FONOM president talks with northern provincial Liberal Caucus
FONOM News Release ******************** FONOM President Al Spacek, Mayor of the Town of Kapuskasing, and First Vice-President Tom Laughren, Mayor of Timmins, met with the seven-member Northern Liberal Caucus in Toronto recently to discuss a number of
FONOM President Al Spacek, Mayor of the Town of Kapuskasing, and First Vice-President Tom Laughren, Mayor of Timmins, met with the seven-member Northern Liberal Caucus in Toronto recently to discuss a number of issues of relevance to Northeastern Ontario.
Explaining the purpose of this meeting, Mayor Spacek said, “With this being a provincial election year, it is important for the FONOM board to be prepared to speak with one voice on behalf of the citizens of Northeastern Ontario.” He went on to say, “We will be maximizing every opportunity we have to put Northern Ontario issues before every elected representative and candidate throughout the province … that means requesting meetings with government Ministers as well as with the Leaders of the Opposition Parties.”
FONOM presented the Northern Caucus members with a 10-page document outlining its key issues of concern to its member municipalities. Those issues are energy, transportation, telecommunications, resource sharing, and infrastructure.
FONOM also presented the Northern Caucus members with a joint letter from FONOM and NOMA (Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association) regarding the location of the processing facility for the chromite extracted from the “Ring of Fire” deposit in Northern Ontario. Quoting from the letter, Mayor Spacek said “With regard to this development, we will not take a public position in favour or against any individual site that is under consideration by the developer, Cliffs Resources. It is our strong belief that the processing facility must be located in Northern Ontario and we will support any site selected by Cliffs Resources using best business practices.”
Addressing one of FONOM’s key issues, Mayor Spacek emphasized, “We must reiterate our position on supply and pricing of energy to our industrial citizens. We are concerned that the amount of power required to enable the processing of these natural resources is not readily available at all of the locations Cliffs is considering. We are also extremely concerned that the lack of a long term, affordable industrial energy pricing structure will prevent Northern Ontario locations from being successful in the selection process. We again urge your Government to do everything in its power to ensure that Northern Ontarians benefit from the jobs and economic development that are generated by the extraction of minerals in Northern Ontario.”
