Kenora

The region saw another gas price increase overnight. 

Some Kenora gas stations quietly increased their prices again, just four days after the last jump. 

Gas prices in Kenora have once again reached a new record, 215.9 per litre of regular fuel.  

Gas prices have now increased by 13 cents since June 1, 2022.  

Saint Thomas Aquinas held their annual Athletic Banquet on Wednesday, June 8.  

Over 270 people attended the in-person event ready to celebrate the achievements of the hard-working student-athletes.  

Here are the award recipients for the 2021/22 school year:  

STAHS ATHLETIC AWARDS:

Golf:

In Kenora baseball action, The Devils took out the powerhouse Northern Harbour by a tight score of 19 to 17.

The TA Saints are celebrating taking two gold medals at home this week in soccer action. At the NorWOSSA Championships, the Saints girls and boys teams both defeated the Rainy River Owls to win gold in the finals. The final scores were 5-1 for the girls, and a staggering 14-0 for the boys.

The City of Kenora is debating spending $185,000 to build up Coker Road to protect residents from future flooding events after Kenora’s evacuation last month, which continues for multiple roadways throughout the community.

Councillors are hosting a Special Council meeting today to discuss the new budget amendment, which would pull funding from the JM Roads Reserve Fund. If approved, work on Coker Road would take place just east of Kelly Road, and would involve raising the height of the roadway.

In a region that is already so burdened by a doctor shortage, the recent news of the City of Kenora’s interest in divesting the Keewatin Medical Clinic has come as a shock to most of the community.  

The public was made aware of the situation after the City of Kenora put out a public call for expressions of interest to divest the Keewatin Medical Clinic.  

Intermediate Saints went undefeated on Wednesday.  

The grade 7/8 soccer teams from the region gathered in Dryden on Wednesday to compete in the first soccer tournament of the year.  

The Saint Thomas Aquinas Saints went undefeated that day, beating out the teams from Dryden, Ignace, Lillian Berg, and Beaver Brae schools, capturing the gold in the finals.  

Lake of the Woods District Hospital says they are continuing to operate and serve residents while facing a ‘critical’ staffing shortage in its Emergency Room department.

Hospital leadership says staff are regularly dealing with high volumes of patients while working overtime and giving up vacation time to cover any vacancies. As a result, the hospital is asking residents to recognize staff’s efforts by being understanding, patient and kind when dealing with staff.

The economy added 40,000 jobs in May, driven by a gain in full-time jobs as the labour market continued to tighten and wages pushed higher, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The increase came as the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 per cent, the lowest rate since at least 1976 which is as far back as comparable data goes. The unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent in April.

TD Bank senior economist James Orlando said as Canadians headed out to patios and hit the road for overdue vacations, employers continued to search for workers to meet heightened demand.

The United Nations committee on the rights of the child has released a report expressing serious concerns about the welfare of children in Canada — particularly those who are Indigenous. 

"The committee is deeply concerned about the discrimination against children in marginalized and disadvantaged situations," said the report, made public Thursday.

The committee cited structural discrimination against Indigenous and Black children, "especially with regard to their access to education, health and adequate standards of living," 

Leaders with the City of Kenora are continuing to lobby the province to provide more support to the flood-stricken area, specifically for municipal costs.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced earlier today that residents across northwestern Ontario are able to apply to the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program, which can provide up to $250,000 towards expenses incurred due to the emergency flooding situation.