Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Friday morning.
Laurentian’s longtime auditor fined $50K for failures in pre-insolvency audit
A now-retired accountant with KPMG who oversaw the audit of Laurentian University’s financial statements in the year before it declared insolvency has been fined $50,000 for professional misconduct related to that audit. A 22-page settlement agreement on the matter was reached between Laurie Bissonette and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario’s Professional Conduct Committee on May 30 of this year. In it, Bissonette admits that she failed to meet professional standards. “Bissonette admits that while acting as the engagement partner for the 2020 Audit she failed to perform her professional work in accordance with generally accepted standards of the profession,” said the settlement. Specifically, she “failed to conduct herself in a manner which will maintain the good reputation of the profession and serve the public interest” and “failed to perform her professional services with due care.”
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Paperwork issue again delays sentencing in severe Chelmsford stabbing case
Another paperwork issue halts the sentencing of a Sudbury woman charged with an attack on her neighbour, which left the victim with life-changing injuries. Jessie Brave pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in June of this year and has been awaiting her sentence, and whether it will be six years as the Crown submits, three-and-a-half years hopes the defense or potentially, another sentence length selected by the judge. However, this is the second time her matter has been adjourned due to an administrative snafus that will see her continue her pre-sentence custody until at least January. Though she was initially charged with aggravated assault for stabbing her neighbour, as well as possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief, police later upgraded the assault charge Brave was facing to attempted murder. However, after consultation between assistant Crown attorney Brittany Butler and Brave’s defence counsel, Michael Michel, Brave pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated assault in June of this year.
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Top doc walks Sudbury council through latest drug death data and the numbers aren’t good
There were some perhaps surprising findings in the past year’s data on drug poisoning deaths that was shared with Greater Sudbury city council this week. Not only did Public Health Sudbury & Districts acting Medical Officer of Health and CEO Dr. Mustafa Hirji tells councillors most opioid deaths aren’t from people using needles, he also told them the vast majority of local drug poisoning deaths aren’t occurring out on the streets among the city’s community of hundreds of homeless people but in private dwellings. As such, said, “The visible part of the substance use crisis we see amongst homeless people is unfortunately the tip of the iceberg.” Hirji delivered a presentation on the topic of drug poisoning deaths during Monday’s community and emergency services committee meeting of city council members, which served to dispel a number of local misconceptions. Although he said needle drug use is widely believed to be the most deadly, he noted that of local opioid toxicity deaths from 2018-24, 47.3 per cent have been a result of inhalation only and 4.1 per cent have been via injection only.
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MPP reintroduces Chad’s Law in push for safer highways
Guy Bourgouin is renewing his push for safer highways with the reintroduction of Chad’s Law. The Mushkegwuk-James Bay MPP’s bill would make it illegal to pass on double solid lines in Ontario, something every other province already prohibits. Bourgouin was joined by Sudbury MPP Jamie West, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas, and Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois, at Queen’s Park on Nov. 26 to table the bill for a second time. The legislation is named for Chad, a driver from the Kapuskasing area who survived a severe head-on collision after a transport truck crossed two solid double yellow lines while attempting to pass. Bourgouin recounted the crash — and Chad’s long-term injuries — as an example of the preventable risks northerners face on Highways 11 and 17.
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New walk-in clinic opens in Sudbury’s Four Corners area
A team of Sudbury health-care providers has opened a new walk-in medical clinic at the Four Corners in the city’s South End. It’s located at the Medical Arts building at 2009 Long Lake Rd., next to the Shopper’s Drug Mart. “Designed to improve access to timely care, the new clinic offers same-day, no-appointment-needed medical services supported by a fully computerized workflow system that streamlines registration, documentation, and patient follow-up,” said a news release from 4 Corners Walk-In Clinic. The new 4-Corners Clinic is advertised on a website that invites area residents to drop by for treatment of any number of illnesses or ailments people might have. The clinic provides care for minor injuries and infections, respiratory symptoms, prescription renewals, and general assessments, said the release. In addition, 4 Corners Clinic offers travel-related medical visits, driver’s physicals, and a range of other assessments for both individuals and employers, said the release.
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Underfunding putting long-term health of Public Health at risk, Hirji says
A detailed look at the Public Health Sudbury and District (PHSD) budget document shows how the board of health will spend more than $32 million in the coming year, nearly a million dollars more than the current year’s budget. At the same time, public health is cutting out hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously provided health programs. The new budget for 2026 is $32,029,390, which is an increase of 3.2 per cent or $992,891 over the previous year (2025). The acting medical officer of health and CEO of the health unit, Dr. Mustafa Hirji, has sounded a warning bell, saying the long-term sustainability of public health services is at risk because of underfunding. The health unit’s cost-shared operating budget for 2026 was approved by the board of health at the most recent regular meeting held on Nov. 20.
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