It’s a busy time for North Bay Mayor Al McDonald this weekend and into early next week.
McDonald will lead council at the Association of Municipalities Conference in Ottawa, an annual event where municipal councils meet with provincial government ministers and discuss their needs, wants and desires.
McDonald has several meetings and one of more important ones is with Greg Rickford, who is the Minister of Northern Development and Mines.
McDonald will be talking to Rickford about the role the ONTC can play once the Ring of Fire is operating.
He says the agency’s role could be the role it plays in the transportation corridor to the chromite site.
“The Ring of Fire is not to close to us, but it will create jobs locally and create sustainability for the ONTC,” McDonald told Moose News.
During his meeting with Rickford, the North Bay also wants him to realize that the ONTC’s refurbishment shop is second to none.
The goal here to generate more jobs at the facility by getting more work.
“They’ve hire about 200 people over the last couple of years and we want that momentum to continue,” McDonald said.
Because Rickford is also the energy minister McDonald plans to talk to him about energy opportunities the community can pursue.
The Mayor says one that comes to mind is Atlantic Power on Highway 11 North.
Another issue to be raised with the minister is continuing to fund the film industry.
Several Northern Ontario communities are benefiting from the regular movies or TV series being shot in their communities, including North bay, and McDonald says this helps to keep young people in the north.
