Regional leaders rip into northern growth plan

Criticism in no short supply at invitation-only meeting

By: Northern Ontario Business Staff

After the television cameras left and the doors were closed, the gloves came off.

Criticism for the Northern Ontario Growth Plan was plentiful at a rollicking invitation-only Regional Economic Development Meeting held at Sudbury's Holiday Inn on Dec. 3, attended by academic, economic and municipal representatives from Elliot Lake to French River.

Although there was the occasional kind word, many took turns airing their ire to the discussion's emcee, Lisa Zanetti, acting director of the Growth Plan with the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry.

"I don't want to live on a handout," said City of Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez, enthusiastically reiterating his desire to see some form of natural resource revenue sharing for municipalities where mining companies beat up local roads.

Having to go cap in hand to Queen's Park for every new infrastructure project does not represent a sustainable system, said the heated Rodriguez.

"We need a new framework for financing cities in Northern Ontario."

Emotions continued to run high through the remainder of the discussion as Rodriguez frequently and sometimes loudly muttered in agreement with others' concerns.

Although copies of the plan were made available at the event, some attendees came prepared with their own, covered liberally with red and black marks and note-filled margins.

Note sheets provided to participants were similarly filled with ink by the end of the event as the ongoing discussion prompted much energetic scribbling and note-taking.

Many attendees, including representatives from each of the city's three post-secondary institutions, expressed frustration that their specific economic development projects would not fit into any of the slots identified in the plan.

This includes projects such as the proposed Northern Ontario School of Architecture, which could provide strong economic benefits, though the Growth Plan doesn't provide "much of a coat hanger to hang it on," said John Isbister, acting vice-president of academics at Laurentian University.

Isbister added that while he was glad about the overall plan, it lacks support for the fundamental focus of higher education and "almost takes it for granted."

Cambrian College president Sylvia Barnard said although the plan's emphasis on e-learning is a positive one, only 20 per cent of people who use such systems actually succeed.

As such, simply providing computers to would-be students in far-flung locations can't be viewed as the ultimate solution for expanding education, and that a more blended approach is necessary.

She also took issue with the plan's lack of details for attracting people to the North. Rather than focus on population retention, she says the plan needs to make a push for greater regional immigration.

"I don't want to keep the population, I want to grow it."

This prompted an admission from Zanetti that immigration was discussed internally, but ultimately could not be "landed inside" the document. The polarizing issue proved challenging to the team as they continued to hear about unemployment among the existing northern Ontario labour force, she says. As such, it was not included.

"You've hit on an area we struggled with," said Zanetti.

Others, such as LaCloche Manitoulin Business Assistance Corporation's general manager, Mary Nelder, questioned the plan's vague focus on the issue of quality of place, something particularly key to communities on the Manitoulin Island.

This was echoed by Elliot Lake economic development director Dan Gagnon, who argued that provincial funding for industrial projects is easy to come by, but funding applications relating to quality of place is often met with resistance. This continues to be a big roadblock for the town, which, although often painted as a success story for diversification beyond mining, still relies on this exact issue for its survival.

"There are a lot of head-nods and warm and fuzzies, but we're still a single-industry town, and that industry is retirement," said Gagnon.

The theme of money was picked up by Greg Baiden, president of Penguin Automated Systems Inc. and Canadian Research Chair in robotics and automation at Laurentian.

He expressed concerns over underfunding of the plan, assailing the proposed $3.5-billion earmarked for its implementation, and what he perceived to be a lack of pride in the province's mining industry.

"Three billion dollars is a joke," he said.

The money would be better spent on beefing up infrastructure to facilitate growth rather than on an indistinct plan, he said, prompting an outburst of cheers and applause from Rodriguez.

As an example, Baiden pointed to Freewest Resources, whose chromite deposit could be "another Sudbury" in the James Bay Lowlands, though there isn't a road within 300 kilometres of the site.

Baiden also suggested a research and development fund specific to the North, and echoed the region's increasingly repeated refrain of how decisions crafted in Toronto often fail to consider or understand the area's needs.

This sparked more frustrated agreement from the Sudbury mayor, who pointed out that the decrease in the north's population has led to shrinking government representation.

"Who listens to us? What counts?" asked an exasperated Rodriguez.

"Your voices," responded Zanetti. "This is the broadest consultation the north has ever experienced. Don't discount the impact of your individual voices."

-Article by Northern Ontario Business reporter Nick Stewart