Area Bus Company Concerned

A bus company, providing service to Fort Frances and Atikokan, isn't happy with the arrival of a subsidized out-of-province company.

Caribou Coach president Sandy Smith says Pacific Western's arrival will hurt the local companies.

"With a specific company like Pacific Western coming in and exclusively taking away a third of the ridership from us and other carriers, that puts a real dent in the number of passengers we carry," says Smith.

Smith says Pacific Western is to service all patients who qualify under the Northern Health Travel Grant program.

College Support Staff Back Strike Action

Students head back to Ontario colleges in just over a month but labour trouble is already looming.

Support staff at community colleges represented by OP-SEU, including those at Confederation College, have voted 77 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.

Negotiators for the province's 24 colleges are urging the union to return to the table to work out a settlement before school starts.

Goldcorp Evacuates Employees

Advancing forest fires have forced Goldcorp to evacuate most of its 380 employees from the Musselwhite gold mine north of Pickle Lake.

Electricity to the mine is being provided by generator because the fire destroyed a section of a transmission line.

A crew of 50 employees, including the mine's general manager, will remain at the site to monitor operations and co-ordinate with firefighters.

Hwy 602 Still Closed

The Ministry of Transportation says it could be at least a month or more before a section of Highway 602 can be reopened to motorists.

A section of the Highway was closed Wednesday by the collapse of a concrete culvert, about 3 kilometres south of Emo.

A Ministry spokesperson says it's hoped repairs can be complete by mid or late August.

Hudak Releases Northern Ontario Platform

Leader Tim Hudak says he has big plans for the north now that his Progressive Conservatives have released their northern election platform.

Hudak is promising more input from northerners on the decision-making at Queen's Park with regular cabinet meeting in northern Ontario and consultations with First Nations.

Other pledges include job creation, making better use of natural resources and improvements to forestry wood supply programs.

Energy Retailer Help Provided

The constituency office of area MPP Howard Hampton wants area residents to know what they're getting into when an energy retailer comes knocking.

Sarah Campbell, a constituency assistant, has been holding information sessions across the riding.

Campbell says low-income earners and seniors are often the targets.

"Far to often when these retailers come to the door, they talk very quickly and give people about eight pages of terms," says Campbell. "So people are given a different understanding (of what they're getting into)."

Campbell says while not always able to get people out of unwanted contracts, she has been able to get better terms from companies for them.

Budget Impasse Deal Reached

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislators say they have reached a deal to end a budget impasse that's led to a two-week shutdown of government services.

The two sides agreed on a proposal that would raise $1.4-billion in new revenue, half by delaying state aid checks to school districts and the other half by selling tobacco payment bonds.

Quetico Celebrating Park Day

Ontario Park Day is tomorrow and Quetico Provincial Park will be celebrating with a unique program.

Park Naturalist Susan Bourne says the park and Friends of Quetico are hosting a canoe and kayak symposium at French Lake.

"The day is fulled with all kinds of activities," says Bourne. "There will be instructors. Different people talking about safety and how to pack. There will also be fun paddling going on."

It starts at 8 a.m. and you can register by going to the Friends of Quetico website.

Board Covering Policing Costs

The Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship is not changing the route of next week's Parade of Boats.

President Gord Watson says the board has decided to pay the cost associated with the OPP controlling traffic along the route.

OPP indicated it could cost up to $1,200 to have officers at select intersections.

Watson says the board likes the downtown route and has adjusted its budget to cover the costs.

Ontario Public Sector Job Cuts

Public sector workers in Ontario have received the first wave of pink slips expected as part of planned government cuts.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says its members have received 274 layoff notices, kicking off a process that will eliminate 19-hundred jobs between now and next March.

The five per cent reduction in public sector jobs was announced in the province's budget.

First Nations Water Complaints

The Council of Canadians says First Nations shouldn't let the federal government off the hook when it comes to providing safe drinking water for all.

Maude Barlow, the council's national chair, says the United Nations has recognized water and sanitation as a human right.

She says that means Ottawa is obligated to come up with a plan to fulfil that right, and yet dozens of First Nations communities continue to go without clean water.