Latest news with #PaulLefebvre
CTV News
9 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Sudbury celebrates its first Multiculturalism Day
Greater Sudbury marked its inaugural Canadian Multiculturalism Day on Friday to celebrate the city's growing cultural diversity. Greater Sudbury marked its inaugural Canadian Multiculturalism Day on Friday. The day has been officially recognized by communities across the country since 2002 to celebrate Canada's rich diversity. 'Sudbury was built on the back of immigrants that have come here and worked hard,' said Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre. Sudbury multicultural Greater Sudbury marked its inaugural Canadian Multiculturalism Day on Friday. The day has been officially recognized by communities across the country since 2002 to celebrate Canada's rich diversity. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News) 'To our community and families, there's diversity that we get to thrive in and to celebrate.' Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas said it's important for the community to come together to celebrate diversity. 'We live in really tough times for a lot of people right now around the world and in our own country, in our own province,' Gelinas said. 'It becomes even more important to have strong relationships, to learn from one another, to understand one another.' Dozens turned out to the ceremony at Tom Davies Square, organized by the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association. Influx of newcomers Association president Bella Ravi said she had never heard of the day until recently. 'I was on Google a few years back, and I saw that there is such a day as Multicultural Day,' Ravi said. 'Then COVID hit and we couldn't do anything.' She said there has been an influx of newcomers to the city in the last decade. 'The last decade, it has grown, mainly because of the students initially,' Ravi said. 'But now I think our reputation precedes us now. People know it's a good place to raise a family. It's a safe place to be.' Still, she said with sour sentiments towards immigration south of the border, some of that has trickled to Sudbury. 'We have an influx, and this community was not used to that. And I get both sides of it, because when you see your community changing so fast and you're not exposed to it like you are in Toronto,' Ravi said. 'So, we are out there, trying to explain what immigration means to the economy, for our culture, for the community.' Multiculturalism will be at the forefront of Canada Day celebrations July 1 at the Sudbury Arena. CTV's Ian Campbell and Rick Wyman will be in attendance.
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Sudbury marks Saint-Jean Baptiste Day
Ceremonies were held Tuesday in Greater Sudbury as many French speaking Canadians celebrated Saint Jean Baptiste Day. French-speaking Canadians were celebrating their culture Tuesday on Saint-Jean Baptiste Day. In Greater Sudbury, officials hoisted the Franco-Ontarian flag at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex. Sudbury is the birthplace of the green and white flag that represents the Franco-Ontarian community. Saint Jean Baptiste French-speaking Canadians were celebrating their culture Tuesday on Saint-Jean Baptiste Day. In Greater Sudbury, officials hoisted the Franco-Ontarian flag at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News) 'It's an opportunity to get together, to showcase … the importance of the culture in our community, but also open up a conversation to realize the (evolution), as well as the contributions, of the Francophone community in our great city,' said Mayor Paul Lefebvre. Saint Jean Baptiste Day is a holiday in Quebec, but Francophones across the country also celebrate the patron saint, including in northern Ontario. The day is about celebrating culture, heritage, traditions and the French language. 'We're proud of who we are, we're proud of where we come from, of our language, of our culture,' said Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas. Deep cultural pride 'Most Franco-Ontarians in Sudbury are bilingual and we'll switch to English whenever it's appropriate. But at the same time, we keep this deep-down cultural pride that we belong to this culture.' St. Jean 3 French-speaking Canadians were celebrating their culture Tuesday on Saint-Jean Baptiste Day. In Greater Sudbury, officials hoisted the Franco-Ontarian flag at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News) Saint Jean Baptiste French-speaking Canadians were celebrating their culture Tuesday on Saint-Jean Baptiste Day. In Greater Sudbury, officials hoisted the Franco-Ontarian flag at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News) 'We made our community better because of our culture and we want it to continue,' Gélinas added. Roughly one-third of the population in Greater Sudbury identifies as Francophone. 'Thirty-five per cent of the population says that they can keep a conversation in French,' said Joanne Gervais, executive director of L'Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario du grand Sudbury. 'That means 35 per cent of the population speaks French. Those that identify as Franco-Ontarian, as first language, etc. we're down around 25 per cent … The Francophone community is growing -- the problem is we're not growing as quickly as the English population.' In Sudbury, many schools, institutions and groups are committed to keeping the language thriving and Franco-Ontarian issues represented. The green and white flag was first flown in Sudbury on Sept. 25, 1975, and was recognized as the official emblem of the Franco-Ontarian community in 2001. Plans are in the works to mark the 50-year anniversary of the flag this fall.
Global News
7 days ago
- Business
- Global News
Ontario city skyline to undergo drastic change after ‘iconic' landmark toppled
For years, residents and visitors to Sudbury, Ont., knew they were approaching the Nickel City when they saw the Inco Superstack. 'For us, it's a beacon in our community,' Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre told Global News. 'You see Superstacks, you're near home, right? You're almost there because you can see it from pretty far away.' But the skyline of Sudbury is undergoing a drastic change as plans are underway by current owner Vale Base Metals (VBM) to tear down the structure, as well as its neighbouring copper sister. The company has made the Superstack and its little copper sister obsolete by finding more environmentally friendly way of dealing with emissions. Before the arrival of the chimney, which residents refer to as 'the Smokestack,' Sudbury was known as an environmental disaster, as spewing toxins made vegetation and wildlife in the area disappear. Story continues below advertisement 'Vegetation could not survive,' Lefebvre said. 'And certainly in the Copper Cliff area (where the mine is located) was really bad.' Then came the Superstack in 1972. Standing more than 1,250 Ft. high, it was, for a short time, the largest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere until it was surpassed by the CN Tower. Until it disappears, it will remain the largest chimney in Canada. 'If you look at the history of why it was built, it was just to get the sulphur to go further instead of having it landing right beside the community,' Lefebvre said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He noted that while that was a major innovation for its time, things have continued to evolve. In 2010, VBM, which acquired Inco in 2006, first announced the Clean AER Project, which would see the towering chimneys replaced with environmentally friendly and efficient methods of dealing with nickel extraction. 'The Superstack and Copperstack have been iconic landmarks in Greater Sudbury for decades,' said Gord Gilpin, director of Ontario operations for VBM. 'While we appreciate that the city's landscape will look different after these structures are dismantled, our business has evolved and improved over time and this project is part of that evolution. We are modernizing our facilities and reducing our environmental footprint and, in so doing, laying the groundwork to ensure that our next century of mining in Sudbury is as successful as our first 100 years.' Story continues below advertisement The company says the move will eliminate 100,000 metric tonnes of sulphur dioxide emissions each year (equivalent to 1,000 railway tanker cars of sulphuric acid). It will also see the end of the Superstack and its copper counterpart, as they were decommissioned in 2020, and have been dormant ever since. The company is just about finished with the demolition of the smaller Copperstack and is expected to turn its attention to the Superstack this summer. 'It's a massive undertaking of how they're going to do this,' Lefebvre said. 'They had to prep for it the last five years and here we are, we're on the cusp of it.' The company says it will take about five years to pull down the towers and while some have argued that the towers should remain as a tribute to the city's mining history and effort to clean up, the mayor said that is not a realistic option. 'There are some folks in the community that think we should keep it, but again, it's not ours, right?' he said. 'It's the company's and it's a liability, because if they just leave it there, the whole thing will rust and the inside will, then it becomes a liability.' Lefebvre also noted that the structure sits atop an active nickel mine, so there is no way it could ever be an attraction for people to visit and would be something that would need to be admired from afar. Story continues below advertisement While he is sad to see it go, the mayor noted that it is a weird twist that a place that once held such a bleak landscape would hold such an important stake in the world's environment. 'The irony of all this is now Sudbury, that was one of the most polluted places back in the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s, is now obviously contributing enormously with our critical minerals to our environment,' he said. 'All electric vehicles and all battery, it needs nickel and we are the ones providing that across our entirety in the world.'
CTV News
04-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Flag raising celebrates St-Jean-Baptiste Day in Sudbury
It's a day when Francophones across the country show their pride by celebrating their language and traditions. June 24 is St-Jean-Baptiste Day, a day when Francophones across the country show their pride by celebrating their language and traditions. On Monday morning in Azilda, there was a flag raising at the Lionel Lalonde Centre in Azilda, is a city facility where the Franco-Ontario flag will permanently fly. 'Francophones have been in Sudbury since its inception -- since it started, since it was incorporated,' said Joanne Gervais, the executive director of Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario Du grand Sudbury. 'The first mayor of Sudbury was a Francophone. So we are from here, this is home. Mayor Paul Lefebvre said French speakers make up more than 35 per cent of the population of Greater Sudbury and that number is increasing. 'We are seeing the numbers actually rise with new immigrants coming to our city and certainly we have the schools we have the businesses,' Lefebvre said. 'We have a lot College Boreal, Laurentian and the University of Sudbury. There is a lot of institutions that are bilingual, actually. Francophone, as well ... So it's actually an added value for our city. A lot of the jobs by the federal government and provincial government are brought here to Sudbury because of the bilingual aspect of what we can offer.' The city said the Franco-Ontario flag was created by a Laurentian university professor and a group of students in 1975.
CTV News
29-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Burger Wars returns to Greater Sudbury in July
Sudbury Burger Wars 2025 begins, with $3/burger supporting L'Arche Sudbury programs and organizers aiming to top last year's $26,000. Sudbury Burger Wars is shifting from August to July this year, with 30 local hospitality businesses set to feature specialty burgers from July 1 to 31. A portion of the proceeds will support L'Arche Sudbury, an organization that provides housing and community programs for people with and without intellectual disabilities. Burger Wars Mayor Paul Lefebvre - Sudbury burger wars Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre takes a bite of the first burger of the 2025 Sudbury Burger Wars at a kick-off event on May 28, 2025 - National Burger Day. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario) The annual fundraiser, launched in 2019 by the late Mitch Spiegel, originally supported NEO Kids. Last year, it redirected funds to L'Arche Sudbury, raising $26,000. Organizers aim to generate at least $35,000 in 2024, with $3 from each burger sold going to the cause. Gerry Lougheed, a Burger Wars spokesperson, announced a matching donation initiative by the Lougheed Foundation. 'Geoffrey said, 'Well, you and your grandson (Kiran) have such a great time. We should kind of support that,'' Lougheed said at the launch event on Wednesday, May 28 – National Burger Day. 'So today, he and I decided the first $25,000 will match... We're hoping to generate in excess of $50,000.' Gerry Lougheed - Burger Wars Gerry Lougheed, a spokesperson for Sudbury Burger Wars and head of the Lougheed Foundation, announces that the first $25,000 raised by the 2025 burger wars will be matched at a kick-off event on May 28, 2025 - National Burger Day. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario) Hope to build another site L'Arche Sudbury currently operates three homes and a community participation program. The organization is fundraising for a fourth location – a 28-unit accessible residence on Bancroft Drive, estimated to cost $30 million. Jennifer Cawley Caruso, board chair of L'Arche Sudbury, said the capital campaign has secured about $2 million so far. 'We need commitment from the provincial government and from the federal government to help us in this endeavour,' she said. 'That's a work in progress... There's more than one way to do things and so we're exploring two or three different ways at the moment.' Burger Wars 2025 Sudbury A kick-off event for the 2025 Sudbury Burger Wars was held at L'Arche Sudbury on May 28, 2025. (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario) For more details, visit
