Traffic is flowing on vital winter transportation links to remote First Nations across northwestern Ontario.
A frigid December and chilly January has meant an early start to winter road construction.
Winter roads connect 31 remote communities to the province's permanent highway and rail systems.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Prorogation Considered in Ontario
Premier Dalton McGuinty admits the backlash against Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament is on his mind as he considers adjourning the legislature.
Thousands of people attended rallies across Canada last month to protest Harper's decision to shut down Parliament until early March,a move widely condemned by the opposition parties.
McGuinty says one of the political challenges he's now facing is that "prorogation has become a bad thing.''
McGuinty says he hasn't made a decision yet about suspending the legislature, which is due to resume sitting February 16.
Sources say if he does prorogue, it would be only for a couple of weeks, to return in early March with a throne speech outlining the government's agenda heading up to the 2011 provincial election.
NDP Seek Forestry Support
Federal NDP want some immediate action from the federal government for Canada's forestry industry.
NDP Forestry Critic John Rafferty says it starts with a negotiated end to the U.S. Biomass Crop Assistance Program subsidy.
“The U.S. government continues to deliver billions of dollars in tax loopholes and subsidies for their forestry sector, such as the lapsed Black Liquor regime and the new Biomass Crop Assistance Plan, and the Harper government’s response to this practice has ranged from too late to non-existent,” says Rafferty.
“With more than 275,000 jobs at stake, the choice is simple: save money and get ahead of the problem by negotiating with the Obama administration to end this sort of subsidy, or match the subsidies later for Canadian mills to prevent closures.”
In September, 2009, the U.S. Biomass Crop Assistance Program began providing subsidies for the supply of wood biomass for direct or indirect use as a renewable fuel. Natural Resources Canada estimates the program will pay subsidies of $3-10 billion to U.S. mills.
The Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P says they also want Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to help AbitibiBowater and the Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union resolve their pension shortfall.
Rafferty says it was something the minister promised last fall, but to date there has been no such meeting.
NDP Forestry Critic John Rafferty says it starts with a negotiated end to the U.S. Biomass Crop Assistance Program subsidy.
“The U.S. government continues to deliver billions of dollars in tax loopholes and subsidies for their forestry sector, such as the lapsed Black Liquor regime and the new Biomass Crop Assistance Plan, and the Harper government’s response to this practice has ranged from too late to non-existent,” says Rafferty.
“With more than 275,000 jobs at stake, the choice is simple: save money and get ahead of the problem by negotiating with the Obama administration to end this sort of subsidy, or match the subsidies later for Canadian mills to prevent closures.”
In September, 2009, the U.S. Biomass Crop Assistance Program began providing subsidies for the supply of wood biomass for direct or indirect use as a renewable fuel. Natural Resources Canada estimates the program will pay subsidies of $3-10 billion to U.S. mills.
The Thunder Bay-Rainy River M-P says they also want Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to help AbitibiBowater and the Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union resolve their pension shortfall.
Rafferty says it was something the minister promised last fall, but to date there has been no such meeting.
College Strike Date Set
A provincial mediator has been appointed to try and head off a strike by college teachers in Ontario.
The union has set a strike date of February 11 but Premier Dalton McGuinty is asking both sides to sit down and reach a negotiated settlement.
A strike would curtail classes for at least 200-thousand full-time students, including that at Confederation College's campus in Fort Frances.
Ted Montgomery of the OPSEU bargaining team says they are prepared to find alternatives that can keep the students in classes.
The union rejected a "final'' offer from the colleges last week and refused to take it directly to teachers for a vote.
OPSEU says it will call off the strike if the colleges agree to go to binding arbitration.
A spokesman for the 24 colleges says they will "seriously'' review the union's proposal.
Key issues for the union are workload and academic freedom.
The union has set a strike date of February 11 but Premier Dalton McGuinty is asking both sides to sit down and reach a negotiated settlement.
A strike would curtail classes for at least 200-thousand full-time students, including that at Confederation College's campus in Fort Frances.
Ted Montgomery of the OPSEU bargaining team says they are prepared to find alternatives that can keep the students in classes.
The union rejected a "final'' offer from the colleges last week and refused to take it directly to teachers for a vote.
OPSEU says it will call off the strike if the colleges agree to go to binding arbitration.
A spokesman for the 24 colleges says they will "seriously'' review the union's proposal.
Key issues for the union are workload and academic freedom.
Gold Mine in Works
Rainy River Resources says it will have a better indication on its plans for a gold mine in the Rainy River district by end of this year or early next.
Outlining the company's plans to delegates attending the Rainy River Municipal Association meeting on the weekend, vice-president Garett MacDonald said the company is embarking on technical and environmental studies to help them in that decision.
"By the time we get through the technical evaluations often these projects can take two years to construct from the time we decide to build them," said MacDonald. "Prior to that of course, the environmental assessment has to happen. So if everything goes well, the project could be in production by 2014."
MacDonald said they've also explored about 30 per cent of the area northwest of Emo to date. far.
Service Review Planned
A review of services within the town of Fort Frances will be undertaken by town councillors.It's an attempt to find additional savings as they works toward the 2010 budget.
Councillor Paul Ryan says they've been left with no choice but to see if cuts can be made.
"There's no choice," says Ryan. "We've hit the wall. In the past couple of years our budgets have been very, very close to the actual where in years past they've shot a little high and had a reserve at the end. We don't have that anymore."
The budget shortfall has been trimmed to about 246-thousand, but does not include provisions for capital spending or money set aside to reserves.
Fort Frances councillors also began a line-by-line review of the proposed capital budget at last night's budget meeting.
About $10.2 million dollars worth of projects have been identified with operations and facilities accounting for nearly 70 per cent of that total.
Councillors will tackle that list when the budget discussions continue tomorrow.
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