Charles Cirtwill

As we enter an election year and all three parties start to put together their ‘growth plans’ for the future, this is an ideal time for our leaders to rethink their perceptions of Northern Ontario.

The key to a successful community hub is flexibility. Flexibility in design, mandate and delivery.

How many school boards does one province need? How about none?

If you were someone considering investing or moving here, you would likely have run screaming from the room, left with the indelible impression that Northern Ontario is basically on the far side of the moon.

It has not come down graven on stone that all previous legislation is sacrosanct or that every public program, service or organization must continue to exist for all eternity.

We will likely need more people as demand for health and long-term care expands with the aging of the people who are already here.

More efficient and effective government, lower costs for consumers, higher value for business and less backlog at the border. Sign me up.

Eight, double zero, five, six, five, seven, four, two, one. That’s eight, double zero, five, six, five, seven, four, two, one. Since the 1970s, that ditty has been bouncing around in my head.

The first in a series of papers Northern Policy Institute has commissioned in partnership with all six Northern workforce planning boards outlines some serious challenges in the Timiskaming District.

You can’t make a living in the North, right? That is what we Northerners are often told. The real money is down south or out west. Well, not so fast.