Shore Report
Covering Lake Huron's north shore, one community at a time
Shore Report acknowledges that the north shore of Lake Huron is the traditional land of the Anishinabek and the Métis Nation. This is Treaty 61 (Robinson-Huron) territory. Shore Report is very grateful to live and work here.
September 2024
Hello from the North Shore
The Highway 17 Sudbury-to-Sault Ste. Marie corridor on Lake Huron’s shoreline in Northern Ontario is an often-forgotten part of Canada’s most populous province. Yet it is home to First Nations, cities, towns, and hamlets containing the full spectrum of Canada’s history — the good, bad, and ugly… and the great promise of its future.
Image © John Degen
While Canada has suffered a decline in professional journalism and local coverage in recent decades, Huron’s north shore remains home to committed writers, skilled reporters, and excellent local outlets. Shore Report is dedicated to highlighting excellent local coverage, provincial, and federal government treatment of the region, and independent attention to hyper-local concerns through focus on city, band, and town council proceedings. We will also strive to present the best in local photography… because this is an incredibly beautiful place to live.
We’ll start with short print stories, but are likely to expand into podcasting, longer investigative pieces, and video as well. We’ll share some stories for free (including this entire first issue), but hope you’ll subscribe for the full experience. We believe that local media coverage is a valuable asset worth paying for. Hope you agree.
Please subscribe now (and tell your friends and neighbours to subscribe as well!).
Soo Highway Speed Increase Defeated at Council
Lack of Safety Infrastructure, and Heavy School Bus Use Cited by Councillors
A motion to increase the four-lane speed limit on Highway 17 between Sault Ste. Marie and Thessalon from 90 km/hr to 110 km/hr was defeated at the August 12th Sault Ste. Marie City Council meeting.
In a sometimes emotional debate, Councillors noted safety concerns and past fatalities on that stretch of the TransCanada. Councillors pointed to individual homestead driveways and a lack of properly engineered entrance and exit ramps as reasons not to push the speed limit at this time. The fact that this portion of highway serves the Central Algoma Secondary School was frequently cited.
The province has increased divided lane highway speeds to 110 km/hr where appropriate, which has raised the issue for many municipalities. 860 km of the province’s highways have been increased to date.
NDP Caucus Has Decision to Make Regarding Former Staff
Arbitration Decision Declares Constituency Assistant Terminated Unjustly
Logo courtesy Ontario NDP
Following a July 25th arbitration hearing between the Ontario New Democratic Caucus and the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE), Local 343, an unnamed Constituency Assistant in Elliot Lake is due some sort of remedy for the termination that followed MPP Michael Mantha’s removal from caucus. Mantha was expelled from the NDP following an independent investigation into serious allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour.
With no NDP MPP serving in the Elliot Lake constituency office, the staff member who originally made a complaint against Mantha found herself out of a job. Through her union local, she grieved that decision, and an independent arbitrator, Jasbir Parmar, found in her favour. Complicating matters, MPP Mantha has refused to vacate his position, and continues to sit at Queen’s Park as an Independent until at least the next provincial election.
Lynn Dee Eason, President of the Algoma-Manitoulin ONDP Riding Association recently released an open letter upbraiding Mantha for holding onto the seat. “The Algoma-Manitoulin NDP Riding Association,” she writes, “expresses our profound disappointment in Mantha's unethical personal and professional behaviour.”
Blind River Council Opens Meeting with Pickleball Trophy Reveal
North Shore Invitational Pickleball Inaugural Win to Espanola
Mayor Hagman and the Pickleball trophy. Image courtesy Blind River Town Council
Following a respectful land acknowledgement and roll call at the August 12, 2024 Council meeting, Blind River Mayor Sally Hagman heaved a giant trophy onto the Council table to celebrate the success of the north shore’s newest athletic competition, hosted by a local club.
The North Shore Invitational Pickleball Tournament took place at the Blind River Community Centre July 24th, and the first year victory went to the team from Espanola. Teams from four regional communities — Blind River, Espanola, Elliot Lake and Thessalon — competed.
The winning pickleball team from Espanola. Image courtesy pickleballcanada.ca
Garden River First Nation Residents Warned of Scam Door-to-Door Salespeople
Offer of Smoke Detector Sale Used to Gain Entry
Logo courtesy GRFN website
Garden River First Nation has received reports of a sales scam involving professionally dressed “salespeople” going door to door through the community selling smoke detectors and/or soliciting donations. Residents have been advised to refuse entry, and to report any such occurrence to the Anishinabek Police Service.
Sudbury Artist Paints Mural in Thessalon
Art on Town Office Depicts Town History and Current Day
Image © John Degen — this is NOT the mural. That will be revealed when it’s finished.
The Monique Legault Studio of Sudbury won a contract from the Town of Thessalon to paint a mural on the long sidewall of the town office on Main Street. Monique Legault has painted murals in Sudbury, including the Elgin Underpass featuring the work of Sudbury Poet Laureate, Kim Fahner.
The Thessalon mural pays homage to the town’s timber industry history as well as its present-day status as a recreational gem of the north shore. Thessalon’s iconic red truss bridge features prominently.
Mississauga First Nation Resumes Council Meetings After July Cancellation
Disagreement Continues Over Robinson Huron Treaty Settlement Distributions
Logo courtesy MFN website
Following advice from the Mississauga First Nation police service, Chief Brent Niganobe announced the cancellation of the MFN’s July 31 Council meeting. In a statement at the time, Chief Niganobe noted a planned demonstration concerning the creation of a Community Fund from a portion of the RHT settlement monies due to MFN. While the demonstration was welcomed by Council, what appears to have been a credible threat of greater disruption prompted the cancellation.
Council meetings resumed on August 14th at the very next scheduled opportunity, and MFN weekly newsletters indicate no undue disruption of community services. The August 22 MFN newsletter does contain an announcement of the resignation of longtime Council member Gloria Daybutch, though no reason is given.
Sudbury Integrity Commissioner Finds Councillor Breached Code of Conduct
NIMBYism Identified as Drop-In Centre Targeted
Image courtesy Sudbury City Council
In a detailed and damning report to Greater Sudbury City Council (GSCC), Integrity Commissioner David G. Boghosian finds that Deputy Mayor and Ward 12 Councillor Joscelyne Landry-Altmann breached two sections of the City’s Code of Conduct. Boghosian had determined a suspension of pay for twenty days as the appropriate penalty. The IG’s report was one of two on the agenda for a September 3, 2024 meeting of the GSCC.
Boghosian received a number of complaints following an April 8, 2024 meeting of the Flour Mill Community Action Network during which neighbourhood impact from the Sudbury Centre for Transitional Care (SCTC) was surveyed and discussed. The Integrity Commissioner finds that Councillor Landry-Altmann, who chaired the meeting in question, “failed to adhere to ‘policies and procedures adopted by Council.’
Issues of concern include the apparent barring of local media from attending the public meeting, and “abusive, intimidating and threatening statements made by speakers at the meeting toward SCTC staff and its clients with the condonement of Cllr. Landry-Altmann.”
The Sudbury Centre for Transitional Care, located at 495 Notre Dame Av. in the Flour Mill neighbourhood, is dedicated to integrating services for the city’s unhoused population. Their website states the centre’s goal is to “meet each individual where they are at, complete a risk assessment, and develop a personalized plan to support individuals in supporting themselves and dependents.”
Boghosian writes the community meeting was “a prime example of a councillor supporting NIMBYism in its most offensive and vitriolic form.” NIMBY is an acronym for the phrase not in my back yard. The IG concludes, “In order to advance this agenda, [Cllr Landry-Altmann] actively engaged in the breach of four fundamental tenets of democracy…” and notes in particular the Councillor fell short of expected decorum by denigrating a member of the local press.
Cllr. Landry-Altmann delivered a forceful rebuttal to the IC report at the September meeting, calling part of it “condescending and thoughtless” and taking particular umbrage at the use of the term NIMBY.
An amended reprimand vote by Council was carried. No financial penalty was applied.
Further details about the community meeting in question can be found at this April 13, 2024 Sudbury.com story by Jenny Lamothe.
1500 New Trees to be Planted in Blind River
Local Trails to Benefit
Trail routes through downtown Blind River – courtesy waterfronttrail.org
With the successful application for a Trans Canada Trail tree planting grant, Blind River is set to incorporate 1500 new native species trees along its TCT and Great Lakes Waterfront Trail routes.
Trans Canada Trail grants offer 50% total project funding with an expectation of 25% matching funds raised by the municipality and 25% in-kind, which one assumes could be made up through volunteer effort in the actual planting. Mayor Hagman announced the successful funding at the August 12, 2024 council meeting.
Thessalon First Nation Holds Online Boundary Claim Engagement Session
Negotiations in the Longstanding Boundary Claim Continue
Logo courtesy TFN website
A September 8 online session for Thessalon First Nation seeks the engagement of members on the ongoing boundary claim negotiations. TFN members can book a spot in the session through the TFN’s Eventbrite page.
The TFN boundary claim dates back to differing interpretations of the First Nation’s territory defined in the 1850 Robinson Huron Treaty. 128 square miles of land are in dispute, and tripartite negotiations between Thessalon First Nation, Canada and Ontario began in March 2023. A 2017 fact sheet about the boundary claim published by the Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation is available on the Huron Shores website.
Topics to be discussed at the session include principles, interests and uses, categories, and priorities for land selection.
Second Sudbury Councillor Receives Reprimand
Senior Staff Salary Increases at the Heart of Controversy
Image courtesy Sudbury City Council
Based on a further report from the City of Greater Sudbury’s Integrity Commissioner, GSCC Councillor Natalie Labbée was reprimanded by Council at the September 3, 2024 meeting. The complaint and IC investigation concerned published comments made by the Councillor regarding city senior staff pay. IC Boghosian had determined a suspension of pay for twenty days as the appropriate penalty.
While Councillor Mike Parent was also the subject of a complaint, the IC concluded in this report that Parent “did not breach the Code of Conduct in relation to this matter.”
In her response to the report, Councillor Labbée criticized the IC process and refused to apologize.
An amended reprimand vote by Council was carried. No financial penalty was applied.
Further details about the Councillor’s actions leading to reprimand can be found at this Sudbury.com story by Tyler Clarke.
Town of Thessalon Receives Provincial Boost Toward New Housing
Ministry of Infrastructure Helps Fund Expansion of Sewer and Water Across Hwy 17
Area to be serviced marked in yellow. Image courtesy Google Maps.
Thessalon’s plans to expand housing stock are $1.1 million closer to completion, as they have received 73% total project funding to expand water and sewer service across the TransCanada highway into a 17-acre parcel primed for development. In an announcement on August 21, Thessalon Mayor Bill Rosenberg looked forward to “a new subdivision that will provide stable housing and homes to new and current residents of Thessalon. The expansion of Thessalon’s Water and Sewer system across Highway 17 will also be a benefit to the economic development of Thessalon, the growth of our schools, businesses and the future community development in the Town.”
Thessalon’s Planning Advisory Committee has been very busy in recent years, with main street water infrastructure improvements and this development project aimed at expanding the population of the north shore.
Thank you for reading this first issue of Shore Report.
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