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Good morning, Thunder Bay — and welcome to issue one hundred and sixty-three. Cloudy with a high of 10°C and a west wind picking up this morning. It's Tuesday, November 10. In today's issue: nearly 2,000 coats are headed to remote communities, northern Ontario's living wage edges up to $21.35 an hour, and police explain the wiring found in rocks at the waterfront. Plus an Indigenous veterans feature, a new podcast episode and things to do this week.
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
Trivia: Which country grows the most cocoa beans in the world — Ivory Coast, Brazil, or Indonesia? (Answer at the bottom!)
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Thunder Bay Events
Here's what's on from today through Saturday, from the City's community events calendar and Your Thunder Bay.
Tuesday, November 10
NOV 10 · City Council: last meeting of the 2022-2026 term — 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. · 📍 City Hall, 500 Donald St. E. · The outgoing council's final meeting before the new term begins. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, November 11
NOV 11 · Remembrance Day Service — 9:30 a.m. to noon · 📍 Waverley Park, Waverley St. · A service honouring veterans of the world wars, Korea, peacekeeping missions and Afghanistan. · 📅 Add to Calendar
NOV 11 · Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile JR. — The Musical — 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., $20 (runs Nov. 11–14) · 📍 Badanai Theatre, 499 Dewe Ave. · Badanai Young Company presents the musical about a crocodile who loves to sing. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Thursday, November 12
NOV 12 · Niizh — Magnus Theatre opening night — 7:30 p.m. (runs Nov. 12 to 28), reserved seating · 📍 Magnus Theatre, 10 Algoma St. S. · Joelle Peters' romantic comedy about a young woman preparing to leave her reserve for college. · 📅 Add to Calendar
NOV 12 · Open Mic Comedy at Campfire Comedy — doors 7 p.m., show 8 to 10 p.m., no cover · 📍 117 Cumberland St. N. · Weekly Thursday open mic with touring comedians and rising stars, open to newcomers. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Friday, November 13
NOV 13 · Hilldale Lutheran Church 30th Anniversary Coffee House — 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (anniversary weekend runs Nov. 13–15) · 📍 Hilldale Lutheran Church, 321 Hilldale Rd. · Friday night kicks off the church's 30th anniversary weekend with a coffee house. · 📅 Add to Calendar
NOV 13 · Tails of Hope Gala for the OSPCA Northwest Animal Centre — 6 p.m. onward, tickets $110 · 📍 venue and tickets on the event page · The inaugural gala supporting the Ontario SPCA's Northwest Animal Centre, presented by Over-All Electric. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Saturday, November 14
NOV 14 · Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra: Star Wars — The Complete Saga — 7:30 p.m., tickets from $72 · 📍 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, 1 Paul Shaffer Dr. · The orchestra plays John Williams' Oscar-winning music from the first six Star Wars films in the Pops #1 concert. · 📅 Add to Calendar
📌 Also happening
Tue 6:30 p.m. · Tuesday Group Run · Lyon Blvd. W.
Wed 10:30 a.m. · Remembrance Day Services (Slovak Legion) · Fort William Gardens
Wed 7 p.m. · Westfort Prosvita Catch the Ace · Westfort Prosvita
Fri 8 p.m. · Bar Polonia Friday Live Music · Bar Polonia
Sat 10 a.m. · Community Volunteer Fair · Thunder Bay Association of Volunteer Administrators
✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada has no alerts in effect for Thunder Bay. It's a cloudy, mild day with the wind turning west this morning.
☁️ Tuesday, November 10 — Thunder Bay
10°C
Overnight low −1°C
Cloudy, with the wind becoming west 20 km/h in the morning; the UV index is 1, or low. Tonight is mainly cloudy, with the wind easing early in the evening.
Wednesday, Remembrance Day, is a mix of sun and cloud at 3°C with a 40 percent chance of flurries or rain showers. Thursday and Friday both top out at 0°C with lows near −6°C, and Saturday climbs to 3°C. Forecast from Environment Canada.
1,920 coats are on their way to remote northern communities
Mikinakoos Children's Fund and the local Knights of Columbus packed 17 pallets of brand-new winter coats on Monday, 1,920 in all, sizes toddler to 18. The Knights matched the $30,000 the fund raised for a $60,000 purchase, now in its fourth year, and a Knights member's business, Recreation World RV, donated the space to sort the shipments. The coats are headed by truck and plane to remote First Nations communities including Fort Hope and Sachigo Lake, with Pickle Lake and Red Lake as staging points. The fund says it still needs about $20,000 to cover shipping, so donations toward freight go directly to getting these coats out the door.
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Northern Ontario's living wage rises to $21.35 an hour
The Ontario Living Wage Network says people in northern Ontario need to earn $21.35 an hour to cover basics like housing, food, transportation and child care, up from $21.10 last year and $19.80 the year before. The figure was released Monday for Living Wage Week, and the province's minimum wage is $17.95 an hour. The Lakehead Social Planning Council, which runs Thunder Bay's living wage campaign, lists 10 certified living wage employers on its website. That is $3.40 an hour above the minimum wage, and the council's list is the place to look if you want to see which local employers have signed on.
🗳️ Your call: The living wage is $21.35 an hour. What would do the most for your household budget?
Northern Ontario's living wage is now $21.35 an hour. What would do the most for your household budget?
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Police: wires in rocks dug up at the waterfront match old blasting work
Following up on Friday's scare near the International Taiji Park, a Thunder Bay police spokesperson says large rocks unearthed during construction had boreholes with wiring consistent with commercial rock-blasting, which is why part of Prince Arthur's Landing was contained for several hours. No live explosives were found. Police say the waterfront was built up in phases that required infilling parts of Lake Superior. The police presence ended the same afternoon once the area was deemed safe, so there is no closure to plan around.
Indigenous Community Feature 🪶
Two exhibits honour Indigenous veterans of the Northwest this Veterans' Week
Lakehead University and the Native Veterans Association of Northwestern Ontario are hosting Indigenous Veterans of Treaty 3 in the university's Agora building, with historic artifacts, photos and honour rolls for First Nations, Métis and Inuit soldiers from the region. The association was founded on Nov. 11, 1988, by the late Second World War veteran Charles "Willy" John of the Red Rock Indian Band. Across town, the Thunder Bay Museum opened Anishnaabe Zhiimaagnishii Inaadiziwin / Life of Indigenous Soldiers on Monday evening. Nearly three years in the making with partner museums across the region, it is designed to travel and will keep growing as more veterans' stories are collected.
The Treaty 3 exhibit is open in Lakehead's Agora through Friday, Nov. 13.
Harbour Beat Connect 🎧
Build & Thrive Thunder Bay
Host: Robert Downing
The Future of Online Payments: What Digital Wallets, Tap-to-Pay, and Buy Now, Pay Later Mean for Small Businesses
Customers increasingly expect to pay with a tap of their phone, and small businesses that adapt can make buying easier and faster. This week's episode looks at what digital wallets, tap-to-pay and buy now, pay later options mean for local businesses, from the checkout experience to customer expectations. It runs about 15 minutes.
In this episode:
How digital wallets and tap-to-pay change checkout
What buy now, pay later means for small businesses
Meeting changing customer expectations
New episodes every Monday.
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Trivia answer: Ivory Coast. Côte d'Ivoire produces roughly two-fifths of the world's cocoa beans, far ahead of any other country.
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