Growth Plan for Northern Ontario Announced by Minister Michael Gravelle
by Scott A. Sumner
After a lengthy briefing by Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry staff it was time for Minister Michael Gravelle to announce the new Growth Plan for Northern Ontario to a packed audience of economic leaders of Northwestern Ontario.
“ This is a very, very special day. I am especially pleased about some of the specific initiatives we are able to announce today. I know there is a great deal of excitement for the Northern Policy Institute we were able to put in place and people have worked very hard on giving us an opportunity to have more decisions made related to the policies of the government. The presidents of Lakehead University and Laurentian University will provide some advice on how we can move forward. The funding put in place is $5 million,” said Minister Michael Gravelle. “ The mutimodal transportation strategy is also important because we know how important transportation is in Northern Ontario and this will look at air, rail, road and water in terms of how we can bring things together in a efficient way and make some decisions on transportation structure in Northern Ontario.”
“Our Growth Plan is also about making infrastructure decisions about the resources of Northern Ontario. This gives us a guide on how to get to these decisions. We are excited about the regional economic planning units in May. This is a massive document that has taken a lot of work to get here. The investments made in Northern Ontario will be guided by this document. We are clear in what direction we need to go. The goal is to get to the implementation stage in a clear way to make decisions that will affect all Northerners,” said Gravelle. “ I describe this as
moving into the implementation stage. We need a method by which we can get to the next stage and the May planning board is important. Today we begin the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario. It is about how we should be planning our investments in Ontario. This document guides us on how we proceed for the next 25 years.”
“ More than 2400 people developed the plan, 1400 reviewed it, there were 300 written submissions and 180 meeting took place across the North including industry, local government, aboriginal and francophone people. It supports northerners. We intend to harness the passions of the regions youth and develop a educated workplace. We can look forward
to a North that can reach it’s vast potential. We are on the cusp of great things,” smiled Gravelle. “ Everyone understood that we are developing a document that will guide our investment decisions for the next 25 years. All of the Ministries will be involved as to where the
investment will be. There are short term and medium measures. This document meets that expectation. This is about bringing Northerners together. It gives a very clear document that I can bring to all my colleagues. This is a living breathing document that will be legislation.”
Dr. Brian Stephenson President of Lakehead University was on hand for the announcement and will play a key role in the new Policy Board. “ I think is a very exciting time for the North because first of all the Norther Growth Plan will give us a lot of opportunities for development of the social economic future in the North. Specifically with the Northern Policy Institute this is a very exciting opportunity to those of us who want to develop policies for the North in the future
and I am very happy to be part of it,” said Stevenson. “ I haven’t gone through the whole report yet but the Policy Institute role is to monitor the plan and make suggestions and give it advice on how to implement it and make it happen. I think with a plan that is this ambitious and broad a Policy Institute is a good idea. We are going to look into how to make the institute last and be independent.”
