Opponents of the province’s divestiture of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) are condemning the move with a mobile protest, which will culminate in a rally in North Bay on May 30.
A train will depart Cochrane at 8 a.m. for North Bay, picking up passengers along the way. Dignitaries, passengers and media have been invited to take the trip, during which the documentary film Derailed: The National Dream, produced by Dan Nystedt, will be screened. Upon the train’s arrival in North Bay, a press conference will be held during which representatives from northern communities will speak about the ONTC divestiture.
The event is being jointly hosted by the Town of Cochrane, the City of Sault Ste. Marie and the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains. The event will be filmed for a documentary.
“I’m excited to be part of a gathering that sees concerned citizens come from as far away as Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario,” Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis said in a news release. “It shows how integral the ONTC is to all of the northeast, not just the Highway 11 corridor.”
Extending invitations to Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci and Premier Dalton McGuinty, Politis said their attendance would be an opportunity for the premier to explain why he had gone “back on his word and personal guarantee” to prevent the privatization of the ONTC.
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