Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning.
LCBO workers set to strike as union demands changes to corner store booze plan
LCBO workers are set to go on strike on July 5 if they can't reach a deal — and one of their demands is changes to the Ford government's plan to allow beer, wine, and ready-made cocktails to be sold in grocery and corner stores. Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) president JP Hornick said the union has proposed an alternative business model to the government's planned expansion of alcohol sales. "If the government doesn't want a hot, dry summer, then they need to look at the alternative plan that keeps the convenience, that doesn't roll back on expansion but makes sure that it is done in a way that is responsible, that protects public money, and that protects good jobs," Hornick said. One key criticism of the plan is its cost to the public purse. The government has committed to paying the brewers that own The Beer Store up to $225 million for costs associated with breaking its previous contract before its expiry at the end of 2025. The Ontario Liberal Party estimated the changes will cost the treasury $1 billion over the next year and a half, when all costs, including lost LCBO revenue and forgone fees, are factored in.
City loosening test maintenance hole requirement
In the wake of city council members granting a hodgepodge of exemptions in recent months, the operations committee has agreed to relax the requirement to dig test maintenance holes. In a motion passed on Monday, which still needs to be ratified by city council as a whole through associated bylaw amendments, “multi-residential” buildings will be defined as 11 units or more. (These properties, which require test maintenance holes, are currently defined as three units or more.) Further, staff have been asked to provide exemptions to the requirement to install a test maintenance hole for commercial establishments “which could be considered low risk, on a case-by-case basis,” as determined by the general manager of Growth and Infrastructure. Test maintenance holes are located at the edge of properties, and serve as an access point for the city to test the contents of a specific property’s wastewater, which allows them to narrow in on where contaminants are coming from.
City lines up 3.9% annual tax levy jump average for 10 years
To remain at a status-quo state of investment, the City of Greater Sudbury is slated to see annual tax levy increases averaging 3.9 per cent during the next decade. This, according to the city’s latest long-term financial plan update city council received during Tuesday’s finance and administration committee meeting. It was one of myriad insights into municipal finances made between this meeting and the audit committee meeting that took place earlier in the day. Under this base model plan, annual tax levy increases are expected to start out higher and ease down to 2.4 per cent by 2034 to create the 3.9-per-cent average during the 10 years. Next year’s anticipated tax levy increase was previously set at 7.3 per cent, until city council asked last month for staff to pare it down to within a 4.9-per-cent limit (which will require them to cut $8.5 million from the base budget). The 2026 tax levy increase is projected at 6.3 per cent under the base model, with subsequent annual increases coming in lower during subsequent years.
Health Sciences North in ‘good financial shape’, says CEO
Health Sciences North (HSN) has reported a deficit of more than $384,000 for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. That's not necessarily a bad thing, said hospital president and CEO David McNeil in his report to the hospital's annual general meeting held on June 12. "HSN remains in good financial shape," said McNeil. "Inclusive of ongoing Bill 124 expenses, inflationary expenses, ongoing investments in digital initiatives, and depreciation for buildings, HSN recorded a bottom-line deficit of $348,000, representing an improvement from the previous fiscal year where HSN recorded a deficit of $14.1 million inclusive of unfunded Bill 124 expenses, said McNeil. Bill 124 was enacted by the Doug Ford Conservatives in November 2019 to put a one-per-cent wage cap per-year for all public sector union settlements. The act was challenged by the unions and overturned in the courts, forcing numerous payback agreements in all public sectors, including hospital wage settlements. Unions throughout Ontario have been seeking retroactive paybacks estimated at more than $6 billion.
City interviewing 47 candidates for volunteer firefighter positions
The city received 131 applications for volunteer firefighter positions during the 2023/24 recruitment process, which capped off on April 15. Of these applicants, 48 did not reside in a volunteer district, 21 withdrew or did not respond to phone calls and 56 proceeded for physical testing. With nine more candidates dropping off, the city ended up with 47 applicants advancing to the interview stage of the recruitment process. On Tuesday, Deputy Chief Jesse Oshell told Sudbury.com that hiring was ongoing and they’d have final numbers for positions offered soon. The previous intake year saw 76 people apply for volunteer firefighter positions, of whom 42 ended up being offered positions. This year’s numbers are shared in a report on the city’s latest volunteer firefighter recruitment and training efforts, tabled by Oshell and fellow Deputy Chief Nathan Melin for the June 25 city council meeting.
Success: University women’s group awards inspiring young minds
Like most high school students who graduated during or just after the COVID 19 pandemic, Makayla LaPorte spent months isolated and studying at home. Her curiosity about viruses and vaccines began before the pandemic, but that event certainly reinforced her interest in viruses and vaccines. LaPorte, who is now attending Laurentian University, plans to pursue her master degree and PhD in immunology and hopes to do research to find treatments for virus infections and autoimmune diseases. Her long-term goal is to teach students who are also interested in this field. The 20-year old and nine other young enterprising women received help with their education costs this spring thanks to the Canadian Federation of University Women Sudbury (CFUW). CFUW Sudbury awarded $10,000 in bursaries and scholarships — named to honour exemplary women who have contributed to CFUW locally, provincially or nationally — to hardworking students who have already reached a level of success in their young lives.
