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Acadia Thunder Bay (CJUK)

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Drop In Gas Prices Coming

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Expect a dip in how much you pay when you fill up your vehicle.

With fall set to start Wednesday, September 22, the winter blend of gasoline will flow as the Canada market mimics what the United States does with oil.

The Head of Petroleum Analysis Patrick De Haan tells Acadia News that between June 1st and September 15th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates gasoline to ease emissions in the warmer months.

“It may bring a relief by the end of the month between three to five cents a litre,” says De Haan. “The relief may take a while to realize because of the hurricanes that have impacted several key refining hubs in the United States and oil production.”

De Haan admits this summer was abnormal as compared to 2020.

“Because of what COVID-19 brought last summer, Canadians stayed far closer to home, which reduced demand and as result oil companies lowered production. This summer, on an account potentially of the vaccine boosting consumer confidence and bringing down cases at least early on, Canadians got out in very significant numbers, as a result of oil companies that had just trimmed production last year, we saw a very remarkable jump in demand which was not accompanied by an increase in supply.”

According to GasBuddy the price in Thunder Bay at most stations Wednesday is close to 147 a litre although there are a few that sell it for as low as 121.6.

Stations in Kenora and Dryden sell fuel for 141.9 while the Fort Frances price remains at 147 a litre.

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Digital Licenses & Health Cards Coming To Ontario

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The Ontario Government is bringing drivers licenses and health cards online — right onto your phone.

The project was announced this week by Queen’s Park that drivers licenses and health cards will be made available online through an app by the end of the year. Users can then download their ID directly onto their chosen device (phone, tablet, desktop…etc) where they can then control where it gets used.

Since the pandemic has taken hold of surfaces, it’s been made clear that going contactless is here to stay for a while more. Having the identification available to individuals on their devices will make it easier and more secure for when applying to various government programs, healthcare needs and even use it when it comes to buying age specific products (alcohol, cannabis…etc.)

A full explanation on how the digital ID works and where you can use it can be found through Ontario’s website.

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Service Ontario Reinstating Renewals

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Renewal requirements are again in effect for driver’s licences, licence plate stickers, other driver and vehicle products, Ontario Photo Cards, and Ontario health cards that would have expired on or after March 1, 2020.

They were initially extended to provide relief for Ontarians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To provide enough time to renew, the Ontario government extended the renewal deadlines until February 28, 2022 for most driver’s licences, licence plate stickers, and Ontario Photo Cards and health cards.

ServiceOntario does have an online option, Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney mentioning its convenience.

“The majority of Ontarians have continued to renew their documents during the pandemic, despite unprecedented challenges,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation. “It’s critical that drivers and vehicle owners have up-to-date documents for work, access to services and travel, and to keep our roads safe. I strongly encourage those who have deferred their renewals – approximately 17 per cent of Ontarians – to plan ahead and renew their documents online.”

Currently, the requirement for someone to renew their licence in-person has been temporarily waived.

Heavy commercial vehicle owners will need to renew their vehicle validations by December 31, 2021.

Novice licence holders (class G1, G2, M1 or M2) will have until December 31, 2022, to requalify for or upgrade their novice driver’s licence.

For a complete list of renewal deadlines, please visit Ontario.ca/RenewalDeadlines.

 

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O’Toole Touts Conservative Future For NWO

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The leader of the federal Conservatives says his party will secure the future for all of northern Ontario.

Erin O’Toole says his plan will create jobs in every sector across northwest communities, including forestry, mining, tourism and recreation.

Our plan will restore accountability and trust in government. We will address the mental health epidemic, we will ensure we are ready for the next health crisis, and we will get Canada’s fiscal house in order,” he says.

He made the comments on Twitter, supporting Kenora candidate and incumbent Eric Mellilo.

“I’ve worked closely with Eric in Ottawa. I know him to be a passionate advocate for northern Ontario,” O’Toole says. “He stands up for critical infrastructure projects, rural broadband, clean drinking water for First Nations and better economic opportunities for everyone, whether you live in Dryden or in the far reaches of the province.”

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Safety Measures During Pandemic Election

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A first will be offered when it comes to mail-in voting.

Elections Canada announced Wednesday that you will be able to apply online to vote by mail however once you have sent in your vote, you will be unable to change it afterwards, even if you want to do so before election day.

Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Stéphane Perrault, says Canadians who want to mail-in their votes should plan to do so ahead of time.

“This is not a new option, in fact Canadians have been voting by mail even locally since 1993,” explains Perrault. “Electors should leave enough time for their voter kit to get to them, and for them to return it to elections Canada by election day.”

More mail-in ballots will also mean it will be slightly longer before we find out the results of the election.

“Canadians are used to getting complete results on election night, but it will be different for this election,” says Perrault. “The count of regular ballots on ordinary polling day and advanced polls will be completed on the night of the election as usual. The count of mail-in ballots will start after election day, once all the mail-in ballots dropped off at polling stations have been returned and integrity checks have been performed.”

It is not yet clear exactly when we will have a decision in the 2021 election, and will depend entirely on how many Canadians decide to use the mail-in format.

In terms of health and safety for those who cast their votes at a polling station, the restrictions will feel very familiar, following the current provincial guidelines.

In Ontario for example masks and social distancing of course will be in place.

Perrault details a little more about how they are ensuring the safest experience for all Canadian voters.

“We will have people in charge of ensuring the place is clean, and that the electors are physically distanced,” explains Perrault. “They will see for example these physical transparent barriers that will separate the poll workers that will service them to allow them to vote.”

Advanced polls begin on September 10 with Election Day set for September 20.

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Trudeau Vows Canada Will Be Better Prepared Next Fire Season

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Climate change and forest fires the focus as Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau campaigns in Vancouver.

As of Wednesday, there were 5,673 forest fires recorded across Canada this year, compared to the 10 year average of 4,506.

Trudeau promised if re-elected, the country would be better prepared for next year’s fire season.

“A re-elected Liberal government will invest $500-million ahead of the next fire season for the firefighters and equipment that provinces need,” says Trudeau, “To begin with, we’ll train at least 1,000 more firefighters in communities across the country that can mobilize right away when a major burn starts. We know communities could have used more hands this year, so when next year comes around, this training means teams will be ready and complete.”

Liberal Leader Trudeau went on to acknowledge the severity of climate change, and the detrimental effects it has had on Canadians.

“When the interior of BC is burning up, when families are losing their homes to floods, farmers are losing their crops to droughts, we know we are facing a climate crisis and we have to take even more action.”

Climate change is a focal point of this election, many saying it will play a significant role in who is elected on Sept. 20.

All four major parties have released plans to tackle the climate crisis, including each one supporting carbon pricing in some capacity.

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Proof Of Vaccination For Travellers Coming In Fall

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Canada is working on vaccine passports for international travel.

The announcement Wednesday comes after Quebec made it known that they will be implementing a vaccine passport program beginning Sept. 1.

The international passport will be available to all Canadian citizens, temporary citizens, and permanent residents in Canada if they are fully vaccinated.

In a statement released by the federal government, Canadians should continue to avoid any non-essential travel worldwide, but stressed that vaccination credentials will support the re-opening of societies and economies.

“Our ambition is to see the next iteration of a proof of vaccine credential program launched as early as early Fall,” explains Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino. “This is building on the success of the first stage of the proof of vaccine credential program which we’ve launched successfully through the ArriveCAN app, which helps to inform inbound travel for Canadians and it is something that has worked very well. The fact is that we understand this will be an important piece to the puzzle.”

It appears the passport will be consistent between provinces and territories, though there is much to consider.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc explains there will be many moving parts in working with all the provinces and territories.

“It’s a complex undertaking because it necessarily involves the government of Canada working with every province and territory, they are properly the owners of the data in terms of who in their jurisdictions have been immunized,” says LeBlanc. “We have been having ongoing and very collaborative constructive conversations with the provinces and territories to ensure we can safely receive from them the necessary information on which Canadians are immunized.”

While the passport is being crafted with international travel in mind, the federal government is happy to work with the provinces to use it as a domestic proof-of-vaccination as well, ministers have said.
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NWHU Reports One New COVID Case

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One new case of COVID-19 is being reported in the Northwestern Health Unit catchment region.

Once again it comes from the Rainy River District.

This brings the region’s active case count to three, with two in the Rainy River District and one in the Kenora District.

As for the Thunder Bay District, there are no new cases for the 14th day in a row and the active case count remains at zero.

Ontario added 135 new cases and four COVID related deaths.

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NWHU Reports One New COVID-19 Case

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The Northwestern Health Unit is reporting it’s first case of COVID-19 in over nine days.

The new case is in the Kenora region and is the only active case in the catchment area.

As for the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, the streak continues and is now up to nine days with no new cases and one active.

Ontario is reporting 159 cases, and 10 COVID related deaths.

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Restricted Fire Zone Expands To Thunder Bay District

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A Restricted Fire Zone remains in effect for much of Northwestern Ontario due to high to extreme forest fire hazard conditions.

As of 12:01 a.m. Saturday July 10 the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is expanding the RFZ to include Thunder Bay and portions of Nipigon and Wawa districts.

The RFZ is already in effect for the Kenora, Fort Frances, Dryden districts and portions of the Sioux Lookout and Red Lake districts until further notice.

Outdoor fires are banned.

Portable gas stoves may still be used but must be handled with extreme care.

You can learn more about Restricted Fire Zones here.

For a more detailed boundary of the Restricted Fire Zone, consult the interactive fire map at Ontario.ca/forestfire or the map here.

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