- First-degree murder charges against Adam Capay were stayed. Capay, who was to stand trial for his alleged role in the 2012 stabbing death of a fellow inmate, garnered national attention after it was learned he was held in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day for more than four years. In March he was re-arrested and charged with sexual assault.
- The Thunder Bay Police Services Board finally acknowledged systemic racism exists within its walls and in the Thunder Bay Police Service during a reconciliation circle. The move followed a report by Senator Murray Sinclair that was ordered by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.
- A body was found dumped on Highway 527 and police quickly ruled it was a homicide. But it took the Ontario Provincial Police until March, after post-mortem examinations took place in Toronto, to identify the victim as 21-year-old Samatar Warsame, of the Greater Toronto Area. No arrests have yet been made in the case.
- Thunder Bay Hydro is no more. Early in the new year the publicly owned utility merged with Kenora Hydro to create Synergy North. The City of Thunder Bay owns 90 per cent of the new company, which saved the two utilities a combined $900,000 annually, according to projections.
- Porter Airlines announced it planned to open an aircraft maintenance base in Thunder Bay, a decision that was expected to lead to 18 jobs. The airline already had 24 employees working in the city and company president Robert Deluce said the city is a significant destination for the airline, adding it’s a very busy hub.
- Police Chief Sylvie Hauth made a big ask of city council, requesting an additional $1 million be added to the 2019 police operating budget to help address eight of the 44 recommendations made by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director. The police budget at the time was $41.8 million.
- The city opted in to brick-and-mortar cannabis shops, permanently binding Thunder Bay to allowing pot shops to set up. It began a months-long process by the province to find a qualified applicant to run the city’s only store. As of December, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario had denied the first three successful applicants and is waiting on the fourth, which would result in a store set up on Memorial Avenue.
- Regen Med launched the country’s first cortical bone powder program to provide material to aid in reconstructive surgery. The tissue bank got a $700,000 grant from FedNor to harvest the material, the dense outer surface of the bone.
- The city’s proposed budget starts with a 3.25 per cent gross tax levy increase, in part to cover $900,000 in additional costs to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board. The proposed levy, the money collected from all municipal taxpayers, was $6.2 million higher than it was set in 2018, a $195.9 million total. The Chamber of Commerce later demanded the increase be capped at two per cent. Council settled at 2.29 per cent.
- Flooding at Fort William Historical Park led officials at the provincial park to cancel the 2019 winter carnival. An ice jam on the Kaministiquia River was to blame, leading to water filling the basement of the Grand Hall.
Between now and Jan. 1, tbnewswatch.com will be presenting our annual Year in Review Feature, with a look back at the top news stories each month throughout 2019. We'll culminate with our top 10 news stories of the decade on New Year's Day.
