Sault Ste. Marie will host the new Ontario government's first cabinet meeting in Northern Ontario.
Premier Kathleen Wynne had promised to hold a cabinet meeting in a Northern Ontario community during her first 30 days as the province's top elected official.
It was announced Friday that meeting will be held in Sault Ste. Marie on March 1 as part of the government's focus on the interests of Northern communities.
David Orazietti, Sault MPP and Minister of Natural Resources, said he advocated for the meeting to be held in the Sault.
“After the Premier committed to having a cabinet meeting in Northern Ontario I indicated our community would be a great location to host the cabinet meeting and I'm certainly pleased the Premier decided to hold the meeting here,” he said.
Orazietti said specific items to be discussed during the cabinet meeting are kept confidential but said they will be issues of priority to the province, as vetted by the various committees and ministries.
“I am sure we will have a cabinet dealing with a full agenda,” he said.
In its Speech from the Throne, the government committed to addressing Northern Ontario's complex transportation needs, including vital access to the Ring of Fire.
The government will also create a Northern cabinet committee that will keep the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario on track.
“Our government is committed to looking at everything through a Northern lens. I look forward to working with my cabinet to address the issues that matter most in Northern Ontario such as job creation, transportation and the Ring of Fire,” Wynne said in a press release.