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ONTC union chief happy with Bartolucci meeting

Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci will be the “breath of fresh air” needed by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission,” said Brian Stevens, CAW Local 103 president.
Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci will be the “breath of fresh air” needed by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission,” said Brian Stevens, CAW Local 103 president.

Bartolucci met with Stevens and other ONTC union leaders Wednesday to discuss a variety of issues related to the commission.

Stevens said he and his colleagues were “buoyed” by Bartolucci’s comments and commitment to have the Ontario Northland Railway play a major role in “supporting social and economic development” in Northern Ontario.

“We need to rid ourselves of the staleness which has settled into the ONTC, the product of eight years of neglect, encouraged by the misguided policies and administration of the Harris/Eves' governments,” Stevens said.

The meeting, which took place in the Northlander Room at the Clarion Resort – Pinewood Park, was arranged and also attended by Nipissing MPP Monique Smith “because of her commitment to see that meaningful dialogue begin between the union leadership and her government,” Stevens said.

Smith said the meeting produced "frank" discussions.

"It was the perfect way to develop a great working relationship between the minister and the ONTC unions," Smith said, speaking on behalf of Bartolucci.

"And everyone is committed to working together to improve service and the long-term viability of the commission."

Meeting with Bartolucci, Stevens said, is “a great first step” in opening up a dialogue.

Bartolucci confirmed the ONTC is no longer up for sale, Stevens said.

“This is the news our members wanted to hear first. We had a good discussion and we made some suggestions in terms of future direction of the organization and how this government might want to address the governance and leadership issues,” Stevens said.

"We believe we will see some progress on that front in the near future.”

Since the province first announced in December 2000 it planned the divestiture of the ONTC, the commission has been operating with an interim part-time administration, Stevens said.

Commission Chair Royal Poulin has been the acting CEO and Roy Hains, a Toronto based restructuring consultant, has been overseeing operations, “while at the same time their primary focus was to sell off the publicly owned assets as mandated by the Harris government,” Stevens said.

"We impressed upon the minister that governance and leadership are key elements to stabilizing the organization. With potential growth opportunities, we need leadership committed to building a vibrant organization which values the contribution of all stakeholders.”

Stevens said Bartolucci was told all five union groups agree the commission needs a fulltime president committed to the ONTC.

“We also informed him the CAW and our membership has little interest in supporting an ONTC business plan drafted under a previous mandate, “and we made that point perfectly clear to the minister and his staff,” Stevens said.

“Like the minister, we want to see growth of the ONTC for the benefit of the whole region.”

Stevens said there was no discussion of the current ONTC business plan, which is now being reviewed by Bartolucci.

"But it remains a top priority for the minister," Smith said.