THUNDER BAY - Here are the top stories from November 2018, as selected by tbnewswatch.com reporter Matt Vis. 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 Thunder Bay Police Service hired the first female police chief in its history, promoting Sylvie Hauth as the force’s top cop. Hauth, a 25-year member of the force, had been a deputy chief since 2017 and had served two extended stints as acting chief.
- Angelique EagleWoman, who had been heralded as the first Indigenous woman to lead a Canadian law school upon her 2015 hiring, launched a $6-million lawsuit against Lakehead University. In the filing, EagleWoman alleges university leadership subjected her to constant micromanagement and ignored open workplace hostility that she faced. EagleWoman had resigned from the post earlier in the year.
- Geoffrey Corbeil, 35, died after being shot in a Brodie Street residence. Police, who said they do not believe it was a random murder, have not laid any charges in connection with the case. The victim, who had previously been convicted of manslaughter for a 2005 homicide, had known involvement in the drug trade and past connections to gang activity. This was the first firearm involved murder in Thunder Bay since 2012.
- The North West Local Health Integration Network doubled the number of transitional care unit beds operated by the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre at Hogarth Riverview Manor. The unit, a temporary solution to severe hospital overcapacity earlier in the year, will have 64 beds and is expected to continue operating throughout 2019.
- The Ontario Court of Appeal rejected CN’s case for a stay to reopen the James Street Swing Bridge. CN, which had previously been ordered by the court to reopen the span to vehicular traffic, claimed the costs to repair would be between $4 million and $6 million. The appellate judge also provided an opinion that it is unlikely the railway will be granted leave to appeal by the Supreme Court of Canada.
- Provincial energy minister Greg Rickford announced he was asking the Competition Bureau to investigate Northwestern Ontario gas pricing. Rickford, the MPP for Kenora-Rainy River, said savings at the pumps from the cancellation weren’t being passed down to customers and accused retailers in Thunder Bay, Fort Frances, Kenora and Dryden of a lack of competitive behaviour.
- A nearly 10-year drug trafficking sentence that was part of the Project Dolphin probe was quashed by the Ontario Court of Appeal. Keith Ritchie had been convicted of multiple offences in 201 A new trial has been ordered.
- Labour Minister Patty Hajdu quashed any last hope for basic income recipients when she told them the federal government would not come to their rescue after the Progressive Conservative government had decided to cancel the pilot project two years short of its scheduled completion.
- A fire at a Walkover Street residence claimed a woman’s life. The woman was transported from the north side home to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, where she later died.
- A contingent of students from Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School travelled to the nation’s capital to lobby for a new school. They met with Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott, who said she was touched by their stories and aspirations and pledged to be a champion for them.
