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Northern Ontario Politics

Speaking Notes for The Honourable Tony Clement Minister for FedNor – SPEECH TO THE THUNDER BAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (February 19, 2013)

References to the Ring of Fire

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Thank you Ed (Schmidtke) for that kind introduction. And thank you to our hosts for this afternoon business luncheon, the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce.

It’s great to be back in Thunder Bay. These are truly exciting times for the city and the region.

There is a buzz in the air and a sense of dynamism that, as Minister for FedNor and someone who has been criss-crossing Northern Ontario since 2006, gives me great satisfaction.

I just came from an announcement at the Thunder Bay Airport which exemplifies this energy and optimism. As many of you know the Thunder Bay Airport Authority has gone above and beyond the call of your run-of-the-mill airport manager.

It has aggressively expanded beyond its local market and its original mandate: it manages and offers consulting services to other airports, it sells – I should say exports – aviation software services across North America and the Caribbean, and it’s the exclusive distributor for a Swiss manufacturer of airport service maintenance equipment.

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Clement walking on eggshells as he takes on Ring of Fire responsibilities – by Heather Scoffield (Canadian Press/Brandon Sun – February 19, 2013)

http://www.brandonsun.com/

OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Tony Clement will publicly take on federal responsibility for the massive Ring of Fire mineral discovery today in northern Ontario today.

He’ll be walking on eggshells as he makes his first speech on the chromite and nickel interest in Thunder Bay this afternoon.

That’s because the Ring of Fire file is not only complex, it is also controversial among environmentalists, First Nations and many of the communities who would be affected by the large-scale building of infrastructure and decades of mining.

It’s also a huge test case of the federal government’s “responsible resource development” approach that has influenced major changes in legislation but has also had a rough ride of late. Attempts to build pipelines to the West and to the south have met with a public outcry, and Ottawa’s record on climate change record has been challenged, not just by the federal environment auditor but also by the new Obama administration.

So Clement’s first priority is to avoid upsetting anyone and build a consensus around the best way to develop the region’s newly discovered riches. “The whole purpose of the engagement … is first and foremost to listen to other people,” Clement said in a phone interview the day before his speech.

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ONTC future won’t change with Gravelle – by Bruce Cowan (North Bay Nugget – February 16, 2013)

http://www.nugget.ca/

NORTH BAY – Any measured sense of optimism with the appointment, or re-appointment, of Michael Gravelle as Premier Kathleen Wynne’s new Minister of Northern Development and Mines was pretty much dashed this week.

Gravelle told Nugget reporter Gord Young the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission divestment process will continue and there will be no dramatic shift in direction.

While he did leave the door open to “significant community input into that process,” it’s a little late for that. What’s really left to be said? The process is fairly advanced.

Requests for proposals for Ontera are expected to be submitted and considered this spring. The Northlander is no longer running. Proponents of the New Deal will likely try to get an audience with the minister as soon as possible to push their idea of a port authority. Gravelle is known for being a good listener and he’s called for “dialogue” but, in the political scheme of things that is the Liberal stronghold in the GTA, the ONTC is not on the radar. Wynne has far more pressing southern Ontario issues to deal with if she hopes to retain power.

It’s true the governing Liberals can change their minds at any time. They did so in grandiose fashion when they changed gas plant locations in southern Ontario to secure a seat in the last provincial election. But what’s the advantage to do that here?

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Mines minister defends Cliffs’ processing plan – CBC News Thunder Bay (February 15, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Michael Gravelle responds to criticism that more than half of chromite to leave province

Ontario’s mines minister says if more than half the chromite mined in the Ring of Fire is processed in Ontario, that’s a lot better than none. On Thursday, NDP MPP Gilles Bisson criticized a plan by Cliffs Natural Resources to ship the rest of its ore to China.

Michael Gravelle says the processor to be built in Sudbury will create hundreds of new jobs plus spin-off jobs.

“[If the proposal is successful], what we’re going to be seeing … [is] the first ferrochrome processing facility in North America,” Gravelle said. “We’re going to see value-added opportunity in the province of Ontario that was never there before.”

Gravelle added that shipping ore to other jurisdictions for processing is not uncommon.

He said ore from other countries and provinces is processed in Ontario.

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New [Ontario] mines minister, new hope for Cliffs? – Staff (Northern Ontario Business – February 15, 2013)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

Cliffs Natural Resources hopes a restructured provincial government with Michael Gravelle at the helm of the Northern Development and Mines can kick-start talks on advancing its Ring of Fire chromite project.

During the company’s fourth quarter conference call on Feb. 13, Cliffs chairman Joseph Carrabba said while the project timelines for Black Thor are on schedule, other “critical elements” are beyond the company’s control.

“Last May, we signed a term sheet with the province that among other things enabled the decision to locate the furnace operation in (Sudbury) Ontario,” said Carrabba.

“While negotiations of a binding agreement with the government have slowed and dialogue has been suspended during the provincial government transition, recent conversations with newly seated cabinet minister Gravelle indicates the province is committed to get a deal done.”

The Ontario government has said precious little since that May news conference in Sudbury when then-mines minister Rick Bartolucci announced Cliffs was locating the $1.8-billion ferrochrome smelter in the city as part of the Cleveland miner’s larger $3.3-billion mines and mill investment in Ontario.

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Energetic questions – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (February 15, 2013)

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

IN a world beset by economic challenges, Canada enjoys two advantages. Already ahead of many other countries in terms of recovery (albeit one that does not always share its wealth equally) Canada is poised to embark on a major resources boom.
In Alberta, the oilsands could quench the energy thirst of millions of people as economic recoveries look to be fuelled. In Northwestern Ontario, a remarkable series of mineral discoveries are relished globally for construction and consumer products.

However, both developments are beset by environmental pitfalls.

Beyond the question of more fossil fuel to be burned, adding to global warming, is the matter of moving Alberta’s new oil to market. The United States is poised to reconsider a plan to build a pipeline to carry the crude oil to Texas refineries amid a growing chorus of opposition in both countries.

A second round of opposition involves plans for a pipeline to ship Alberta oil to a port in British Columbia where critics point to danger to oil tankers in the port’s tricky waterway. Spills are always a potential pipeline side effect.
If neither of these challenges can be overcome, Canada stands to lose billions in potential revenue and see the United States and China drain away as customers.

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Gravelle wants dialogue – by Gord Young (North Bay Nugget – February 13, 2013)

http://www.nugget.ca/

NORTH BAY – Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle ruled out any dramatic change of course Wednesday in the divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

“I think it’s fair to say that the ONTC divestment process will be continuing . . . in a way that makes sense. And I think we feel there needs to be significant community input into that process,” said Gravelle, the longtime MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North, who was given a cabinet seat earlier this week in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government.

Gravelle, formally Minister of Natural Resources was re-appointed by Wynne Monday to the Northern Development and Mines portfolio – a position he held for four years after he was appointed to cabinet for the first time in 2007.

Only about 48 hours into the job, Gravelle said in a telephone interview Wednesday he wants dialogue and is trying not to draw any lines in the sand when it comes to the issue of divestment. But Gravelle also indicated he doesn’t want to pretend there’s going to be a dramatic shift in direction.

“I think there is a real legitimacy to the decision for the divestment process to take place. It’s a question of how it’s done, in a fashion that still takes advantage of the economic opportunities of the ONTC,” he said, noting the ONTC is among a number of issues he plans on discussing with municipalities.

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Harvey Yesno: A visionary leader takes the reigns of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – February 2013)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North. Ian Ross is the editor of Northern Ontario Business ianross@nob.on.ca.

Making a comeback into First Nations politics was definitely not in Harvey Yesno’s plans. But the opportunity to make an impact at a pivotal time in the North’s history and lay a foundation of prosperity and self-determination for generations to come was something he could not pass up.

The 57-year-old Yesno was sworn in as grand chief of the Thunder Bay-based Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) last August, replacing Stan Beardy who was elected the new Ontario regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

To make a run for office, Yesno left his position as director for Aboriginal community and stakeholder relations with the province’s Ring of Fire Secretariat office. Prior to that, he had been the well-known president and CEO of the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund since 1993. “I was reluctant to come back after a 21-year absence in the political arena,” said Yesno, “but some things have not really changed and advanced.”

Conditions remain the same in many of the 49 Ojibway, Cree and Ojicree communities in the Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 territories: high unemployment, drug addiction, high cost of living, inaccessibility, inadequate housing, and revenue streams largely dependent on government transfer payments.

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‘Critical time’ for new northern Ont. ministers – CBC News Thunder Bay (February 12, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Northern leaders ready themselves to work with Ontario’s newly appointed resource ministers

When it comes to northern Ontario representation, Premier Kathleen Wynne’s new cabinet features both a long-time minister and a first-time minister.

Thunder Bay MPP Michael Gravelle is now Minister of Northern Development and Mines — a cabinet post he once held for four years. Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci announced his retirement from that post last week.

Wynne assigned Gravelle’s old role as the Minister of Natural Resources to rookie cabinet minister Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti. The mayor of Kapuskasing and head of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, Al Spacek, said both those appointments are good news for the north.

“I’m thrilled that Minister Gravelle has been moved in MNDM,” Spacek said. “David Orazietti … is a northerner [and] very familiar with the challenges that are in the forestry sector.” Thunder Bay’s mayor, Keith Hobbs, said making Gravelle the new Minister of Northern Development and Mines is the right move, as mining will play a huge role in the city’s future.

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Northern cabinet ministers not stars, but can be effective – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – February 13, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

It’s hard to get excited about the northern representation in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s new cabinet. Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle returns to the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, while Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti takes over at the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The only other two Liberals in Northern Ontario are Sudbury’s Rick Bartolucci, who has stepped down from his MNDM cabinet post pending his retirement in the next election, and Thunder Bay-Atikokan’s Bill Mauro, who has served as chair of the Northern Caucus and parliamentary assistant to Bartolucci during his first stint as minister at MNDM.

Bartolucci brought a lot of provincial investment into Sudbury — but now the city is without a cabinet minster for the first time since 2003.

What of the North’s two ministers? While Orazietti, at 44, has potential, there are no bona fide stars here.

First elected in 1995, Gravelle, who is battling a treatable form of lymphoma, is known for updating the Mining Act during his last tenure at MNDM (which also included forestry), from 2007 to 2011. That act met with mixed reviews. It stipulated that no new mine could open in the Far North without an approved community-based land use plan and that aboriginal communities must be notified of claims staking after their land is staked, a decision that continues to rankle First Nations bands.

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Gravelle keeps a seat in cabinet – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – February 12, 2013)

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

Northwestern Ontario community leaders were applauding Monday as newly minted Premier Kathleen Wynne kept the North in the loop with the appointment of two, home-grown cabinet ministers, including a seasoned veteran.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a pretty good day for Northwestern Ontario,” said Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs. “These people know the North, and the Northwest in particular.”

As many like Hobbs had hoped, Michael Gravelle (Thunder Bay-Superior North) was returned to head Northern Development and Mines, the important but tricky portfolio he oversaw for four years until 2011.

Gravelle, who remained on the job as Natural Resources minister after he was diagnosed with cancer last fall, said he was “thrilled” to be kept in cabinet. “We are at a pivotal and exciting time in the North’s history, and our ministry and government will be playing a tremendous role in ensuring opportunities are seized,” Gravelle, 64, said in a statement following his reappointment to cabinet.

“Clearly, mining continues to be a real pillar for Northern Ontario’s economy and certainly development in the far north and the Ring of Fire are top priorities for our government.”

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NEWS RELEASE: NISHNAWBE ASKI NATION EXPECTS RESULTS FROM NEW ONTARIO PREMIER; KICK-START THE ECONOMY FOR ALL ONTARIANS

Monday, February 11, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THUNDER BAY, ON: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno expects results from the new Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne as she was officially sworn into her office today at Queen’s Park in Toronto.

Now that the Ontario Liberal Party has completed their leadership selection process, it is time to get down to business in the north.

The James Bay Treaty No. 9 and the Ontario portions of Treaty No. 5 covers two-thirds of Ontario, and NAN First Nations expect results from the Ontario government – in order to bring economic growth and prosperity to Ontario from the remote north – benefiting all Ontarians with investments, opportunities, jobs, infrastructure and business that are all much needed in this province.

“The Premier of Ontario needs to kick-start the Ontario economy and improve the future prospects for all Ontarians. It’s not a mystery to anyone in government – the lands and resources required to generate wealth for the future of Ontario are going to come out of the remote north – our treaty territories,” said NAN Grand Chief Harvey Yesno. “The future of any Premier in Ontario may hinge on how they choose to proceed with resource and economic development in the remote north; and NAN First Nations are anticipating those discussions.”

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New mines minister has to ‘sort out land rights’ (CBC News Sudbury – February 11, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

Mining observers in northern Ontario say ministry and the minister must work with First Nations

As the newly-minted Liberal party leader Kathleen Wynne names her cabinet Monday, observers with an eye on northern Ontario’s resource sector will be watching with interest.

The director of conservation planning for CPAWS Wildlands League said she’d like to see the new Minister of Mines and Northern Development to take a wider view.

“Not only do you need to obviously support the mining industry, but you also need to make sure you are supporting Ontarians that are interacting with the mining industry,” said Anna Baggio, who noted there’s a tendency for mining ministers to be cheerleaders for industry.

“You need to be also looking out for the public interest.” Baggio added decisions made by the new minister on the Ring of Fire will have wide-ranging implications for generations to come.

Garry Clark, the executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association, agreed, saying the first order of business will be to sort out land rights in the north.

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Sudbury has done well under Bartolucci’s tenure – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – February 9, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Any politician who has been around for 18 years has battle scars, and so it is with Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick Bartolucci, who announced this week he is stepping down from cabinet and retiring from politics when the next election is called.

But what he has brought to Sudbury outweighs those scars. Bartolucci was first elected in 1995 and quickly earned the title Minister of Outrage. He brought forward a bill limiting class sizes –an initiative Premier Dalton McGuinty would later champion. And in classic Minister of Outrage style, Bartolucci introduced a bill that would allow police to pick up anyone under the age of 18 who was involved in prostitution. That the police already had such powers didn’t bother him. Making noise to call attention to an issue was his trademark in opposition.

His signature contribution to Greater Sudbury is championing the four-laning of Highway 69, both in opposition and in government — which is expected to be complete by 2017.

He was named minister of Northern Development and Mines in 2003, moving the ministry’s headquarters to Sudbury. In 2007, he moved to Community Safety and Correctional Services. His most notorious battle scar arose there when the government quietly passed a bill that allowed police to detain people near Toronto G20 summit –a law that Ombudsman Andrew Marin would later say “infringe(d) on the freedom of expression in ways that do not seem justifiable in a free and democratic society.”

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[Bartolucci retires] ‘We must move forward’ – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – February 8, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau decided to leave politics in 1984 during a fateful walk in the snow. Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick Bartolucci arrived at the same conclusion after Christmas while walking a Florida beach with his wife, Maureen.

Nineteen years to the day after he agreed to run for the Sudbury Liberals, Bartolucci announced he will resign from cabinet Monday, will not run in the next provincial election, but will serve out his term of office. “Together we achieved great things for our community,” Bartolucci told a crowd of about 175 people Thursday at the Caruso Club, the same place he made the decision to enter provincial politics in 1994.

Bartolucci, 69, was unapologetic about the “stunts” he pulled to draw attention to issues in Sudbury when his party was in opposition. He shared credit for the $8 billion he said his government has invested in Sudbury since 2003 with the people of the city.

“In short, we went from being a have-not to a have community,” said Bartolucci, rhyming off a number of “key achievements.”

Among them were building and opening the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and seven elementary schools, investing $2.7 billion in health care including funds to reduce wait times, hire new nurses and build 450 more long-term care beds, and making headway on the four-laning of Highway 69 south.

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