By Ken Kellar
Staff writer
kkellar@fortfrances.com

The Ontario government is taking steps to get more homes built in the province by expanding how tall a building built with wooden materials can be. In a press release issued on Monday, April 8, 2024, the Ontario Government announced it would be increasing the maximum number of storeys allowed […]

By Lee Griffi
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette

A telehealth line that makes mental wellness support available to all Ontario farmers and farm families is now live. It is part of the Farmer Wellness Initiative (FWI) which addresses growing mental health concerns in the agricultural sector by offering more accessible mental health and wellness support to farm families […]

By Carl Clutchey
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
The Chronicle Journal

When Kathy McGowan started saving seeds from her garden 10 years ago in a serious way, her new-found routine was rooted in long tradition. Seed saving is as old as the beginnings of agriculture, but you don’t have to be a full-time farmer to reap the benefits. “It’s been a […]

By Marcel Gemme
Special to the Times

4/20 celebrations are prevalent in most Ontario cities. The recreational cannabis industry has grown significantly, and adults come to celebrate legalization on 4/20 Day. Year after year, cannabis is becoming more mainstream, and social media certainly highlights the festivities of 4/20. As parents and educators, there is no wrong time […]

By Brenda Sawatzky
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Niverville Citizen

Across the nation, 2023 marked an unprecedented year for wildfires. Experts say it wasn’t the number of fires burning that made it historic, but rather the sizable nature of the fires. Thanks in part to unrelenting heat waves throughout the spring and summer, Canada lost about 15 million hectares of […]

By Kevin Jeffrey,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
TBNewswatch

THUNDER BAY — Declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic province-wide only works if there are actual solutions to the problem. The executive director of the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre does applaud the unanimous support at Queen’s Park on April 10 of Bill 173, named the Intimate Partner Violence Epidemic Act. […]

By Mike Stimpson
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Thunder Bay Source

IGNACE – Decision time is near. In a few weeks, residents in this Northwestern Ontario township will cast ballots on their willingness to have a nuclear waste repository in the area. Then a consulting firm will write a report and submit it to Ignace township council in June. Then councillors […]

By Odette Auger
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com

Kori Czuy is the Métis host of the podcast Ancestral Science, which emphasizes the importance of Indigenous culture, spirituality and worldview in scientific inquiry. On the show, Elders and Indigenous scientists talk about how science is defined, embraced and understood through spirit and relationality or connectedness. Ancestral Science is just […]

By Carl Clutchey
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Chronicle-Journal

The agency representing the country’s insurance industry is confirming long-held concerns of motorists who regularly drive hair-raising provincial routes like Highway 102 just outside Thunder Bay. In a news release this week, the Insurance Bureau of Canada says a study it commissioned found that many drivers of big transport trucks […]

By Carl Clutchey
Local Journalism Initiative
Reporter
The Chronicle Journal

Part of this year’s version of the province’s annual mine-rescue competitions will kick off next month in Kakabeka Falls before the final event is staged at Thunder Bay’s Fort William Gardens. Ontario Mine Rescue, the provincial agency that organizes the competition, announced on Thursday dates for the preliminary and final […]

By Carl Clutchey
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Chronicle Journal

Turns out enjoying a sandwich on your favourite slice of rye isn’t as hard on the environment as it once was. The Grain Growers of Canada said this week its 65,000 members helped cut “intense” agriculture-related greenhouse gas (GHC) emissions in half between 1997 and 2017. “This resulted in a […]

Staff

The Ontario government is investing more than $5 million to connect over 16,000 people to primary care teams in Northwestern Ontario, including Thunder Bay, Kenora, Fort Frances, and Sioux Lookout. This is part of Ontario’s $110 million investment to connect up to 328,000 people to primary care teams, bringing the […]