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Northern Ontario Politics

Timmins disappointed and angry at Premier Dalton McGuinty – by Len Gillis lgillis (Timmins Times – March 27, 2012)

 http://www.timminstimes.com/

City council lashes out in response to decision to sell Ontario Northland

Mayor Tom Laughren and several Timmins city councilors expressed dismay and disappointment Monday night with Premier Dalton McGuinty and senior ministers at Queen’s Park in light of the announcement last Friday that the Ontario Government plans to sell off the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

Their anger comes in view of the fact that the mayor and several councilors were in Toronto just a few weeks ago to meet with the premier and several cabinet ministers at the annual meeting of the Ontario Good Roads Association.

That is one of the few times in the year when municipal councilors get face time with the Premier and the cabinet to discuss vital issues for the North.

“There was no hint at anytime in our meeting with Minister Bartolucci, or formerly Minister Gravelle, that anything like this was being considered,” Laughren told council Monday night.

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[Ontario Northland Railway] ONR paved the way in Northern Ontario – ON THE ROCKS – by John R. Hunt (North Bay Nugget – March 27, 2012)

http://www.nugget.ca/

“This has to be in Toronto tomorrow,” my wife said. “Will you take it to the station for me?”

Only old timers will understand much of this column, but I want some younger folk to understand how much the ONR once meant to folk who lived in Northeastern Ontario.

I am still livid. On Friday when I heard that the ONTC was to be killed, it felt as if I had been kicked in the gut. What made it worse was that The Nugget had just published a short piece recalling how Tembec was built out of ruin.

Tembec became a great Canadian success story because management, the workers and the community joined together for a common purpose. Why not the ONTC or Air Canada and too many others?

I took the letter to Cobalt ONR station, which in its time was the biggest and most handsome of its kind. When the southbound train pulled in, I gave the letter to the man running the mail car.

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ONTC cuts: ‘Like a kick in the gut’ – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – March 27, 2012)

The provincial government is standing by its decision to sell Ontario Northland. And Northern Ontarians are taking it personally.

“Funny, it’s only when we invest in the North that we’re taking money away from education and health care. When we invest in the south, it’s fine,” Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas said.

Gelinas’s comments come days after Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci announced the province is divesting itself of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a Crown agency that offers rail and bus service in Northern Ontario. The government also announced that eight buildings across Ontario, including one in Sudbury, will be sold.

Ontario Northland was at the heart of a question raised by John Vanthof, MPP for Te m i s k a m i n g-Cochrane, in provincial legislature on Monday. “I accused (Bartolucci) of killing the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission. (He said) they’re not killing it. They’re divesting themselves of it. Basically, they’re privatizing it,” he said, adding that he was shocked when the decision was made.

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ONTC: Other shoe drops – SOAPBOXING – by Dave Dale (North Bay Nugget- March 24, 2012)

http://www.nugget.ca/

It should be a crime for Premier Dalton McGuinty to open his mouth during election campaigns. The Liberal leader has done more to erode voter trust in politicians than any Canadian before him.

The decision to sell off the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, announced shamefully via media teleconference from Sudbury Friday morning, adds another car to a long train of broken promises.

He even left it to Sudbury MPP Minister of Northern Destruction Rick Bartolucci to break the news. In April 2002, McGuinty stopped in North Bay to bolster the campaign of then Grit candidate George Maroosis during the byelection against Conservative Al McDonald.

The Grit leader loved to sign contracts back then. He signed a contract promising the people of Nipissing he wouldn’t sell the provincial agency.

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ONTC: ‘Darkest day’: Union, leaders react to news – by Gord Young (North Bay Nugget- March 24, 2012)

http://www.nugget.ca/

The province has dealt a devastating blow to the entire North with its plan to sell off the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, says a union spokesman.

“It’s unbelievable . . . this is the darkest day at the ONTC,” said Brian Kelly Friday, shortly after plans were announced to divest the Crown corporation. “This is the wrong decision.”

The news was delivered by Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci via teleconference from Sudbury.

The Polar Bear Express which travels between Cochrane and Moosonee will continue to operate, while the Northlander train service between Toronto and Cochrane will be cancelled and replaced with bus service. Ferry services between Moosonee and Moose Factory will be consolidated with other provincial ferry services.

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ONTC: Up for sale – by Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles (North Bay Nugget- March 24, 2012)

http://www.nugget.ca/

The future is unclear for more than 950 employees at Ontario Northland Transportation Commission after the province announced Friday it will sell the Crown corporation.

Most of the ONTC divisions — rail freight, rail refurbishment and Ontera telecommunications — will be sold. The Ontario Northlander train service that runs between Toronto and Cochrane will be cancelled and replaced with bus service.

The Polar Bear Express from Cochrane to Moosonee is one service that will remain operational.

The news was delivered by ONTC chairman Ted Hargreaves and Minister of Northern Development and Mines Rick Bartolucci Friday morning in Sudbury. “Divestment isn’t foreclosure. It’s business as usual,” said Hargreaves.

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City plots ONTC strategy – by Gord Young (North Bay Nugget – March 25, 2012)

http://www.nugget.ca/

An uphill battle to save Ontario Northland Transportation Commission jobs gets underway Monday.

Mayor Al McDonald has called a special meeting of council for 6 p.m. in response to Friday’s announcement that the Ontario government plans to sell the Crown agency, which employs more than 950 people across the Northeast.

The meeting is expected to involve presentations from union officials, John Strang, president of the North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce, ONTC chairman Ted Hargreaves and president Paul Goulet.

“I think its important that the community understands where we stand on this issue,” said McDonald, suggesting divestment of the ONTC will be devastating for Northeastern Ontario.

The province has said it can no longer afford to pour money into the operation and is seeking new providers for ONTC services.

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Province cuts ONTC, set to sell MNDM building; Ontario Northland to operate for time being – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – March 24, 2012)

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

The axe has started to fall on Ontario services in advance of Tuesday’s spring budget. The Liberal government announced Friday it is divesting itself of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a Crown agency offering rail and bus ser vice, and telecommunications in Northern Ontario.

The agency employs almost 1,000 employees, most unionized. The move will save the government $103 million in operating costs annually. Sales of buildings and equipment could net the province “hundreds of millions” more in assets, said Ted Hargreaves, chair of the ONTC board.

The announcement was made Friday in Sudbury by Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci on the seventh floor of his ministry’s building at 159 Cedar St. While reporters were being briefed about Ontario Northland, Infrastructure Ontario issued a news release that the building in which the news conference was being held was going on the auction block.

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Liberals, Bartolucci have betrayed the North – by John R. Hunt (Sudbury Star – March 24, 2012)

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

John R. Hunt is a columnist for the North Bay Nugget whose appears on occasion in The Sudbury Star.

Promises are made to be broken and northeastern Ontario has been betrayed.

Ontario’s debt-ridden and too often incompetent government intends to throw the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission into the political dumpster and sell its assets.

No one knows future of more than 950 jobs. The implications for North Bay and every town and village as far north as Moosonee are serious. But the real meaning may be tragic for all Ontario.

It is a victory for southern suburban thinking. There is no vision, no hope and no ambition to create a truly great Ontario.

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Ontario Northland Transportation Corporation to be divested – by Liz Cowan (Northern Ontario Business – March 23, 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.

Ontario Northland Railway.

The provincial government has announced the divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).
 
At a press conference in Sudbury March 23, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci announced the “extremely difficult decision” and said while the business is good, the business model is not.
 
“Stagnant ridership, along with the ONTC’s unsustainable financial path, are key factors in today’s announcement,” he said. “The government is committed to completing this process in a fair manner, and it will be business as usual while this divestment takes place.” ONTC Board Chairman Ted Hargreaves said the current business model is not sustainable “and not able to go forward in the future.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Vic Fedeli, Ontario MPP, Nipissing – FAR NORTH REPEAL ACT DEFEATED

March 22, 2012

QUEEN’S PARK – Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli is extremely disappointed at defeat of Bill 44, the Far North Repeal Act, in the Ontario Legislature today.

The Private Members’ Bill put forward by PC Northern Development and Mines Critic Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka) would have removed the severe restrictions previously placed on development and exploration by the McGuinty government. However, Liberal and NDP members joined to defeat the Bill by a vote of 50-36 on Second Reading.

“I’m most upset that the NDP members across the North, many of whom have previously spoken out against the Far North Act in the past, decided to toe the party line instead of standing up for their constituents and voted against this,” Fedeli said.

“You really have to wonder how much influence these Northern members actually have in driving their party’s agenda.”

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NEWS RELEASE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT: Ontario Northland Transportation Commission

March 23, 2012 10:00 AM

Ontario has chosen to take a new approach to regional transportation in northeastern Ontario by winding down the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

This decision will allow the government to protect investments in northerners’ health and education systems while balancing the budget by 2017-18.

Since 2003, the government has worked hard to make the ONTC viable by increasing funding by 274 per cent. However, demand for its services has stagnated. Also, the current subsidy on the Northlander train is $400 per passenger, and no longer affordable.   

■Government funding has increased from $28 million annually in 2003-04 to $103 million this year.
■Ridership has remained stagnant at about 320,000 rides a year.
■Sales revenues have declined from $140 million in 2005 to just over $100 million this year.
■Private buses serve most of the same communities.

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[Northern Ontario] English River logging suspended during court battle – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – March 23, 2012)

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

The Ontario government has agreed to suspend logging north of the English River in a territory five times the size of Toronto as an 11-year legal fight winds its way through the courts.

Last August, the Ontario Superior Court ruled the province does not have the power to take away treaty rights negotiated over 150 years ago by allowing industrial activity without the consent of Grassy Narrows First Nation. The decision is being appealed and is expected to be heard this fall.

But while all commercial logging cannot occur in the Grassy Narrows traditional area north of the river without the community’s consent, it can south of the river, said David Sone, a spokesperson for the environmental organization Earthroots.

“The people of Grassy Narrows and First Nations across the province have suffered for decades for decisions imposed on them and their land without their agreement,” Sone said.

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An all-party voice for North – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (March 9, 2012)

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

NORTHERN MPPs from all parties in the Ontario legislature have consistently expressed frustration with the Toronto-centric nature of Queen’s Park. Decisions affecting the North at times fail to take account of northern realities, with the result that Northerners often feel alienated.

 Conservatives and Liberals in power cannot change their opposition past even as they defend the nature of their northern policies. Thunder Bay-Superior North Liberal MPP Michael Gravelle is in just such a pickle this week.

 In opposition against the Mike Harris Tories, Gravelle was seen as a champion of northern causes. He racked up impressive electoral majorities at home because people in his riding viewed him as an effective voice for northern consideration in a legislature dominated by southern members and issues.

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Making progress on mining issues in Ontario’s north – by Anna Baggio (CPAWs Wildlands League – March 8, 2012)

http://cpaws.org/

Anna Baggio is the Director Conservation Land Use Planning, CPAWs Wildlands League (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society)

This past week, Ontario made a historic announcement and protected over 2.3 million ha of native lands from staking and prospecting in the far north. This was in response to the long standing moratorium declared by Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI).  In its announcement, the government said it withdrew the lands “from prospecting and mining claim staking to give clarity to the province’s mineral exploration industry and avoid future disagreements over the land in question”. 

To give you a sense of the size of this area, picture not 1 Greenbelt or 2 Greenbelts around Metro Toronto, picture something bigger than 3 Greenbelts or more than 3 Algonquin Parks. The last time Ontario withdrew land on this scale was in 1999 during Lands for Life. The last time Ontario withdrew anything this size in one shot was in 1970 when they established Polar Bear Provincial Park. See the map here.

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