Ministers Column

Talking With Northerners About Opportunities For Youth

July 06, 2006

By Rick Bartolucci
Minister of Northern Development and Mines

The McGuinty government understands that young people are the key to the North’s future.  That’s why we are working with northerners, stakeholders and community groups to create northern communities that are tremendous places for young people to live, work, and build lives. 

Earlier this month, northerners began a dialogue that will strengthen Northern Ontario’s ability to attract and retain young people.

The Northern Dialogue on Youth revolves around a series of proposed strategies, the result of extensive work by members of our Northern Development Councils (NDCs).  Assisted by a subcommittee of young volunteers, they studied existing research from Northern Ontario, the province and other jurisdictions.  They didn’t want to reinvent the wheel by undertaking yet more studies on youth out-migration.  Instead, they sought to use this wealth of material as a springboard to real and effective action. 

I launched the dialogue on June 6 at the first joint meeting of our four NDCs in Thunder Bay.   Until the end of July, NDC members – who are drawn from communities in the Northwest, Northeast, major cities and the province’s Far North – will be fanning out across the North.  They want to hear what northerners think about the focus and direction of proposals aimed at:

• Youth living in Northern Ontario who want to build a life for themselves in the North
• Youth who have moved from the North to pursue education or employment elsewhere 
• Youth who may be encouraged to move to Northern Ontario to pursue education and careers.

Northerners are being asked for their views on strategies that would engage youth in their communities, improve education and training prospects, and enhance employment opportunities in Northern Ontario. 

A series of sessions with stakeholders and community groups are currently taking place across the North.  The NDCs have also posted a discussion document and survey on their website (www.ndc.gov.on.ca); and they invite all northerners to participate online or by mail.   Further information is also available at ministry offices throughout the North.
  
Input from northerners will help the NDCs prepare a final report, with recommendations that focus on those strategies that northerners support and that will have an impact in northern communities.

The Northern Dialogue on Youth is just one way the McGuinty government is supporting young people in the North.  Others include:

• Providing up to $25,000 through the Northern Ontario Young Entrepreneur Program to support business start-ups by young northerners 
• Opening the first Northern Ontario School of Medicine to train doctors in the North 
• Investing nearly $6 million in 350 internship and work placements that provide on-the-job training and experience to youth in Northern Ontario.

In addition, the McGuinty government is investing $31 million this year to help more than 27,000 apprentices undertake the classroom portion of their training at 24 community colleges and 39 training centres.  By helping apprentices complete their training, we are helping meet the needs of industry and promoting prosperity for the future.

I urge you to join us in this important dialogue on opportunities for youth in Northern Ontario.  Make your voice heard by visiting the website, reading the discussion paper and completing the survey.

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Contacts:

Laura Blondeau
Minister’s Office – Sudbury
(705) 564-7454 

Lisa Zanetti, Manager
NDC Unit – Sudbury
(705) 564-7016

www.ndc.gov.on.ca

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