Liberal Party Press release, May 11, 2018
Ontario Liberals know that people need solutions that are tailored to their region — especially when it comes to things like transportation, access to services, jobs and economic growth.
In 2014, the people of Ontario elected Kathleen Wynne to build Ontario up. Since then, Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberal Party have worked tirelessly to meet the specific needs of Northern communities.
Northern Economic Development
Ontario Liberals have made significant investments in Northern Ontario’s economic development through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) and support for forestry, mining and manufacturing.
Over the past five years, NOHFC investments have created and retained more than 15,000 jobs while leveraging over $2.3 billion in direct economic activity.
In the same time frame, seven new mines have opened in Northern Ontario. Expansion projects are currently underway at Bell Creek Gold Mine in Timmins, Musselwhite Gold Mine in Kenora District, and Island Gold Mine near Wawa.
Ontario Liberals will continue to support Northern Ontario families and businesses with increased investment in economic development. Our plan will:
• Increase NOHFC funding to a total of $150 million in the next three years and expand its programs to better support infrastructure projects and large-scale investment opportunities;
• As part of a $1 billion commitment, build the year-round access road to the Ring of Fire, working with First Nations communities and building on progress to date, which includes Environmental Assessment work, baseline studies, and upgrading existing highways and bridges; road construction is set to begin in 2019;
• During the trade uncertainty caused by the current softwood lumber dispute, continue to support the forestry sector’s productivity, innovation and access to new markets through the Forestry Growth Fund;
• Continue the permanent Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program to ensure stable, low electricity costs for Northern industries;
• Complete the Wataynikaneyap Power Grid Connection Project, which will be the largest Indigenous-led and -owned infrastructure project in Ontario history, connecting 16 remote Northern First Nation communities to the electricity grid.
Northern Infrastructure Investments
Ontario Liberals have made significant progress on the four-laning of Highway 69 to Sudbury and of Highway 11/17 between Nipigon and Thunder Bay, making highway travel in the North safer and more predictable. We introduced intercommunity bus service, which is providing affordable public transit, enhancing access to essential services. We have built and redeveloped Northern hospitals and schools and improved broadband connectivity.
Ontario Liberals will make further investments in infrastructure and move forward with a comprehensive plan for Northern transportation that addresses the region’s unique needs.
Our plan will:
• Commit to permanent annual funding to four-lane the TransCanada highway from the Manitoba border to the Quebec border until the project is fully completed and call on the federal government to match the investment;
• Invest an additional $500 million over three years to expand broadband and seek proposals from the northeastern, northwestern and rural parts of our province to improve access where it will have the most impact;
• Expand the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission motor-coach services into Northwestern Ontario to connect more Northerners to the places where they can get the care and services they need so that once fully implemented this year travelers will be able to travel from Ottawa to Winnipeg with a single reservation;
• Construct a new modernized correctional facility in Thunder Bay, and continue to advance the approval process for new facilities in Sudbury and North Bay as part of our ongoing capital investments in correctional facilities across Ontario.
• Continue to make improvements to the Thunder Bay Expressway;
• Increase investments to build and improve Northern schools and hospitals;
• Continue investments to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure, including increasing Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund funding to $300 million by 2018-19;
• Invest $490 million over the next 10 years in the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission to repair and refurbish railway tracks, bridges and trains;
• Invest an additional $206 million over 10 years in infrastructure in Northern and rural Ontario, as part of our bilateral agreement with the federal government;
• Continue to expand access to natural gas to communities that are not currently served in Northern Ontario which can save families up to $1100 per year; and
• Finalize and implement the Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy and Action Plan, which is based on consultations with Northern communities and covers air, rail, road and marine transportation.
Strong Northern Communities
Ontario Liberals will help Northern communities by enhancing access to child care, health care, home care and community services and by increasing investments in critical infrastructure. Our plan:
• Creates an independent gasoline price watchdog to protect consumers and ensure there is fairness in gasoline and diesel prices at the pumps anywhere in our province;
• Increases investments in Northern hospitals, schools and transportation;
• Reduces wait times for mental health and addiction services;
• Builds more long-term care beds and increases the number of daily hours of nursing, personal support and therapeutic care for long-term care residents to a provincial average of four hours a day by 2022;
• Adds 5,500 personal support workers to Ontario’s workforce to provide more home care, prioritizing Northern and remote communities;
• Expands regional health services that support Northern Ontario families, such as NEO Kids and cardiovascular services;
• Will bring the provision of Northern highway maintenance services back into the public sector as contracts expire to ensure that these highways are cleared safely, quickly and regularly;
• Invests an additional $500 million over three years to expand broadband and seek proposals from the northeastern, northwestern and rural parts of the province to improve access where it will have the most impact;
• Builds on the $10 million expansion of the Northern Health Travel Grant, which helps people in Northern Ontario cover their travel costs;
• Invests $20 million in the Rural and Northern Education Fund to improve education programming in small communities;
• Improves access to mental health care services for Indigenous youth and those in remote communities;
• Expands access to child care in remote communities;
• Reduces electricity rates in eligible remote communities by up to 50 per cent, through the Fair Hydro Plan; and
• Promotes public safety and the protection of private property through the Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services program, which provides protection to 90 million hectares of Crown land.
Ontario Liberals are the only party with a proven track record of tackling the complex issues facing Northern Ontario. We will be releasing more details of our plan to build Ontario up in the coming days.
