MNR Making Progress on Forest Fires

Fire crews continue to make good progress on wildfires burning across northwestern Ontario.

There are currently 83 blazes burning in the region, down from 96 yesterday.

Five new fires were sparked yesterday, and the Ministry of Natural Resources is worried that all the lightning we've had over the past couple of days will result in even more fire activity.

A total of 200 fire crews will be returning back to British Columbia and other provinces because their tour of duty is winding down.

Another 160 will start arriving later today.

Province promises to fix up By-Pass Bridges

A couple of bridges along the Kenora By-Pass are in for a makeover this year.

Reconstruction work on the Middle Lake and Winnipeg River Bridges are two of the projects included in this year's Northern Highways program.

The province will be spending 618 million dollars on roads in northern Ontario this summer.

The twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway east from the Manitoba Border is also included in the Highway programs budget this year.

NDP send Travelling Ballot Box Around the Riding this Weekend

The NDP will be taking a travelling ballot box around the Kenora-Rainy River Ridng to select a candidate for the upcoming provincial election.

The New Democrats are trying to hold onto a riding held for the past couple of decades by Howard Hampton.

Kenora Lawyer Robert Sinding is challenging Hampton's constituent assistant Sarah Campbell for the nomination.

Sinding believes the party's platform will resonate with local residents.

The travelling ballot box will start the day in Sioux Lookout and be in Kenora on Sunday afternoon, before ending up in Fort Frances Monday night.

Clement Announces Funding for Aboriginal Businesses

There's almost 2-million of Federal dollars going to help Aboriginal business development in the Northwest.

FedNor Minister Tony Clement says the support is needed because raising money to start a business in First Nation communities is totally different that in larger centres.

Clement made the announcement in yesterday while touring the region.

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Day this Sunday

Waste Diversion Ontario is helping out the City of Kenora this year with its household hazardous waste disposal day.

Usually the city has to foot the entire bill for the waste collection day, but Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says they are eligible for some additional funding.

Perchuck says the city usually has to pay 35 thousand dollars every year to hold the Hazardous Waste Disposal Day.

You can drop of hazardous materials this Sunday at the Waste Transfer Station from 8:00 to 4:00.

Health Unit Re-Opens Keewatin and Round Lake Beaches

Good news for people who want to cool off this weekend.

The Northwest Health Unit has lifted the swimming bans at Keewatin Beach and Round Lake.

The most recent round of testing shows that bacterial levels have returned to acceptible levels.

The two swimming holes had been closed for the past week due to high levels of e-coli.

Province to Review lack of Aboriginal Representation on Juries

A former Supreme Court of Canada justice is going to look at why aboriginals are being shut out from juries in Ontario.

First Nations who live on reserves in the province say they have been excluded from juries for years.

Now the province has asked former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to look at the issue and come up with ways to fix the problem.