Health Minister Asked to Resign

The opposition parties are demanding Health Minister Deb Matthews resign after a scathing auditor's report into Ontario's air ambulance service.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the report shows the government did a poor job of overseeing executives at Ornge who were using taxpayers money in some questionable deals.

The Progressive Conservatives accuse the Liberals of hiding the findings on Ornge until after last fall's election.

Highway Open

Highway 11 east of Atikokan is now open.

A section between Quetico Park and Kashabowie was closed Wednesday night while emergency personnel dealt with a burning vehicle.

No other details of the incident are immediately available.

New Group Takes Over Canada Day Planning

A new group of volunteers has stepped forward to take on some of the planning for Canada Day celebrations in Fort Frances.

The volunteer group intends to host the parade, children's activities and entertainment at Pither's Point Park.

They came together after the "Fun in the Sun" committee announced earlier this month that it couldn't find the volunteers they needed to continue on.

At least two other well-established organizations have also expressed interest in hosting Canada Day events, but have yet to finalize their plans.

Community Consultation on City Services

International Falls residents will get a chance next month to provide input on how their city delivery's services.

City councillor Cynthia Jacksa says it's part of an event sponsored by the municipal lobby group the League of Minnesota Cities.

The League will hold four community consultations April 11 and 12.

Jacksa says the city is one of a select few chosen for the consultations.

Ashton Gets Support

NDP leadership hopeful Niki Ashton is getting the support of our area MPP.

Kenora-Rainy River's Sarah Campbell says Ashton's understanding of northern and rural issues make her the best person to lead the federal party.

The NDP elect their new party leader Saturday.

More Records Fall

Temperature records continue to fall in the Rainy River.

Fort Frances set its 9th straight record Wednesday when its high reached 20.2 C.

That passes the old mark of 11.7 C set back in 1987.

Atikokan's high of 15.9 C broke a 1987 record of 12.5 C -  the sixth straight weather record for that community.

More Moose Collared

Wildlife officials have captured and collared six more moose in Voyageurs National Park.

It's part of attempts to study the effects of climate change on the animals.

A total of 18 moose are now wearing GPS collars in the park.

Slots Sought for NWO

A long-time proponent of slot machines is lobbying to help try to bring the gaming machines to northwestern Ontario.

Doug Stemkowski, a hotel operator in Kenora, says slots would boost a struggling tourism economy.

The provincial government has indicated its willing to expand the number of slot machines in Ontario.

Accident Brings Impaired Driving Charges

A 52-year-old man will visit an Atikokan court room next month to face impaired driving charges after a single vehicle accident in that community.

It happen in the 300 block of Mackenzie Avenue East Sunday evening.

The driver was not injured, but OPP say breath samples taken found his blood alcohol level to be well above the legal limit.

Cost to Use Natural Gas Coming Down

Look for lower gas bills soon.

Paul Crawford of the Ontario Energy Board says Union Gas has been approved for a rate decrease that takes effect April 1st.

For Rainy River district users, the change translates into savings of $90.21 over a twelve month period.

Crawford says the decrease is due to a lower than expected prices Union Gas will pay for natural gas over the next twelve months.

Weather Record Set Early in the morning.

Most people were sleeping when these weather records were set yesterday.

New highs were set in Fort Frances, Atikokan, surpassing records set back in 1987.

Atikokan hit 17 C while Fort Frances, the country's hot spot on the weekend came in at 16.5 F

International Falls reached 61 F, tying the temperature recorded on March 20, 1987.

In all three cases, the highs were recorded around 2 a.m.

Canadians Flock to American Airports

Grand Forks Int'l Airport photo

A new study suggests Canadians looking for travel bargains are more often finding them by flying out of airports south of the border.

4.8-million one-way trips were made by Canadians to American airports.

87-thousand people from Manitoba and northwestern Ontario caught flights in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Calls for Mandatory Phys-ed

Cancer Care Ontario and Public Health Ontario want physical education mandatory until Grade 12.

Education Minister Laurel Broten won't commit to the request right now.

Cancer Care Ontario says mandatory phys-ed, along with higher tobacco taxes and more smoking restrictions, will help reduce deaths related to chronic but largely preventable illnesses.

Report into Air Ambulance Scandal

The first report on Ornge, the province's troubled air ambulance service, is to be tabled in the legislature today.

But sources say a lack of co-operation from former Ornge officials may leave Auditor general Jim McCarter  unable to fully address the controversy.

Fairmont Begins Drilling

Fairmont Resources has started drilling property near Atikokan it identified earlier this month to be similar to Oskio Mining's Hammond Reef gold project.

The work within the Marmion South Property will continue through the rest of the month.

The assay results will be released in late April.

Deserter Found at Border

An alleged U.S. military deserter is back in custody after being arrested at the U.S.-Canada border south of Thunder Bay.

21-year-old Caleb May of Biloxi, Mississippi, was arrested by U.S. Customs officers as he tried to return to the U.S. March 10.

He was later turned over to Homeland Security for extradition back to the custody of the U.S. Air Force.

Police Boards Want Hold on Policing Costs

The province's police services boards are looking to Queen's Park to halt the rise in policing costs.

The cost of policing is rising by five to seven per cent a year and that's straining municipal budgets.

The Ontario Association of Police Services Boards says the province should consider centralizing police bargaining.

It also suggests finding ways to eliminate the use of police officers for non-core tasks.

Dead Fish Investigation

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources suspects low oxygen levels caused thousands of fish to die in the Pelican River, near Orr,  over the past several days.

Fisheries supervisor Kevin Peterson says the dead fish include northern pike, smallmouth bass, and crappies.

He says low water levels last fall probably worsened reduced oxygen levels.

More Thin Ice Incidents

Thinning ice conditions resulting from the recent warm temperatures are blamed for a number of vehicles plunging into northwestern Ontario waters.

The most recent incident occurred near Kenora Monday.

Three American residents were able to get out safely before their SUV hauling two brand new snowmachines broke through on an ice-road on Lake of the Woods.

On the weekend, a truck and two ATVs fell the ice around the Fort Frances and International Falls areas.


Meantime, winter roads to many remote First Nations have become victims of the warm March temperatures.

The roads are quickly deterioating and Nishnawbe-Aski Police have had to respond to several incidents.

Most communities have closed their sections of the road network.

Premier to Accept Referendums on Casinos

Premier Dalton McGuinty is going to leave it up to municipalities to hold a referendum if they want a new casino or gaming facility.

His comments come in the wake of a major plan by Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation to expand gambling in the province.

McGuinty says it's not up to the province to let local residents decide.

Fort Frances council suggested last year the province set up casino's in border communities instead of introducing gambling on-line.