Orazietti concerned about layoffs

Sault Ste. Marie’s member of provincial parliament says he is concerned about recent layoffs at the steel plant and that the federal government could do more to invest in Northern Ontario’s economy.

“I am concerned about every job in Sault Ste. Marie. Every job matters, and it’s why we have worked hard to support the economy in Sault Ste. Marie and the businesses that support thousands of workers in Sault Ste Marie,” said MPP David Orazietti.

Orazietti noted the provincial government’s recent $30-million investment in Essar Steel Algoma was intended for long-term modernization upgrades and unrelated to the layoffs.

“I think we all realize any of these major industries — if they are attempting to stand still they won’t survive. They need to continue to evolve to become more efficient, to put in place the latest technologies to ensure they are capturing the marketshare, driving their costs of production down so the products they sell on the world market will do just that — sell,” said Orazietti.

He added, “We recognize how important these jobs are in our community and how challenged they are by global forces. That’s why we made that investment.”

Orazietti said the city is affected more than most communities because of a lack of diversification in the economy, with large portions of the workforce reliant on one industry.

“It makes us more vulnerable to global trends,” he said.

Orazietti said there were two times in the 1990s the unemployment rate in Sault Ste. Marie hit 19 percent.

“We don’t want to be anywhere near that,” he said.

Orazietti would like to see greater investment by the federal government in Northern Ontario. 

“We have a federal government that I don’t think is convinced regional economic development is helpful to the economy. I believe it is because the expertise in those areas are the residents who live and work in those areas,” said Orazietti.

He said the federal government left $8.5 million in FedNor money unspent, money that was earmarked for economic development in the north.

Orazietti would also like to see the federal government at least match FedNor funding to provincial programs, such as Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.

“If I were a federal representative I would be saying to my government we need to match at least what the provincial government is putting in.”

“When they talk about their budgets being balanced — they have balanced their budget to some extent on the backs of the provinces,” Orazietti said.

Orazietti said the provincial government has had to step in on occasions where the federal government failed to fund projects, such as work at the Chi-Cheemaun ferry docks and scientific job cuts at the experimental lakes.

In both those cases the province stepped in, saving jobs, said Orazietti.

He would also like to see the federal government get on board with chromite extraction in the Ring of Fire.

“The federal government have put money into the tar sands, they have put money into the hydro corridor in B.C., they put money into Hibernia and east coast development. The Ring of Fire is a $60-billion, multi-generational economic development opportunity for thousands of jobs,” said Orazietti.

He said he believes in regional economic development programs because he believes the people who live in Northern Ontario know what is best for themselves.

“I think the federal government can play a much stronger role in the economic future and development in Northern Ontario, but you got to believe there’s a role there for you to play,” said Orazietti.

(FILE PHOTO: MP Bryan Hayes and MPP David Orazietti check out a map of the Fort Creek Aqueduct at an infrastructure announcement July 2, 2015. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)