Saultbies tweak Northern Growth Plan

Okay, nothing is guaranteed recession-proof.

But the Ontario government is hoping that its Northern Growth Plan will take the humps and valleys off our cyclical, resource-based economy.

"What makes this plan different is that it's legislated," Brad Graham, assistant deputy minister of energy and infrastructure, was saying in the Sault last night. That and the amount of public consultation the growth plan has had.

The makers of the plan have heard from people who worry about their jobs, their mortgages, the education of their children and their futures.

They've heard from leaders of industry, education, municipal government and service-sector entrepreneurs.

Last night, they heard from Sean Meades, too.

Meades, (shown), was one of more than 50 people who came out to provide input on the Northern growth plan, called Places to Grow.

"Housing needs to be a priority," Meades said. "People all over Northern Ontario are facing shortages of affordable housing and the issue is not even in here."

Another priority discussed at the session was access to needed medical care in all communities, no matter how small or geographically isolated.

Participants were asked to describe what they felt were the strengths of the plan and to identify opportunities for improvement.

"What we are looking at here is a plan that will take us from a cyclical economy to a more stable one," said Assistant Deputy Minister Graham.

"Places to Grow is the initiative to manage population growth in Ontario in a way that supports economic prosperity and achieves a high quality of life," says the official website. "Ontario is expected to grow by four million people over the next 30 years."

It's a 25-year plan looking toward a time when Northern Ontario's population is predicted to stabilize, said Graham.

The plan includes short-, medium- and long-term goals with quantifiable measures of success, he said.

"It was very open, certainly in the development of the plan itself, but also when we drafted what we think are comprehensive action plans," Graham said. "[Our next step] is to go back out and say 'Okay, did we get it right?' So much work has been done on this by Northerners themselves and this plan has basically been born from the benefit of that and from extensive consultation."

People of Northern Ontario have until February 1, 2010, to have their say on the plan.

After that, any necessary changes will be made before it's brought back to the Ontario Legislature to be made law.

But that's not the end of the process by any means, said Graham.

It's intended to be a living plan that has built-in benchmarks and quantifiable measures of success.

The Northern Growth Plan is an action plan for lasting economic recovery and improvement of quality of life for the people of Northern Ontario, he said.

Ontario First Nation peoples are expected to eventually make up 25 percent of the workforce and the world of work will likely change significantly in some areas.

Graham identified seven key areas the economy is expected to develop in:

- Mining.

- Forestry.

- Green energy.

- Bioeconomy.

- Agriculture and aquaculture.

- Tourism and cultural industries.

- Attracting investment and business growth.

Cal McDonald, assistant deputy minister of Northern development and mines, said that Northern Ontario will be seeing a shift toward a greater variety of forest products including production of a plastic-like material from wood pulp.

While the forestry industry has been hit hard by this recession, it hasn't been done in, McDonald said.

When things pick up again, though, the forestry industry is going to be very different, both in terms of the way things are made and what is made.

McDonald said people in Northern Ontario can expect to see a greener, more sustainable forestry industry that will be on the cutting edge of new manufacturing and production efficiencies such as green energy.

Places to Grow will help facilitate those changes and strengthen Northern Ontario's economy at a time when the region could position itself as a global leader in the new forest biomass industry.

Several people in attendance last night said there's a big opportunity to improve the plan with more First Nation involvement.

One participant said there should be a First Nation leader in the inner circle where decisions are made about what gets into the plan and what doesn't, before it's brought back to the the Ontario Legislature for debate.

McDonald agreed, saying many First Nations have been consulted, including several isolated, fly-in communities, but more work needs to be done to engage First Nation leaders.

Another criticism levelled at the plan was its seeming lack of hard deadlines, commitments and accountability.

McDonald said that, while the draft plan can certainly bear some tweaking, there are tangible short-, medium- and long-term goals in it with clear lines of accountability and methods of measuring success.

"Progress on the plan will be monitored and measured on a very frequent basis," McDonald said. "It's our task to draw up those measurables and timeframes and show who's responsible."

There will be metrics to show that the plan is on the right track, he said.

"People are very keen on the implementation part of the plan," he said. "They very much want to see exactly what are the strategies you're proposing, what are the initiatives to advance that strategy, who's involved and ultimately who's accountable."

To view the draft plan in its entirety, participate in webinars or leave your own feedback on it, visit the website.