Pendu Lum

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OPP ends Mayor Chirico probe with no charges

BayToday

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For case to have weight it has to be proven he willfully and deliberately stole. He can always say "it was a mistake. I put those expenses on the wrong card and I corrected it." How are police going to submit evidence to the prosecutor he did it intentionally? How?Look, , , I'm not a fan, either. But you people have an OPINION he should be criminally charged and the OPP deal with reality, not opinions.

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Ignore median panhandlers says NBPS

BayToday

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No, you can't give them a fine. Passive panhandling, including standing on traffic medians, is generally permitted.It's only illegal if it's aggressive, intimidating, causes a person to fear for their safety, or involves persistent soliciting after a "no" response. Standing on a median with a sign or passively asking for money doesn't meet this threshold.

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Homelessness from a police perspective

BayToday

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I was homeless— three times.And the cause was: I didn’t heed the multiple warning signs and was delusional about how things were going to turn out.I never ended up on the street, but I did stay with family and friends. They gave me a room until I could find my next place to stay.In exchange for the room, I took care of children, cooked, washed pots & pans, loaded & unloaded the dishwasher, swept floors, vacuumed, did gardening, brushed and fed dogs, baled hay for my cousin’s horses, and more. I took the initiative and didn’t wait to be asked.I occasionally talk to people I see holding signs around town, not just the bypass. And was stunned at how unwilling they were to do the same.

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Homelessness from a police perspective

BayToday

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You go to the FREE addictions medicine doctor on Main Street, get FREE Methadone at the Pharmasave beside him, and stay at a FREE shelter until you find a place. Then you get FREE food at multiple food banks and a FREE bicycle at Discovery Routes to get it. Then you manage your health condition with FREE self-help books at the library and put yourself on a waiting list for a program if you have to.And you do what's difficult: GROW UP and do what you don't want to do for a while until your situation settles.

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Homelessness from a police perspective

BayToday

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@GimmeabrakA few weeks ago, one commenter on this topic said they listened to an interview with one of these people. The panhandler told the interviewer that on a good day they pocketed $300 standing on the median.No shame. "I want money but I don't wanna work for it."

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Floating dock system returns to Birchaven Cove

BayToday

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This cove was North Bay's jewel, a true paradise. And so they put a pool . . . in a lake. All because one athlete from Tour de Trout wanted a place to swim because the YMCA was under renovations.And the dock is made out of polyethylene . . . in a lake that is our drinking water source."Polyethylene releases microplastics into water. It isn't biodegradable and resists microbial digestion, meaning it persists in aquatic environments rather than breaking down into soil or harmless organic matter. "Over time, physical factors such as UV radiation, wave action, and mechanical stress cause larger PE items to fragment into smaller particles. "These fragments become microplastics, which float or sink depending on their density and age. "Because PE is chemically stable and water-resistant, these microplastics accumulate in waterways where they can act as carriers for other pollutants like heavy metals."SMH

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Data and lived experience highlight North Bay needle issue, guide response

BayToday

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I really question a municipality needs a Safety and Well-Being Coordinator.This position has cost taxpayers $341,038 in 3 years. I would've preferred those funds go to fixing pot holes and snow removal.

40% of OSAP grants went to private career college students in 2024-25: data

BayToday

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In the 2023-2024 academic year, the government introduced the Learn & Stay grant. That is likely the cause of the spike in private career colleges. They offer diplomas in shorter time-frames.The author seems to perceive wrongdoing when no wrong-doing exists. The province has been offering a free education to nurses, paramedics and lab technicians if they stay in Ontario. Shortly after this cohort was given free grants, doctors were added to the Learn & Stay grant if they practice here, as well. This was done to address the severe doctor shortage.I don't like Ford. But Sylvia Jones has been doing an admirable job.Data can be turned into whatever you want it to be. Statistics are massaged all the time by *think tanks* to frame political decisions as good or bad. It's all how you play with the numbers (and what you choose to leave out).

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Ford government freezes FOI requests amid controversy

BayToday

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I'm just gobsmacked that the stag & doe Ford had at his place for his daughter isn't being investigated. How can this happen?It certainly seemed to me like a deliberate attempt to pay off a Premier in exchange for whoever contributed a high enough dollar amount via the envelopes given to the future bride & groom.I hope the RCMP look in to that. Because writing it off "she's a private citizen" [Ford's words] doesn't cut it for me.

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North Bay twin-pad arena nears completion as finishing work continues

BayToday

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It's so refreshing to read an intelligent, valuable contribution that means something rather than knee-jerk reactions, empty-headed remarks and complaining.I don't know how long you're going to last in this snake pit . . . but kudos for rising.

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Collingwood bans foreign flags on town pole to stay ‘neutral’ while requests spike

BayToday

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That implies some people are more special than others.Just because one person's ancestors settled here before another person's ancestors, it doesn't mean they deserve more.

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'Safer snorting' handout at Barrie high school causes blowup from parents

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This is the problem I have with what the Aids Committee of North Bay (which also gives out educational material and paraphernalia on snorting): “These rebellious teens are going to engage in violence anyway. So, we’re going to show them how to use guns properly.”Where’s the limit? You see, someone high puts innocent people at risk. Innocent people who are the victims of armed robberies at pharmacies, break & enters, car rammings of police vehicles where the perpetrator was high on heroin, and shootings at “safe” injection sites — like the one that killed an innocent mother of two who was strolling in Leslieville with her two young children. So . . . have you defined your boundaries? It’s all well and good you want to reduce visits to emerge and improve public health. But what are your boundaries? “I’ll give WHOEVER, WHATEVER they want AND IN UNLIMITED SUPPLY”. That’s a concept without boundaries.So, to anyone in these organizations: May we hear from you?

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Collingwood bans foreign flags on town pole to stay ‘neutral’ while requests spike

BayToday

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So . . . what you're saying is "if you're British, French or native you're Canadian, but if your background is none of those, you're not really Canadian".And if you're a naturalized Canadian originating from Italy (my mom) you're "diaspora". But if you're a new arrival from England or Wales you're . . .? "Diaspora"? Italians built Sault Saint Marie, and Toronto and much of Montreal. John Cabot (it's actually Giovanni Caboto) mapped much of this country and was Venetian. But English monarchs wouldn't fund his trip unless he anglicized his name. You are living in the '50s. And your remarks are narrowminded, backward and downright offensive.

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Homelessness from a police perspective

BayToday

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Do you know what the definition of humble is? Working with what you have.And if all you have is welfare and the things I mentioned (there’s a lot more by the way) then that’s what you work with . . . WHILE OBEYING THE LAW.You don’t complain how “ODSP doesn’t cover addictions right now”, you don’t complain how life gave you the short end of the stick and you stop being a pest when you don’t get what you want. And you REGAIN THE DIGNITY YOU SEEK by doing all of the above.Do you know why people are treated badly? Because they have the disposition of wanting something without having earned it.

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North Bay hospital wait times went up 289 per cent in the last five years

BayToday

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Harris cut health care funding from his budget because Prime Minister Jean Chrétien cut the money supply to him (and elsewhere).Chrétien’s government implemented significant cuts to the Canada Health Transfer payments during the mid-1990s as part of deficit reduction measures.

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Police monitoring man living on grounded, listing sailboat near Discovery Harbour

BayToday

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Grammar Geek here. . .If that boat’s “grounded” (rather than run aground) it’s in better shape than I am. I’m nowhere near being mentally and emotionally stable.But if she’s “listing” (rather than leaning) maybe we can find her a mate on Kijiji.Any single sailors out there willing to take the plunge?

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Police Chief says North Bay Police will outgrow current headquarters

BayToday

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That’s the designated location of an addiction treatment centre, originally intended with Canadore College operating it. The 53-bed facility is still a go-ahead, just with new management (NBRHC and the North Bay Parry Sound Mental Health Association).The physical structure is about 90% complete with the interior in its final stages. It’s not being abandoned.

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North Bay hospital wait times went up 289 per cent in the last five years

BayToday

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There's a place in North York that does that and it's called HealthOne Medical Walk-In Clinic. They treat non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries, including broken bones, sprains, and infections, with emergency-trained staff and on-site diagnostic equipment.I went there once and they were fantastic.

Data and lived experience highlight North Bay needle issue, guide response

BayToday

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Thank you, Respectful.I’m having a hard time reconciling what the Health Unit is doing.They installed a vending machine that provides free drug paraphernalia claiming — through theory — that if you give users free stuff it’ll reduces hospital visits. And so, I thought, “That sounds like a logical idea.” So, not even 30 days after the installation of this vending machine a spokesperson comes out and says, “It’s working. The machine is being used”. What’s working? People taking free stuff?If your metrics are “reduced hospital visits”, shouldn’t you go to the hospital and ask them if visits have declined? And even if they did, how do you know it isn’t because people are leaving town, not going to the hospital, not wanting to see a doctor, or are "successfully" using without need for medical intervention?

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North Bay hospital wait times went up 289 per cent in the last five years

BayToday

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Many people believe health care is exclusively a provincial matter and it isn't. It's funded to a great degree through the Canada Health Transfer payments.What I'd like to see is a pruning of fat at the federal level to increase services to what is essential: Health careThere are several federal portfolios that need to be re-examined. Crown-Indigenous Relations is one.In Nipissing district free federal funding goes to: The Indigenous Friendship Centre, Indigenous Hub, Suswin Village & Nipissing First Nation.The amount of money that's gone into Crown-Indigenous Relations since its inception as Indian Affairs is staggering. This excludes the recent $10 billion Robinson-Huron Treaty payouts and the upcoming multibillion dollar Robinson-Superior Treaty payouts.Jean Chretien cut billions from the Canada Health Transfer payments but not enough in my eyes from the other portfolio because it unfairly treats some Canadians as more deserving of more money.

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