NDP Calls For HST Removal From Home Heating Costs

Provincial NDP are renewing their calls to have the HST removed from the cost of home heating.

MPP Michael Mantha introduced a private members bill on the final day of the fall sitting.

Mantha says with recent examples of government waste and the threat of huge increases in electricity rates in the near future, removal of the sales tax is needed more than ever for people already struggling to pay their bills.

Debate on the bill isn't likely until sometime in the new year.

LHINS Get A Review

Regional health authorities will get a review in the new year.

A provincial legislative committee intends to hold public meetings in late January and February to review the Local Health System Integration Act.

It include a meeting in Thunder Bay on February 3.

The 7-year-old act led to the creation of 14 Local Health Integration Networks, including one for the Northwest, to oversee the planning, integration and funding of local health.

Fatal Weekend Accident

One person is dead following a motor vehicle accident west of Thunder Bay.

OPP says the 53-year-old man died yesterday afternoon after a pick-up truck rolled over on Highway 11-17 west of Thunder Bay near Finmark road.

His identify has not been released.

Trains Moving Again

Trains are moving again on the CP rail line in northwestern Ontario.

A derailment about 10-kilometres east of Ignace forced the closure of the line early Saturday morning.

Fourteen grain cars left the track.

No one was injured.

New Gold Commits To Area Gold Project

New Gold is reaffirming its commitment to its newly acquired Rainy River gold project.

The mining company makes that promise following the release of a feasibility study for a gold project in British Columbia.

Chair Randall Oliphant says given the drop in gold prices and that the Rainy River project has a more modest capital requirement, the company's priority will be advancing the project north of Barwick.

An update feasibility study for the project is due out early next year.

Internet Services Study

Telecommunication services in the Rainy River district will be getting a review.

Rainy River Future Development Corporation wants to study what exists and what plans companies have to expand services.

Client services Manager Geoff Gillon says it's hoped the findings will lead to them working with companies to improve the bandwidth.

Stuff A Cruiser Tomorrow

OPP want area residents to stuff a few cruisers.

The annual food drive for area foods banks takes place in Fort Frances, Rainy River and Emo tomorrow.

Constable Anne McCoy says they need as many non-perishable food items as possible.

The food collected will be shared between the Salvation Army, the United Native Friendship Centre, Sunset Country Metis, Emo Food Bank and the Rainy River West End Food Bank.

Some of the food will also be given to the Fort France Volunteer Bureau for its community Christmas dinner.

Last year, a total of 30 cruisers were filled across the Rainy River district.

Ten were stuff in an even in Atikokan at the end of November.

Suspended Drivers Beware

Suspended drivers beware.

OPP are expanding a program that allows officers to nab suspended drivers

Sergeant Brian Humber says it includes cameras installed on top of cruisers.

Three of the units will be on vehicles in northwestern Ontario.

Spring Bear Hunt Bill Passes Second Reading

The return of the spring bear hunt in Ontario is one step closer to reality.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan  MPP Bill Mauro's private members bill has  passed second reading at Queen's Park.

It's now goes to a legislative committee for review.

The purpose of the bill aims to reduce the number of aggressive bear attacks.

Students Send Greetings To Fort Frances Solider

Some special holiday greetings for a soldier in Afghanistan from Fort Frances.

Master Bombardier Nathan Cousineau connected by Skype with students and staff at St. Francis School yesterday.

Teacher David Black says it was a real thrill.

Cousineau supply teaches at the school.


Students represented Cousineau with banners, art work and a huge postcard to show their support him and fellow soldiers.

Cousineau, deployed to Afghanistan in September, was very appreciative of the students show of support.

Fort Frances Impacted By Canada Post Plan

Canada Post is confirming door-to-door mail delivery in Fort Frances and other small communities where the service now exists will be eliminated as part of its announced changes.

Company spokesperson Anick Losier says every affected community in Canada will eventually see the change over to residents having to go to a neighbourhood community mailbox to get their mail.

Losier says exactly when the change over takes place in Fort Frances has yet to be determined.

Search For New Medical Officer Of Health Underway

The Northwestern Health Unit has started the process of hiring a new Medical Officer of Health.

Dr. Jim Arthurs plans to retire next year.

The Health's Unit Chief Executive Officer, Mark Perreault says they hope to have Arthur's replacement in place by May.

Perreault says they are currently in the final stages of the hiring process.

Postcard Signing

Premier Wynne can expect to receive a lot of holiday card this season.

Advocates calling a rise in Ontario's minimum wage are fanning out across the province today asking people to sign cards that asks the Premier to bring the hour wage to 14-dollars an hour.

The minimum wage has been frozen at 10-dollars for the past three years.

Good News Forecast For Ontario Economy

A new report suggests Ontario's economy is on the upswing.

RBC Economics Provincial Outlook says strong demand for exports and an expected resumption of the manufacturing sector's recovery will help boost economic expansion in Ontario in the next two years.

RBC expects growth to rise 1.3 per cent this year and 2.6 per cent in 2014.

Trails Still Closed

Despite a large dump of snow and recent cold temperatures, Voyageurs National Park says it hasn't been able to open any of its snowmobile trails yet this winter.

Park officials says the snow has actually slowed ice making and has made for slushy conditions on the area lakes.

Some of its ski trails are open, but not groomed.

Local Girls Retreat Wins Funding

An early Christmas present for the I Am Awesome and I Know It Retreat for young women.

It secured $5,000 after finishing 3rd in voting in the Aviva Community Fund contest's semi-final round.

Director Renee Martin-Brown says the money will make a huge difference for the event.

Her submission, along with the other top ten finishers, will now be reviewed by a panel to determine who gets the top prize of 50-thousand dollars.

A decision is expected in January.

High School First Responders Planning Trip To Washington

Fort Frances High School First Responders are planning for a trip to Washington in February.

Member Ashley Dupuis says they've embarked on a campaign to raise the money to attend to International Emergency Medical Services Conference.

The First Responders will be at Canada Safeway and the Christmas Store this weekend.

Changes To Municipal Act Requested

Ontario's Ombudsman is calling for the province to impose penalties against municipalities who violate Ontario's closed door meeting rules.

Andre Marin says the number of complaints to his office has more than double in the past year, but there's no consequence for violating the law.

Marin also wants changes in the Municipal Act that allows for one independent body to investigate complaints.

Most communities, including Fort Frances, pay for their own investigator instead of using the free services of the Ombudsman.

New Equipment For Sports Centre

Some new equipment for the Memorial Sports Centre's fitness room.

Town council has agreed to buy out the lease on two of its treadmills and purchase another, costing just over $13-thousand dollars.

Councillor Andrew Hallikas says keeping good equipment helps maintain membership.

Councillor Ken Perry says now is not the time to be looking at such new purchases.

The costs will be taken out of town reserve funds.

Advocates Hoping For Minimum Wage Increase In New Year

Advocates in Minnesota are hoping to see a raise to State's minimum wage next year.

Some observers believe there's a good change that will happen when the Legislature resumes in the new year.

Minnesota Budget Project's Nan Madden says raising the rate to $9.50 an hour would benefit several thousand families.

Critics say upping the minimum wage will result in more unemployment.

Changes To Canada Post

Canada Post is planning to phase out door-to-door mail delivery in urban communities.

It's part of a five-point plan expected the save the Corporation between $700 and $900 million.

Canada Post says it plans to set up more community mailboxes to take the place of door-to-door delivery over the next five years, saving it half a million dollars.

It also intends to expand its efforts of establishing postal outlets in retail stores and trim between 6 and 8 thousand jobs, mostly through attrition.

Ontario Auditor Releases Report

Northern Ontario's doctor shortage is drawing the attention of Ontario's Auditor General.

In her annual report, Bonnie Lysyk says while the province has increased the number of physicians, only 5 per cent are practicing in rural and northern areas where 14 per cent of Ontario's population live.

Lysak notes that locum doctors, meant to cover short-term vacancies in eligible communities, are instead being used for long periods of time, with a third of all hospitals using temporary physician services continuously since 2007.

Lysyk also reports that while workforce is shrinking, Ontario Power Generation's senior management is getting bigger.


Lysyk says the size OPG's senior management group has increased 58 per cent since 2005.

Lysyk adds the compensation given to OPG's employees is having a huge impact on the cost of electricity.

Ontario's Auditor General also focused in on the Ministry of Natural Resources, saying it's finding it difficult to protest Ontario's park's System.

Lysyk points to the expansion in the number of parks in the past decade and increased responsibilities for the Ministry as reasons.

Lysyk says she found significant portions of the park system that were subject to little or no enforcement of regulations on hunting and fishing, and prohibited activities such as commercial timber harvesting occuring regularly.

Opposition Reaction to Auditor Report

Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak wants to see Premier Wynne take action on the findings of the Auditor General.

Hudak doesn't have much faith that will happen suggesting the Liberals are too focused on the gas plant scandal.


NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the Auditor's report shows the Liberal government isn't respecting people's priorities or taxpayer dollars.

Official Opening For Good Samaritan Society

An official opening yesterday for the Good Samaritan Society's new facilities in International Falls.

Residents moved into the new 54-bed facility in September.

Administrator Adam Coe says it brings the quality of care they provide to an even a greater level

A separate ribbon cutting for a 24-unit assisted living facility adjacent to the nursing home was done in  October.

Changes To OPP Labour Rights

The Provincial Government is making the labour rights of OPP officers consistent with the rights of officers working for municipal police services.

The new legislation, which passed at Queen's Park yesterday,  will move the management rights clause out of the legislation and into the collective agreements for uniformed and civilian staff.

MP Upset With Federal Government

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty is expressing disappointment in the Conservative government for failing to accept a NDP motion to expand the Canada Pension Plan.

Rafferty told the House of Commons the government has made it clear retirement security is not its priority.

The Finance Minister's Parliamentary Assistant Andrew Saxton says with the economy still unable, now is not the time to expand CPP, noting NDP's proposal would eliminate up to 70-thousand jobs across the country.

Final Vote Day In Aviva Contest

Today's the final day to vote for the "I Am Awesome and I Know It" girls retreat submission in the Aviva Community Fund contest

The Retreat is sitting fifth in the small projects category this morning with voting to conclude at 11 a.m.

Top ten finishers will receive $5,000 and move on to a final round of voting.

Click this link to vote.

Recycling Depot To Be Improved

There is some improvement coming to a recycling depot in Fort Frances.

The town plans to purchase two new compactor units and four large-sized containers to replace the smaller bins at the 6th Street depot.

Councillor Rick Wiedenhoeft says it will help clean up the area.

The $218-thousand dollar cost is being covered by a $117-thousand from Stewardship Ontario.

The town will use some its gas tax dollars to cover the rest.

New Manufacturing Fund Established

The federal government is creating a new fund to boost manufacturing in northern Ontario.

The Advanced Manufacturing Fund, to be delivered by FedNor, sets aside $200-million over the next five years to encourage the development of cutting-edge technologies.

The feds say the fund was designed to address needs identified by northern Ontario manufacturers.

ALAG Asks For Closed Door Meeting

The group pushing for an assisted living facility in the Fort Frances area is asking for a closed door meeting with town council.

Members of the Assisted Living Action Group made the request after presenting an update on its work to council Monday.

Rainycrest Long Term Care's Darryl Galusha says having a facility here would avoid seniors having to move away.

ALAG has asked for the meeting to take place some time early in the new year, but did not explain why it wants the session to be behind closed doors.

New Tax Rate For Large Industrial Sector

The tax rate for Resolute Forest Products is going up.

Fort Frances treasurer Laurie Witherspoon says approval from the provincial government allows the rate to increase 15 per cent.


Five other municipalities impactted by huge assessment decreases to their pulp and paper mills also received similar approval to increase the rate 15 per cent.

Fort Frances, Witherspoon says Resolute will be billed an extra $270-thousand in taxes for this year with the new rate being used as a bench mark in next year's budget discussions.

NWO Representation Sought For MPAC Board

There's a move to get some northwestern Ontario representation on the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.

Thunder Bay city council is nominating councillor Ken Boshcoff to sit on MPAC's board.

His name is being forwarded to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for consideration for nomination in the new year.

Branding Exercise Clarified

Rainy River Future Development Corporation is clarifying the process used in the selection of a marketing firm to assist with the town's branding exercise.

Town council asked for an explanation after dealing behind closed doors with a complaint from a local businesses about the process.

The Corporation's Geoff Gillon says an independent committee was set up to review the submissions and make a recommendation.

Gillon says there were 16 inquiries made to the request for proposals with five submissions put forward by the deadline for the committee to review.

Twist Marketing of Calgary eventually selected.

Accident On Highway 502

Highway 502 has been re-opened to traffic.

The highway between Fort Frances and Dryden was shut down earlier this morning because of a jack-knifed tractor trailer unit.

There were no injuries reported.

NAN Grand Chief Calls For Far North Act To Be Repealed

The provincial government is being pressured once again to repeal the Far North Act.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation's Grand Chief Harvey Yesno says the legislation is too restrictive and limits opportunities for development.

But Natural Resources Minister David Orazietti says 30 first nations communities in the region have already developed land use plans under the Far North Act..

One Day Meeting Does Little For North

The NDP feels more should have come out of last week's Northern Leaders Forum in Timmins.

Critic Gilles Bisson says not much has changed after the one day event aimed at tackling the region's priority issues.

Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle defends the meeting, hailing it as historic.

Fewer Deer Killed In Minnesota Hunting Season

There are fewer deer being killed by hunters in Minnesota this season.

Preliminary numbers from the Department of Natural Resources for the firearms season show 144-thousand deer shot by hunters this year, a drop of 6 per cent over last year.

The statewide muzzleloader season remains open until this Sunday.

The archery season closes on New Year's Eve

CAp Planned On Senior Civil Servants

Provincial Liberals says they plan to reign in the huge salaries of Ontario top public sector workers.

Government Services Minister John Milloy intends to introduce legislation next year that will include a cap on the salaries of Ontario's most senior executives.

The move meets a demand from the New Democrats who wants salaries capped at $418-thousand.

Electricity Sector Pensions To Be Reviewed

The provincial Liberals is taking aim at the pension plans of workers with the publicly funded electricity sector.

They're appointing Jim Leech, who was in charge of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, to make recommendations on how to make the plans more sustainable and affordable.

The Liberals say the plans generally require a lower share of contributions from employees with the balance passed onto hydro users through their electricity bills.

Non-Urgent Medical Transfers Being Reviewed

A solution to the issues of non-urgent medical transfers in northwestern Ontario may be at hand.

Speaking Monday morning at Queen's Park, Health Minister Deb Matthews says they are working on a possible solution.

Tory MPP Christine Elliott says the province has received a proposal from Pacific Western Transportation from B.C., she says will improve service and save money.

Local Project Gaining Support

Some huge gains for the I Am Awesome and I Know it Girls retreat as it chases funding in the Aviva Community Fund contest.

It's move up to fourth place in the small projects category after clinging to 10th spot for much of last week.

However, the organizers still need the public's support to maintain a top ten showing and be eligible for an automatic $5-thousand and advance to the final round.

Click this link to vote daily.

Weechi-it-te-win Now Handling Child Welfare Case For Off-Reserve Natives

Some additional workload for Weechi-it-te-win Family Services.

For the first time, the native-based agency can now provide child welfare services to aboriginals living off reserve within the Kenora and Rainy River district.

Executive Director Laurie Rose says an agreement with Kenora-Rainy River District Child and Family Services allows that to happen.

Weechi-it-te-win had been asking the province for the expanded mandate for years without success before Kenora-Rainy River District Child and Family Services voluntarily agreed to let the native-agency take over.


The two agencies sign the agreement in a ceremony Friday.

Update From ALAG Today

An update today on the progress being made by a group aiming to get an assisted living facility constructed in the Fort Frances area.

Members of the Assisted Living Action Group are expected to make a presentation to town council at their meeting tonight.

Telehomecare Now Available

People with heart disease and other related health issues can now get some help managing their condition at home.

Northwest Community Care Access Centre spokesperson Marg Milani says they just launched their new telehomecare program.

Residents enter data that's sent on-line or through phone and monitored by a nurse who can identify a course of medical action if necessary.

Maternal Care Program Coming To Confederation College

The province is giving some money to Confederation College to start a new program for expectant mothers.

President Jim Madder says they're currently working on the curriculum for the new "Maternal Care" program.

Madder says they're teaming up with First Nations health care organizations to develop the program which will be offered by next fall.

Province Commited To Getting Sawmills Running Again

The provincial government is promising to work with local lumber companies to get them back in operation.

Natural Resources Minister David Orazietti says the government wants to see as many people back to work in the forestry sector as possible.

Premier Kathleen Wynne says the government does see the urgency in getting the mills up and running and is willing to do what it can to make that happen. 

Museum Establishing Planning Group

Fort Frances Museum is now putting together a group to help in the planning of the 100th anniversary of the Fort Frances mill.

The first roll of paper was produced  in May 1914.

The museum wants to commemorate the 100 years since through a variety of events and displays.

The first meeting of the planning committee will take place Thursday night at the Museum.

If you're interested in helping out, call Sherry George at the Museum.

Hydro Users To Be Eligible For Energy Savings On Bill

Ontario energy consumers could soon take advantage of a new cost saving measure.

Starting in 2015, the province will allow on bill financing for energy saving products.

Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli says there will be plenty of options available.

The plan, which was announced in the long term energy plan, will allow consumers to pay for qualifying upgrades with the price reductions in their bill.

Knox On Its Way

Knox United Church is on its way to raising over a million dollars for its building renewal project.

About $5,000 was raised in a kick-off dinner and auction Saturday.

The Church is planning to install a new elevator and renovate washrooms to make the Fort Frances facility more accessible.

Church Fundraiser Kicks Off Tomorrow

Knox United Church in Fort Frances kicks off an ambition fundraising campaign tomorrow.

The Church will hold a dinner and silent auction towards raising $1.2 million dollars to make the building more accessible.

Campaign co-chair Bill Gushulak says they hope to start construction next spring with the installation of a new elevator and renovated washrooms.

Tickets for tomorrow's event still available at Fort Frances General Supply or at Brockies Jewellers.