A request for proposal has been sent out by the city looking for companies to bid on the study portion of the extension in order to identify the route to be followed by the road. Such a highway would alleviate traffic congestion along Municipal Road 80, especially in the are of the Lasalle intersection. The rapid growth of the population of Valley East definitely warrants the construction of such a highway.

There will be a couple of public meetings in the spring and summer of 2010 as part of the study. However, according to Greg Klausen, even if everything goes according to plan, it will be about 20 years before we see any work being done on the Barrydowne extension.

Public meetings have been scheduled to introduce local residents to a proposed comprehensive zoning bylaw which is intended to replace the eight bylaws that have guided municipalities since amalgamation into Greater Sudbury in 2000. 

The new bylaw is intended to provide the detailed instructions on how the official plan, which was approved by the provincial government in 2006, will be applied. 

Zoning bylaws govern the pattern of development in the city. They divide the city up into residential, commercial, industrial, rural and various other zones. Within each are categories for specific uses, such as low-, medium-and high-density residential. And with each of these are specific rules that apply to development. For example, the draft bylaw proposes a new zone category that would lower minimum residential lot frontage from 50 feet to 40 feet and limit the maximum width of a residential garage to not greater than half the width of the property.

The new zoning bylaws condense 1,500 pages of regulations down to 300 and a trolley full of maps and diagrams down to a single 266-page document, according to Eric Taylor , the city's senior planner.

The draft zone maps are available on the city's website while the bylaw is under public review. When approved by council and passed into law, the zoning bylaw will be available as a single, seamless map incorporated into the city's geographic information system. This will make it easy for the public to search properties from home based on an address or several other property identifiers.

Flyers will be sent out shortly to encourage public debate of the proposed bylaw and eight open houses will be held throughout February to garner public input. Deadline for input is March 19, with council expected to pass the new zoning bylaws in June. 

Brazilian mining giant Vale Inco wants to cut staff at its strikebound operations in Sudbury by as much as 50 per cent and overhaul workplace practices significantly over the next five years, according to internal company documents.

In what Vale Inco describes as a "proposed strategy" and "action plans," the company discloses in the documents that it is seeking to cut its Sudbury work force of about 3,100 by 1,300 jobs or more, generate much better labour productivity and actively engage employees to achieve major change.

The documents include a presentation for a workshop with senior managers and a summary of their discussion last June, less than a month before the start of a strike by the United Steelworkers union in a contract dispute.

The documents paint a picture of senior executives pressing managers for ways to quickly improve deteriorating cash flow and worker productivity with less staff and justifying capital spending amid sagging prices for nickel, the company's main product.

A Vale Inco spokesman downplayed the significance of the documents that the union included in support of allegations of "bad faith bargaining" against the company in the increasingly bitter strike.

"It was commissioned by Vale Inco from a third party as part of a `blue sky' options review relating to mining operations," said Cory McPhee, the company's vice-president of corporate affairs. "This is a normal course of business in most companies."

The presentation's notes outline a job reduction goal of "down to 1,800 employees." The subsequent summary lowers that figure to "around 1,500" for production ranging between 180 million and 270 million pounds of nickel annually during the five-year period.

The strike has crippled operations in Sudbury, one of the world's biggest mineral deposits, and fractured labour relations between the company and union.

Veteran Inco watchers say it will be extremely difficult for the company to gain worker collaboration so the nickel giant can realize cost-cutting and productivity targets for several years because of bad feelings in the strike. The shutdown has dragged on for more than six months with no bargaining.

The presentation's notes underline the problems if there are layoffs to reduce the workforce.

"If we lay off significant numbers of hourly employees, the remaining backlash will result in a production and safety `crash,''' the document says in a section titled "obstacles/risks."

"Unionized employees will not believe or trust the vision and path forward."

Vale, a Brazilian conglomerate that bought Inco for $19.4 billion (U.S.) in 2006, has resumed some mining and milling with salaried staff and clerical workers during the strike.

The Steelworkers union is using the presentation and summary as evidence in its application to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for an order to force the company to resume bargaining and pay damages for lost compensation.

The union charges that the documents are proof of a pre-strike strategy by Vale Inco that prevented a "reasonable resolution" of the contract dispute.

Vale Inco said the allegations are groundless. "We consider the USW claim to be entirely baseless and we will be putting forward a vigorous opposing view," McPhee said.

Vale Inco's presentation indicates that its current production costs are $4 to $5 per pound and it needs to reduce them to less than $3. Since the start of the strike, nickel prices have climbed from about $6.80 to $8.45 a pound.

In the summary of discussions, the company said it was forecasting a cash flow deficit of $600 million this year and Sudbury's five mines are key to turning that into a surplus quickly.

The presentation's notes say employment at the mines is almost double that of other "world class" operations and costs in Sudbury are 50 to 100 per cent higher.

It calls for a 10 per cent improvement in productivity and a push for more actual work time underground by the end of this year.

Vale Inco's presentation also suggests the company wants to develop a "one mine" concept for its Sudbury operations that would produce more efficiencies.

The company did not provide details but one insider said, for example, it would allow for the easier transfer of miners and formation of one construction crew instead of groups for each site.

The presentation's notes also suggest alternative plans for high-risk ore bodies to maximize cash flow.

Among the objectives, Vale Inco said in the presentation documents that the company wants "high employment engagement" in support of its strategy.

The Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC) presented its fourth quarter report, which reviewed Sudbury 's 2009 economy, to city council on Jan. 27. The report showed a slight increase in the number of business start-ups in 2009 plus an increase in the value of building permits purchased.

However, despite what might seem like good news, the City of Greater Sudbury saw a loss of 6,300 jobs during 2009. Sudbury's unemployment rate was 9.8% at year's end. 

Another sign of a poor showing by the employment sector was the increase in regular Employment Insurance (EI) users. The number climbed from 2,350 in October 2008, to 3,990 in October 2009.

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE THAT APPEARED IN THE TORONTO STAR ON JANUARY 30, 2010 WRITTEN BY ROBERT CRIBB

The world's largest minor hockey league has announced sweeping new enforcement rules designed to protect young players from life-altering injuries.

In a groundbreaking clampdown on dirty and dangerous on-ice conduct, the Greater Toronto Hockey League will increase minimum suspensions for checking from behind, checking to the head, removing an opponent's helmet and instigator and aggressor penalties.

The moves, released Friday, follow a Toronto Star investigation into racism and violence in minor hockey which documented troubling incidents of head injuries to players as young as 11, as well as verbal and physical abuse of officials by players and coaches.

The changes, which come into effect next season, also include an escalating enforcement system imposing increasingly lengthy suspensions for repeat offenders for dangerous play. As well, the league will target racist and discriminatory language with indefinite suspensions for verbal taunts related to ethnicity, race, gender or sexual orientation.

Taken together, the changes represent the toughest crackdown on violence and offensive conduct in minor hockey across Canada . Experts say the sheer size and influence of the GTHL will mean its new enforcement model will have ripples across the country.

"Hockey sometimes finds it difficult to make changes," said GTHL president John Gardner. "We are of the opinion you cannot stand still. You've got to move ahead and when there's situations that have to be dealt with, you research and come up with solutions." In the Star series, some young teens reported being repeatedly concussed – injuries that have ended their hockey careers and, in some cases, left them with cognitive impairment. Meanwhile, their aggressors were often players with a long string of major penalties for checking from behind and hitting the head. In most cases, they were given minimum suspensions of a few games before returning to the ice.

Paul Dennis, a sport psychologist and former president of the Toronto Marlboros in the GTHL, was named as a "special adviser" to the league next season with responsibilities to develop and implement an educational program for team officials.

His reaction to the changes: "Wow ... People will deviate from the norm, but now the GTHL has addressed the issues brought forth in the Star series. What the GTHL is trying to do is to ensure that the GTHL is a safe environment to put your children in."

Because many of the problems facing youth hockey are the result of youngsters mirroring their heroes, professional hockey has a responsibility, Gardner said.

"The kids emulate what they see on TV. I realize it's show business. But the top sets the standard and kids are wondering why they get penalized for things the pros get away with."

"The GTHL has taken steps in response to the concerns raised in the Star," said Dr. Charles Tator, a Toronto brain surgeon and founder of Think First Canada, an organization that focuses on the prevention of hockey head injuries. He is one of the panel of experts at the Toronto Star Open Forum on Minor Hockey to be held Sunday at Harbourfront.

"Those are extremely important remedial measures to enhance hockey safety. It is the cultural shift in order to deal with problems of increased violence and injuries."

Gardner said dealing with head injuries in young players will require better education of parents as well as coaches.

"Many parents who are eager to have their kids progress in hockey, they push their kids to come back too early. They have to wake up to the fact their kids are not commodities, they're human beings."

The Star series, based on league penalty and suspension data, showed racist and discriminatory slurs have increased tenfold in the past three seasons. Those uttering the epithets typically received a three-game suspension.

"(The new enforcement model) is the breaking ground for a new game," said referee Carl Friday, one of only a handful of visible minority officials in the league and one of the panelists on Sunday.

"The important thing is that someone has recognized that these taunts are not part of the game and have taken action."

The Mississauga Hockey League, which already has a system of escalating suspensions, has seen a one-third drop in fighting incidents this season compared to the same period a year ago.

One of the problems is that the rules are "too strict" and the punishment "too severe" . 

Experienced referees WILL NOT call hitting from behind or hits to the head as often as they should be called simply because there is absolutely no leeway in minor hockey. Hitting from behind and hitting to the head are "automatic" game ejections. Now they will become automatic suspensions. You will definitely note a statistical decline in those infractions at the Bantam and Midget levels if you increase the automatic suspension punishment. This is because an experienced referee does not want to become the "judge and jury" on the ice in the heat of the moment. A "good" experienced referee is going to watch a "hit from behind" to see if the victim has been injured. He will signal a penalty, but he won't issue the sign of the infraction until he checks the player. If there is no injury, the referee will call "boarding". That way the player receives a penalty but is not going to be punished too severely. 

An inexperienced referee, on the other hand, will immediately signal "hitting from behind" and create a domino effect that will have repercussions for weeks. The player will be ejected. The fans, coaches and players will be incensed if no injury has occurred. The  referee will be called to a "disciplinary hearing" and have to justify his call while under cross-examination by the player's parents and coaching staff, especially at the elite competitive level. In some cases, the referee will have his decision overturned and he will wonder how much he is being backed by the league. The Referee-in-Chief will be questioned on how much training and coaching the referee has received so his credibility will come into play. It will also affect his decision the next time it comes to scheduling the referee for more games. It goes on and on until the referee quits or learns his lesson.

All of this because of a call for "hitting from behind". Believe me, the inexperienced referee will have gained a whole lot of experience from the incident and the next time he sees a "hit from behind" you can bet it is going to be called "boarding".

The reality of the matter is that next year this same situation is going to happen in the GTHL and a disciplinary board will overturn a suspension because of the inexperience of the referee. So despite what the GTHL or any other minor hockey organization says about "what they intend to do", they won't enforce the strict rules and suspensions.

Please let me suggest that you take time to visit one of our other Online Publications, AFTER THE WHISTLE, for more articles and opinions about minor hockey. I think you will find it an interesting site.