Hudak Promotes Wage Freeze

PC leader Tim Hudak is proposing to freeze the wages of all public sector workers and MPP's upon taking office.

Hudak says 97-thousand government workers are already making six figure salaries.

Hudak says a wage freeze would save Ontario taxpayers $2-billion a year and help create new jobs.

Northern Ontario Heritage Party Announces Candidates

The party advocating northern Ontario be its own province is running three candidates in the provincial election.

Leader and founder of the Northern Ontario Heritage Party Ed Deibel is running in Thunder Bay-Atikokan.

Association president Paul Sloan is running in Thunder Bay-Superior North.

The party says it has a registered riding association for Kenora-Rainy River, but no candidate for this election.

New Asset Management Plan

Fort Frances council is adopting a new asset management plan to help it deal future infrastructure needs.

It includes a recommendation that taxes increase 2.3 per cent each year for the next decade to help pay for the work.

Councillor Ken Perry worries it holds future councils to that commitment.

Councillor Rick Wiedenhoeft says the tax increase is just a recommendation, but council needed to approve the plan to ensure it can access future federal and provincial dollars.

The plan focuses on such things as roads, bridges, sewer and water and social housing needs.

Treaty 3 Chiefs Meet

Grand Council Treaty 3 holds its annual spring assembly, beginning today at Rat Portage First Nation.

Grand Chief Warren White says topics includes child welfare and the Energy East Pipeline.

Unlike past conferences, no provincial representatives will be attending partly because of the election.

White says federal Natural Resources Minister and Kenora MP Greg Rickford and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt were also invited, but did not respond.

Do One Thing

The Northwestern Health Unit's Do One Thing Conference gets underway today in Kenora.

Over 300 people are attending, representing a wide array of sectors, including health, education and non-profit organizations from across northwestern Ontario as well as Winnipeg.

The conference aims to get people more interested in healthy eating and active lifestyles.

Comedian Rick Mercer is attending as a guest speaker.

Liberal Candidates Challenged On Gas Plants Stance

Progressive Conservatives are challenging Liberals candidates to come clean with voters where they stand on the gas plant scandal issue.

A release from the Party says it's important that each candidate state clearly whether or not the one billion dollars spent to cancel the plants in southern Ontario was a waste of taxpayer money.

Leader Tim Hudak last week announced he's initiate a judicial inquiry into the cancellations upon taking power.

GPS Helps Minnesota Man Get Aid

A distress call though a GPS satellite is being credited with helping a Minnesota man receive emergency help.

OPP were notified of the distress call Friday.

Using the coordinates, police were able to locate the man at this lake only access cabin in the northwest arm of Rainy Lake where he was found to have suffered a leg injury and needed assistance.

Police were able to help the man return home.

His injury did not require urgent emergency medical attention from police or ambulance personnel.

MNR Helps Saskatchewan

The Ministry of Natural Resources is providing some assistance to Saskatchewan.

Two waterbombers, a birddog aircraft and an air attack officer have been sent to assist with a forest fire in the northern part of the province.

The fire forced the evacuation of about 900 residents from the Stanley Mission area.

OPP Auxiliary Information Session

An information session is planned in Fort Frances for those interested in being involved with the OPP's auxiliary program.

Members of the Northwest Region Auxiliary are volunteers who assist police in various ways.

The session takes place Wednesday night at 7 PM at the NCDS boardroom on Scott Street.

You're asked to call the OPP is you plan to attend.

Racoon Turns Out The Lights

A racoon is being blamed for causing a power outage this morning in Fort Frances.

The electricity went out around 3 AM.

A spokesperson with the Fort Frances Power Corporation says the animal got into one of its substations, causing the wide-spread outage.

The lights came back on shortly after 4 AM.

Meantime, brief outages were also reported elsewhere in the district.

No cause has been listed for those yet.

The outage also impacted 93.1 The Border's transmitter.

The station could still be heard through it's website before technicians were able to restore the off-air signal shortly before 8 AM.

Derailment Investigated

The Transportation Safety Board is now investigating that CN rail derailment west of Fort Frances.

A team of investigators was deployed after thirty-five cars left the track Friday afternoon, just east of the level crossing on Highway 11-71 in the township of Alberton.

It's reported that two of the cars contained dangerous goods, but nothing spilled.

A small grass fire also broke out, but was quickly extinguished.

No one was injured.

CN says it had the tracks cleared of debris by 6 PM Saturday night, but still expected some rail travel to be delayed going through the area.

More Forest Fires On Weekend

The grass fire resulting from Friday's CN train derailment has been recorded as the first forest fire of the year in the Rainy River district.

It was one of five new blazes that sparked across northwestern Ontario this weekend.

All were human caused, but have since been declared out.

It brings this year's total to 22 fires, covering just over 11 hectares.

Two Dead Near Dryden

Two people are dead following a motor vehicle accident west of Dryden yesterday.

OPP says a vehicle came into collision with an oncoming tractor trailer unit on Highway 17 near Eagle River.

Both of the fatalities were occupants of the vehicle, but their names have not been released.

Two people in the transport were not hurt.

Northern Leaders Debate Today

Two of Ontario's top political leaders square off in an election debate in the city today.

The NDP's Andrea Horwath and Kathleen Wynne of the Liberals will be answering questions on northern Ontario issues when they face each other in the lunch hour debate.

PC leader Tim Hudak could not make it because of a scheduling conflict.

He's in Peterborough.  

You can watch the debate through Livestream beginning at 11 AM Central time. 

The link is being provided by Net Newsledger.com.

Click this link.

Liberal Election Platform Released

Premier Kathleen Wynne is confident with the Liberal's election platform.

She released her party's plan in Thunder Bay yesterday, much of which mirrors the failed budget presented earlier this month.

The Premier says the Liberals remain committed to better road conditions in the north.

The Liberals are also committing the billion dollars for the Ring of Fire regardless of the federal government's involvement.

NDP Asks "Who Got Main Service?"

New Democrats are calling on the Premier to release the names of Liberal cabinet ministers who reportedly received free maid service.

They were named in OPP documents as part of an investigation into an elaborate kickback scheme that saw a contractor bill for over $2.2 million for government cleaning contracts between 2002 and 2008.

Three government officials plead guilty to breach of trust, two of whom worked with the Ministry of Transportation while Wynne was then Transportation Minister.

Weather Record

A new weather record for the borderland on the weekend.

The high in Fort Frances Saturday of 30.7 C surpassed the old mark of 30.5 C set back in 1980.

Pool Users Get Break On Bills

The city of International Falls intends to give residents with pools a break on their sewer bills.

Council last week approved a committee recommendation to give residents credits when they have to refill their pools over the summer.

Councillor Gail Rogenrud says it recognizes water loss that can happen during the summer.

Mayor Bob Anderson voted against the idea, noting such credits weren't being given to people who water their gardens or wash their vehicles.

Attawapiskat Resident Back Home

Residents of Attawapiskat First Nation are back home, but those from another remote first nation are still waiting to go back.

About 140 Attawapiskat people being housed in Fort Frances were among the 300 hundred allowed to return home last Thursday as flooding threats diminished.

But nearly 15-hundred from Kashechewan are still waiting out high waters near their community in Thunder Bay, Greenstone, Cornwall and Kapaskusing.

A date for their return home is not known.

Youth Located

Provincial Police says two youths reported missing in Fort Frances have been found safe and sound.

17-year-old Felicia Morrison, reported missing May 6, was located in Kenora.

15-year-old Mariah Wilson, reported missing last week, was found in Couchiching First Nation.