Youths charged in Sudbury murder make first court appearance
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The two teens charged in connection with the stabbing death of a 17-year-old youth this week in Sudbury have made their first court appearance in Sudbury.
One of the accused will return to youth court on June 29. The other will appear on July 6.
Greater Sudbury Police said Thursday they arrested two individuals they believe are responsible for the murder.
The police service said two youths “attended headquarters and surrendered to police in relation to the stabbing on Falconbridge Road.”
The incident claimed the life of a 17-year-old youth and left a second young person with serious injuries.
As a result, a 16-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
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A 17-year-old has been charged with two counts of assault and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Their names cannot be released according to the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Wahnapitae man charged in three murders escapes Sudbury District Jail
Greater Sudbury Police are looking for a Wahnapitae man charged in three murders who has escaped Sudbury District Jail.
If you come across Joel Roy, “use extreme caution – do not approach,” police said Saturday on social media.
Instead, call 911.
Police said Roy is 33, 5-foot-6, with green eyes and light brown, shoulder-length hair that may be in a ponytail. He also has a three-quarter-inch scar on his right cheek.
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Roy was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in a shooting at the Travelodge hotel on Dec. 20.
Javon Bryce, 27, and Matthew Saroka, 38, died in the shooting.
While in jail, Roy was charged with the murder of a man whose body was located in a wooded area in April.
City of Greater Sudbury to purchase and demolish former Ledo Hotel
I once wrote a story about a man named Fred Baston, who arrived in Sudbury late at night aboard one of the many trains that passed through the downtown train yard.
He left his hometown of Bathurst, N.B., travelling hobo-style, tucked away on train cars, hidden from the eyes of ticketing agents. Baston, who was 86 years young when I interviewed him in 2013, was drawn west to the Nickel City by the promise of underground riches.
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When he arrived in Sudbury, he and his buddy got off the train at the Elgin Street station. Their first stop was Ramsey Lake to freshen up. Their second stop was the Ledo Hotel for a cold beer and a little fun (he said with a wink).
The Ledo Hotel was a welcome apparition for many arriving to downtown Sudbury by train. For the men and women who built Greater Sudbury from the underground up, the Ledo was a symbol their long journey had ended, and had only just begun.
But now, the hotel is destined to become dust and memory. During Tuesday’s city council meeting, the cohort voted in favour of purchasing the former Ledo Hotel, as well as parking lots at 308 Elgin St. and 233 Shaughnessy St., in order to raze it to the ground to make way for new projects. The purchase will be funded through the events centre capital account.
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Sudbury’s opioid crisis: ‘We do not know why the situation is worsening’
With Sudbury having the second-highest opioid mortality rate in Ontario, the wheels are in motion for those leading the fight against the toxic opioid epidemic in the city to get together to discuss what works, what doesn’t and to consider if new approaches are needed.
At its June meeting on Thursday, the Public Health Sudbury and Districts board approved a motion endorsing a recommendation by the executive committee of the local Community Drug Strategy.
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The motion directs the Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, to ensure Public Health helps organize a local leadership summit to address the opioid crisis.
Sutcliffe, also the chief executive officer of Public Health, co-chairs the Community Drug Strategy executive committee, along with Greater Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen.
The motion followed a presentation by Sandra Lacle, executive director of the health unit. Her report – Addressing the Toxic Drug Crisis – examined the opioid crisis in Greater Sudbury, the northeast and Ontario.
According to Lacle, Greater Sudbury had an opioid mortality rate of 54 per 100,000 population from 2018 to 2022, compared to a rate of 43.7 for all of Northern Ontario.
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“Rates have been rising since 2018,” she told the board. “This is a national crisis. The lines (on the graph shown to the board) are higher and steeper in Northern Ontario and our region than Ontario and Canada …
“We do not know why the situation is worsening in our area … It could be a greater percentage of the population uses opioids or the supply is more toxic.”
First Nations, senior governments reach $10-billion annuity settlement
The federal and Ontario governments will each kick in $5 billion in a proposed out-of-court agreement to settle an annuities claim filed under the 1850 Robinson Huron Treaty.
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The settlement was announced Saturday at Laurentian University in Sudbury.
“Negotiators for the parties have reached a proposed settlement that includes $5 billion from both Canada and Ontario, for a total settlement of $10 billion for past losses,” said a release announcing the settlement. “This is a major milestone in ongoing collaborative work to renew the Treaty relationship and honour a treaty promise that dates back to 1850 …
“The proposed settlement is an opportunity for Canada and Ontario to provide compensation to address past claims and to honour their treaty obligations and will support the Robinson Huron First Nations to invest in a brighter future for their communities and grow the local economies in the Treaty territory.”
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The 21 Robinson Huron Treaty First Nations – located mostly in northeastern Ontario – took Canada and Ontario to court for breach of the treaty.
The First Nations claimed that under the Robinson Huron Treaty, the collective annuity to the First Nations and beneficiaries should have increased over time as resource revenues within the treaty territory increased.
The annuity increased only once since 1850, rising from about $1.70 per person to $4 per person in 1875, and hasn’t increased since.
Sudbury’s hospital paints rosy financial picture, despite Bill 124 setback
Health Sciences North reported a surplus of $4.5 million from hospital operations for 2022-23, marking a fifth straight year in the black for Sudbury’s regional hospital, before being required to pay out more than $16.7 million in retroactive wages due to the striking down of Bill 124.
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Board members and senior managers gathered on Tuesday for HSN’s annual general meeting, held via Zoom.
CEO Dominic Giroux took part in his final meeting as a member of the senior leadership team of Sudbury’s hospital. He is leaving to become president and CEO of Hopital Montfort in Ottawa.
Giroux appears to be leaving HSN in relatively good shape financially, according to a presentation delivered by board treasurer Stephan Plante compared to both its position 10 years ago and to the current position of many hospitals in the province, despite the staffing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of Bill 124 liabilities.
Bill 124, passed by the provincial government in 2019, capped wage increases for nurses and most other public sector workers at one per cent a year for three years, but was struck down by the Ontario Superior Court this past November as unconstitutional, forcing the province to give workers nearly $1 billion in back pay.
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Based on arbitration awards for hospital nurses that were released after the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year, and thus not included in the hospital’s balanced budget, retroactive costs are estimated at $16.783 million for HSN alone, the outgoing CEO said.
One dead and two injured in Skead Road crash
One person is dead and two were taken to hospital after a collision early Saturday on Skead Road.
Greater Sudbury Police said in a release that officers were called around 3:23 a.m. “to a serious collision involving two vehicles on Skead Road. The collision occurred between Nickel Rim South Mine Rd and MacLennan Mine Rd.”
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City of Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services and Sudbury Fire Services also responded and provided emergency medical care.
Senior from Sudbury dies in Highway 17 crash
A Sudbury senior is dead following a crash on Highway 17 at Markstay-Warren.
In a release, OPP said officers got a call shortly after noon on Tuesday. Police, the Markstay-Warren Fire Department and the Manitoulin-Sudbury Paramedic Services responded to the single-vehicle crash.
The driver, a 74-year-old-person from Sudbury, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Police did not release the driver’s name.
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Greater Sudbury’s new integrity commissioner an experienced investigator
City council has voted in a new integrity commissioner.
During Tuesday’s meeting, councillors voted unanimously in favour of appointing David Boghosian as the municipal IC for the next five years.
Boghosian, managing partner of Boghosian + Allen LLP, specializes in civil litigation. He obtained a law degree from the University of Toronto and went on to earn a masters from the University of Michigan. He founded the boutique firm in 2005.
He acts as the integrity commissioner and closed meeting investigator for a number of municipalities in Ontario, including Fort Frances and the Town of Pelham.
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Expert witnesses back sexual assault claim against Sudbury lawyer: Crown
The evidence of two independent witnesses supports the claims of a woman who says a Sudbury lawyer physically and sexually assaulted her at a Christmas party in 2020, a prosecutor argued Tuesday.
Crown prosecutor David Kirk made the arguments as he closed his case against Adam Castonguay.
“(Castonguay’s) version of events is completely contradictory to the evidence,” said Kirk, referring to the DNA and saliva found on the crotch area of the alleged’s victim’s pants.
According to the victim, it got there when Castonguay simulated oral sex over part of her pants.
“This is devastating to his evidence,” Kirk said. “Here, the evidence is completely complimentary of (the woman’s) description. He performed (simulated) oral sex to the outside of her jeans. That’s what she said (happened). That’s what we have.
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“The bruises on her body and the pain in her abdomen are conforming to her version of events. She said ‘I didn’t have those bruises before: they happened that night’ … There is nothing in the accused’s version of events to explain away this evidence.”
Justice Lori Thomas has reserved her decision in the case. A decision date will be set in Ontario assignment court on July 5.
No ‘strong mayor’ powers for Greater Sudbury, at least not yet
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Ontario is conferring so-called strong mayor powers — which critics have decried as undemocratic — upon 26 more cities in the name of building more housing.
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said the new powers for the large and fast-growing municipalities will ensure they can deliver on provincially assigned housing commitments as the Progressive Conservative government works toward a goal of building 1.5 million homes in 10 years.
“While we’re making progress, there still is much more work for us to do,” he said Friday at a news conference.
“It’s a joint effort that takes all levels of government including our municipal partners. Today’s announcement is about empowering municipal leaders to give them the tools to get the job done.”
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Greater Sudbury is not on the list. Clark, however, said he is eyeing strong mayor powers for Greater Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Chatham-Kent.
Body of missing Sudbury man facing child-porn charges found
The body of a Sudbury man who disappeared in March after he was charged in a child porn case has been discovered.
Greater Sudbury Police said Friday that Rae Cameron, 62, was found inside a vehicle in the Health Sciences North parking lot.
HSN staff discovered Cameron’s remains on June 10 around 4:30 p.m., the police service said a release.
No foul play is suspected.
A source has told The Star that the vehicle where Cameron was found had been in the hospital’s parking lot for three months.
On Feb. 22, Greater Sudbury Police charged Cameron with six counts each of accessing child pornography, possessing child pornography and making child pornography available.