File photo of Minister of Revenue Monique Smith, Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle and Mayor Victor Fedeli during the areas growth plan meeting.
File photo of Minister of Revenue Monique Smith, Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle and Mayor Victor Fedeli during the areas growth plan meeting.
Ministry of Northern Development and Mines News Release
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Over the next year, Northern Ontario residents, youth, Aboriginal peoples, community leaders, business and industry leaders and other experts will have a range of opportunities to participate in the development of a draft Growth Plan for Northern Ontario.
As a first step, regional sessions involving a broad range of leaders and experts will look at how to turn the challenges facing their region into opportunities for growth.
Other public opportunities for participation include a series of policy forums that will explore successful approaches, including those from other areas such as Ireland and Finland, and the release of a draft growth plan this fall for public comment.
The final Growth Plan for Northern Ontario will be a forward-looking, 25-to 30-year action plan for supporting sustainable prosperity in the region by:
• Helping to build and support jobs in growing industries that can position the region’s global competitiveness
• Creating a climate of education and job opportunities that will encourage young people born and raised in the North to stay in the North
• Attracting new people and investment
QUOTES
“I sincerely believe that this process – the development of a Growth Plan for Northern Ontario – has the potential to transform our future, and to secure for northerners a measure of economic vigour that we have long dreamed about,” said Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle.
“A Growth Plan for Northern Ontario will bring together all of the building blocks, the policies and investment planning, for fundamentals such as like education, training, research, economic development, and infrastructure needed to grow the North,” said Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal David Caplan.
QUICK FACTS
• Northern Ontario has 90 per cent of the province’s land base, with 78 per cent of Ontario’s woodlands and 2,900 km Great Lakes Heritage Coast
• Northern Ontario’s mineral deposits are among the richest in the world.
• Ontario’s third busiest airport is in Thunder Bay
• Northern Ontario is becoming known for its research and innovation in forestry, mining and health care fields
