Teachers Union Plan Rally Against Back to Work Bill

Union leaders say thousands of teachers are expected to rally today at Queen's Park to protest legislation that would freeze teachers' wages and cut benefits.

The unions have vowed to challenge the Liberal legislation all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada if it is passed.

The bill introduced yesterday will likely become law, as the Progressive Conservative have agreed to support the legislation.

It would not only rein in compensation, but also give the government the power to ban strikes and lockouts.

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario says the legislation will take away the collective bargaining rights of teachers and educators.

No Changes Proposed for Northern Ontario Ridings

Some good news for politicians and voters in northern Ontario.

No changes are being proposed for the 10 federal ridings in the region by the federal electoral boundaries commission.

However, due to an increase in population, Ontario could be getting 15 new federal electoral districts.

The Commission for Ontario is to hold public meetings this fall on a proposed new electoral map with stops planned in Kenora and Thunder Bay in early October.

School Boards ready for First Day of Classes

There may be some bitter feelings headed into the new school year but the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is staying the course.

The province remains locked in a bitter dispute with its teachers.

Director of Education Jack McMaster says staff are focused on learning and student achievement.

All kids from grade 4 to 12 will have netbooks and kids from junior kindergarten to grade 3 will have I-Pad pods in each classroom at a 4 to 1 ratio.

Mass Registration Begins this Evening

A busy day for both parents and kids alike.

After their first day of school, it will be time to head down to mass registration.

Over the next two nights, over 30 groups will have booths set up at the Kenora Rec. Center.

A wide range of activities will be featured so you can ask questions and sign up for fall and winter activities.

Mass registration runs from 6:00 to 8:00 this evening.

Alarmed for Life Hits the North End

Don't be alarmed if you see fire trucks rolling through your neighborhood this evening.

Kenora Fire and Emergency Services Department will be carrying out its Alarmed for Life campaign this evening in the north end of town.

Fire fighters will be going door to door in the 3rd Street, 4th Street and 5th Street North areas starting at 6:30 this evening.

They'll be checking to make sure each home has a working smoke alarm on each level, and that they are properly installed.

Fire chief Warren Brinkman says he wants to ensure each home in Kenora has a working smoke alarm.

New School Year Begins at NOSM

It's an early start for students at Lakehead University's Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

Potential doctors begin classes today both at L.U. and in Sudbury.

Acting Dean Dr. Bill McCready says this program is garnering national and international attention because of its success rate.

Dr. McCready says 64 students will begin this year's 4-year undergraduate course, with just under half at the campus at Lakehead University.

Men's Slo-Pitch Season Winding Down

The Beauty Bay Cubs and Kenora Truck Service have drawn first blood in their best-of-three finals in the Kenora Men's Slo-Pitch League.

In the A-Side final, Beauty Bay got by D Smith Contracting last night in game one.

In the B-Side final, KTS earned a 19-14 win over the Voodoo.

Game two in both series go tonight at the Kenora Rec. Center.

In the Days Inn Ladies Slo-Pitch league play-offs last night, it was the Martini's over KTS.

Crime Stats down so far in 2012

The OPP say they've been trying to crack down on drug related crime in Kenora and that effort seems to be paying off.

Through the first six months of 2012, the amount of crime in the city is down slightly compared to the same period last year, with a significant drop seen in the number of break and enters, mischief complaints and minor thefts.

On the other hand there have already been six thefts over five thousand dollars this year, compared to none for the first half of last year.

The OPP have also noticed an increase in the number of sexual assaults and Inspector Dave Lucas says they are looking into why those incidents have gone up this year.

Waiting list for Social Housing in Kenora District lengthens

There was a slight increase in the Kenora District for social housing last year.

That's a trend that's pretty similar to the rest of the province.

Shared Karur of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association says there has been some help from the provincial and federal governments to decrease that list.

The Association says there was an increase of 69 families waiting for social housing in the Kenora District in the past year.

Funding Continued for Aboriginal Youth

A key initiative for aboriginal youth is being continued by the Federal Government.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister John Duncan is renewing the Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth program.

The program encourages youth to get involved in cultural development, community engagement and leadership programs.

Duncan says the programming helps aboriginal youth with job readiness skills and prepares them to enter the labour market.

The program is run through Friendship Centres across Canada.

Canfield Appointed to AMO Board

Dave Canfield's daytimer is starting to get filled up.

The Kenora mayor has returned from the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference in Ottawa with some new duties.

Canfield is now a member of the AMO board.

He will sit on the northern caucus.

AMO is responsible advocating on behalf of towns and cities across Ontario to both the federal and provincial government's.

Federal Government begins Pre-Budget Consulations

The Federal Government is already working on the 2013 budget.

Parliamentary Secretary to Finance Shelly Glover toured northwestern Ontario last week for pre-budget consultations.

Glover says they still want to hear from local residents.

Glover says the budget will focus of maintaining and creating jobs as well as growing the economy.

Fire Crews Heading Home from B.C.

Forest Firefighters are coming back today from British Columbia.

All personnel that went to British Columbia on August 19th will be back in Ontario by the end of today.

British Columbia has had a chance to recycle their staff and the fire situation has decreased.

Typically, FireRangers and other fire response personnel can be out of province on deployment for up to 19 days.

OPP Investigate Ignace Break-Ins

A rash of thefts in Ignace has Provincial Police searching for answers.

Seven reports of break, enter and thefts have been reported in the past few days.

Someone entered a Pine Street home and stole 4-thousand dollars, while someone entered an unlocked garage on Davy Lake Road and stole 5 jerry cans of gasoline and loose change.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers or Ignace OPP.

A Good Turn-Out for Ride For Memories

A big weekend for the Alzheimer Society for Kenora and Rainy River.

Initial estimates show that over 36 thousand dollars was raised in the 10th annual Ride for Memories.

This year, the ride ended up in Sioux Lookout, with a total of 160 motorcyclists taking part in the fundraiser.

Next year, the Ride For Memories will head to Dryden.

Ontario AMBER Alert

The Peel Police Service has issued an AMBER ALERT for two abducted children in the Peel Region. Here are the details:

Vehicle Information: 2006 Dodge Caravan silver




Victim’s name: Louis GALLEGO-HAMMADIEH
Date of Birth: 13 OCT 2002 (Age 9)
Physical Description:
Height- 4’10”
Weight- 85lbs
Hair color- black short hair above ear
Eye color- brown
Clothing: T shirt and jeans, Round eye glasses with metal frames

Victim’s name: Benny GALLEGO-HAMMADIEH
Date of Birth: 01 Jan 2004 (Age 8)
Physical Description:
Height- 4’
Weight- 60lbs
Hair color- black short curly hair above ear
Eye color- brown
Clothing: T shirt and jeans



Both are believed to be in the company of: Randa HAMMADIEH (female)

Date of Birth: 27 NOV 1978 (Age 33)
Physical Description:
Height- 5’5”
Weight- heavy build
Hair color- black hair
Eye color- brown eyes
Tanned complexion – white dress

Details of Incident:

At 11:20am, Biological Mother abducted two children from foster home, in the company of 2 unknown males driving the vehicle used in the abduction. Headed towards highway 410 in Brampton.

Unions Warn Of Possible Work-To-Rule

Three powerful unions fighting government efforts to impose new contracts on Ontario teachers say school will start uninterrupted in September.


But they aren't ruling out labour disruptions later in the school year.

The unions say it will be up to their 191,000 members to

decide whether there will be strikes or work-to-rule campaigns.

The unions also say there was never any threat of strikes at the start of the school year, despite what the government is telling parents.

They say the minority Liberals are simply creating a crisis to win two September 6th byelections that give them a shot at a majority government.

(Photo: Sam Hammond; President of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario)

Possible College Strike Looming

School and union officials are warning Ontario's 24 colleges, including Confederation College, could be closed by labour strife as early as the middle of next month.

The colleges say the Ontario Public Service Employees Union could trigger a strike by 10,000 college faculty as early as

September 15th if a strike vote goes ahead on September 10th.

And OPSEU says the colleges will be in a position to lock out faculty on the same date.

A strike would disrupt the start of the school year for hundreds of thousands of students across the province.

Issues are a wage freeze demanded by the colleges, academic

freedom, the treatment of partial-load faculty, increased workload from online courses and other staffing requirements.

Stolen Banners

Members of the Kenora OPP detachment have recovered all of the stolen banners and flags from the Whitecap Pavillion on the Kenora Harbourfront.

The Banner commemorating the 1907 Stanley Cup win by the Kenora Thistles had been taken sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning prior to the Mike Richards Stanley Cup celebration.

The Kenora Thistles 1907 Stanley Cup banner has been returned to the City of Kenora and the Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup flag which was also missing will be returned it's original owner.

Uniform officers and members of the street crime unit were assisted by the Forensic Identification Unit. All three teams continue to investigate the circumstances.

10th Annual Ride For Memories Tomorrow

This Saturday marks the Alzheimer Society's 10th annual Ride For Memories.

Riders will leave Kenora and will hit Dryden, Ignace and finish off in Sioux Lookout with a dinner and awards ceremony

Executive Director Lynn Moffatt encourages the public to come out and support the cause.

Moffatt says they are hoping to raise $40,000 and all money raised supports 1,000 people living with the disease in the Kenora and Rainy River District.

Riders will also participate in a poker derby.