Harbour expansion a 'must' - study to council tonight
Monday, February 04, 2013 by: SooToday.com Staff
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NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF SAULT STE. MARIE
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Regional harbour study recommends expansion
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - The Sault Ste. Marie Transportation/Infrastructure Committee will present the Regional Harbour Expansion and Business Analysis Study to City Council at the February 4, 2013 meeting.
Over the past 12 months under the direction of the committee, the consulting firm of KPMG carried out the most comprehensive and compelling assessment to-date and is recommending moving from study to implementation.
The study reinforces the importance of staying competitive in a global environment in meeting the needs of a customer service-based economy.
Expansion to our marine facilities resulting in an increase to capacity for both inbound and outbound products is a must. Immediate benefits in the expansion will be realized by Essar Steel Algoma Inc. and Tenaris Tubes, along with aggregate, slag, salt transportation companies and long-term users like Purvis Marine and others in the region.
The proposed plan is to expand the harbour to accept not only a demand for 30 percent increased port volume movement in the near future, but also potential for 200 percent volume increase from current levels.
The expansion plan will be developed under a public-private framework with the public portion to be managed as a “not for profit” entity.
Potential funding for the harbour complex, projected at $116M for infrastructure and $5M for the front end implementation phase, will be sought in partnering with both federal and provincial governments and private sector.
Over 3,000 person years of employment – direct, indirect, and induced, is projected as part of this initiative.
“When reviewing the time, effort and commitment our community has put into developing a plan for the regional harbour expansion Initiative, I am reminded of a saying by Thomas Edison: ‘The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are; firstly, hard work; secondly, stick-to-itiveness and thirdly, common sense.’ Because this community has all three of these ingredients and applied them, we will now see this tremendously important initiative move forward,” said Don Mitchell, chair, Sault Ste. Marie Transportation/Infrastructure Committee.
Mayor Amaroso stated: “The port project remains a top priority for city council and our city as a whole. Our multi-modal strategy deems this development as a key economic driver supporting our industrial sector.”
The expanded regional harbour is integral to the future and sustainability of the community’s regional growth, along with linkages to the implementation of the Northern Ontario Growth Plan.
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bruno-b 2/4/2013 9:40:14 AM ReportOne thing at a time city council FIX OUR DRINKING WATER FIRST!!!!!! This is clearly a huge problem and to most of us bottled water is our only option ,this is pretty sad!!!
Number One Son 2/4/2013 9:53:17 AM Report$121,000,000.00 is being sought in partnership, .... how about Essar and Tenaris pay for it, .... they are the ones using it?
We have a lot more problems to address that are far more important to the tax-payers than this joke, .... get with the electorate council, any poll conducted by council would surely show the citizens strongly against this spending, but they are afraid to make up such as poll. Maybe SooToday should do a poll.
Stevie-E 2/4/2013 9:59:25 AM ReportAside from thinking that Purvis Marine should be moved west closer to the mills (it's an eyesore coming down Bay St.), I believe this would further position SSM as a great port for shipping and logistics infrastructure.
I don't know if we should be footing the entire bill but the mills are a huge part of the local economy. As long as most of it's paid by them and via governmental assistance programs.
I feel that increases in spending will net an increase in jobs/investment in this city. It will affect many local businesses and not just the parties involved.
burned 2/4/2013 10:08:26 AM ReportHey number one son...I bet you're not afraid to take a poll or two eh....ha
Just Curious 2/4/2013 10:10:54 AM Report@ #1 son;
Would have to disagree with you on this issue. While the Soo has a lot of issues to deal with,a deep sea port would take care of some of them. The jobs created short-term would be great(altho I beleive they should be open to non-union companies to bid on)and the long term benefits would be beyond the scope of life in the Soo today. When little lake boats have to load here,some only half-loaded,and go to Montreal to be reloaded on to Ocean-going ships,someone has to pay for all that extra expense. An Ocean ship loading here and heading straight out makes so much more sense. People complain that we aren't competing on a global level and narrow-minded thinking like yours is a major factor in that. A deep water harbour would probably attract a lot of new business and create some decent jobs here,instead of call-centres. Start dredging tomorrow,in my opinion,should have been done a long time ago...
seen_your 2/4/2013 10:14:32 AM ReportHow bout someone do a study on cancer rates in this town and how the relate to Essar Steel.
lincoln 2/4/2013 10:41:09 AM ReportHOW STUPID IS THIS? THE ENTIRE GREAT LAKES WATER SHED IS AT ALL A 100 YEAR LOW? AND SAULT STE MARIE WANTS TO DIG OUR EXISTING HARBOUR DEEPER?? APPARENTLY ESSAR AND TENARIS WHICH ARE BOTH IN FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY NEED A DEEPER HARBOUR? WHY BECAUSE WHEN THEY BOTH SHUT DOWN THEIR OPERATIONS IT WILL BE CHEAPER TO USE OCEAN SHIPS TO HAUL THE EQUIPMENT TO BRAZIL AND INDIA ! THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST IDEA TO COME OUT OF CITY SINCE WE BANNED FRENCH!! WE WILL BE THE LAUGHING STOCK OF ALL GREAT LAKES CITIES!! THEY CANCELLED THE 100 MILLION DOLLAR MEGA LOCK ACROSS THE RIVER DUE TO THE DECREASE IN WATER !! THE U S GOVERNMENT COULDN T JUSTIFY THE EXPENSE..
I GUESS THE WATER IS ONLY LOWER ON THE U S SIDE OF THE RIVER!!THERE S A SHORTAGE OF WATER IN NORTH AMERICA THAT S WHY WE FIXED THE RAILROAD ..IDIOTS UNLESS YOU CAN MAKE IT RAIN DON T BE WASTING OUR MONEY!!
Stevie-E 2/4/2013 10:41:28 AM Reportseen_your
Are your comments ever relevant to the topic at hand?
Start an "Anti-Essar" club and leave the real talk for the big boys.
But to appease you, there have been studies done and a lot of the cancer rates are due to those working in the plant several decades ago, before environmental and health and safety regulations took effect. A lot of the cancers were due to many of ASI employees working with what is now known as "designated substances" (Asbestos, Silica, Lead, Mercury, etc) on a daily basis.
Symptoms from exposure have a latency period in upwards of 30+ years. As such, many controls have been put in place since then and today's workers have the proper training, engineering controls and equipment to mitigate or even eliminate exposure to such hazards.
burned 2/4/2013 11:03:36 AM ReportJUST A QUESTION...DO I APPEAR MORE INTELLIGENT WHEN I TYPE IN CAPS?? OR JUST AS STUPID AS LINCOLN?
Stevie-E 2/4/2013 11:09:18 AM ReportAPPARENTLY TO MAKE A POINT, THIS IS THE CORRECT FORMAT! SENTENCES WITH INTELLIGENT THOUGHT AND CORRECT GRAMMAR ARE NOT ENOUGH!
Number One Son 2/4/2013 11:39:10 AM ReportJust Curious, .... the benefits are going to the mills, ... if they pay for it,I am all for it. As someone who has just seen their tax rate go up 106%, I want my tax dollars going to something that benefits me, not Essar or Tenaris.
Opening the work to non-union companies only means that more profits will go into that company's pocket, ... there will be no additional savings and safety and quality will be at risk.
seen_your 2/4/2013 12:02:26 PM Report@Stevie-E I notice you make no mention of the crap they are pumping out of the smoke stacks. I notice no mention of people living around Essar having to scrape the soot off of there houses. Do you work at Essar? Or is it city council? Also I notice your comment about letting the "big boys" talk. Things like that are easily said hiding behind a computer. I might take offense if you said that to my face, but thats what men do, not "big boys".
burned 2/4/2013 12:10:24 PM Reportnumber one son of a....just because a non union company begins work doesn't mean they are working unsafe, or with poor quality...what are you 12?? Did your daddy tell you this??
jojo12345 2/4/2013 12:32:36 PM ReportSAULT is not making sense look at them
Oh well what they care soon we will be own by other Country and they really don't care what kind of water they are drinking still better than their Country
sportsfan17 2/4/2013 12:45:46 PM ReportIf we want to keep up with the rest of North America and the rest of the world, we need to invest in our infrastucture in SSM. Nobody has any problem leaving us behind in the economy if we want to sit and twiddle our thumbs with our traditional old fashioned SSM thinking.
Now here is hoping that when they do this dredge, they follow the appropriate environmental checklists. You know, those ones that Harper whittled down to nothing!
lincoln 2/4/2013 1:48:00 PM ReportI am assuming Essar Steel has asked the provincial government to postpone the 40 million dollar pension contribution ..because.... it can t ship enough steel by boat .. or because Huron Central rail won t ship the steel until the shipping is paid because they don t pay their bills... Ask around Town everybody knows Essar steel owes local businesses in excess of 100 million dollars... Don t be fooled by the fancy landscape,new fences and renaming the arena.. they are leaving this town unless the union buckles !! then it raping women on buses ...like back home...
Just Curious 2/4/2013 1:48:51 PM Report@#1 son;;The benefits aren't all going to the mills...What are you talking about. Like it or not,those mills support the vast majority of the Soo in one way or another.Whether you work at Walmart,a grocery store,a call centre,pizza joint or one of the many bars in this town,to say this only benefits the mills is assinine.Without Essar ot tenaris, this city might as well close it's doors and go to sleep as Elliot Lake did years ago..The deep sea port should have been done years ago to facilitate the multi-global idea that Rowswell pushed so hard for,but no,that would have required the powers that be too get their collective heads out of the lower portions of their anatomy. Some of the old-time thinking in this town has to go,there way more in this world than BonSoo and the tour train...
Just Curious 2/4/2013 1:55:31 PM Report@ lincoln, you can back up all this bull-crap with facts and figures,I'm sure?? Because a company chooses to put off paying bills until the last of the 120 day period they are allowed doesn't mean they are broke.. Do you always pay your cable bill or PUC or Bell bill the day it comes in??? Don't think so...Show some proof and quit badmouthing the people you probably work for(or wish you did)..
Stevie-E 2/4/2013 3:04:29 PM Reportseen_your
I apologize and may I stand corrected if you are a female. I assumed by your atrocious spelling and grammar that it was that of a little boy.
I don't work at either place you mentioned but I am pretty sure that there is a lot of dust in that end of town; seeing that the plants cover several square miles and not all the roads are paved.
You may be mistaken that the "soot" is merely excess dust kicked up by the large vehicles in the plants. If you look at all the cancer claims types and causes, it would most likely be people who have worked in the plant many years ago.
If you don't like that end of town - move! That's why it's so inexpensive to live down there, because its older and not as "pretty." Don't blame the lifeblood of this city for having a dirty vehicle or dusty siding.
I swear, people will ALWAYS find something to complain about on SooToday. Thank goodness there are a select few people on here that don't have tunnel vision!
seen_your 2/4/2013 5:33:48 PM ReportHilarious that you think that is dust. I used to wash the trucks for Avery coming out of the plant, dust my ass. Now your calling me a woman, again hilarious, hiding behind that computer screen. Is that what makes you feel like a "big boy"?
Stevie-E 2/5/2013 10:01:06 AM Reportseen_your
What do you want from me? I don't care if you are Barney the Dinosaur but you are off topic and are not making sense. I am not hiding behind the computer. I am just speaking my mind.
Did you send the residue away for lab analysis? If not, then STFU because you have no idea how the world works around you.
Go join the FN up north in the wilderness or stop washing vehicles coming OUT OF THE PLANT if you are so concerned about what's in the air. It seems that you had employment because of the plant, so please stop sounding like an idiot.
Everyone cries there are no jobs in this city, yet the city's largest employer takes shot after shot because they may happen to release some stuff into the air, which is mostly steam by the way. Any other release is within our strict environmental regulations and under the microscope of the MOE.
Note: Comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of SooToday.com. Keep discussions civil and on topic. Refrain from obscenity and don't post anything that your grandmother would be ashamed to read. Those who do not abide by these guidelines will have their membership revoked without notice. If you see an abusive post, please click the link beside the post to report it.
