THUNDER BAY -- TBNewswatch is looking back at the top 10 stories of each month in 2023, as chosen by Dougall Media's director of news, Leith Dunick. Here are the picks from February.
- After a year-long suspension, Deputy Police Chief Ryan Hughes was reinstated. A statement from the Thunder Bay Police Services board said all but two of the allegations against Hughes were unsubstantiated, adding that appropriate corrective action had been taken.
- The officer involved in the 2015 investigation of the death of Stacy DeBungee was given an 18-month demotion, from staff sergeant to sergeant, after he was found guilty of discreditable conduct and neglect of duty for his alleged mishandling of the case. Shawn Harrison said he planned to appeal the decision.
- The Thunder Bay Public Library’s facilities plan put everything on the table, including building new facilities, closing downtown locations, which CEO Richard Togman said will need millions in maintenance costs.
- Thunder Bay Police Services Const. Peter Haase pleaded guilty to Police Service Act charges of discreditable conduct, insubordination and unlawful or unnecessary use of force, the result of a 2022 interaction with an Indigenous person. He later lost an appeal of his temporary demotion.
- Thunder Bay Police investigated an attempted homicide after a man was sent to hospital in critical condition following a serious assault in the 300 block of Fassina Street. A 29-year-old Thunder Bay man was later charged.
- Nishnawbe Aski Nation acknowledged Crave’s new Thunder Bay documentary could be triggering for many Indigenous people, depicting a ‘painful and traumatic truth about the reality for many Indigenous people living in the City of Thunder Bay.’
- Early construction on the new Thunder Bay Art Gallery on the city’s waterfront began, with the closure of trails near the Pool 6 site. The $57-million, 39,000 square-foot facility is tentatively scheduled to open in late 2025.
- The proposed closure of the Jumbo Gardens Recreation Centre was put on hold for the time being after city council voted to temporarily set aside a planned closure.
- Denise Baxter, vice-provost of Indigenous initiatives at Lakehead University, was appointed to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board. Board members currently hold no decision-making power, which will remain with administrator Malcolm Mercer into 2024.
- WestJet announced it would introduce direct flights between Thunder Bay and Calgary, a first for the airline in seven years.
