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Northern Ontario Separation and Alienation

Book examines loss of Northlander (Timmins Daily Press – March 20, 2014)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Two years after the Ontario government announced the divestment of the ONTC, the author of an upcoming book is calling on the government and stakeholders to find a resolution to the ONTC issue as quickly and as fairly as possible to avoid any further uncertainty for residents of Northern Ontario reliant on ONTC services.

This fall, author and photographer Thomas Blampied, who specializes in rail transportation, will release Call of the Northland: Riding the Train that Nearly Toppled a Government. The book charts the uncertainty of the past two years, which saw the iconic Northlander passenger train cancelled and Northern life made more difficult by the doubtful future of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

“The McGuinty government was not the first to attempt to divest the ONTC, but its lack of research and consultation meant its plan was doomed from the start,” explained the author, who began work on the book while aboard the Northlander in April 2012.

“The trip made me aware of how hurt Northerners were by the loss of their Northlander and how they felt the McGuinty government was ignoring them. The ONTC is an integral part of life in the North.

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Northern Growth Plan stunted – by Elaine Della-Mattia (Sault Star – March 14, 2014)

http://www.saultstar.com/

It was designed as a plan that would be the blueprint for growth across Northern Ontario for the next 25 years. However, since it was first released in March 2011, communities have not seen much action to implement the plan, penned as something to give government priorities, initiatives and investments in the North.

There have been suggestions that the comprehensive plan takes time to implement and it must be done in steps and stages, but few communities, to date, have seen any action.

Sault Ste. Marie CAO Joe Fratesi said that while the Northern Ontario mayors met with Premier Kathleen Wynne and senior cabinet ministers in Timmins last fall, Sault Ste. Marie and other communities have not seen much movement.

The group is to meet again in Thunder Bay in April with Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle. Mayor Debbie Amaroso said the Ministry of Transportation has never said when its study on the North’s transportation needs would be completed, despite her asking the question at the Timmins meeting.

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New Sudbury mine ‘very important’ to Vale – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – February 22, 2014)

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

Vale will continue to invest in Canada despite bad market conditions and low nickel prices because of the strength of its assets, and those assets aren’t just its ore bodies and its operations, said Peter Poppinga.

Vale officially opened its newest Sudbury operation Friday, the $760-million Totten Mine, a nickel and copper producer. Totten is state of the art, fully automated, has an outstanding safety record and excellent environmental standards.

“But Totten for us actually means much more,” said Poppinga, president and chief executive officer of Vale Canada, and executive director of Vale Base Metals and Information Technology for Vale SA.

“When I (say) asset I don’t mean only ore, I don’t only mean mines or surface facilities. I actually also mean the people, the workforce, the motivated workforce, and I also mean the stability of the business environment and the regulatory environment.

“This is very important for us,” Poppinga told more than 100 invited guests in the warm room of Worthington mine, 40 minutes west of Sudbury.

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Mine safety group promises public meetings – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – February 20, 2014)

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

The first two meetings of the Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review Advisory Group were held in private, but there will be ample opportunity for people to have their say about how to improve mine safety, says the head of the review.

George Gritziotis, Ontario’s chief prevention officer, said public consultations will be held in six mining communities — including Sudbury — and people can make submissions at those meetings, online, by fax and by mail.

Gritziotis was chosen by Labour Minister Yasir Naqvi to lead the group guiding a comprehensive mining safety review to be completed within a year.

It held its second meeting in Sudbury on Wednesday, at which members mapped how public consultation will be conducted, Gritziotis told reporters during the noon break of the group. “Our sense is we’re going to get nuggets out of these consultations that will help frame some of the work we’re doing going forward,” he said.

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Stalled at a railroad crossing – by Dave Dale (North Bay Nugget – February 13, 2014)

 http://www.nugget.ca/

It’s like watching the slowest train wreck in history. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne visited North Bay last week to do what leaders of a party and province are expected to do in an election year.

Wynne highlighted a funding grant to a mining service company, a primary vertebrae in the economic backbone of this diversified yet strained regional economy.

She also gave the official nod to the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission managers to sit down with the unions and finalize a three-year business plan “template.”

Mayor Al McDonald described it as the best news we’ve heard since the governing Liberals decided two years ago they wanted to chop up and sell the Ministry of Northern Development and Mine’s wart.

I call it a wart because it’s consistently viewed by successive Ontario governments as a financial liability instead of an economic engine.

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First Nation takes proactive approach with mining companies – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – February 11, 2014)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Wahnapitae First Nation has taken a proactive approach to promote environmental sustainability in its dealings with mining companies like Vale, Glencore and KGHM. Since the early 1990s, the First Nation, located northeast of Sudbury, has worked to develop relationships with mining industry partners.

Cheryl Recollet, Wahnapitae First Nation’s environmental co-ordinator, said her department has developed in-house capacity over the past 15 years to conduct environmental assessments for mining companies who work near their reserve boundaries.

In 2012, Wahnapitae First Nation’s sustainable development department founded Tahgaiwinini Technical and Environmental Services Group. The company has four technicians and two advisers on staff, who provide mining companies with a variety of environmental management services.

The technicians are trained to use geographical information systems to map the flow of groundwater, plumes of air pollution, and provide information on the First Nation’s territory, species at risk, and traditional hunting territory.

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Sudbury basin still fertile ground for base metal producer – by Jonathan Migneault (Northern Ontario Business – January 9, 2014)

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.

Sudbury-based Wallbridge Mining has focused its gaze toward platinum group elements (PGEs) in the Sudbury basin.

“We’re almost entirely focused on the projects that have significant potential for PGEs,” Joshua Bailey, the company’s vicepresident of exploration, told Northern Ontario Business at the 2013 Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium in Sudbury.

Bailey estimates approximately 20 million ounces of platinum group elements have been discovered in the Sudbury basin over the last 20 years. PGEs, which primarily include platinum and palladium, are important components for catalytic converters in vehicles and fuel cells.

“These are elements that are basically key for keeping emissions low and keeping smog down in big cities,” Bailey said. “I think demand is pretty strong right now.” South Africa and Russia are the world’s top PGE producers, but Sudbury has turned out to be a North American leader for the metals. Bailey said Sudbury has the advantage of labour and political stability over those two jurisdictions.

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Taxpayers run over by Liberals’ Ontario Northland boondoggle – by Christina Blizzard (Toronto Sun – December 11, 2013)

http://www.torontosun.com/home

TORONTO – So, you say you’re seeing a light at the end of the long, dark gas plant tunnel? I have bad news. It’s an Ontario Northland ghost train coming at you. And it’s burning your dollars just as fast as the gas plants did. Shutting down the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) is turning into the next $1-billion boondoggle.

In its 2012 budget, then-finance minister Dwight Duncan announced the government would sell off ONTC — shutting down a northern Ontario transportation lifeline. At the time, the government said they’d save nearly $266 million over the next three years. Provincial auditor general Bonnie Lysyk released her annual report Tuesday.

Turns out that we were being — how shall I put it — oh, railroaded. Like a scene from an old movie, taxpayers were tied to the tracks and run over by a slow-moving train. It’s not going to save any money. In fact, we’re going to be on the hook for some rich buyout packages.

“The known costs may be as high as $820 million, and recouping this amount by the government no longer paying the ONTC the normal annual operating and capital subsidies it has been providing could well take a decade or longer,” the report says.

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Northern Forum nice, but major issues unresolved – by Peter Politis (Timmins Daiy Press – December 10, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Peter Politis is the Mayor of Cochrane

TIMMINS – Last week’s Northern Leaders’ summit which brought together First Nations, ministers and Northern leaders from across the entire region to exchange on issues, was another good step forward for the North. My congratulations to the Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors’ Association, FONOM President Mayor Spacek, along with the province for bringing the group together. Hopefully there is more to come.

It was good to get past the proverbial “hand in the face” approach we’ve been getting from the province up to now, to actually engaging in the intelligent dialogue and issues themselves. It was evident that while there remains diversity in opinion and needs, Northern Leaders are coming together in unity to represent our region together which can only be a good thing.

What continues to concern me is that the major issues remain unresolved. For example: The ONTC passenger rail has been completely divested and the government made it clear they will not bring back passenger rail as they believe standing room only buses are good enough for Northern families, medical patients and students; parks remain closed and will going forward; the provincial caribou policy that sees recovering caribou where they don’t exist at the expense of Northern families and entire town’s remains as it was two years ago despite scientists, environmentalists and mayors coming together to offer a better option;

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More action needed to woo North voters – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – December 5, 2013)

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

The concession northerners managed to extract from the province about the future of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission this week is remarkable. But why did it happen?

The Liberal government has been doing a long, slow dance on the Dalton McGuinty’s government’s decision to sell off the agency since Premier Kathleen Wynne took power, finally getting Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development and Mines, to put in writing that the ONTC’s mandate is no longer to be sold off in pieces, but that it is to undergo a “transformation.”

It’s a fuzzy term for restructuring, and still possible divestment, but the main goal is no longer to kill off the 101-year-old agency that would put the 1,000 or so jobs in the North in jeopardy. About 600 of those jobs are located in North Bay.

The ONTC runs bus service communities located mostly along the Hwy. 11 and Hwy. 17 corridors from Toronto to Hearst.

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Focus on transformation, not sell-off, of ONTC – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – December 3, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Selling off the remaining assets of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission is no longer the primary option for restructuring the Crown corporation.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said Monday the mandate for the ONTC is now transformation rather than divestment. The announcement came following Monday’s meeting of the Minister’s ONTC Advisory Committee, which includes stakeholders from business, industry, labour and Northern municipalities.

“Together, we took the opportunity to further explore options as we move forward with the ONTC transformation,” Gravelle said in a press release. “There was very valuable discussion around the table related to the sustainability of the ONTC.

“Our goal throughout this process remains unchanged; ensuring northern communities and industries benefit from viable, efficient and sustainable transportation and communications systems. At today’s minister’s advisory meeting, I was pleased to reaffirm my commitment to look at all options.

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Facebook friend calls for return of bear hunt – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – October 26, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – A call to bring back the spring bear hunt through a newly created social media page is quickly gaining support. In less than a month since, the Bring Back Spring Black Bear Hunting page on Facebook has garnered more than 2,460 likes.

“Lately, it’s been like 200 a day,” said Raymond Boisjoli, the Kapuskasing resident who created the page. He said the concern has reached a point where Northerners are afraid to go for a walk if they live near the bush.

“I used to go in the bush in the summer and just walk. You can’t do that anymore because it’s too dangerous,” said Boisjoli, who also plans to launch a petition in the coming weeks.

The petition will be available at various locations throughout the North and eventually presented to the provincial government. “Something needs to be done,” he said. “A lot of people feel they can’t go into the bush or do as many activities as they used to.

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Ontario MNR gets failing grade – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal (October 11, 2013)

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

WHEN Ontario’s Liberal government considered the mounting budget deficit and how to keep it from further damaging the province’s economy and its regions, it called in an expert. Respected former banker Don Drummond was asked to provide a detailed analysis of government spending and recommendations on how to save money.

The Drummond report became Ontario’s budgetary blueprint going forward, as they say. Now the other shoe has dropped.
Not many Ontario citizens disagreed with the general nature of this independent advice. No department was spared at least a detailed examination and most were ordered to provide minor and not-so-minor scenarios to reduce spending.

Education escaped the knife and some arbitrated contract settlements excepted a general wage freeze. But for the most part tough love was felt government-wide. Ontario would pretty much cut spending across the board and thus responsibly recover from the recession that took such a toll, south to north.

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Northern Summit vital for growth – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – October 8, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Northern Ontario is facing numerous challenges which impact our potential for economic development.

Given the price being fetched by mining commodities (anyone remember 15 years ago when the price of gold was under $300 an ounce?) and the likely resurgence of the lumber industry in the coming years, — due to the predicted rebound of the U.S. housing market — Northern Ontario has the potential to be booming.

This is why it is vital for the provincial government to come to the table for a Northern Summit, as requested collectively by the mayors from the North’s largest cities.

In the summer, Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren was involved with a group of Northern mayors to present a new document — Northern Priorities — to the premier and cabinet ministers. Northern Priorities attempts to assist the government in linking municipalities with its Northern Growth Plan.

“We had asked in our document within 90 days of our presentation, which was mid-August, to have a Northern Summit,” Laughren said. “They were very receptive … (and) would try to have this summit and their participation would be before Jan. 1.”

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NEWS RELEASE: [Liberal] MAURO TO INTRODUCE BILL FOR RETURN OF ONTARIO’S SPRING BEAR HUNT

October 8th, 2013

(Queen’s Park) – Today, Bill Mauro, MPP Thunder Bay-Atikokan, introduced a Private Member’s Bill that, if passed, will bring about the return of Ontario’s Spring Bear Hunt.

The bill would introduce an open season from April 15th to June 15th.

The re-introduction of the hunt would:
• Reduce the likelihood that aggressive bear activity will result in physical harm or death to people in Ontario;
• Help protect crops and livestock;
• Reduce bears’ impact on bees — between the years 2000 and 2008, black bears reportedly destroyed over 4,000 beehives/colonies;
• Boost Northern Ontario’s moose population by reducing the number of moose calves killed by bears;
• Increase tourist activity in Northern Ontario.

Mauro has indicated that he is open to the introduction of measures that would reduce the likelihood that female bears are killed during a Spring Bear Hunt.

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