Look Back: Dec. 2010

1 Transit City in limbo
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said he would like to stop Transit City, a project that includes an $8.15 billion light-rail network that utilizes mostly funds from Queen’s Park, and move forward with his subway plans instead.

Bombardier spokesman Marc Laforge said the company will continue working on the light-rail vehicles until it is told officially by its client to stop. The company was awarded a $1.2 billion contract to manufacture 182 light-rail vehicles for the TTC, which amounts to an estimated average of 250 jobs for the Thunder Bay plant over 10 years.

While many local politicians said they weren’t worried about the future of the project and that Ford is only one vote on Toronto’s city council, MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay-Atikokan) said he was definitely concerned about how the scrapping of the contract could affect Thunder Bay.
 
 
2 Fatal hit-and-run
Police charged 25-year-old Christian Emhir Hernandez with two counts of impaired driving and one of failing to remain at the scene of an accident on Dec. 19. Richard Garson Carmichael, 45, was pronounced dead at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre after he was struck by a vehicle, allegedly driven by Hernandez, in the 100 block of High Street North in the city’s north end. It has been reported that Hernandez’s girlfriend was following him at the time and called police to turn him in.
 
 
3 Tragedy in Murillo
A Murillo couple was found dead in their home on Dec. 12 following what police describe as a murder suicide.

At about 1 p.m. Sunday the Thunder Bay Police Service Emergency Task Unit discovered the bodies of 69-year-old Joseph Lavoie and his wife, 69-year-old Antoinette Lavoie, in the couple’s home on Oliver Road.

The couple had a history of domestic violence, police confirmed. The local police force has been met with criticism for their handling of a previous domestic case involving that same couple. Officials with the Faye Peterson Transition House said Mr. Lavoie was charged with aggravated assault causing bodily harm following an incident in the home back in August. They say Lavoie was then released from custody, which goes against provincial domestic violence protocols. Police confirmed that they will conduct a review of the incident, but officials said they could not provide comment until that review is complete.  
 
 
4 Waterfront gets extension
With a large portion of the Prince Arthur’s Landing project tied to landscaping, city manager Tim Commisso was relieved when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a seven-month extension for projects fueled by the economic-stimulus plan on Dec. 2.
Harper said 90 per cent of stimulus-funded projects would still be finished by the original deadline of March 31, but the extension was to help a small number of projects impacted by weather or "Murphy’s Law." Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page said in a report that more than $300 million might not be spent on stimulus projects if the spring deadline held firm.
 
 
5 New council sworn in
Thunder Bay's new mayor and council were officially sworn into office Dec. 6. The event included a smudging ceremony, greetings from former mayors and the Oath of Allegiance. While it is the first official night of the new council, Mayor Keith Hobbs had already been on the job for several days. Also sworn in were former mayor Ken Boshcoff as a councillor at-large and newcomer Paul Pugh in the McKellar ward seat.
 
 
6 Tuchenhagen will appeal
Former McKellar Ward Coun. Robert Tuchenhagen announced on Dec. 10 that he would appeal a ruling that he contravened the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. He had been fighting allegations of conflict of interest which stems from a vacant city-owned building that was purchased by Tuchenhagen in 2008. As part of the decision, Tuchenhagen has now been disqualified from being a member of city council for a period of four years starting Dec. 8.
 
 
7 Studying a curfew
Council approved a feasibility study for a curfew for the city’s youth, how it could be implemented, its legality and what impact it would have on the city’s police services. Couns. Andrew Foulds and Iain Angus were the only two votes against the report. Foulds stated it was age discrimination and the curfew would have little impact on crime prevention. 
 
 
8 Solar plans
Toronto-based company SkyPower announced Dec. 14 their plans for an 8.5 megawatt solar park to be built on Thunder Bay International Airport Authority lands. The project is expected to create 100 direct jobs during construction and will produce enough energy to power 1,000 homes after its first year of operation and 15,000 homes after 20 years. A SkyPower official said it will also offset about 7,500 metric tons of carbon from the air per year. 
 
9 City covers waterfront overruns
City council approved to cover $1.4 million in cost overruns to complete a portion of the waterfront development project Dec. 20. The funds don’t include an estimated $35,000 monthly expense for site security and safety, which to date has totaled $319,000, a number expected to grow as high as $675,000 by project’s end.

City manager Tim Commisso said the added costs will force the city to look at possible cuts to the original design for phase one of Prince Arthur’s Landing, originally estimated to cost $47.5 million. The present estimate is $49.3 million. The original $1.4 million became necessary because of more than 45 changes and upgrades made to the civil works contract, which includes the electrical, sewer, water and storm water systems.
 
 
10 Pharmacy robbed
Janzen’s Pharmacy’s recently opened Westfort location is robbed by a man wielding a knife and a bloody syringe. The suspect fled with an undisclosed amount of OxyContin and morphine.

Despite police saying prescription narcotic use is on the rise in the city, Janzen’s owner Brenda Adams said they would continue to carry the drugs, stating it’s necessary to maintain their level of patient care. Other than the odd shoplifter, Adams said the Dec. 28 incident was the first robbery the pharmacy has seen in it’s more than 90-year history.