The Northern Prosperity Plan

June 10, 2004

Speaking Notes

for

Rick Bartolucci

Minister of Northern Development and Mines

The Northern Prosperity Plan

Sudbury, Ontario
June 10, 2004

Sudbury, Ontario

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Good morning everyone and thank you for being here today.

I would like to start out by thanking Cambrian College president Sylvia Barnard for welcoming us to eDome this morning.  I am so pleased that you all took the time to be with me today. 

I would like to also welcome friends and colleagues who join us via the Internet this morning.  I want to thank Cambrian’s Linda Wilson and her staff for making these technical arrangements.  I am delighted that today’s event is accessible to the broader northern public by way of the Internet.  This sends a clear signal that the McGuinty government is serious about opening the doors of government to all northerners.  It speaks to the power of new communications media to reach Northern Ontario’s grassroots.

I cannot think of a better venue from which to launch our government’s ambitious  Northern Prosperity Plan than from a post-secondary institution mandated to train and grow our next generation of business, community and economic development leaders.

I would also like to welcome and acknowledge the presence of members of the McGuinty government’s northern caucus who join us this morning.

This afternoon, I will be in Thunder Bay where I will be joined by Michael Gravelle, our veteran MPP from Thunder Bay-Superior and Bill Mauro, our member from Thunder-Bay-Atikokan who also happens to be my Parliamentary Assistant, for a major announcement that will flow from this morning’s address. 

I firmly believe that Northern Ontario has never had such a strong contingent of talented and motivated members representing it in the Legislature.

Your northern caucus is experienced and enthusiastic.  It understands your issues and shares our common goal of a prosperous and vibrant Northern Ontario.

Also joining us from across the North today are northern leaders and stakeholders, many of whom were in attendance at the official opening of my ministerial office in Sudbury last February. 

I am so pleased that you have taken the time to be with us again this morning.

When we were last together in February, I said it was clear northerners wanted their new government to work better; northerners wanted their new government to deliver better programs and services; and northerners wanted their new government to build a better and stronger North.
 
It’s no secret that across Ontario, great expectations were placed on our new government, and rightly so. 

The tremendous anticipation and appetite for change from all sectors of the province spoke to how ready Ontarians were for better government – for a clearer and better path to prosperity. 

Those expectations did not leave us without enormous challenges.

Fixing eight years of northern neglect required some very tough fiscal decisions by our government. 

These critical decisions were laid out last month in our first budget.

The Budget is a prudent, comprehensive, four-year plan that invests in health and education, fosters economic growth, balances the budget and finally, finally gives Northern Ontario its due attention.

In eight short months, your new government has set the stage for fundamental change in Northern Ontario. 

We have been listening and we have been reconnecting with northerners. 

I personally have been listening to one particular northerner.  Not a single day has gone by for me when I didn’t think about my father. 

For many reasons and for many lessons,  he is a constant source of strength and inspiration.

I am reminded of a man who came to Sudbury in 1930 with not much more than a suitcase and a few dollars in his pocket.
 
But he had something far more valuable than his meager net worth.  He had hope.  And you cannot even begin to think about prosperity without hope.

Text books define prosperity as a state of thriving social and economic development, both for individuals and for society as a whole.

If I asked my father to define prosperity, I know his answer would be more to the point.

He would say that prosperity is knowing your children, and their children, have the opportunity to live healthy, productive lives in the same community in which they were raised.

It’s simple, but it’s probably how most northerners would define prosperity as well.

As the Minister of Northern Development and Mines, I see prosperity as a journey. A journey that we must undertake together, to the benefit of all and to the exclusion of none.

And no such journey should be without a plan.  That is why the budget also laid down the foundations for a Northern Prosperity Plan.  

We’ve all heard the expression “you can’t get there from here.”  Some would claim we do not have the mettle to get there from here.

But they underestimate us. 

We are northerners. 

We are tough, we are tenacious and we are tired of watching our rich  potential diminished and flowed elsewhere, taking opportunity and our youth along with it.

I believe the time is right for all northerners to rally together,  and work cooperatively so that this great region of the province can rightly assume its place as a powerful player in Ontario’s economy, with a quality of life that is second to none.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, we can get there from here.  We will get there from here.

The government's Northern Prosperity Plan as laid out in the budget involves a range of targeted initiatives. And I will speak to those presently.

But our vision – our plan – for northern prosperity is more than just lines in the provincial budget. 

It’s about the McGuinty government recognizing that the extraordinary potential of the North remains largely untapped. 

It’s about the McGuinty government sending clear signals across the province that bringing back hope and driving prosperity in the North will be a government wide priority. 

It’s about the McGuinty government’s commitment to putting the necessary tools in the hands of northerners and engaging northerners in bringing change to the North. 

It is about truly empowering northerners to lead the way to bringing prosperity to the North.  And you can’t spell “empower” without the word “we”. This plan is about us. 

We will drive new opportunity in the North.  We will be a unified voice at Queen’s Park.  We will be heard, because northerners have this government’s ear.

Our Northern Prosperity Plan will be founded on four key strategic pillars:
• First, strengthening the North and its communities
• Second, listening to, and serving northerners better
• Third, competing globally and
• Fourth, providing new opportunities for all.

These pillars are supported by the commitments we have clearly enunciated in both last fall’s Speech from the Throne and in last month’s budget. 

I would like to speak in some detail about each of the four pillars in our northern prosperity plan.

First, strengthening the North and its communities is all about the province showing confidence and investing in the North. For example, we recognize that infrastructure development is key to supporting the northern economy.

The budget provides for a total investment of $285 million in highway expansion and rehabilitation projects, and other transportation investments.  These include initiatives such as our winter roads program in the Far North, activities at Ontario Northland and marine transport on Manitoulin Island. Of that total, $256 million is earmarked for our annual Northern Highways Program.
 
For the first time ever, the development of new highways across Ontario will be integrated into a Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal ten-year plan to address all of the province’s infrastructure needs over the long term.  Under this plan, long-term improvements to the highway network will be prioritized.

We will work with our partner ministries at Transportation and Public Infrastructure Renewal to develop a Northern Ontario Highways Strategy to address the long-term planning and funding needs for all of the North’s 11,000-kilometre highway system. 

Another $135 million will be dedicated to investment to promote private sector job creation and community infrastructure through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

The McGuinty government has been very clear it intends to refocus the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund to support  job creation and economic development. 

Additionally, we intend to continue vital Heritage Fund investments in community infrastructure. I expect to be announcing new Northern Ontario Heritage Fund programs in the future. 

The Province also continues to support other important capital initiatives. The Northern Ontario Medical School, with campuses at Laurentian University in Sudbury and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, is expected to open in September 2005.  It will contribute immensely to our overall health care strategy by helping train and retain doctors right here in Northern Ontario.

Our Northern Prosperity Plan recognizes the importance of safe drinking water and a clean environment in Northern Ontario. The budget announced investments totaling $16 million to improve water systems in Sudbury and Thunder Bay and $10 million to help with the cleanup of abandoned mine sites on Crown land.

We recognize the importance of providing economic tools that help small and medium-sized enterprises thrive and create jobs.

To this end, the province proposed in the budget that it would develop a Northern Ontario Grow Bonds pilot project to help new and expanding businesses in northern communities.

Strengthening the North and its communities also means focusing on the needs and priorities of our northern municipalities.

Perhaps one of the more dramatic changes we proposed in the 2004 Budget is to return the provincial geographic description of Northern Ontario to that which was officially in place before September 2000. 

This means the District Municipality of Muskoka would once again be excluded from eligibility under specifically northern programs.
 
Although this was a very difficult decision, it was necessary given the current fiscal challenge.  We were compelled to direct our limited resources to those areas with the greatest need.

The District Municipality of Muskoka already enjoys the benefits of an excellent transportation infrastructure, and is well positioned for future growth.  Its municipalities face challenges more similar to those of other similar size communities located within a three-hour radius of the GTA, than they do to the challenges of, for example, the Tri-Towns, Michipicoten, Sioux Lookout or Rainy River.

I would suggest that those truly northern municipalities have a greater strategic need for our limited resources, and that is where our focus will be.

As a matter of fact, I see many colleagues in the audience this morning from our northern municipal sector.  I welcome you all.

In Northern Ontario, there is no denying that strong communities are critical to the strength of the region.  In last November’s Speech from the Throne, the McGuinty government promised a new relationship with municipalities. 

As a result, this past spring, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Gerretsen laid out a Strong Communities initiative, committing the provincial government to work with municipalities to restore their ability to plan, manage and invest for the future. 

The McGuinty government knows that it will take a lot of hard work to make our towns and cities work again. It also means we are going to have to rebuild a trusting and progressive relationship.

Here in the North, I can confidently say that my experiences with individual municipalities, their umbrella associations such as NOMA and FONOM, and our First Nation communities, tell me we are on the right path to rebuilding those relationships.

Our actions in this regard include reviewing the Municipal Act.   We want to ensure Ontario’s municipal leaders have the power and flexibility they need to serve their communities effectively and creatively.  And just recently our government announced the next steps in reforming the land-use planning system and the Ontario Municipal Board to help build strong communities.

In the North, it also means that we will consult with northern communities to determine the best way to implement improvements to the Provincial Land Tax.

This is the first time in a long time that the renewal of our towns and cities has been a top priority for the province.

Of special interest to our northern stakeholders, the McGuinty government understands that rural communities need help upgrading their water treatment facilities, roads and bridges. 

Our commitment includes proposing the introduction of legislation that would establish an Ontario Strategic Infrastructure Financing Authority (OSIFA).  This authority would provide efficient and affordable financing for public infrastructure priorities.  It would also issue infrastructure renewal bonds that would provide Ontarians with an opportunity to invest in local infrastructure across the province.

Our commitment also includes working with you and the federal government on strategies to develop a tri-level infrastructure program. 

And we will ensure that provincial resources uniquely available to the North, such as those of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, continue to play a significant role in this regard.

As Minister of Northern Development and Mines, I will ensure that northern priorities are government priorities and that collectively, the provincial government will demonstrate a strong commitment to the North.

The second pillar of our northern prosperity plan -- listening to, and serving northerners better -- addresses this commitment.  It clearly demonstrates the conviction of our words.

This means a government that is connected to the North, a government that hears the North, a government that listens to the North, and a government that acts on northern priorities.

We will actively engage northerners by giving them more opportunities to provide input and better front-line service. 

This includes establishing Northern Development Councils to provide a direct link to government.  In fact, I look forward to being in Thunder Bay later today, where I will be announcing the model for our new Northern Development Councils.

One of the first issues I will ask the councils to tackle is how to create jobs and opportunities that will keep our young people in the North.

We will further engage northerners by availing ourselves of the latest technologies to introduce E-consultation initiatives to enlist and capture broader input and feedback.  And we will be maintaining our lead role in the operation of Government Information Centres in 31 locations across the North.

And, in a very fundamental way, we will strengthen the ministry’s role as the “Voice for the North” not the least of which will be through the activities of our strong and dynamic northern caucus.

It is a voice we want heard around the world.  It is a voice that will be supported by the third pillar of our northern prosperity plan: competing globally.

We live in a global community, our economic reality—regardless of the quality of our resource base—is more and more at the hands of forces outside of the region, and while we may want to keep things “as they’ve always been”, we would be fooling ourselves to believe this is possible or to our long term advantage.

We must and will continue to promote Northern Ontario’s competitive advantages to attract new business, innovation and diversification.  This includes supporting the new Ontario Mineral Industry Cluster Council with a view to growing new value-added industries. 

It includes sustaining our existing trade and investment marketing efforts to promote Northern Ontario as a business and industrial destination that will boost exports and attract new investment. 

It includes continuing our participation in the Market Ontario program to promote Ontario’s mineral investment potential to the world.  And it includes expanding our geoscience mandate to support groundwater mapping and new industrial and energy development applications.

It also means a new investment of $10 million in the GO NORTH Investor Program. As we develop this program, its objective will be to build on the Grow Bonds and NOHFC programs by attracting anchor investments to northern towns and cities.

Ideally, these would be large-scale investments that promote innovation and growth in existing sectors such as mining and forestry, as well as new sectors for the North such as information technology.

The focus of the program will be on promoting the North internationally through marketing efforts undertaken by my ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. 

Through GO NORTH we will also work with northern municipalities to develop an inventory of available sites and assets, to better present Northern Ontario’s potential to investors.

Bringing new investment will mean bringing new jobs and new opportunity to the North.  Our Northern Prosperity Plan is fully committed to striving toward making those opportunities available throughout the North.

I noted earlier in my remarks that ours is a journey to bring back hope and opportunity.  It is one that we intend to undertake together, to the benefit of all and to the exclusion of none.

A fundamental tenet of our Northern Prosperity Plan – and the fourth pillar of the plan -- providing new opportunities for all -- will be to ensure all northerners can experience prosperity and a better quality of life through sustainable development and opportunities for youth.

We will do this by forging better relationships and new partnerships with First Nations and Far North communities. 

Let me tell you that in this regard, I have already been to Ontario’s Far North twice since January. 

I have personally reaffirmed to many northern chiefs the McGuinty government’s commitment to help remote northern First Nations communities become stronger and healthier. 

We will do this by providing the necessary tools to pursue economic development opportunities that respect heritage and cultural values.  By working to build a strong and trusting relationship, we will gain a greater understanding of the important issues surrounding resource development opportunities in the region.  The end result will be a stronger Far North.

And we will strive to grow new opportunities for youth by working with, and working for the North’s young people. 

No longer will our young people be dismissed as one of our region’s most exportable commodities.  Our young people will be treated as they should: they are the future of Northern Ontario and that future must be protected.  It must be nurtured.
 
We will do this by expanding opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship.  We will ignite a new generation of economic growth. 

Northern Ontario is more than 800,000 people strong. Together we can bring prosperity to this region and a quality of life that is second to none.

The key word here folks is “together”. And I want to take a moment to stress this.

We are a region.  We are Northern Ontario.  We must work cooperatively to capitalize on our strengths as a region. 

Communities that fail to realize this, that fail to come up with regional strategies will either decline, or they will remain stagnant.

We’ve heard this sentiment from many experts and economists but agreement and collaboration does not always come easily to northerners from different parts of the region or even from neighbouring communities.

It is my sincere hope that the Northern Prosperity Plan can unite all northerners.

This Plan -– our plan -- is a starting point.  We need the resolve of all northern partners, and that of our federal colleagues, to join in bringing prosperity to the North. 

I am confident that level of collaboration will not only be achieved, will not only be sustained, it will be exceeded.

And most dear to my heart, the Northern Prosperity Plan is a plan that will pull Northern Ontario out of an eight-year tailspin. 

It is a plan that will put the North back on a path toward prosperity -- a plan that will help many of our young people achieve their career goals and ambitions without the need for exile.

Friends, my message today is all about the future.  It’s about setting out a clear plan for the future.  It’s about acting on that plan and shaping a new vision, and bringing about real change from that plan. It’s about engaging everyone in this vision, and about taking the next steps toward securing that future.

And, my friends, build we will.  But we will not build a house of cards.  Nor will we build on shifting sands. We will build on solid ground and from solid pillars.  We will build something that lasts.  We must build something that lasts.

When historians look back on our government’s legacy at some point well into the future, I can only hope that our efforts might be measured against the words Pierre Elliot Trudeau once used to praise a great Canadian public servant.

In honoring former Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood in 1974, Trudeau said to him:

“It is given to few people in this life to make a difference in the lives of their fellow men. You are a man who has made a historic difference of unique quality - a difference which will continue to have a beneficial impact upon your province and your country long after you and I have departed from the scene."

Inspiring words. It would be my greatest hope that when our younger generation has assumed the mantle of leadership in Ontario’s North, they will still be building on our legacy.  And it would be my greatest hope that our collective accomplishments will be worthy of measuring up to Trudeau’s eloquent words.

I thank you for being with me today, and I look forward – with great excitement and optimism – to working with each and everyone of you to bring to Northern Ontario the kind of change that is worthy of being chronicled in the annals of our province’s history.

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