Latest news with #ElliotLake
CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
A seniors housing non-profit saved Elliot Lake, but now a local charity says its holding the city back
When the uranium mines closed for good in Elliot Lake, the small northern Ontario city was able to reinvent itself as a retirement community. To do that, the city created a non-profit organization called Retirement Living that was tasked with managing houses and apartment buildings that were originally built for people who worked at the mines. "In 1990, when the mines were unloading those houses, they were either gonna have to give them to the city or, you know, pay the taxes on them or demolish them, all of which would have cost them too much money," said Peter Harris, the CEO of the Silver Birch Centre, a charity that promotes the arts and economic development in Elliot Lake. Low rental costs, especially compared to southern Ontario, coupled with the quiet lifestyle Elliot Lake promised, proved to be a winning combination. "They rented them out and it was very successful," Harris said. "It helped keep the town afloat." But Harris now argues the time has come for Retirement Living to help Elliot Lake by selling off some of its housing stock. "Every year Retirement Living says like 20 or 30 of these detached or semi-detached houses become available as retirees, you know, become ill or… leave town because of family reasons," he said. Harris estimates that selling those 20 to 30 homes each year would generate around $9 million, which the city could use to address crumbling infrastructure. "The last big construction boom was in the 1970s, but prior to that, the old neighbourhoods were built in the 1950s," Harris said. "So these streets, sewers and water main supplies are like 70 years old. They are decaying." A history of crumbling infrastructure Elliot Lake is currently working to repair its only arena, which was closed out of fears its wooden structure could collapse back in September 2023. The municipal swimming pool was closed for two years for renovations, before re-opening at the end of 2024. And Elliot Lake's Algo Centre Mall collapsed in 2012, which killed two people and injured more than 20 others. Retirement Living owned the mall through its for-profit subsidiary NorDev, and was heavily criticized in the 2014 Report of the Elliot Lake Commission of Inquiry. Commissioner Paul Bélanger concluded, "Secrecy and confidentiality often trumped candour, transparency, and openness. It pervaded contractual and professional relationships, and even the municipal administration sought to cloak some of its activities from public view." Harris said that in his opinion, Retirement Living is more interested in preserving its relevancy by continuing to manage its properties, than to sell those properties and transfer the proceeds to the city. "What's wrong with this picture? The city's broke and Retirement Living's rich. Those houses were given to Elliot Lake to help Elliot Lake. Not to create a bureaucracy that takes care of itself," he said.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Pride Month launches early in Elliot Lake, Manitoulin Island
Pride Month kicks off early in Elliot Lake and on Manitoulin Island. Elliot Lake's deputy mayor raised the flag alongside 2SLGBTQI+ community members while in Wikwemikong tribal police raised a Pride flag at their detachment and donned rainbow vests, with month-long activities planned in both communities.
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
Elliot Lake Vikings leave of absence extended for 2025-2026 season, amid arena repairs
Social Sharing There will be no junior hockey played in Elliot Lake come this fall. The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and its board of directors announced May 30 they have extended the leave of absence for the Elliot Lake Vikings through the 2025-2026 season, citing ongoing uncertainties with the city's arena. The Vikings were first granted a temporary leave of absence in December 2024. Elliot Lake's arena and the home venue of the Vikings, Rogers Arena - formerly Centennial Arena - has been shut down since September 2023 and continues to undergo extensive repairs. The NOJHL had been told earlier this spring the city was hopeful the arena would be ready by late July 2025, but a reopening date has yet to be confirmed. "Unfortunately, with the ongoing delays as to when the arena will be back in operation, the Vikings have been granted their extended leave," said NOJHL commissioner Robert Mazzuca in a news release. "We just don't know when the club will be able to resume activities as they wait for news on the status of their arena." Mazzuca added the NOJHL will operate with 11 teams instead of 12 for the upcoming 2025-26 season, and the league's schedule will be announced in the coming days.
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Man charged after alleged break-in at Elliot Lake ski hill
An exterior photo of the fully-serviced chalet at the Mt. Dufour Ski Area in Elliot Lake, Ont., in January 2024. (File photo/City of Elliot Lake) A 36-year-old Elliot Lake man faces criminal charges after Ontario Provincial Police arrested him for allegedly breaking into the chalet at Mt. Dufour Ski Area, a local community-run non-profit ski hill. OPP responded to an activated alarm at the facility on Ski Hill Road around 1:30 a.m. on May 24. Mt. Dufour Ski Area operates a full-service chalet with a licensed lounge, rental equipment, and a canteen that serves meals to support the hill's operations. 'A smashed rear window was observed and alarm motion determined movement in the kitchen area of the chalet,' police said in a news release. Officers located the allegedly intoxicated man inside the canteen's kitchen area, they said he was 'helping himself to food.' Two OPP officers - spring - uniformed An undated photo of two uniformed Ontario Provincial Police officers talking. (File photo/Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario) The accused was charged with break-and-enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and mischief. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 10.
CTV News
25-05-2025
- CTV News
OPP arrest wanted man at Manitoulin motel
An undated photo of two Manitoulin Ontario Provincial Police vehicles parked. (File photo/Ontario Provincial Police/X) A 63-year-old Elliot Lake man faces multiple charges after Ontario Provincial Police arrested him at a Manitoulin Island motel. On May 21, the Manitoulin OPP detachment responded to a disturbance involving a tenant and an employee at a Mindemoya motel. 'Police learned that the tenant was wanted on numerous warrants and there was information he was in possession of a gun,' OPP said in a release Friday. With assistance from various specialty units, including the canine unit and emergency response team, officers arrested the man without incident on May 22. He faces new charges for unauthorized possession of a weapon, failing to comply with a probation order, and two counts of failing to comply with an undertaking. Additionally, outstanding warrants from East Algoma OPP included three counts of failing to attend court and one count of failing to comply with an undertaking and a separate warrant from Manitoulin OPP alleged two counts of operation while prohibited. The accused was held pending a bail hearing on May 23.
