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Northern Ontario Separation and Alienation

Mills to lose $100 million over caribou plan – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – February 6, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Caribou conservation efforts for the Abitibi River Forest will cost local forestry companies more than $100 million in reduced annual gross sales. That is collectively a quarter in lost profits for the seven mills and six independent operators that have harvesting rights on the Abitibi River Forest.

Local communities are similarly expected to be impacted by immediate reductions of 20 to 25% in harvest areas, according to the 10-year Abitibi River Forest management plan which comes into effect April 1.

The plan acknowledges, the reduction “will potentially provide less economic benefits … due to direct correlation with available harvest volumes. As a result, the lower volumes translate into reduced manufacture of primary products, less taxes and less employment opportunities.”

The mills that operate on the Abitibi River Forest include the Tembec mill in Cochrane, the AbitibiBowater paper mill in Iroquois Falls, Little John Enterprises in Timmins and EACOM Timber Corporation’s sawmills in both Timmins and Gogama.

It is noted in the plan that local mills may not have “the operational flexibility they have been accustomed to in recent years, nor does it allow for significant increases in primary production capacity.”

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Wynne firm on committee for North – by Sebastien Perth (Sudbury Star – February 6, 2013)

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

Ontario premier-designate Kathleen Wynne says she is committed to giving Northern Ontario a strong voice in the decision-making taking place in Queen’s Park. Wynne took questions from northern reporters during a conference call on Tuesday afternoon.

She said her transition team is already working on getting things running when her cabinet is sworn in Monday. The legislature will be back more than a week later, on Feb. 19. During her leadership campaign, Wynne pledged to have a cabinet committee that would focus on Northern Ontario issues and she stuck by that pledge Tuesday.

“I’ll create a cabinet committee from the North. That is important to me because if I have ministers who are aware of the politics and impacts on the North, that is important because we have to realize decisions made here at Queen’s Park have to be correct for the North. “For me, this cabinet committee is a mechanism to reach that goal.”

Wynne also promised during her leadership bid that she would hold a cabinet meeting within a month of swearing in her cabinet. She stuck to that time frame Tuesday.

“I said we would hold it within 30 days of swearing in the cabinet, with the cabinet being sworn in Feb. 11, so before March 11.” Where would it be? she was asked.

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History of Ring of Fire and Rail or Road for Transportation? [Parts 1 and 2] – by Stan Sudol (February 2 and 4, 2013)

KWG Resources CEO Frank Smeenk holds a core sample from the Big Daddy chromite discovery. KWG with joint venture partner Spider Resources made history by drilling the first chromite discovery hole on March 6,2006, the first showings of this strategic mineral in the Ring of Fire. (Photo by Stan Sudol)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

This column was published in the February 2 and 4 editions of the Sudbury Star:

http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/02/02/ring-of-fire-rail-or-road

http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/02/04/cos-spar-over-ore-transport

stan.sudol@republicofmining.com

Without a doubt, the number one technical issue that will make or break the Ring of Fire’s enormous economic potential – currently estimated at $60 billion (MNDM) for world-class chromite deposits along side nickel, copper and PGMs – is transportation infrastructure.

Located in the isolated James Bay swampy lowlands of northern Ontario, the closest infrastructure to the Ring of Fire is 330 kms south in the tiny community of Nakina where the Canadian National railroad and the end of Highway 584 intersect.

Since Cliffs announced their decision to move their $3.2 billion chromite project into the feasibility phase, last May, and the Ontario Government’s decision to “support in principle” the North-South infrastructure corridor, junior explorer KWG Resources has been largely ignored. This might be a mistake as KWG CEO Frank Smeenk, through the company’s Canada Chrome subsidiary, controls the key strategic transportation route into the region as well as 30% of the Big Daddy chromite deposit.

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Wynne’s election shows promise for the North – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – January 30, 2013)

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

As far as premiers from Toronto go, Kathleen Wynne was the best choice among the Liberal contenders for the North. We do not know yet what will come of Wynne’s attention to the North during the leadership campaign, but there is promise. Wynne vowed to create a northern cabinet committee — there are four Liberal MPPs in the North — and hold a cabinet meeting in the North in the first 30 days.

She vowed to focus on enhancing roads, bridges and transportation, much of which is aimed at developing the Ring of Fire chromite deposit in the James Bay Lowlands. Cliffs Natural Resources plans to build a smelter north of Capreol to handle material from the Ring of Fire, bringing about 400 permanent jobs to the Sudbury area.

She promised to complete the four-laning of Highway 69, which is vital to Sudburians for economic and safety reasons. And she wants northern mayors to co-operate on the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario.

Her challenges here are significant, though perhaps not as significant as her political challenges. Some expect Wynne to significantly alter her cabinet. What does that mean for the North’s two cabinet ministers, Sudbury MPP and Northern and Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci and Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP and Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle? And if development in the Ring of Fire is delayed, as mining industry observer Stan Sudol suspects, the best opportunity for job growth and economic development in First Nations areas is delayed.

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Don’t forget North, new premier told – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – January 30, 2013)

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

Now that Kathleen Wynne is Ontario’s newest premier, she needs to make good on her promises to Northern Ontario, the president of Sudbury’s chamber of commerce says.

“It’s fine to make promises during an election campaign, where you really want to see the action. Now let’s have the rubber hit the road and put those plans into action,” Debbi Nicholson said, after Wynne made history by becoming Ontario’s first woman — and openly gay — premier.

“She is talking about Northern Ontario as an integral part of the province, she’s talking about Ring of Fire, she’s talking about working with the Aboriginal community, she’s talking about education and health care and economic development. All of those things are very positive news for Northern Ontario.”

Barb Blasutti, president of the Rainbow local Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said she’d like to see Wynne withdraw the collective bargaining agreements forced on teachers by current Education Minister Laurel Broten.

“I do know that (ETFO) President Sam Hammond has reached out to her and has had a conversation, and it’s my understanding that they will be meeting this week. So what I would say to her is thank you for reciprocating that invitation, (and ask) that she listen with an open mind and that she allows us to get back to the bargaining table and negotiate fair and respective collective agreements.

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Wynne raises hope for [northern] dialogue – by Gord Young (North Bay Nugget – January 27, 2013)

http://www.nugget.ca/

There’s renewed hope the concerns of Northern communities will be heard now that Kathleen Wynne has been named Ontario’s next premier.

Wynne’s victory Saturday as leader of the Ontario Liberal party was greeted mostly positively but cautiously by local officials who are counting on the incoming premier to listen and understand the needs of the North.

“I respect her as a leader and as a person,” said North Bay Mayor Al McDonald, who is anticipating a better relationship between Northern Ontario and the province with Wynne at the helm. “I’m looking forward to working with her.”

Long-standing Northern concerns of being ignored and misunderstood at Queen’s Park have been exacerbated by recent decisions such as the divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, which came without consultation.

But McDonald is hopeful that will change. He said he met with Wynne to discuss concerns such as the ONTC divestment and proposed consolidation of hydro utilities during a campaign stop in the city two weeks ago. And although she didn’t make any promises, McDonald was encouraged by Wynne and her willingness to listen.

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Wynne needs seasoned Northerners – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – January 28, 2013)

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

Will Northern Liberal MPPs who backed the runner-up candidate in Saturday’s leadership convention pay a heavy price? Not necessarily, says one veteran political observer and former MPP.

Thunder Bay Coun. Iain Angus said Sunday that Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle of Thunder Bay and Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci of Sudbury may very well retain cabinet posts under new party leader and soon-to-be premier Kathleen Wynne.

“First off, (Wynne) is going to need some representation from Northern Ontario, and she’s also going to need some people with experience,” said Angus, who was an NDP MPP for two years in the mid-1970s. Gravelle and Bartolucci fit the bill on both counts, said Angus. “The question is, what ministry will they end up with?

“The thing about a cabinet shuffle is that it can take a very long time (for new ministers) to get up to speed,” he said.
Gravelle and Bartolucci, along with MPP Bill Mauro (Thunder Bay-Atikokan) and Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti all backed runner-up Sandra Pupatello, the former Windsor MPP who was seen to have the backing of the Liberal party establishment.

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Jobs at stake in caribou conflict – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – January 21, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

COCHRANE – While many believe forestry is on the verge of a major comeback, there is a fear Northeastern Ontario won’t benefit from the upturn if provincial legislation remains unchanged. Northern leaders hope, however, Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle will intervene.

The situation was discussed at length by community leaders during last week’s meeting of the Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA).

As part of the Endangered Species Act, the provincial government is looking to protect massive amounts of forest to preserve caribou habitat. One of the key areas of discussion is the Abibiti River Forest region. As the legislation sits, 65% of the region would be off limits to wood harvesting.

But an amended agreement reached between representatives of industry, environmental groups and Northern leaders would reduce that to 20%. The problem is the Ministry of Natural Resources doesn’t currently recognize the compromise solution reached.

The compromise agreement allows harvests to continue where there is usable wood and little chance of caribou coming back, while protecting areas where the species is known to be present and little lumber-worthy forest.

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Still stinging over ONTC sell-off – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – January 18, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

COCHRANE — The sting from the death of the Northlander passenger rail service was evident as leaders from across the North met Friday. Continuing lobby efforts to preserve services provided by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) were discussed by members of the Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA) in Cochrane.

While much of the talk centred on what is being done currently to save freight rail and Ontera telecommunication services, a Cochrane councillor took an MPP to task for not voting against the provincial budget, which contained legislation to sell-off the ONTC.

Under the current minority government situation, voting down the budget would have triggered an Ontario election. The ruling Liberals voted in favour of the budget, while the Tories opposed it. New Democrats, meanwhile, abstained from the vote, allowing it to pass.

MPP John Vanthof (NDP — Timiskaming-Cochrane) was at Friday’s NEOMA meeting. “Why did you not save the ONTC and bring the government down on this issue?” asked Coun. Rey Brisson. “Why didn’t the NDP stand up for Northern Ontario and bring the government down?

“The NDP settled for a few cookies in the budget down south. I was disappointed in the stance.” Vanthof said his party had to look at the bigger picture. While such a move may have delayed the legislation, he said both the ruling Liberals and opposition Tories were bent on privatizing ONTC assets.

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Wynne vows to give voice to Northerners – by Kyle Gennings (Timmins Daily Press – January 12, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – Provincial Liberal leadership frontrunner Kathleen Wynne says Northerners are not alone in thinking Queen’s Park is disconnected from the needs of their region.

Wynne paid a visit to Timmins on Friday. During a breakfast meeting with party supporters at Cedar Meadows Resort, she shared her views. Wynne spoke at length with party members about changes in how Queen’s Park deals with the North, apologizing for the past and promising a brighter future.

“No matter where the premier comes from, they have to understand the people of the regions that make up this province,” said Wynne. “So I made that my business as a minister and I will continue to make that my commitment as premier.

“I had made a commitment as a leadership candidate that I would attempt to get to every region of the province and the Northeast is extremely important to the health of the province.” Although Wynne understands the feelings of isolation in the North, she said the same sentiments are felt by every inch of the province.

“If I go to rural Ontario, there are people who feel that rural Ontario in the south has had a rough ride. If I go to downtown Toronto, I can hear people say that they feel that there have been decisions made that they feel have impacted them negatively,” said Wynne.

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Southern Ontario overlooks Northern Ontario at its peril – by Bruce Stewart (Troy Media – January 8, 2013)

http://www.troymedia.com/

Troy Media Syndicated Columnist Bruce Stewart is a management consultant located in Toronto.

TORONTO, ON, Jan. 8, 2013/ Troy Media/ – Most of Ontario’s landmass is in the north; most of its people are in the south. Northern Ontarians often find this frustrating. Southern Ontarians seldom think about the north at all.

There isn’t even agreement as to where “Northern Ontario” begins. Some people argue that anywhere the Canadian Shield can be seen should be thought of as “The North”. Others hold to a particular set of municipalities, or the dividing line of a highway (typically, Highway 17 as it goes from North Bay westward to Sault-Ste-Marie).

Ask people in Toronto what they know about Northern Ontario. You will get answers like “they’ve got lots of mines, don’t they?”, “isn’t that mostly logging country?”, “isn’t that mostly Indian reserves?” – and most commonly “gee, I dunno”.

Northern Ontario, to me (along with many others), has mostly been a fly-over experience. Half of the time spent flying from Toronto to Vancouver is spent getting out of Ontario – and all but the first 20 to 30 minutes are spent flying over “the North”.

From the air, it appears to be what the Kingston, Ontario musical comedy trio the Arrogant Worms sing about in their eponymous song: “We’ve got rocks and trees, and trees and rocks . . . and water.”

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Shaky investment markets [in Northern Ontario] forces driller offshore – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 2, 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.

Although some companies and the province laud Ontario as being one of the best mining-friendly
jurisdictions in the world, Courte said that perception has changed. In conversation with her
industry colleagues, Ontario is considered a “risk area” for investment, based on some high-
profile First Nations-industry conflicts, along with the uncertainty of how the new Mining Act
plans and permits regulations will play out.

A Thunder Bay drilling company boss said exploration work is drying up in Northern Ontario and she’s finding greener pastures in the Caribbean. Barb Courte, president of Cobra Drilling and North Star Drilling, is dispatching four drills to the Dominican Republic this fall for a project with Unigold, a Canadian junior company.

“I’m getting calls from other companies in the Dominican to do more work.” While 2012 has been a solid year for her two companies, she has major trepidations for what lies ahead. “I think we’re going to have a very hard year ahead of us.”

A tepid investors’ market means exploration budgets for junior miners’ drilling programs are being slashed or the companies aren’t doing anything. “If they have any money, if they were going to do a 5,000-metre contract, they’re doing a 1,500-metre.”

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Thunder Bay and the challenge of seniority – by Joe Friesen (Globe and Mail – December 26, 2012)

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.

THUNDER BAY, ONT. — The history of Canadian wealth is written on the land here north of Lake Superior: the fur trade post that supplied Europe’s beaver pelts, the forest that yielded billions in lumber, the towering grain elevators, the smoking pulp mill, the railway that opened the West.

Fortunes have been made and lost in Thunder Bay through periods of boom and bust. In 2013, another challenge looms, one that it shares with the rest of the country: Thunder Bay is aging, and it may get old before it can get rich again.

With 7 per cent of its population aged 60 to 64, Thunder Bay has a greater proportion of people nearing the traditional retirement age than almost any other Canadian city. Rebecca Johnson, a local councillor who led the push to make Thunder Bay officially Age Friendly, has seen so many retirement parties she swears she won’t attend another.

But as the first wave of the baby-boom generation nears retirement, Thunder Bay is also on the cusp of a potential economic boom. There are 13 mines planned in the next six years for the region north of here, many in the area known as the Ring of Fire. Thunder Bay will be the hub for all that development, which includes building roads, camps, mines, as well as services for the influx of workers. An economic-impact study estimates that 16,000 new jobs will be created through the first nine mine projects.

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The end of an era Dalton McGuinty’s sudden resignation announcement was the biggest story in a wild year for Ontario politics, writes Steve Paikin. – by Steve Paikin (Ottawa Citizen – December 26, 2012)

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/index.html

Dalton McGuinty had just completed his press conference, explaining why, after 22 years in public life, 16 of them as leader of the Ontario Liberals, and nine of them as premier of Ontario, he was stepping down.

As he walked jacketless from the Government Caucus Room toward his office at the opposite end of the second floor of the Ontario Parliament Buildings, he hugged his wife Terri and watched a phalanx of photographers blast him with their flashes.

After the flashes died down, I sidled up to the premier.

“You surprised?” he asked me.

“Nope,” I responded. “Absolutely shocked.”

“Good,” he said. “That’s what I was going for.”

The timing of Dalton McGuinty’s departure, announced at a hastily called caucus meeting this past October, was one of the best kept secrets in Ontario political history. Almost everyone seemed to be caught off guard.

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The award for the worst politician of the year goes to … [Dalton McGuinty] – by Rex Murphy (National Post – December 29, 2012)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

All hail Emperor Dalton

The year past, much like the years before it, has been marked by frequent lamentations that democracy is at peril in Canada, that the federal government in particular is increasingly remote, unresponsive, and in certain areas even reaching towards the imperious.

Those whose calling it is to savage the Harper government agree almost to a phrase that its failings and the Prime Minister’s are “contempt” for democracy, a highhanded “American-style” of governance, and a brutal unresponsiveness to critics or citizens.

There is more than a little truth to elements of these charges. But as is the case with matters Harper, those who oppose him do so with an intensity in excess of its object. Much Harper criticism has long since gone Pavlonian — say his name and the barking begins.

The Harper government has been called, in turn, vindictive, stubborn, deliberately secretive and withdrawn, utterly unwilling to co-operate with the opposition. These are valid criticisms. But I see in them a great echo of a former government, which never really took the same heat. Mr. Harper follows — not with total fidelity, but close enough — the Jean Chrétien style of government.

But on the bigger, dramatic charge that his government is “undemocratic,” that it actively seeks to diminish democracy, to shut its critics down and muzzle the electorate, and that it harbours that old fascist instinct — those charges are hyped overkill, a vast overreach.

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