Thunder Bay poised for jobs [Ring of Fire capital and mining boomtown]- Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (March 11, 2012)

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

STATISTICS Canada confirmed a bleak reality Friday — unemployment remains a critical drag on Canada’s economy and its people. Thunder Bay showed a spark of life and its mayor figures unemployment will soon be a thing of the past.

 Economists had predicted 15,000 jobs would be created nationally in February. Instead, 2,800 positions were lost. The unemployment rate actually dropped to 7.4 per cent, but that’s because there were 37,900 fewer Canadians looking for work last month, many who’ve given up hope of finding a job for the time being.

 Canadians aged 15-24 took a big hit for the fifth straight month. This may be partly due to the fact many employees at or near 65 are opting to stay at work in order to recover their recessionary investment losses or simply to afford to continue living in their homes.

 The federal government is considering raising the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67 which will further swell retirement reluctance — and keep more jobs from opening up for youth.

 A bright spot on the jobless front occurred in Thunder Bay where the unemployment rate shrank from 6.2 to 5.6 per cent. And if Mayor Keith Hobbs is right, by this time in 2017 there will be enough work for everyone in “the capital city of the Ring of Fire.”

 Hobbs returned from the huge Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto excited about the outlook for Thunder Bay. With a marked increase in mining exploration throughout the North, particularly in the ring of chromite and related metals west of James Bay, Hobbs says that within five to seven years anyone who wants to work in Thunder Bay will have a job, provided they train for it.

 Hobbs said the mining community considers Thunder Bay to be a potential boom town. He said he told cabinet ministers at the conference that Thunder Bay is poised to be the capital of the North as mining sends transportation and support industry shafts south.

 We hope he’s right. Thunder Bay needs an invigorating new lease on industrial life to take the place of its shrunken forestry base.