Latest news with #northernOntario
CBC
21-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Adventure Play Days give Sudbury kids a chance to use their imaginations
While a lot of children in northern Ontario are enrolled in summer camps or organized sports for the summer, there's an effort in Sudbury to encourage more unstructured play. Émilie Pinard, a professor at Laurentian University's McEwen School of Architecture, and Pierre Harrison, the founder of an organization called PLAYLearnThink, have launched Adventure Play Days at two local playgrounds. The play days happen throughout the summer, every Tuesday evening at the Riverdale Playground and Wednesdays at the Antwerp Playground. The idea is for children to play with loose materials like cardboard boxes, art supplies and even some tools like hammers and handsaws. "The key component of a play day is giving control to the children," said Harrison. "When children are controlling their play, they're developing things like problem solving, resilience. It's absolutely wonderful." Harrison said if a child plays with a telephone, for example, but pretends it's a car, that's fine. "That's the beauty of loose parts," he said. "It can be anything as long as the children are free to do whatever they want with it." Harrison said children don't have as many opportunities today to participate in unstructured play. "There are psychologists that have been studying that and they've also noticed that, you know, anxiety, depression and suicide amongst children has been increasing as the abilities or the opportunities for play have been decreasing," he said. Pinard's own children have participated in the play days. "They really enjoy it. They asked to come back." For Pinard, there's also a research component attached to the Adventure Play Days. "I'm looking at how our cities can better support children's well-being and health," she said. "And play is one key factor." Pinard is interviewing parents about their children's experiences with unstructured play. "By better understanding, you know, how children participate in Adventure Play Days we can offer different types of programs than just typical playgrounds that are usually targeting a specific group age, or where kids are maybe getting bored pretty quickly," she said. Ashley Hurley, a parent who brought her children to a play day at Riverdale Playground, said she thought it was a great idea to organize opportunities for unstructured play. "I think the biggest barrier at home is the supervision and the mess that it makes," she said.
CTV News
18-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Walk-in breast cancer screening underway in northeastern Ontario
Mammothon – a huge effort to encourage woman who are eligible for breast cancer screening – is back after a pause forced by the pandemic. The 'Mammothon' breast screening event is back on in northern Ontario after a five-year hiatus with a goal of screening hundreds of women for cancer. Nine locations in the region are offering drop-in mammogram screening for people aged 40–74. 'Essentially, what Mammothon aims to do is screen people who are eligible for breast cancer screening or who have never been screened or who are overdue for screening,' said Steven Blakely, a cancer screening manager with the Lung Diagnostic Assessment Program. 'In the northeast region of Ontario, we have 13 Ontario breast screening program sites. Nine out of these 13 sites are in fact, participating.' Breast cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in Canadian women. 'Oh, it's not so bad' Early screening can help improve chances of recovery, but many people put off testing, according to Sherrie Palys, the ultrasound supervisor at Sudbury's Well Health Diagnostics Centers. Health care professional looks at mammogram scan Health care professional looks at mammogram scan (File) 'We see the stigma that comes with mammograms, women hear stories and, you know, they seem to get like, fearful of it,' Palys said. 'And I just want to let everybody know out there, it really is worth the four pictures, the 15 minutes of your time. I see it work every day. And women who have come to us went, 'oh, it's not so bad. It's not what I thought.'' While Ontario residents become eligible for screening at age 40, it is recommended that women between the ages of 50 and 74 get a mammogram every two years. Health care professional looks at mammogram scan Health care professional helps patient during mammogram scan (File) If not, you may be behind on tests. 'It's recommended that if you are between the ages of 40 to 49, you consult with your primary care provider to determine if screening is right for you,' Blakley said. 'But if you are between the ages of 50 and 74, no referral is required. You can walk right into the center and they should be able to accommodate you.' Details for each northeastern Ontario site included in the Mammothon, where walk-ins are welcome: Kapuskasing June 18 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Sensenbrenner Hospital at 101 Progress Cr., 705-337-4011. Kirkland Lake June 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Blanche River Hospital at 145 Government Rd. East, 1-866-567-5251. Moose Factory June 14-20 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Weeneebayko General Hospital at 19 Hospital Dr., 705-658-4544 ext. 2305. Parry Sound June 19 and 20 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at West Parry Sound Health Centre at 6 Albert St., 705-746-4540 ext. 3602. Sault Ste. Marie June 18 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Sault Area Hospital at 750 Great Northern Rd., 1-833-255-6277, and Group Health Centre at 240 McNabb St. until 4 p.m. Sturgeon Falls June 18 from a.m. to 7 p.m. at West Nipissing General Hospital, 725 Coursol Rd., 705-753-3110 ext. 257. Sudbury June 16-20 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at WELL Health Sudbury at 40 Elm St., Suite 255, 1-833-904-4840. Timmins June 18 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Timmins and District Hospital at 700 Ross Ave. East, 705-360-6012. Health care experts said they hope to see 445 patients throughout the Mammothon at the various locations around the region.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Northern Ont. mayors meet with Premier Doug Ford
The mayors of the largest cities in northern Ontario met with Premier Doug Ford at Queen's Park on Monday. The mayors of the largest cities in northern Ontario met with Premier Doug Ford at Queen's Park on Monday. The group, formally known as Northern Ontario's Large Urban Mayors (NOLUM), also met with some cabinet ministers and representatives from Invest Ontario. NOLUM2 The mayors of the largest cities in northern Ontario met with Premier Doug Ford at Queen's Park on Monday. (Office of the premier) The group includes mayors from Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Greater Sudbury and North Bay. 'The discussions focused on protecting northern Ontario's economy, responding to the impact of tariffs and creating the conditions for long-term growth,' NOLUM said in a news release Tuesday. 'The mayors emphasized the need for strategic provincial action to accelerate project approvals, deepen partnerships with Indigenous communities and expand the economic tools available to municipalities.' The mayors said they want to work with the province on three key priorities: improving road and transportation infrastructure; economic growth and job creation in response to the trade war; and, equal access to quality health care, housing and public safety services. 'Northern Ontario is entering a period of renewed growth,' the release said. 'With strong provincial partnership, our cities are well-positioned to drive economic development and improve quality of life for residents across the region.'
CTV News
12-05-2025
- CTV News
Northern Ontario murder victim's family upset with suspect's plea deal
The family of a northern Ontario woman who died in 2022 is upset after a man charged with her murder made a plea deal in court.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
The first woman speaker at Queen's Park is focusing on her northern Ontario roots
Donna Skelly grew up in the railway town of Capreol, north of Sudbury A southern Ontario MPP who was recently appointed speaker at Queen's Park says she's looking for ways to strengthen the connection between the legislature and the north. Donna Kelly, who grew up in the Capreol area of what is today Greater Sudbury, was elected as Ontario's first female speaker on April 14. "My father was a railroad engineer and my mom was one of four women who worked as a secretary in the mine," said the Progressive Conservative MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook. "I went to Marymount College and when I was 17, I graduated from high school and headed to Toronto and studied broadcasting." Skelly worked in journalism for 30-years, with jobs at CHIP-FM Radio in Fort Coulonge, Quebec, CHRO TV Radio in Pembroke, CKWS-TV in Kingston and CHCH in Hamilton. From there, she was elected to city council in Hamilton, before entering provincial politics. Despite being based in southern Ontario, she said she has never forgotten her northern roots. "I absolutely love the north and I will be focusing a large part of my time and my efforts will be focused on northern Ontario," she said. "I'm really hoping that they can bring the legislature to the north and the north to the people of Queen's Park." To do that, Skelly said she's going to continue to work with MPPs in the region. "Next year, we will be bringing the legislative educational component, what the speaker does, to every riding in northern Ontario," she said. "And I'm hoping to go back to Sudbury and to Nickel Belt, to bring the sword and the legislature to some of the elementary schools." As for her role as speaker, Skelly said she is comfortable with her role policing the behaviour of her fellow MPPs. "People in Ontario do not want to see their politicians bickering and acting like children," she said. "I believe already, we have seen an elevated decorum in the house. People are a bit more respectful and I intend to make sure that is maintained throughout the next four years."
