Ontario Legislature heard about Ontario Northland today

NEWS RELEASE

VIC FEDELI, MPP
NIPISSING

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Fedeli brings local ONTC concerns to legislature
 
QUEEN’S PARK - Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli stood again in the Ontario Legislature Thursday afternoon to address Dalton McGuinty’s plan to divest the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.  Here is the text of the Member’s Statement he read:

Speaker, communities in Nipissing are speaking out against the proposed fire sale by this government of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

I have assured all groups that I will read their Motions in this Legislature.

The Townships of Bonfield and Chisholm have both passed motions endorsing the City of North Bay Resolution, which calls on Premier Dalton McGuinty to honour his pledge and suspend the Government of Ontario’s plans to divest the assets of the ONTC in order to permit affected stakeholders, in the form of a Community Task Force, time to devise a more thoughtful business case that will keep the ONTC whole, while respecting the stated goals of the Northern Growth Plan; and that the Province of Ontario starts to immediately transition responsibility for the ONTC from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines to the Ministry of Transportation.

North Bay City Council passed a further resolution this week. 

It notes the Northern Multi-modal Transportation study started under this government’s Northern Growth Plan initiative isn’t sufficiently developed to fully understand the implications of divesting the ONTC, and that the decision to divest was made unilaterally by the Province with absolutely no consultation with local governments, Aboriginal Peoples, businesses, or the provincially-appointed Northern Advisory Council. 

They resolve that the Mayor and Council of the City of North Bay strongly request that the premier immediately terminate the planned divestment of the ONTC and meet with Northern stakeholders as requested in correspondence from Northern Mayors dated April 2, 2012.

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