Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Saturday morning.
Expect heavy rain in Sudbury area this weekend
Greater Sudbury is under a special weather statement for rain. Significant rainfall is expected this weekend. Environment Canada said to expect total rainfall amounts of 15 to 30 millimetres, with locally higher amounts in thunderstorms. Rain will begin early Saturday morning and continue into Sunday morning. The heaviest rain is expected to fall Saturday into Saturday night. Locally higher amounts are likely in thunderstorms Saturday afternoon and evening. Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Localized flooding in low-lying areas is possible.
‘Question of cost’: Still no timeline for reopening Laurentian pool
Asked during an April 26 meeting about the status of Laurentian University’s long-closed Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool, an administrator with the university said there’s currently no specific timelines on when it can be reopened. “We’re looking at the minimum required so we can get it reopened, but we don’t have a specific date,” said Sylvie Lafontaine, Laurentian’s vice-president finance and administration, speaking during Friday’s LU board of governors meeting. The administrator was responding to questions on the status of the pool from Laurentian union representatives Robyn Gorham and Tom Fenske. Lafontaine said it’s “a question of cost,” adding that “I also want to highlight that it's not just fixing those cracks in the pool, but also it's looking at it like as a facility overall, how we can make sure that it is a building that it will be appropriate for reopening it to the community, as well as the university students.”
Northern Ontario remains idled in the electric vehicle revolution
The mining of critical minerals is essential to Canada's growth in the electric vehicle sector, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford on the occasion of a “historic” and “generational” $15-billion investment by Honda Motor Co. in southern Ontario. In formulating a strategy to establish secure a “start-to-finish” battery chain ecosystem, Trudeau said on April 25 that Canada has the abundant critical mineral supply that the rest of the world wants, the available skilled talent, and advanced manufacturing capacity to build the innovative economy of the future. And compared to socially and environmentally dubious mining players like China, “our approach is much more responsible.” Boosting Canadian critical mineral production means tapping into greenfield areas like the Ring of Fire in the James Bay region.
Still time to get in on Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre auction
You still have time to get in on a great online auction and help the Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre at the same time. Bids for the fifth annual Caring For Our Wildlife Online Auction — with more than 300 items: unique works of art, jewelry, sports memorabilia, handcrafted treasures, and more — can be placed until April 27 at noon. All proceeds support animal care at Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre. Find the Caring For Our Wildlife Online Auction here: 32auctions.com/turtlepond2024. The Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre is a licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility and a registered charity, located in the City of Greater Sudbury, serving a geographic area of around 130,000 square kilometers of Northern Ontario.
Sudbury’s Irish Regiment welcomes new honorary leaders
The Irish Regiment of Canada Second Battalion delved into tradition Thursday night with a special ceremony to appoint new honourary leaders of the regiment. The event, held at the Sudbury Armoury on Riverside Drive, saw the appointments of Abbas Homayed and Sara Cunningham as new honorary colonel and honorary lieutenant-colonel respectively. Homayed is publisher of Sudbury.com, NorthernOntarioBusiness.com and director of community relations for Village Media Inc. For the past six years, Homayed has served the regiment as the honorary lieutenant-colonel. This is Cunningham's first role with the regiment, although both her father and grandfather had extensive military service with the Irish Regiment and the Copper Cliff Highlanders. Cunningham, a deputy chief of the Greater Sudbury Police Service, also has an extensive list of community and volunteer roles in Sudbury for several years.
International student cuts take a bite out of Cambrian budget
Factoring in a reduction in its international students due to government policy, Cambrian College’s board of governors has approved a budget for the 2024-2025 school year that shows $13.4 million less in revenues from the previous year. The college’s 2024-2025 budget is balanced, with no deficit or surplus, and anticipating both revenues and expenses of just over $125 million. In January, the federal government announced it is making several changes to stem the explosive growth of international students being brought into Canada by post-secondary institutions, which has caused issues that include pressure on housing. That included a cap on international student study permit applications and ending post-graduation work permits for those attending private colleges. Cambrian College has a partnership with a GTA-area private college called Hanson Canada to educate international students in Toronto, on top of those studying at the college’s Sudbury campus.
