OPINION: Northern mayors immigration plan is groundless, speculative, and unnecessary

By James A. Brown - Iroquois Falls.

Editors note: Mr. Brown has written an open letter to the five northern Ontario large urban mayors in response to this issue:

Mayor McDonald wants more immigrants in northern Ontario

He is a former mayor of Iroquois Falls and a provincial candidate

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Your immigration plan for our North is so groundless, speculative, unnecessary and off the mark for Northern needs!  And who gave you the right to recommend directions and decisions for Northern Ontario to other levels of Government. You are not regional governors and certainly were not elected to do so, nor make such recommendations including media commentary as of such.

Now-a-day immigrants bring social assistance, (at our cost) not trades and jobs.  Ask a few European countries and Quebec.

Maybe a real Northern Ontario summit, and strategy, including all communities, could focus on the economy and survival with issues such as;

• Out Migration,
• Youth retention,
• Management of our resources, versus industry control,
• Eliminating red tape with mining,
• Back to the bush for prospecting,
• Forestry industry development rather than shipping wood to Quebec,
• First Nation collaboration,
• Harness and capture our regional hydro benefits, with real Northern produced pricing.

A few starter job thoughts.

We need not demographic challenges, as we have enough economic challenges and clearly the GTA and Queen’s Park direct them at us.  They tear down infrastructure, and rules, with the waving of a wand and we continue to swallow their Northern Growth Plan, their southern control and BS.  There is no plan, and very clearly you don’t have one either. But please, to make it clear, you do not represent our Northern interests or thinking, and discontinuing that intent and rationale would be appreciated.

Furthermore, focus on developing the entire north and supporting smaller communities versus beating them up as regional capitals, as our sitting Provincial Ministers have clearly demonstrated with their riding bias, builds and funding. 

Remember we witnessed their planned demise and Brownfield strategy for Iroquois Falls.  We know the real role of Government is to shut down small town Northern Ontario, via the Anatomy of Risk, sound familiar - https://urbanrenaissance.probeinternational.org/2003/08/13/small-rural-and-remote-communities-anatomy-risk/  (read the recommendations to start).  It’s unraveling.

Time to wake up and realize the GTA and Queen’s park really don’t care about Northern Ontario!  Time to consider regional determination and influence versus continued remote southern control; it is literally killing us, one community at a time!

James A. Brown - Iroquois Falls