Randy Thoms is a veteran news broadcaster with over 40 years' experience. He is based in Fort Frances and covers stories across northwestern Ontario. Contact Randy at thoms.randy@radioabl.ca.
The provincial government intends to expand Workplace Safety and Insurance Board coverage to more employees.
The province intends to make it available to workers in privately operated residential care facilities, retirement homes and group homes.
Labour Minister David Piccini says it creates a level playing field.
“These changes would close long-standing coverage gaps across the sector, giving workers access to WSIB coverage like income replacement, healthcare and rehabilitation services, retraining and return to work supports, while providing employers a clear, consistent rules across the sector,” Piccini.
Piccini says since the nature of their work has changed over the years, so too should the coverage.
Unions are pleased with the province’s announcement.
President of SEIU Healthcare Canada, Tyler Downey, calls it a win that is more than a policy change.
“This is recognition of the dignity of care work, the value of those who do it, and the responsibility we all share to stand behind the people who spend their lives caring for others,” says Downey.
Piccini also sees the benefit helping with the recruitment and retention of employees.
“When you want to attract staff, and when workers go to work and roll up their sleeves every day, often dealing with some of our friends and neighbours with the most complex needs, when we say we have your back and you will have WSIB support, I think it does create a more attractive working environment.”
The province reports that approximately 165,000 workers in Ontario are employed in the nursing and residential care facilities sector.
Over 75% of employers in Ontario in most sectors are subject to mandatory coverage.
Work is underway on the development of an anti-black racism plan for the Rainy River District School Board.
Education Director Heather Campbell says it included meeting with the group Parents for Black Children.
“This advocacy group is province-wide and is meeting with each board and looking really at the Dreams Delayed Ontario Human Rights Committee report and each board’s movement to recognize those recommendations.”
The report identified systemic anti-Black racism in Ontario’s education system.
In providing an update on the board’s work, Campbell says they are working to remove barriers, improve opportunities and ensure schools reflect and honour the diversity, identities and cultures of the communities they serve.
The board is also involved in a survey with others in the area.
A localized survey was tried, but the response was not as expected.
“So we’ve reached out to other boards part of the region, so Kenora Catholic, Keewatin-Patricia, and Northwest Catholic to join forces in doing a broader survey to form the development of a framework that each board can then individualize for its plan,” says Campbell.
The final plan is to come before the trustees at a later time.
Fort Frances will again be represented at the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association provincial championships.
The Leafs under-13 team will be competing for the C-Division title.
Coach Brad Hill says the girls have been looking forward to the tournament all season long.
“It’s a big trip that we’ve been looking forward to since we knew this year, going in, we might have the opportunity for this,” says Hill.
“It’ll be a chance for us to go down and compete against the best in Ontario for the division that we play in.
The Leafs will compete against 15 other teams representing girls’ hockey associations across the province.
Most teams had to win their local and regional playdowns to qualify.
Fort Frances gained entry after the Kenora-based Lake of the Woods Girls Hockey Association opted not to pursue a provincial bid.
Thunder Bay is also competing but is classified at a higher level.
The Leafs have not faced any of the teams listed in their division, nor do they have any knowledge of the level of competition they will face.
Hill hopes the work done at weekly practices and games translates into a good showing.
“We’re hoping that we’ll go down and play our best games when we’re down there.”
This is just the second time that the Fort Frances Girls-Women’s Hockey Association has sent a team to the provincial championships.
They swept the competition, recording three shutout victories, and edged out a team from Mitchell, Ontario, in the final to capture the U13C championship.
Hill is confident of his team’s ability to match that effort.
“We’ve got a great group of girls. They work hard and show up every game. We’ve had a lot of success this year in the tournaments we’ve been a part of.”
The Leafs first game will be this Friday in Ajax against a team from Chatham.
The Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts resumes this week.
The vocal competitions will take place on Wednesday and Thursday at Knox United Church in Fort Frances.
Almost 80 performances are scheduled over the two days before adjudicator Judith Oatway, a vocal instructor from Manitoba.
Choirs will perform in the morning, including a grade 7 and 8 ensemble from St. John’s Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg.
Solo performers will take to the stage in the afternoon.
Drama and Speech Arts competitions in Anishinaabemowin, English and French took place over the last two weeks.
The Anishinaabemowin Speech Arts portion of the festival saw 7 performances, including an adult hand-drumming group, who were adjudicated by Roy Tom, an educator from Big Grassy First Nation.
As the division is non-competitive, no scores were given.
English and French performances last week were before adjudicators Robin Taylor Wright and Kim Anderson.
Wright also held a drama workshop that attracted 10 students from Fort Frances High School.
The festival organizers and the school’s Arts and Culture Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program partnered on the workshop.
A workshop, entitled “Deconstructing the Message”, was put on by Mr. Robin Taylor Wright (red shirt), who served as an adjudicator in this year’s Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts. Ten students from Fort Frances High School took part. Photo supplied by Rainy River District Festival of the Performing Arts, April 6, 2026.
Another workshop will take place this Friday from 1:30 pm to 3 pm at Fort Frances High School, led by Oatway.
The free workshop is open to all performers in the festival’s vocal division, as well as cast members of the upcoming high school musical Hadestown and students enrolled in the high skills major program.
Pre-registration is appreciated by emailing rrdist.festival@gmail.com.
Here are the results from the first two weeks of the festival.
English Drama & Speech Arts Division Results – Tuesday, March 31
CLASS D308 English Drama, Choral Speaking, Grade 3 FIRST: Robert Moore School Gr 3 (Ms. A. Norris) (Honours)
CLASS D809 English Drama, Skit, Grade 8 FIRST: Cornerstone Christian School Gr 6-8 (Ms. Y. Veldhuisen) (Honours)
CLASS PSA9067 English Drama, Solo Spoken Poetry, Classical, Grades 10-12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (Honours)
CLASS PSA9134 English Drama, Solo Reading, Canadian Prose, Grades 10-12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (Honours)
CLASS D1117 English Drama, Quick Study, Grades 11 and 12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (Honours)
CLASS D1106 English Drama, Sight Reading, Grades 11 and 12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (First Class Honours)
CLASS D308 English Drama, Choral Speaking, Grade 3 FIRST: Olivia Sivonen and Marlena Johnson
CLASS D401 English Drama, Serious Solo Poetry, Grade 4 FIRST: Rebecca Margison
CLASS D302 English Drama, Humorous Solo Poetry, Grade 3 FIRST: Nash McMahon
CLASS D202 English Drama, Humorous Solo Poetry, Grade 2 FIRST: Mackenzie Christian (Honours)
CLASS D402 English Drama, Humorous Solo Poetry, Grade 4 FIRST: Bristol Christian (Honours) SECOND: Rebecca Margison
CLASS D916 English Drama, Shakespearean Soliloquy or Monologue, Grades 9 and 10 FIRST: James Gagne
CLASS PSA9093 English Drama, Dramatic Monologue, Own Choice, Grades 10-12 FIRST: Alexis Latter (Honours)
French Drama & Speech Arts Division Results – Thursday, April 2
CLASS F108 French Choral Speaking, Own Choice, Grades 1 and 2 FIRST: St. Mary School Grade 1 FI (A. Coyle) (First Class Honours) SECOND: St. Mary School Grade 1/2 FI (M. Brady) (Honours)
CLASS F308B French Choral Speaking, Own Choice, Grades 3 and 4 FIRST (Tie): Lex Norman, Collins Armstrong, et Signy Green (M. Brady) (First Class Honours) and Brielle Stus et Ember Van Troyen (M. Brady) (First Class Honours) SECOND: Noah Whalen, Porter Coyle, et Cohen Gushulak (M. Brady) (Honours)
CLASS F508B French Choral Speaking, Own Choice, Grades 5 and 6 FIRST: Rosina Woodgate, Elena Bottomley et London Lees (M. Gowdar) (First Class Honours) SECOND (Tie): Aria Brady et Naomi Gerber (M. Gowdar) (Honours) and Tilly Sexton et Alexis Reather (M. Gowdar) (Honours)
CLASS F511 French Reader’s Theatre, Grades 5 and 6, FIRST: Carys Simpson et Anneliese De Gagné (M. Gowdar) (First Class Honours)
CLASS F704 French Solo Prose Reading, Own Choice, Grades 7 and 8 FIRST: Teagan Sether (M. Wright)
CLASS F708 French Choral Speaking, Own Choice, Grades 7 and 8 FIRST: Sisily Morelli et Firdaus Toure (First Class Honours) SECOND: Aria St. Onge et Chase Bruyere (M. Wright)
CLASS PSA 9053 Solo Spoken Poetry, Multilingual, Own Choice, Grades 7-9 FIRST: Teagan Sether (M. Wright) (Honours)
The Rainy River District West OPP Detachment Board is looking for senior levels of government to address a growing number of bail violations in the Rainy River District.
Provincial Police laid more than 470 bail-related charges in 2025.
There were another 379 charges in 2024.
Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas calls it alarming, but not surprising.
“I hear this all the time. It’s like a revolving door. They (police) do their job. They arrest people, and the bail system just turns them loose. It’s got to stop,” says Hallikas.
At a recent board meeting, OPP drew attention to several repeat offenders.
One person is noted to have 67 charges, while another has faced 50 charges since 2022.
“This is serious,” says Board Chair John McTaggart.
“It’s taking a lot of the police’s time to manage it. It’s taking a lot of time for the courts. It’s taking a lot of time for the jails. It is costing a lot of money, and we need to advance this.”
The board supported a resolution that asks area municipalities to lobby senior levels of government.
It also intends to seek similar support from other police services boards.
A planned tax cut for Ontario’s small businesses is expected to save them more than one billion dollars.
The province intends to cut the small business corporate income tax (CIT) from 3.2% to 2.2% over the next three years.
The measure was announced in the provincial budget.
Associate Minister of Small Business, Nina Tangri, says the cut will allow businesses to reinvest in themselves and project jobs.
“Ontario’s small businesses are the driving force behind our economy, employing more than 2.5 million people,” states Tangri in a release.
“We continue to support small businesses in these times of economic turbulence by providing additional tax relief that will allow them to reinvest in their companies and workers so they can scale-up, reach new customers and grow.”
The tax cut is expected to provide more than 375,000 Ontario small businesses with up to $5,000 in tax relief every year.
The province also intends to provide further relief through federal measures that allow businesses to accelerate the write-off of a broad range of capital investments, including equipment and other assets, saving an estimated $3.5 billion in additional Ontario income tax relief over four years.
“Small businesses are the backbone of Ontario’s economy, and our government is taking action to help them grow, invest and create good-paying jobs,” states Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance.
“(The) tax cut will put more money back into the hands of local entrepreneurs in communities. . .across Ontario, giving them the flexibility to expand, hire and compete in an increasingly uncertain global environment.”
The Kenora-Rainy River District Child and Family Services (KRRDCFS) has expanded its autism services in the Rainy River District.
It has also added new programming.
It resulted from a grant received from the provincial government earlier this year.
Supervisor of Clinical and Community Services Becky Andrusko says it is exciting news for families.
“With this investment, we strengthened access to core clinical services and improved how families connect with supports, helping to reduce barriers and better navigate the system,” says Andrusko.
“We’ve also introduced new programming, including parent supports, child-focused group services and specialized mental health supports tailored for children with autism spectrum disorder.”
Andrusko notes the district has experienced a large number of children diagnosed with ASD in the last ten years.
Families usually access supports through the Ontario Autism Program (OAP).
According to an Ontario Autism Coalition report issued last fall, one-third of families indicated having to wait a year or more to access OAP’s core clinical services, with longer wait times for those in northern Ontario.
Andrusco says the services available through the KRRDCFS help bridge the wait.
“We don’t have a wait list at our agency currently, and all of our services are free because we’re a community-based mental health program,” says Andrusko.
“We’re all funded through the government.”
A variety of programs are available.
They include parenting programs and support through the developmental services sector up to the age of 18.
Andrusko says they can also help families connect with other community-based services.
“If they do require speech language pathology, we make the appropriate referrals for occupational therapy, physical therapy, anything that that specific child might need.”
The Ford government is facing continued pressure to fully fund nurse practitioners.
The federal government gave provinces until April 1st to do so.
Liberal Health Critic Adil Shamji (AH-dill SHAM-jee) says it leaves patients on the hook.
He says the Health Minister’s need for more time moves the issue from noncompliance to open defiance.
“It doesn’t matter if medically necessary care is delivered by a physician or a nurse practitioner. Regardless, you shouldn’t have to pay for it,” says Shamji.
NDP leader Marit (MAR-it) Stiles says the missed deadline hurts small and northern communities, which rely on nurse practitioner services the most.
“When there’s no family doctor in a community, it is nurse practitioners, and it is nurse practitioner-led clinics who pick up the slack,” says Stiles.
“But because they’re not funded by your government, it is actually rural residents, northerners and people all across this province that are paying out of pocket for primary care.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones notes that they are providing $3.4. billion into primary care, which includes nurse practitioners.
She adds Ontario intends to comply.
“I have made it very clear that Ontario will be in compliance, even though the federal government has given no funding and has given no direction, so we are going to see different processes in all of the Canadian jurisdictions,” says Jones.
“Ontario will lead. We will continue to lead, and we will make sure that we are in compliance because we are already doing that.”
There is a move afoot at Queen’s Park to designate a week in September as Rural Ontario Week.
The idea comes from a Progressive Conservative MPP from the Nipissing area.
Billy Denault says not many people fully recognize the contributions rural Ontario communities make towards the province’s economy.
“Too often the contributions of rural communities are underrepresented in the broader conversation,” says Denault.
“That is why this motion matters. Rural Ontario Week is about recognition. It’s about education. And it is about connection. It creates a dedicated time each year to highlight the importance, vitality and opportunities that exist within rural Ontario.”
Denault says it will also provide an opportunity to showcase the innovation, economic power and sense of community that define small towns and communities.
The proposal has the support of the Minister of Rural Affairs.
Lisa Thompson says it is important to have the opportunity to recognize and celebrate rural Ontario.
“It’s important to understand that across Ontario, there are people, there are businesses, there are organizations, there are events that get staged year in and year out to celebrate the heart of every community throughout rural and northern Ontario,” says Thompson.
“And that’s the purpose of Rural Ontario Week. It’s to embrace the heart that really keeps the pulse, not only within our rural ridings, but the economic pulse of all of Ontario, thumping and thriving.
The opposition is also throwing its support behind the motion.
Liberal MPP Ted Hsu says while it provides the ability to showcase the contributions made by rural Ontario, he hopes it goes beyond that.
“I hope that Rural Ontario Week is a week that not only celebrates rural Ontario, but draws attention to the problems and the needs of rural Ontario, and it’s not just a fluffy tourist kind of holiday,” says Hsu.
MPPs gave the proposal unanimous support at Queen’s Park last week.
