NAN rejects National Educational Review

The Nishnawbe-Aski Nation is joining a growing movement by announcing it will not participate in a national education review process by the Harper Government.

Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose says they plan to conduct their own educational review process

for communities in northern Ontario. 

Waboose says the national panel was established without input from NAN and other First Nations.

Environment Canada Confirms Dryden Tornado

Environment Canada has released more details on Tuesday's tornado that touched down Tuesday afternoon.

Officials say the tornado tracked roughly 80-kilometres from Oxdrift, north of the Dryden Airport and northeast between Lac Seul and Sioux Lookout.

The tornado is being rated as a Fujita scale zero event, which is the weakest on the scale.

Environment Canada says peak winds likely reached 110-kilometres an hour.

Both Environment Canada and the Ministry of Natural Resources are reporting no significant damage.

Council Rejects Zero Based Budgeting

Zero-based budgeting isn't coming to Kenora City hall any time soon.

Councillor Louis Roussin made a motion this week to go to the zero based approach.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield says while council voted the idea down, he feels it still has merit.

The Kenora District Services Board has gone to a zero-based budgeting system, and council says it want to see how that works before jumping on the bandwagon.

Boy dies in ATV accident near Rainy River

A 10 year old youth is dead following an accident involving an all-terrain vehicle near Rainy River.

The OPP say the incident took place Tuesday night on Worthington Road in Dawson Township.

Police say the boy lost control of the ATV and then struck a barbed wired fence.

He was taken to the Rainy River Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Technical Traffic Collision Investigators Kenora and Dryden are helping out with the investigation.

Ball Hockey Play-Offs begin

In Casey’s men’s ball hockey action last night the Aces beat  High Havarti 4-3 in a shoot out in game one of their play-off series.

 In the other game last night, the Jets tied their series with a win over the Sangold Digger.

Grassy Narrows Claims Court Victory

The Grassy Narrows First Nation is claiming victory in a court case involving clear cut logging activity on its traditional land-use terrritory north of Kenora.

Justice Mary-Anne Sanderson released a 300 page decision yesterday which finds that the Government of Ontario does not have the power to take away the rights in Treaty 3 by authorizing development including logging and mining.

The decision effectively ends a decade long battle against logging on Grassy.

Grassy Narrows Chief and band council held a press conference this morning in Toronto and say they welcome the decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, as it protects their treaty rights.