THUNDER BAY - Here are the top stories from July 2018, as selected by tbnewswatch.com editor Leith Dunick. We'll be rolling out our look back at the year gone throughout the rest of December, culminating with our most read stories of the year on Jan. 1.
- The province announced it was cancelling the basic income pilot project, a three-year program that had been introduced by the previous Liberal government to provide a living wage to low-income earners in three Ontario cities, including Thunder Bay. The move brought outrage from anti-poverty groups and those who had signed up to the program.
- Benjamin Marki was convicted of all charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, stemming from a 2015 double homicide that took the life of Wilfred Pott and Anne Chuchmuch. Marki in August received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 20 years.
- CN announced it planned to appeal a ruling of June’s Ontario Court of Appeal decision that ordered the railway to reopen the bridge to vehicular traffic. Mayor Keith Hobbs said the city was “beyond disappointed” and “outraged” at the move, which came nearly five years after the bridge was closed to vehicles after a fire.
- Premier Doug Ford didn’t wait long to make changes to the provincial energy industry, Ontario Power Generation announcing it would close the Thunder Bay generating station as it was no longer necessary and in need of $5 million in repairs. The move affected 50 of 70 jobs at the facility, with OPG officials promising to redeploy workers elsewhere.
- The city learned that once again it was the murder capital of Canada in 2017. Statistics Canada numbers showed that while the crime rate in Thunder Bay is dropping, the murder rate was 8 per 100,000 people. Abbotsford, B.C. was second at 4.72, while Edmonton came in third on the dubious list at 3.49.
- Greyhound announced it was cutting its Northwestern Ontario bus service. The move was part of a plan that saw the transportation company pull out of Western Canada completely and left riders scrambling for alternatives come October. Smaller, regional carriers have since agreed to fill in some of the gaps, but declining ridership meant the writing was on the wall for Greyhound.
- Rainy weather put a damper on Canada Day celebrations, leading to the postponement of the annual fireworks display. The rain didn’t put an end to all of the festivities, however, with hundreds still showing up at events around the city to wish the country a happy 151st birthday. The rain led to a flood watch being issued.
- St. Joseph’s Hospital opened its new east wing, which completed the process of phasing out the use of the Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital. The $56-million project accommodates 38 long-term care inpatient beds living with severe, persistent, chronic and/or relapsing mental illness.
- Mayor Keith Hobbs officially announced he would not be running for a third term. Under investigation for extortion, Hobbs said he believed it was time to bow out of municipal politics, “sit back and smell the roses, spend some time with my wife, Marisa and our three children...” Hobbs was first elected in 2010 and re-upped by voters four years later.
- The Alexander Henry officially began life at its new home at the Pool Six site on the city’s waterfront. The former coast guard cutter was built in Thunder Bay in 1958 and serviced the Great Lakes for decades before becoming a tourist museum in Kingston, Ont.
