Pension Bill Proposed

A northwestern Ontario MP is looking to protect workers pensions.

Thunder Bay-Rainy River's John Rafferty has introduced a bill in the House of Commons which would secure underfunded pension plans.

"The workers have invested in their retirements," says Rafferty, "and been expecting certain retirement income after working several for many years at mills. In the last few years especially, mill workers say to themselves 'I always though they were secure' but they're finding out they're not."

Rafferty says the recent issue surrounding pensions for workers with AbitibiBowater convinced him for the need to bring forward a private members bill.

Minimum Wage Hike

Minimum wage in Ontario is up as of today.

It now stands at $10.25 an hour.

Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle says the reason for the increase is to help those in need.

"It's part of our poverty reduction strategy in the province of Ontario," says Gravelle. "We want to find the best ways we can to help those people who are most vulnerable be able to manage their lives in a better way."

The minimum wage in Ontario has increased almost 50 per cent since 2004.

Man's Death Investigated

The Northwestern Health Unit confirms it’s looking into the death of a Fort Frances man to determine if it’s linked to a rare form of Creutzfeldt- Jakob's disease.

Director of Health Protection Arlene Lesenke says this form of disease is not linked to a another form contracted by eating tainted meat from cattle.

The unidentified man died last week.

No Decision Yet on Extra Trustee

The Northwest Catholic District School Board will wait until April to decide where an extra seat on the board will go.

The board received approval in February to expand its number of trustees to eight this fall and was to discuss the issue at its meeting on the weekend.

The board requested the additional trustee following the amalgamation with the Atikokan Roman Catholic District School Board last fall.

New Tennis Courts Proposed

The Northwest Catholic District School board is giving its support behind the proposed development of new tennis courts in Fort Frances.

The board has agree to enter into a joint venture with the town of Fort Frances and the Rainy River District School Board that would allow the courts to be developed at St. Francis Sportsfield.

The Catholic Board would provide the land while the town and public board would split costs of development, estimated at $400-thousand.

The pubic board has yet to formally discuss the proposal.

Retirement Home Regulations

Ontario is moving to regulate retirement homes for the first time ever.

Gerry Phillips, the minister responsible for seniors, says new legislation will create a regulatory authority with the power to license and inspect retirement homes.

Unlike Ontario nursing homes, which receive government funding to provide medical care to elderly patients, retirement homes are privately operated and until now have not been regulated.

Burning Restrictions

The fire danger in Minnesota has prompted an expansion of burning restrictions in some parts of the state.

No burning permits were being issued Carlton, St. Louis, Itasca, and Aitkin Counties while permits are being allowed only under special circumstances in Koochiching and Pine Counties.

There have been more than 280 fires in the state this year.

Weather Records

A twenty-year-old weather record was shattered in Fort Frances yesterday.

A high of 19.7 degrees C eclipsed the old record for March 30 of 15 C set back in 1990.

The warm temperatures also led to records in Dryden and Red Lake.