Northern Leaders Debate tackles Kenora's Bridges

Kenora's bridges are just one of the issues being discussed this morning in the northern leaders debate.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is promising to provide more infrastructure money to municipalities and upload social service costs.

Conservative leader Tim Hudak is promising more gas tax revenues for municipalities so they can fix up their aging infrastructure.

Premier Dalton McGuinty decided to skip the northern leaders debate and instead made a mental health funding announcement north of Toronto.

Hospital Unions Launch Hotline

Ontario's party leaders are being asked to address the shortage of acute care beds in local hospitals.

The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions says its concerned with the number of elderly who are forced to stay in hospital while waiting for a long term care bed to open up.

Local union spokesperson, Judy Bain says opening more beds is only part of the solution.

The Council has launched its own hotline so family members can report their own experiences with the health care system.

Tresspasser charged with impaired driving

A 20 year old Kenora man faces impaired driving charges afte being pulled over by the OPP near Strecker Road.

Police were called out after an area resident reported that someone was tresspassing on their property.

The OPP say stopped a vehicle with three men inside.

Officers say the driver appeared to have been drinking and failed a roadside breath test.

He is due to appear in Kenora court November 3rd to answer the charge.

Rainy River Resources Moves to TSX

Rainy River Resources is moving to the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The company has received conditional approval to move from TSX's Venture Exchange to the main board in early October.

President Raymond Threlkeld says the move will give the company more visibility to potential investors world-wide.

Saints take three of four from Ignace

Not quite a clean sweep for the Thomas Aquinas Saints boys volleyball and Girls Basketball teams.

T.A. took three of four games from Ignace Thursday afternoon.

Falcons senior girls beat the Saints for the first time since 1998, with a 35-34 nailbiter.

Samantha Burkhart had 15 points in a losing cause.

The T.A. junior girls held on for a 30-26 victory.

In volleyball action, the Thomas Aquinas junior and senior teams had an easy time with the Falcons, each winning in three straight games.

This weekend, Beaver Brae and Thomas Aquinas are hosting the Kenora Invitational Junior boys volleyball tournament.

Broncos face Buckeyes this afternoon

Beaver Brae's football team will try to improve to 2-0 today in the Winnipeg High School Football League.

The Broncos are playing their first home game of the season this afternoon as they take on the Miles MacDonnell Buckeyes.

Today is also Beaver Brae's Homecoming game.

Game time is 3:00 at Pete Fair Memorial Field.

Doctors Without Borders Canada

The founder of Doctors Without Borders Canada sees similarities between remote first nation communities and the third world.
Dr. Richard Heinzl says more needs to be done to help aboriginal communities who don't have clean drinking water.

Heinzl spoke at Confederation College last night.

NOMA

The Ontario Liberals aren't getting heat from Northwestern municipal and forestry leaders. That's even though the party didn't address a majority of forestry concerns in an pre-election survey. NOMA's Ron Nelson says the answers simply form a base for the future

The Liberals didn't answer 12 of the 13 questions asked. Nelson hopes the parties will clarify some of their answers before the election.

Northern Ontario Leaders Debate

Thunder Bay takes centre stage today as it hosts the first ever Northern Ontario Leaders Debate.

Chief Operating Officer of the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce, Harold Wilson

says they'll be asking a number of questions to the party leaders.

The NDP's Andrea Horwath and PC's Tim Hudak will square off at 11 today

Confederation College

Three part time support staff workers at Confederation College say they haven’t been back to school since the strike ended. They’re claiming to have lost there jobs because they didn’t cross picket lines when their full time co-workers were bargaining a new contract. Part time support staff isn’t represented by OPSEU but the local president says the union is trying to help those affected by this week's move.

Martin Falls deals with epidemic of prescription drug addictions

With a quarter of its tiny population hooked on prescription painkillers, Marten Falls First Nation has decided to embark on a costly but proven method to get addicts free and clear.

Starting October 3rd, about 60 affected residents of the Northern First Nation will take part in a 3-phase program to substitute their addiction to Oxycodone and other addictive pills with controlled doses of Suboxone.

A team of health professionals will taper the drug over 30 days until clients can be taken off completely or continue on short-term, low-dose maintenance.

Drug and alcohol counsellor Liza Moonias says painkiller abuse on the reserve, 500-kilometres north of Thunder Bay, started to become a serious problem about 5-years ago.

She says 20-per cent of the reserve's adult population has since become addicted.

Greenstone lobbies for Ring of Fire Smelter

The Municipality of Greenstone feels it now has a leg up in attracting a Ring of Fire refinery.

Consultant George Smitherman says his study shows that the Town of Exton should be the top choice for Cliffs Natural Resources when it makes a decision on a smelter location

Cliffs hopes to make a decision by the end of the year.

Rainy River Resources Strikes Nickle

There's gold - now there appears to be nickel at Rainy River Resources gold project south of Kenora.
The company says it recently found what it believes to be a new nickel deposit.

Further exploration is planned to better define the size of the discovery.

OPP investigate Weagamow fire

Sioux Lookout OPP and Weagamow Lake First Nation Police are investigating a major fire.

Police received a report on MOnday that a winter road check point building had been burned.

OPP believe the structure may have been burned intentionally.

Police say the building was a North Caribou Band Office security trailer.

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

Three drug busts in Rainy River District

Three people in the Rainy River district will make future court appearances on drug charges.

A 60-year-old Fort Frances man was charged after O-P-P seized 3-thousand dollars worth of marijuana plants from a home in late August.

A week later, a marijuana grow operation was discovered in Barwick where police seized plants and dry marijuana, valued at over 23-thousand dollars.

A 47-year-old man was charged.

A day later a 44-year-old woman from Couchiching First Nation was charged after police stopped a vehicle and found 41-hundred dollars worth of cocaine inside.

Portraits of Honor Coming to Kenora

A national tribute to soldiers who have died during the Afghan mission will be making its way to Kenora after all.

A couple of local residents have been lobbying for the truck to stop in the city on its cross-country tour.

George Storm and Carole Davis have been spear-heading the effort.

The Portraits of Honor carvan will also be stopping in Vermillion Bay next week.

NOMA

The Vice President of NOMA has a sneaking suspicion the Northern Ontario Leaders Debate will draw Premier McGuinty.

Dave Canfield says even though the Premier has said he can't attend; he might find a way in the end.

Canfield feels any Premier needs to be engaged with the region since we have all of the resources.

OFIA

Northwestern Ontario's Forest Industry could make a come back.


That's according to Ontario Forest Industry Association Spokesperson Scott Jackson.

The O-F-I-A wants a promise from each provincial party that if they win the election; they'll scrap policies that create red tape for the industry.

Ontario Mining Association

The President of the Ontario Mining Association is predicting the current mining boom only has a 20 year shelf life.


Chris Hodgson says we need to strike while the iron is hot.

Hodgson adds in order for the region to provide a solid workforce more women need to consider careers in mining.

MS Kenora

The M-S Kenora will continue to be a landmark on the Harborfront.


The owners of the tour boat have announced that they will continue to operate on Lake of the Woods, after threatening to move last year.

Owner, Al Luby admits its been a difficult couple of years but they hope to provide more services next year, including daily trips to Coney Island.