Young Women's Conference

2009-05-22

12:56:48

Building self-confidence among young women is one of the objectives of a gathering this weekend in Sioux Narrows.

About 60 girls from across the Rainy River district in grades 7 to 12 will be participate  in the annual Young Women's Conference's coordinated by the area's school boards.

Dana Kosowich, one of the teachers involved, says the event has proved to be successful.

"It really does build that self-confidence with the girls," says Kosowich. "They have a great time. It's really interesting to see their growth over the weekend and just how excited they are. They start out really quiet and then just come into their own and get a lot out of the conference.

The event includes a variety of workshops and presentations.

Tory Contenders Propose Cutting PST

2009-05-22

12:55:19

Two of the four Progressive Conservative leadership hopefuls are promising to cut Ontario's eight per cent sales tax if the party wins the 2011 election.

During a debate in London, all four Tory leadership contenders said they opposed harmonizing the PST with the federal goods and services tax.

But Frank Klees and Randy Hillier went beyond vowing to fight harmonization by pledging to cut the provincial tax, with Hillier going so far as to say he'd cut it by three percentage points.

Jail Fire Recommendations

2009-05-22

12:54:35

An inquest into the deaths of two men in a jail on a northern Ontario reserve is calling on Ottawa and Ontario to shut down all unsafe holding cells.

The inquest was held in Toronto following the deaths of Ricardo Wesley and Jamie Goodwin on the Kashechewan First Nation.

The men, both in their early 20's, were trapped in their cells as flames tore through the jail in January 2006.

The inquest jury also says First Nations deserve the same level of policing services as non-aboriginal communities.

Condo Units Up For Sale

2009-05-22

12:52:09

The developer of a condominium project in Fort Frances feels there is strong interest.

Robert Zanetti was in town yesterday to promote the project to prospective buyers.

He says he'd like to see at least twenty of the twenty-units available sold before building commences.

"If seventeen, eighteen, nineteen people step up and say yes this is a marketable commodity, then we pretty much know that by the time we finish the rest of the building, we'll be okay," says Zanetti.

Construction could begin as early as this fall.

Frustration Expressed at Forum

2009-05-22

11:59:25

There was plenty of frustration expressed over AbitibiBowater's move toward bankruptcy protection at a town hall meeting last night.

Over thirty contractors, mill workers and retirees attended. Robin Woolsley was among those to direct anger at the company for failing to communicate with local contractors.

"They knew they were going to go broke and none of them had the guts to come and give us a choice," said Woolsley. "They kept saying come in boys, the bridge is closed, but keep coming in. And I'm not the only one in this room who's got hundred thousand dollars plus tied up in this and all we keep hearing is next week, next week, next week."

Chris Pollard said local contractors are being left out in the cold 

"There's a complete lack of communication with Abitibi, with Ernst and Young," says Pollard. "Nobody has any answers. It's absolutely pathetic. I would really like some answers"

Communication, Energy and Papersworkers Union National Rep, Steve Boon says governments need to take more action to help those effected.

"As leaders we all know we're in a terrible time," says Boon, "but we need a government to get us through the trough and out the the other side because there is a future. But right now the government can't sit on the sidelines and say let's let the chips fall where they may as the Americans do the opposite and help their industry."

Area logging firms, who are owed thousands of dollars from AbitibiBowater, say all they're want is the money that's owed to them, and not a government handout.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P John Rafferty, who hosted the forum, says the future of AbitibiBowater's mill in Fort Frances appears to be secure. Rafferty said he got that assurance from a company vice-president he spoke with earlier in the week week.

"I did get the definite feeling that when we were talking specifically about this Fort Frances mill that the company thinks very highly of it," said Rafferty. "I think I would have gotten, even over the telephone, a pretty good indication if this was one of the mills that would be on the chopping block and it didn't sound like it was."

But the future of the mill's number 6 paper machine resuming production in June looks dim. Mill workers say management has told them a planned start-up likely won't happen next month and may not even occur in July. The machine has not been running since March.