Dryden

Councillors in Dryden are hoping to keep their costs under control in the coming years as they face an upcoming property tax levy increase.

Mayor Jack Harrison and fellow Council members met at City Hall earlier this month to look over the city’s proposed 2023 Operating and Capital Budgets.

Canada’s inflation rate slowed in December to its lowest rate in almost a year, according to Statistics Canada.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 6.3 per cent last month, down from 6.8 per cent in November.

“The headline CPI grew at a slower pace largely due to slower growth in prices for gasoline,” StatCan said in its report.

If you are a residential school survivor, you are able to contact the 24-hour National Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 for support. Indigenous people can also access the Hope for Wellness Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.


Leadership with Wauzhushk Onigum Nation near Kenora say they’ve found up to 171 possible grave markers on their traditional territory, after searching the former St. Mary’s Indian Residential School site.

In the SIJHL, the Dryden GM Ice Dogs are up against Sioux Lookout tomorrow night at 7:30. Earlier this week, the Ice Dogs took out Kam River 9-5, Red Lake beat Fort Frances 5-4 and continued winning against Wisconsin 3-1.

Earlier this week, the Dryden Eagles hosted Beaver Brae in Junior Boys Basketball action – winning 32-20. Emmerson Moir had 19 points for DHS. The Broncos Senior Boys took out the Eagles 65-35. In girls’ volleyball action, the Eagles dropped their first game of the season losing 3-1 to BBSS.

Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake are hoping the province has a solution to their high policing costs.

The mayors of three communities have a meeting set up with the new Solicitor General next week at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference.

The average cost of policing in these three municipalities is three times that of other communities in Ontario.

The coalition was formed ten months ago and since then they have met with officials from the OPP, ministry staff and the minister on the years-long crisis.

It’s been three years to the day since the major fire at the Clarion Lakeside Inn in Kenora, yet it remains closed.

But management with Kenora’s premier waterfront hotel says construction is still on schedule as they hope to reopen the building this summer.

All 13 Premiers of Canada’s Provinces and Territories have signed on to a letter, urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to strengthen the bail system within Canada.

The letter originated from Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office and comes following the death of 28 year old Ontario Provincial Police Constable Greg Pierzchala who was killed while on duty last month.

For more than 15 years voters' lists for municipal elections in Ontario have been put together by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, an organization that assesses the value of homes for tax purposes, but that will soon change.

The clerks for both the Town of Fort Frances and the City of Thunder Bay are a part of a provincial working group that they hope will remove issues faced by voters the next time residents go to the polls for municipal elections.

The provincial government says it is working to reduce surgical wait times.

Right now it’s estimated that 206,000 people are waiting for routine surgeries.

Minister of Health Sylvia Jones says they will be using private clinics to provide some of the procedures.

“It really wants to reinforce that this really is about quality of life and quality of life for patients waiting too long for routine surgeries,” Jones said a press conference Monday morning.

Premier Doug F0rd adds the province will be investing $300 million to address the surgical backlog.

Canadian home prices are down year-over-year for the first time since 2008, according to a new report.

But Royal LePage said prices still remain considerably higher than what they were before the pandemic.

The company’s latest house price survey showed prices fell 2.8 per cent year-over-year in the fourth quarter to an average of $757,100.

That is also 2.3 per cent lower on a quarter-over-quarter basis, marking the third consecutive quarterly decline.