, Bourret did agree there is a need for accessible transportation in Thunder Bay. "There’s an aging population going on; it’s increasing all the time," he said. "It can’t hurt." In response to PUSH’s claims that people have waited hours for an accessible taxi, Bourret said there have been no official complaints made, but he said it could be because people don’t know there is a complaint process available. "You don’t hear complaints about this until this type of forum," he said, adding hearing Ross’ deputation to the board made him realize the issue really needs to be examined. The board passed two motions to address the issue. The first was for Ross to meet with Bourret so the city can learn more about the problems people with disabilities face in terms of transportation. The second motion approved a feasibility study to examine taxi service in Thunder Bay on all levels, not just where accessible taxis are concerned. Ross was pleased with the board’s response, noting anything that moves the issue forwards is good. "We can’t wait a year-and-a-half; all that does is cause more hardship for people with disabilities and seniors and so forth," he said. "So if we can move quicker on this and get some immediate response and I think the chair indicated in their motion they wanted to do that – if that’s what’s going to move it forward, that’s the way it goes." Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:02:33 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83552 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83548   A new senior’s facility will be getting an expansion, the province confirmed Thursday. Bethammi Nursing Home’s 109 beds will be rebuilt into the soon to be constructed Centre of Excellence for Integrated Senior’s Services, bringing the total number of long-term care beds at the facility to 445. St. Joseph’s Care Group CEO Tracy Buckler said CEISS, at 64 beds per floor, will now be eight stories when it’s built. She said while Bethammi could have been retrofitted to meet provincial standards, the 109 beds will be a welcomed addition to the CEISS. The long-term care beds will be private and semi-private, something the Bethammi home couldn’t provide, Buckler said. "It’s great news to coincide with our centre of excellence program that we can build all of our long-term care on one site," said Buckler. Originally an $80-million project when first announced last December, Buckler said the additional $18-million construction estimates bring the total price tag of CEISS to nearly $100 million. Bethammi is more than 30 years old but still structurally sound, Buckler said. She added that it’s future will be determined soon. "We have to meet the needs of the community," Buckler said. "I don’t want to see Bethammi staying empty." MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay –Atikokan) said the CEISS project and Bethammi rebuild are separate projects that will move ahead at the same time. Although Buckler confirmed the beds from Bethammi would be included in the CEISS, Mauro said based on his discussions in Southern Ontario, it hasn’t been decided yet. "At this point we’re not 100 per cent sure where the beds are landing," Mauro said. "It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if it was (CEISS)." The announcement is part of a provincial commitment to rebuild 35,000 aging long-term care beds over the next 10 years, Mauro said. The Liberal MPP also said that a retrofit is generally the same cost as building a new facility, so building new is usually better than renovating a home like Bethammi. "To rebuild new is sometimes much more cost effective and you get a 50-to-80 year life span out of something new," Mauro said. Mauro said because of the province’s commitment to rebuilding aging senior’s facilities, more announcements will probably be made in Thunder Bay soon. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:27:22 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83548 http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83512 Three people face charges after police busted a suspected marijuana grow op Wednesday. Officers from the Combined Forces Organized Crime Unit searched a Rowand Street home in Thunder Bay Wednesday afternoon. Officers found a total of 20 marijuana plants, which police believe have an estimated street value of $20,000. Two women, aged 44 and 18 years old, were arrested at the home. A 51-year-old man surrendered to police later that evening. All three were residents of the Rowand Street home that police searched. All three suspects have been charged with production of a controlled substance. The Combined Forces Organized Crime Unit consists of members from the Thunder Bay Police Service, OPP, RCMP, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service and the Anishinabek Police Service. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:52:29 GMT http://www.tbnewswatch.com/news/Default.aspx?cid=83512