Northern Ontario community leaders need to think outside of their immediate areas and band together as a common front if they are going to survive and fight youth out-migration in the future, says Greater Sudbury Mayor Dave Courtmanche.
Courtemanche is one of five new larger urban Northern Ontario mayors pumped up after having returned from a significant meeting with Ontario Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci where the provincial Liberals unveiled their strategy for developing the North. Among the initiatives is the establishment of regular consultation between the majors and the setting up of development councils across the region.
The feeling among the mayors is one of renewed co-operation and optimism.
With important cabinet positions in the McGuinty government going to key Northern Ontario players, like Rick Bartolucci and David Ramsay, many believe that a Northern Ontario agenda may actually become a reality.
The first step for the new generation of leaders, says 40-year-old Courtemanche, is for northern communities to see that the North faces common challenges.
“As the mayor of Sudbury, I am prepared to fight with as much passion for the forest industry as I would hope the mayor of Thunder Bay would for the mining industry. That’s the thinking behind this,” Courtemanche says.
Although Courtemanche admits that communities will always want to protect and expand local jobs, he says there is room for co-operation on common fronts.
Courtemanche believes that there are commonalities between the different municipalities that can tie the region together.
“Sudbury may not have a major interest in forestry, but we do have a major interest in mining,” he says. “Other northern communities may have a major interest in agriculture. So, the common thread is natural resources. We all have an interest in the development of natural resources and how we can ensure that natural resources-based industries can be sustained and grow.”
With the election of a new government at Queen’s Park, Courtemanche sees the potential for a renewed relationship between the province and northern municipalities.
“Clearly, we’ve been able to come together in a common front in advocating for a new deal with the Province of Ontario, that looks at the funding
model, that looks at the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, and one that looks at all the different pieces of provincial legislation or fiscal policies that affect northern communities,”
The mayor is convinced that a united Northern Ontario should push for changes at the federal level. The problem of youth out-migration needs to be addressed by changing federal policy. Courtemanche would like to see Northern Ontario having a role to play in deciding future immigration agreements between Ontario and the federal government.
As the new mayor of Greater Sudbury, Courtemanche hopes to bring a new economic development strategy to the city. Rather than attempt to move away from long- standing resource-based industries, Courtemanche believes Sudbury must embrace and expand upon them.
“I think economic development in Northern Ontario has been the grail that we have all worked so hard to pursue through economic diversification efforts through the years. I think we’ve come to a point where we’ve really developed a greater capacity for economic development. Part of that has been getting a greater understanding of how to diversify our thinking around our strengths.”
