The province will look into a regional price strategy, and possibly cap electricity costs, according to an announcement by Premier Dalton McGuinty at the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association’s annual general meeting April 26-29 in Thunder Bay.
NOMA had asked Energy minister Donna Cansfield and Premier McGuinty, both of whom attended the conference, for a new price plan, along with capped energy rates of $55 per megawatt hour by July 1, to help out the ailing forest industry.
This capped rate would be $15/mWh lower than the average $70/mWh cost.
NOMA also had asked for a further cap of $45/mWh as of Sept. 1 and a rebate on energy consumed retroactive to Jan. 1.
According to NOMA, the proposed caps and rebate are expected to save the forest industry between $140 and $200 million this year, and $200 million annually in 2007-08.
“We think the industry can hold on if we achieve that,” said Fort Frances Coun. Tannis Drysdale, who is a Rainy River District representative on the NOMA board of directors along with Emo Reeve Russ Fortier and Morley Reeve Gary Gamsby.
“The government is looking at different options for industry in Northwestern Ontario,” she added. “The request is not for a permanent price cap, but to be there until they [the province] come up with the solution they promised us is coming.
“It’s a stopgap measure to make sure we can keep going while the government’s working through various potential opportunities,” Coun. Drysdale stressed.
“We’ve all seen the effect of the cost of energy with the mill closures in the last 18 months, and have been let known there’s three or four mills, or maybe more, in the same boat,” said Reeve Fortier, who also is NOMA vice-president for Rainy River District.
“So, we’re looking at a new energy policy for the north,” he continued. “Specifically, we’ve looked at the cost of producing power in Northwestern Ontario and we produce it somewhere in the range of three-four cents a kilowatt.
“We don’t see why we can’t pass that on to the companies.
“We also have a surplus that we’re concerned about, and there is no way to move that power to southern Ontario—the grid can’t handle it,” Reeve Fortier noted.
“You wonder why we can’t get a simple statement by the minister of energy or the premier saying, ‘Yes, we can do something to save your industry without really costing anybody a lot of money.’
“We have the power and we can produce it,” Reeve Fortier stressed.
He noted there was a favourable response from the premier to this request, who said the energy minister will look at some kind of a pricing policy—even if it’s just a short-term measure.
< *c>Economic recovery
Coun. Drysdale said NOMA also decided to form an economic recovery committee at last week’s conference. Its mandate is to look at a variety of different areas at it relates to public policy, and to create growth and job opportunities.
“As part of that mandate of that committee, we’ll be dealing with governance as it relates to our relationship within Ontario and Canada,” she noted.
“And the committee will be working through a variety of different options and make recommendations to the NOMA board and to partners as to how best Northwestern Ontario can be governed, looking at alternative institutional structures,” she explained.
This committee will, at least temporarily, replace the Central Canadian Public Policy Research Trust—a committee formed earlier this year with a mandate to examine, among other things, alternative governance for the region, including the possibility of joining Manitoba.
“I think in discussions a year ago with NOMA about this particular subject, people still really hadn’t gotten their heads around the fact we needed to fix the system,” said Coun. Drysdale.
“But the membership is clearly there now, and it’s a tremendous opportunity, with the strength and expertise of NOMA behind it, to move ahead with a new system for Northwestern Ontario,” she added.
The committee consists of Coun. Drysdale, Thunder Bay Coun. Iain Angus, Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield, Dryden Mayor Anne Krassilowsky, Atikokan Mayor Dennis Brown, and Thunder Bay CAO Bob Petrie.
“The members on that committee have a variety of expertise dealing with many issues,” noted Reeve Fortier. “Instead of all kinds of municipalities trying to solve their problems on their own, we put all these things in one particular basket and look at an overall strategy.
“We’ve looked at many resolutions this year and when you see them coming in, they really should be heading to this particular committee, which can look at the overall picture of what we’re trying to achieve in the northwest,” Reeve Fortier added.
“I think it’s great.”
“I’m exceptionally pleased with the leadership and the openness of the organization to look at alternatives and find long-term solutions,” said Coun. Drysdale.
“It’s a difficult subject to approach with everyone, but it’s a subject that needs to be approached,” she stressed. “And there were no objections from the floor about the committee being formed.
“The consensus among the membership was that we do require a new system and we do require a new solution,” she added.
Coun. Drysdale and Reeve Fortier both noted Premier McGuinty spoke against the region leaving rest of Ontario, and instead encouraged co-operation between the region and the provincial government to work through any issues.
Coun. Drysdale added McGuinty thanked her for being passionate about Northwestern Ontario.
< *c>First Nation
< *c>partnerships
Reeve Fortier said another important resolution was from Treaty #9 to try and develop a partnership protocol with area municipalities regarding issues of common concern.
NOMA accepted that resolution and passed its own to officially appoint a representative within NOMA to meet with Treaty #9, then form a committee regarding such partnerships.
Reeve Fortier will be chair or co-chair.
Treaty #9 is a large area running north of the 53rd parallel from the Manitoba border to nearly the Quebec border, covering some 50 communities.
Reeve Fortier said if Treaty #3 were to come forward with a resolution, the committee also would be glad to work with that group.
“We’d be glad to take everyone under the same umbrella and see what we could do to help each other,” he remarked.
“Our partnerships between aboriginal peoples and municipalities—that’s huge,” he stressed. “We’re all too small and too far from Toronto to survive on our own.
“Collectively, I think we could be a powerful voice.”
< *c>Other business
Numerous provincial and federal delegates also were on hand for the NOMA conference, including Natural Resources minister John Ramsay, Northern Development and Mines minister Rick Bartolucci, NDP leader and local MPP Howard Hampton, and local MP Ken Boshcoff.
Overall, Coun. Drysdale and Reeve Fortier said they were impressed with the conference, which drew a record number of delegates, and its guests.
“It was a fairly significant conference. It was a better conference than I’ve seen put on by AMO [Association of Municipalities of Ontario],” said Coun. Drysdale.
“It was really informative,” she added. “It provided lots of opportunities for education and knowledge on different subjects, ranging from electricity to what Confederation College’s plans are for the coming year.”
“I’m impressed with the fact the premier, for the first time in the 60-year history of NOMA, chose to be at our conference,” noted Reeve Fortier.
“Not only that, we had the leaders from all three parties speak to us—that’s big time for us little guys in the north,” he added.
“Howard [Hampton] was on his energy mission, and delivering data and more possible things that could happen if we don’t do something,” said Reeve Fortier. “He’s totally supporting us.”
“[PC leader] John Tory spoke about devolution of centralized politics and the GTA, and moving things out back across the country and looking at more responsibility for communities,” he added.
“Great stuff.”
The 60th-annual NOMA conference drew about 160 delegates from across the region, including many from this district.
Other Fort Frances delegates at the conference included Mayor Dan Onichuk, Couns. John Albanese, Neil Kabel, and Rick Wiedenhoeft, and CAO Mark McCaig.
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