The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.
TIMMINS – The fate of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission hasn’t been sealed just yet.
At the second of what is expected to be a string of many advisory committee meetings on the ONTC, MPP Michael Gravelle (Liberal-Thunder Bay–Superior North) reiterated his stance that the province is opening itself up to options other than divestment.
Kapuskasing Mayor Al Spacek, who is president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, said the outcome of last week’s meeting in Toronto was “very positive.”
“It’s important to note that his statement was – and he clarified that again – that divestment wasn’t the only option,” said Spacek about Gravelle’s comments. “It doesn’t mean divestment is off the table.
“But certainly, the previous position of the government was, ‘It’s divestment, period.’ Now, since they’ve adopted this other view, we found that as a very positive sign. Based on our meeting … we’re going to start to make some good progress.”
Spacek added that the meeting consisted of “a lot of frank and candid discussion. At this meeting, we did sign our non-disclosure agreements, so we were able to discuss some of the normally confidential aspects of the operation.”
In March 2012, the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty announced it was going to be selling or shutting down almost all infrastructure and services related to the ONTC, including its telecommunications branch, Ontera.
In September, the Ontario Northland passenger train service from Cochrane to Toronto was permanently axed, outraging many residents and stakeholders. A last-minute announcement about the process and a perceived lack of transparency only made things worse. But that was just the beginning of a much wider-ranging process, warned many officials in the region.
With the future of mining looking bright in much of the North, particularly within the James Bay lowlands’ Ring of Fire, many of those community stakeholders are nervous that profits from any industry boom might fall into the wrong hands.
“My personal opinion is that this should remain a public asset, but I don’t want to limit our options,” said Spacek in response to who should ultimately own the ONTC and its infrastructure. “Who knows. I’m thinking out loud, but if at the end of the day, we can get a guarantee of better service from the private sector, we need to consider that. It’s just that traditionally, operating rail systems – either in this province, this country, or anywhere around the world – for the greater good of the public is a government responsibility.”
Spacek said the minister’s ONTC advisory committee meetings consist of about 10 stakeholders from communities.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.timminspress.com/2013/05/20/ontc-talks-spur-hop