Skip to content
About | Contact | Advertise | Manage Subscriptions
  1. Home
  2. Around the North

Will Ontario go to the polls over Ontario Northland?

Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said stopping the Ontario government's divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) are among her party's budget proposals to the minority McGuinty government.
Northern Ontario Business Staff

Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said stopping the Ontario government's divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) are among her party's budget proposals to the minority McGuinty government.

Horwath said the closure of the ONTC will impact 1,000 employees while leaving communities, worksites and industry without transportation services.

In an April 10 release, Horwath said the North is a “crucial player in Ontario's economy and future, and the budget needs to reflect that.”

Her NDP colleague, Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof said besides serving as a vital link connecting Northern communities, the ONTC “has the potential to be the transportation backbone of resource development projects like the Ring of Fire.”

Horwath also called for a reduction in electricity costs and for all minerals extracted in Ontario to be refined within the province; in reference to Cliffs Natural Resources exploring options to refine Ring of Fire-sourced chromite concentrate at mills outside Ontario.