Kenora

Canada has sanctioned a Russian woman whom the foreign affairs minister's office alleges is the architect of a scheme to abduct thousands of Ukrainian children and facilitate their adoption into Russian homes. 

The federal government has imposed sanctions on Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's children's rights commissioner, who has been accused by Ukraine of organizing the removal of children from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Despite announcing his retirement from Kenora council, Rory McMillan will stay on board for one more term, but in a different position. 

McMillan will sit on the English Public School Board office after the upcoming municipal election. The position filled by McMillan was vacant after the deadline for nominations on Friday.

He will be joined by trustees Robert Kitowski and Dave Cornish.

The municipal election will take place on October 24, 2022. 

The number of monkeypox cases reported globally dropped by 21% in the last week, reversing a month-long trend of rising infections and a possible signal the outbreak in Europe may be starting to decline, according to a World Health Organization report issued Thursday.

Canada's immigration minister now projects it will take a few months longer than originally hoped to get application wait times back on track.

Sean Fraser promised in January to eliminate backlogs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of the year.

That was before Canada launched a major response to the refugee crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Frasier says that effort has contributed to longer waits for people who want to come to Canada.

Incoming Supreme Court of Canada judge Michelle O'Bonsawin, poised to become the first Indigenous member of that bench, says she's a "tell it like it is person" and a lifelong student.

In O'Bonsawin's first public appearance since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated her for the position last week, she said she believes her life experience as an Indigenous person, a Franco-Ontarian and someone who grew up in rural northern Ontario will serve her well on the court.

Lake of the Woods dropped by another 9 cm (3 in) over the past week to an average level of 323.64 m (1061.8 ft), which is over the 95th percentile level for this time of year.

The Lake of the Woods Control Board says the Kenora Dams remain fully open and they anticipate lake levels to drop by 9 to 11 cm (3 to 4 in) over the next week.

A Red Lake woman has passed away following a single motor vehicle collision on Highway 11. 

On August 19, 2022, at approximately 6:50 p.m. the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Greenstone Detachment along with Superior North Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responded to a report of a single motor vehicle collision on Highway 11 between Longlac and Highway 631.

The vehicle was traveling westbound when it left the roadway. The driver was pronounced deceased at the scene, and the second occupant of the vehicle was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.

Members of the Rainy River District Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have charged an individual with weapon-related charges following an investigation.

On August 21, 2022 at approximately 8:34 a.m. officers received a report of an altercation taking place between two people at a residence on Rawn Road in the Town of Atikokan.

Officers attended the scene and confirmed that an altercation took place and escalated to one of the involved people pointing a firearm at the other person.

The 2022 forest fire season has been quiet when compared to the record-breaking forest fire season we lived through last year.

In 2021, the province saw a record 1180 fires reported that burned well over 770,000 hectares. Crews with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry spent a brutal summer working to slow the fire's advancement while several communities, including Red Lake and Wabaseemoong Independent Nation, were put on evacuation notice.

Ukraine's ambassador to Canada says her country is investigating more than 28,000 suspected war crimes, including the killing of 373 children by Russian forces. 

Ambassador Yulia Kovaliv says the crimes being documented and probed, with help from Canadian investigators, include the kidnapping of children taken to Russia, and the murder of fleeing civilians. 

"What we want to do is to properly document each and every crime and we will bring Russia to justice," she said in an interview, during which she was called by Ukraine's prosecutor general about the issue.