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Northern Ontario Politics

[Ontario] PCs: Get North going – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – October 22,2012)

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

Two Progressive Conservative MPPs from Northern Ontario — the only two — are banking on made-in-the- North policy to help their party win more seats in the next provincial election.

Parry SoundMuskoka MPP Norm Miller, the Tor ies’ Northern Development and Mines critic, was looking to people attending an Ontario PC Northern Conference on the weekend to offer suggestions “to get the North moving again.”

His party would love to have more representation in the North, said Miller. Half of his riding, from Severn River to French River, is located in Northern Ontario. “Good policy helps win seats,” Miller said before the start of the conference Saturday afternoon.

“We see the North as being a great place with great opportunity and it could be doing a lot better.” The 12-year veteran of provincial politics said the policies of Premier Dalton McGuinty “have really hurt the North.”

Miller slammed the Liberals’ Far North Act, saying it was an example of “Toronto-centric decision-making,” adding it panders to “very powerful special interest groups, mainly the environmental lobby.”

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Two approaches to northern [Ontario] mines – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (October 19, 2012)

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

IT has become standard procedure for campaigning politicians to change their minds once in office — if they ever had any intention of keeping some promises in the first place. “Read my lips, no new taxes,” was George H.W. Bush’s way of phrasing it, but many seeking office in Canada have done the same. Departing Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said as much in advance of the 2003 election campaign, only to introduce the Ontario Health Premium, the largest tax increase in post-war Ontario.

Pauline Marois sees things another way, at least in so far as northern Quebec is concerned. Running against Liberal Jean Charest, the Parti Quebecois leader had little good to say about his signature regional development policy, Plan Nord, which seeks to stimulate industrial activity north of the 49th parallel. But now that Marois is premier, and with mining potential that may be on a par with that in Northern Ontario, Marois is allowing for the possibility of tax incentives to attract mining projects to Quebec’s Far North.

The difference between Quebec and Ontario’s approach is important because it signals the McGuinty government’s unwillingness to engage in hard bargaining in spite of holding the high cards.

Marois has stipulated that in order to be eligible for the tax credits she once eschewed, mining companies would have to process their ore in Quebec. This, of course, results in far greater economic benefit to the host region and province than if raw ore is shipped elsewhere — usually to low-cost, low-wage places chosen by companies to maximize profits.

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NDP leader Horwath speaks out at [Timmins] convention – by Benjamin Aubé (Timmins Daily Press – October 21, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Andrea Horwath had one very clear message in an energy-charged speech delivered at the party’s Northern Council meeting: “Respect the North.”

Horwath was in Timmins on the weekend to speak to party MP’s, MPP’s and members, nearly 100 of whom were at the Timmins Inn and Suites Saturday afternoon to listen to the address. In her speech, Horwath emphatically criticized the current government’s ability and desire to represent the province’s people equally.

She said the problem is especially clear in the North, where residents “are feeling extremely frustrated with the policies that are coming out of southern Ontario and Queen’s Park, because they don’t reflect reality here.”

She said the only way a government can properly reflect the reality of a place is to give the people there enough respect to listen to what they have to say and hear their voices.

“We know damn well that that is not happening at Queen’s Park right now, and has not been happening for an awful long time,” exclaimed Horwath, to huge rounds of partisan cheers and applause.

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Public urged to keep on pressuring government on camping issue – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – October 19, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

IROQUOIS FALLS – The Minister of Natural Resources is listening to what Northerners have to say about losing camping privileges at area provincial parks. But citizens need to keep pressuring the government to save these campsites.

This was the message conveyed at Friday’s meeting of the Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA) in Iroquois Falls.

On Thursday, Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle met with Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren, chairman of NEOMA, and Kapuskasing Mayor Al Spacek, president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities. This came on the heels of a meeting between Gravelle and MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) on Monday.

Local provincial parks impacted by the cost-cutting decision include Ivanhoe Lake in Foleyet, Greenwater in Cochrane, Rene Brunelle in Kapuskasing, Fushimi Lake in Hearst, The Shoals in Chapleau and Tidewater in Moosonee. Other parks on the list are Caliper Lake in Nestor Falls, Mississagi in Elliot Lake, Obatang between Wawa and White River, and Springwater in Midhurst.

“What we included in our presentation was a little bit of dialogue on the discrepancies in the numbers by the province as to the cost of these parks and the revenue, based on the 2011 parks report created by the government … so that they need to re-check these numbers,” Laughren said at the meeting.

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Northerners weigh in on McGuinty resignation – by Benjamin Aubé (Sudbury Star – October 18, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Reaction is pouring in from political and water-cooler circles across Ontario in the days following Premier Dalton McGuinty’s resignation.

The decision did not fall on deaf ears in the North of the province, where some of the McGuinty government’s actions have come under much fire as of late.

McGuinty will remain at his post until a new party leader is selected, which could take months. As a result, McGuinty announced the prorogation of the legislature, essentially stalling regular proceedings at Queen’s Park until further notice.

For the Liberals, who fell just short of gaining a majority government last month after losing the Kitchener–Waterloo riding byelection to the NDP, the move is being celebrated for the prospect of rejuvenating the party’s vision.

Timmins-James Bay Provincial Liberal Association president Gaetan Groleau has been with the organization since 1999, and has watched McGuinty and his vision at work from the very beginning.

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[Ontario] Come together to break apart – by James Bow (Kitchener Post – October 11, 2012)

http://www.kitchenerpost.ca/

The cancellation of the Ontario Northland train between Toronto and Cochrane has raised whispers in the northern Ontario media about separatism.

It is no secret that northerners are frustrated with Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government. The McGuinty Liberals hold only four seats north of Muskoka. Northerners also haven’t forgotten the treatment they received under Mike Harris, which is why the Progressive Conservatives have only two seats in the north.

But on my ride on the last Northlander to and from Toronto, I heard great cynicism among northerners about politicians of all stripes.

Between this decision, the closure of overnight camping in 10 northern provincial parks, and a host of slights by governments Liberal and PC, northerners seem to be losing confidence that any government in Queen’s Park is capable of responding to northern concerns.

In this environment, it’s not surprising to hear the Northern Ontario Heritage Party starting to beat the drum of northern secession.

They are looking to run candidates in the next election and hope to form a Bloc Northern Ontario in Queen’s Park. If that doesn’t work, they might look to making northern Ontario its own province. If they did this, they wouldn’t be alone.

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Northern lifestyle threatened by tiny budget cut – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – October 12, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – There has been some suggestions Queen’s Park is purposely punishing Northeastern Ontario with its proposed overnight camping ban in six of the region’s provincial parks.

While there is much circumstantial evidence to draw such a conclusion, I believe this is giving southern politicians too much credit. After all, how much do they really know about Northern Ontario, particularly the lifestyles of Northerners?

Sure, our region’s provincial parks are all in ridings currently run by New Democrat MPPs, while the Liberals rule Ontario.

Yes, Rene Brunelle Provincial Park is in the backyard of Kapuskasing Mayor Alan Spacek, who ran under the Progressive Conservative banner in Timmins-James Bay during the last Ontario election.

Then there is the fact that Spacek, Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren (close to Ivanhoe Lake) and Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis (Greenwater) have all been very outspoken against Liberal legislation impacting their residents — the Endangered Species Act, the Far North Act and dumping the Northlander passenger train service, to name a few.

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McGuinty government bankrupting Wawa – by Christina Blizzard (Toronto Sun – October 12, 2012)

http://www.torontosun.com/home

TORONTO – Wawa’s goose is cooked. The small town on Lake Superior is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, pushed to the edge by a provincial government that ignores and misunderstands the needs of rural and northern Ontario.

A series of decisions by the province has forced the town to cut services and even consider layoffs to police and other essential public sector workers.

Wawa’s main industries are forestry and mining. And before you city slickers roll your eyes and say it’s not your problem, consider this: Bay Street was built on forestry and mining. The TMX is the largest mining exchange in the world by number of listings.

The town’s woes started during the Mike Harris years. In 2000, the Harris government took power dam tax revenue from the municipal tax base and gave it to the provincial tax base.

This hit Wawa hard. It has seven dams with 16 generating stations within its municipal boundaries. That power dam taxation made up half its assessment – almost 45% of its tax income.

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Northlander employees bring anger to Sudbury – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – October 6, 2012)

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

Ontario Northland employees were outside Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci’s downtown office Friday to protest the cancellation of the Northlander passenger rail service Sept. 28.

“People are angry,” said Brian Kelly, spokesperson for the General Chairperson’s Association, the umbrella group that represents all of Northland’s unions. “They’re venting. We’ve had a lot of people quit and people retire because they just don’t think there’s a future.”

The Northlander had carried passengers from Toronto to Cochrane for more than 100 years. Passengers who don’t want to fork over extra money for flights will have to rely on Ontario Northland’s bus service for the same trip.

Bartolucci, who is also Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines, said the government could not continue to subsidize the passenger train service while use remained “stagnant.” In 2003, 329,000 people used the rail service, he said. That declined to 321,000 last year.

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Northerners must unite to overturn camping ban – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – October 6, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Unless you’ve been out in the bush for the past week, you are probably aware of the provincial government’s cost-saving plan to eliminate overnight camping at a series of provincial parks in Northeastern Ontario.

Regional provincial parks impacted by the decision include Ivanhoe Lake in Foleyet, Greenwater in Cochrane, Rene Brunelle in Kapuskasing, Fushimi Lake in Hearst, The Shoals in Chapleau and Tidewater in Moosonee.

On Wednesday night, the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is having a special public forum to discuss the issue. The camping ban has struck a raw nerve with many Northerners, particularly those who enjoy seasonal camping at these facilities.

Leaders with FONOM, such as Kapuskasing Mayor Al Spacek (the organization’s president) and Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren (the vice-president), recognize the important role these campgrounds play, not only in facilitating the Northern lifestyle but in support of the region’s economy.

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Ontario’s Mining Law changes aim to bring mining regulation into 21st Century – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – October 4, 2012)

www.mineweb.com

Key changes under Ontario’s Mining Act come into effect on Nov. 1, 2012, impacting exploration, bulk samples, assessment work credits, aboriginal consultation and mine closure.

RENO (MINEWEB) –  The administration of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Wednesday that key changes in Ontario’s Mining Act will come into effect on November 1 that will eventually mandate the filing of exploration plans and permits, Aboriginal consultation, and encourage voluntary mine rehabilitation of mine hazards.

“We’ve brought a 100-year-old piece of legislation into the 21st Century,” said Rick Bartolucci, Ontario’s Minister of Northern Development and Mines. “Through these regulations, as well as our ongoing work with industry and Aboriginal communities, we can all ensure Ontario continues to be a leading jurisdiction for mineral exploration investment for decades to come.”

Among the changes are voluntary submission of an exploration plan in order to undertake certain early exploration activities. Any surface rights owners must be notified of the planned exploration activities.

New criteria will help determine sites that are of social, cultural, sacred or ceremonial significance to Aboriginal communities in order to protect those sites from claim staking.

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Ontario’s McGuinty government modernises Mining Act – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 3, 2012)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Ontario’s provincial government, under the leadership of Premier Dalton McGuinty, on Wednesday said new rules aimed at modernising the provincial Mining Act would come into effect in November.

The Ontario government announced new rules that would impose exploration plans and permits on anyone planning to undertake certain early exploration activities, requiring them to immediately inform private landowners or Aboriginal communities of the expected activity.

Exploration plans and permits would be voluntary from November 1, and become mandatory from April 1, 2013.

“We’ve brought a 100-year-old piece of legislation into the twenty-first century. Through these regulations, as well as our ongoing work with industry and Aboriginal communities, we can all ensure Ontario continues to be a leading jurisdiction for mineral exploration investment for decades to come,” Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci said.

An exploration permit would now also be required to take bulk samples of Crown minerals for testing purposes.

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[Ontario] Northlander makes its final run – by Liz Cowan (Northern Ontario Business – October 2012)

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.

Sad farewell

“When we laid our rail in 1902

In a land so bright and new

It brought prosperity to people near and far . . .

Something to sing about

This line of ours.”

— Something to Sing About, a song about the ONR written by R. Gervais, circa 1965.

The rail tracks screech and groan as the Northlander leaves the Cochrane train station Sept. 28, shortly after 8 a.m., as it has done many times before. But this day is different. It’s the last time the engine will pull out. There’s a group of photographers set up beyond the train to capture the departure for posterity and people remaining on the platform wave to the passengers.

Despite a previous rally inside the station and on the platform, led by impassioned Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis, there’s an underlying air of melancholy and loss.

The Ontario government announced the divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) in March. Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci said while the business is good, the business model is not.

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Time to give the [Ontario] Far North its own federal voice – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – October 3, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

The landscape of federal politics is about to change, but the Boundary Commission is missing the boat when it comes to making real change to bring better representation to all Canadians.

Ontario is to get 15 new federal seats, as part of the once-a-decade adjustments made based on census data. Quebec will get three more seats, while Alberta and B.C. add six each. It’s not the numbers that are troublesome but the way they are distributed.

The growth of Ontario’s population, from 11,410,046 in 2001 to 12,856,821 in 2011 means the province’s number of ridings will increase to 121 from the 106 seats. That accounts for half the total expansion of the House, which is to go to 338 from 308.

Most new seats will go to the urban centres in southern Ontario, while in the North, the proposed new riding of Timmins-Cochrane-James Bay will grow even larger in area and population.

This means NDP MP Charlie Angus, will have an even larger territory to manage. As Angus said, the riding of Timmins-James Bay is already larger than Great Britain.

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North [Ontario] kicked in the groin again – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – September 28, 2012)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Talk about timing. Just one day before the McGuinty Liberal government was set to pull the plug on the Northlander train, it delivered another kick in the groin to this region.

On Thursday, the government announced it is cancelling overnight stays at 10 provincial parks beginning next year.

Six of those 10 parks – Ivanhoe Lake in Foleyet, Greenwater in Cochrane, Rene Brunelle in Kapuskasing, Fushimi Lake kin Hearst, The Shoals in Chapleau and Tidewater in Moosonee – happen to be in or around Cochrane District.

The government, in its desire to “modernize its business”, suggested these parks are being converted to day-use-only because they have low visitation rates.  Are we talking about the same parks here?

Surely, anyone who has sought to go camping at Ivanhoe Lake or Rene Brunelle would not describe them as underutilized. If anything, they are among the most popular provincial parks in this region. With the choice of provincial park camp sites in this area virtually narrowed down, good luck getting a camping spot at Kettle Lakes next summer.

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