Northern Ontario Politics – Page 33

Politicians, not MNR staff to blame for bear inaction – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – June 13, 2012)

June 13, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

City council has been forced from hibernation on the issue of black bear management. The latest budget-cutting effort from Queen’s Park has eliminated the practice of trapping and relocating nuisance bears from the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Bear Wise program.

Instead, the provincial government has passed the bear buck to police. At council Monday night, Police Chief John Gauthier said in the first week of June alone Timmins Police Service received 21 complaints about nuisance bears. In May, they received 62 bear calls calls.

While the track record of trapping and relocating the bruins is spotty at best — many times bears find their way back to where they were caught — it is definitely a better solution than handing off the responsibility to police.

The situation is becoming, well, unbearable. On Sunday night, TPS officers were forced to shoot a large bear that wouldn’t leave the clubhouse area at Hollinger Golf Club.

Call out to stop ONTC sale – by Maria Calabrese (QMI AGENCY/Sudbury Star – June 8, 2012)

June 8, 2012

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

Premier Dalton McGuinty’s plan to not go ahead with priv at i z i n g public services should include scrapping the sale of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, says the organization that represents ONTC unions.

“The McGuinty government is stating that they wish to give public-sector workers some certainty at a difficult time (as) one of the reasons for this shift in policy. Then why would they not give the same consideration to workers at Ontario Northland?” Brian Kelly, a spokesman for the General Chairpersons’ Association, asked in a news release.

Kelly said the association supports the move to stop the privatization of more public services and called for a stop to the ONTC sale. Reports suggest the province is backing off further privatizations as a way to ensure NDP support for its budget.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci confirmed the ONTC selloff is going ahead, said MPP Vic Fedeli (PC — Nipissing). Bartolucci responded to Fedeli’s questions tabled in the legislature two months ago about the future of pension and benefits for ONTC retired workers.

Northern leaders will have to get on board to save ONTC – by John R. Hunt (Sudbury Star – June 6, 2012)

June 6, 2012

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

‘You have to give something if you want to get something.” This is the opinion of a veteran municipal politician. Colleen Belanger was mayor of Coleman Township, near Temiskaming Shores, for 16 years. She cheerfully admits she has no desire to return to municipal politics.

“Mayor Dan Cleroux did me a great favour when he won the last election. Now I have time to enjoy myself,” she says. But she is angry and worried by the impending death of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission and fears Northern mayors who want to meet Premier Dalton McGuinty must do more than protest.

“The premier has stuck his neck out. The North has to offer something that makes sense and gives him a good reason to change his mind,” she says. The main excuse for McGuinty’s decision to kill the ONTC is that ridership on the ONR is too low. So, why don’t the mayors of all the towns along the line promise to increase it?

Wolf Lake mining claim gets renewed – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – June 1, 2012)

June 1, 2012

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

The Ontario government has extended mining exploration rights on the largest remaining stand of old-growth red pine forests left in the province.

In a much-anticipated statement Thursday, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci made clear it was his government’s obligation to extend long-standing mining claims in Wolf Lake.

Under Ontario’s Living Legacy land use strategy, Wolf Lake’s Forest Reserve designation allows the mining claims and leases held by Flag Resources in the Wolf Lake area north of Greater Sudbury to continue.

“The company has met the renewal criteria established under the Mining Act and is entitled to have its lease renewed,” Bartolucci said. Located 50 kilometres northeast of Sudbury, Wolf Lake lies in the Temagami district. It is beloved by hikers and canoeists for its soaring stands of 300- year-old red pines and deep blue lakes.

Naomi Grant, of the Wolf Lake Coalition, said extending the claim clearly runs counter to the ministry’s own guidelines. “According to public records, very little activity has occurred on this lease for the past 30 years,” she said.

Ring of Fire is North’s future – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (May 27, 2012)

June 1, 2012

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

There is an amazing opportunity to embrace nation-building and put aside political differences. The Ring of Fire is waiting for us. It is remote and far from the roads and hydro poles that will be required to develop the deposit of chromite said to be the largest in North America and the key ingredient in stainless steel that is in everything from steak knives to prosthetic hip joints.

From the earliest times of our planet as a molten mass, the Ring of Fire has sat patiently waiting to give up its riches.
And all we have to do is get Ottawa, Ontario and First Nations leaders to sit at the same table and recognize this is a turning point for our nation. We have the chance to develop Northwestern Ontario and breathe a new life of prosperity into the entire region. There is plenty of wealth to go around.

Cliffs Natural Resources plans to spend $3.3 billion to launch its Ring of Fire operations. That includes a chromite mine, a transportation corridor and $1.8 billion to build a smelter near Sudbury. If the private sector is ready to put this kind of cash up against the project, it starts to become mind-boggling how large they believe the pay-off will be.

While it cannot be confirmed, and it was not shared with the media in the premier’s daily itinerary, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he spoke with Prime Minister Harper on Tuesday to ask how Ottawa might help with the development of this massive mining project.

Time to reinstate spring bear hunt – Thunder Bay Editorial (Chronicle-Journal – May 29, 2012)

May 30, 2012

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

Sometimes, a dead horse has to be kicked, again and again. The former spring bear hunt in Ontario is one such animal.

If the provincial government is really serious about helping the region’s tourist industry and managing black bear populations in Northern Ontario, it will reinstate the spring bear hunt.

The hunt is currently a viable tourism and wildlife management option in nine other provinces and territories across Canada. Why not Ontario? Are their bears different from ours?

A Winnipeg man has already been bitten this year by a bear north of Sioux Lookout, hauled from an outhouse in a story that made national headlines. Children in the town’s Sioux Mountain School are reportedly being kept indoors at recess these days because bears are roaming the area. A longer fall bear hunt has not been sufficient to keep bear numbers in check and the number and reports of nuisance bears is rising throughout the province.

Situation un-bear-able – Timmins Daily Press (May 28, 2012)

May 29, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Councillor calls for return of spring bear hunt

Northerners are voicing their unbearable stress towards the provincial government’s latest approach to problem bruins. The MNR has dropped responsibilities for nuisance bears on private property. The buck has been passed to Ontario Provincial Police and local police services.

Coun. John Curley is outraged with the recent letter from Natural Resources Deputy Minister David O’Toole. The letter was revealed to Timmins council at Monday night’s regular meeting.

It stated the recent changes came about as part of the Transformation Plan announced in the 2012 Ontario Budget. The plan was a review of how government programs delivered services to Ontarians, which includes eight-year existing Bear Wise program/

In his letter, O’Toole admitted the relocation of black bears was not as effective compared to other MNR bear handling strategies.

NORDIK INSTITUTE NEWS RELEASE: Concerned citizens in the Sault join North Eastern Municipalities ONTC divesture fight

May 26, 2012

Screening of acclaimed film ‘Derailed – The National Dream’

May 25, 2012

COCHRANE – Northern municipalities affected by the Province’s divesture of the ONTC are continuing to escalate the issue.

They do not accept the Province’s unilateral and autocratic approach to the ONTC which represents an integral part of the region’s economy and opportunity to grow into the next age of multi-modal transportation.

The approach is arrogant and places far too much risk on the region as it has no clear plan or desired outcome. At the same time, the issue is rapidly expanding its reach to now include concerned residents as far as Sault Ste. Marie.

On May 30 2012, northern municipalities along with Cochrane mayor and council, and Sault Ste Marie are the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT) will host the screening of Derailed: The National Dream, produced by documentary film maker Dan Nystedt.

The film first screened on Sunday, March 4,2012 at the Grand Theatre, in Sault Ste. Marie as part of the Shadows of the Mind Film Festival.

McGuinty calls on Ottawa to help him open up the North – by Karen Howlett and Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – May 26, 2012)

May 26, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

TORONTO AND OTTAWA— Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is pledging to work closely with the federal government on its controversial overhaul of environmental assessments as he calls on Ottawa to play an active role in exploiting the untapped potential of the Ring of Fire.

Mr. McGuinty is counting on mining exploration in the northern wilderness to lead to a new generation of prosperity for Ontario. Emerging economies in India and China have an “insatiable hunger” for the province’s resource riches, he said on Friday in urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to help him open up the North.

“Failure is not an option,” Mr. McGuinty told reporters. “Success is mandatory.”

The mining exploration area in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario is one of the most significant mineral regions in the province, and includes the largest deposit of chromite ever discovered in North America.

Ontario’s Ring of Fire Will Fuel Our Economy – by Tim Hudak (May 22, 2012)

May 24, 2012

Tim Hudak is the opposition leader of the Ontario PC Party

Ontario once enjoyed bountiful supplies of affordable energy — and used it over more than a century to build our province into an industrial powerhouse and resource development dynamo. But times have changed.

You may have seen a news article a week ago, for example, about how high electricity prices, along with a burdensome approvals process, add up to obstacles to investment in Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region. My caucus colleague, and Ontario PC energy critic, Vic Fedeli used a recent provincial parliamentary committee meeting to press the government for some answers about this critical issue.

Because it’s been in the news lately, I want to use the Ring of Fire to illustrate a broader point, to show how heavily energy costs can weigh on economic sectors like mining, forestry and manufacturing — where Ontario most urgently needs to kick-start job creation with more than half a million people unemployed.

The Ring of Fire should be a cause for optimism with the ongoing jobs crisis in Ontario. According to Richard Nemis, the entrepreneur who gave the Ring of Fire its name, the “economic impact of this discovery on the Ontario economy will probably run into the hundreds of billions of dollars over time.”

Most Cliffs jobs will be in the Northwest – by Michael Gravelle (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – May 19, 2012)

May 19, 2012

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

Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North, is Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources.

There is very good reason for everyone in Northwestern Ontario to be excited about the growth of the mining sector in our part of the province. Mineral exploration investments are at an all-time high and we can expect the opening of several new mines in the region to employ hundreds, if not thousands of people, which will drive the economy forward to levels we have not seen before. These opportunities are being embraced by First Nations and municipal governments all across the region as they seek to seize the long-term benefits this renaissance in mining will provide.

There is no question that the project that has captured the most attention is the Ring of Fire, where an unprecedented level of investment is poised to bring economic benefits and jobs to thousands of people for many years to come.

While there are a number of companies making significant investments in this resource-rich part of the Northwest, most of the public attention over the past year or so has been focused on Cliffs Natural Resources, a U.S.-based firm that is eager to take the next major step forward in the development of a huge project; one that, if managed properly, will bring extraordinary long-term economic benefits to many First Nations communities and municipalities across our region.

Wanted: New deal – by PJ WILSON, QMI AGENCY (Sudbury Star – May 18, 2012)

May 18, 2012

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

NORTH BAY — Northern Ontarians will be able to let the provincial government know where they stand on the ONTC divestment.

A partnership between the Northern Communities Working Group and the Northern Regional Publishing Group of Sun Media is giving residents of the North their chance to get a new deal for Ontario Northland.

The 11 Sun Media newspapers in Northeastern Ontario — The Nugget, Sudbury Star, Sault Star, Timmins Daily Press, Cochrane Times Post, Elliot Lake Standard, Kapuskasing Northern Times, Espanola Mid-North Monitor and Kirkland Lake Northern News — will run ads and window inserts calling for a New Deal for Ontario Northland.

“We are looking to show the government that there is support for a new deal for Ontario Northland and that Northerners expect the premier … to come to the North and meet with Northern mayors,” said North Bay Mayor Al McDonald.

He said mayors across the North have been trying to meet with Premier Dalton McGuinty since the March 23 announcement the province would divest Ontario Northland, but “the premier refuses to meet with the mayors.”

Private sector will provide ONTC services – by Rick Bartolucci – Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines (May 18, 2012)

May 18, 2012

Our government’s decision to divest the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission was a difficult one that was made after careful deliberation. No other government has done more than ours to try to make the ONTC viable.

We have invested more than $430 million to date — almost three times the funding provided by the last two governments combined. And while our support has increased, revenues generated by ONTC continue to decline and ridership is stagnant at best.

At a time when governments all over the world — including Ontario — are financially stretched to the limit, we must focus our limited resources on priorities such as education and health care.

And for Northern Ontario, we need to protect the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, which is a known job creator for every community along the Highway 11 corridor and, in fact, all of Northern Ontario.

I know the divestment decision has caused some uncertainty for passengers and ONTC employees in the 13 communities with ONTC operations. Given the longstanding presence of the ONTC along the Highway 11 corridor, I understand the emotional reaction this has provoked and the concern of workers with regard to next steps.

North [Ontario] gets chill from McGuinty – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – May 17, 2012)

May 17, 2012

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper and Brian MacLeod is the managing editor. brian.macleod@sunmedia.ca

Northern Ontario has never been homogeneous. Its vast geography and the rivalries among municipalities make it a hard political animal to tame.

And that makes life difficult for Premier Dalton McGuinty. Developments over the last couple of years show that. The closure of Xstrata’s Kidd Creek Metallurgical plant in Timmins in 2010 saw 600 jobs lost as the work moved to Quebec, in large part because of the high cost of power in Ontario.

In March, the government announced it will privatize the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission — which provides some rail, bus and communications services in the North — putting 1,000 jobs in question. And last week, Cliffs Natural Resources, the U.S. firm that’s first in developing the massive Ring of Fire chromite deposit in northwestern Ontario, announced it would build its ferrochrome smelter in Sudbury, bringing about 450 jobs.

From Queen’s Park – We need to make the right decisions on the Ring of Fire – by Sarah Campbell, Kenora-Rainy River MPP (NetNewsledger.com – May 13, 2012)

May 16, 2012

http://netnewsledger.com/

QUEEN’S PARK – LEADER’S LEDGER – Last week Cliffs Natural Resources announced its plans to locate a chromite smelter, which will be used to process raw ore from the Ring of Fire, in Sudbury.

While many are disappointed that the smelter, and 450 potential jobs, will be located in Sudbury, Cliffs Natural Resources is a privately owned company and the decision, with its estimated $1.8 billion price tag, is theirs to make.

That said, I have concerns with the way this process was handled by the provincial government, not only in its failure to involve regional leaders but also in the fact that there appears to be many side deals that have been made but not announced.

The fact is, the government needs to be the party facilitating a cooperative approach, to ensure the potential of the Ring of Fire project is maximized. By leaving community leaders out of the first stage of planning, and making decisions without them, they risk making the wrong decisions.

While the only firm commitment that has been announced is the location of the smelter, the fact that this decision was made in the backroom leaves us to guess as to what other promises have been made.