Ontario’s proposed budget will slash about six per cent - or about $50 million -- from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.
Despite the cut, the minister responsible for that ministry says he can still meet the needs of the North.
The minority-led Liberal government released its proposed $127.6 billion, 2013 budget in Toronto Thursday. What the government didn’t detail during the budget presentation at Queen’s Park was the numerous cuts some ministries were facing .
But cuts aimed at the Northern Development Ministry aren’t the deepest proposed. Tourism, Culture and Sport saw a 17 per cent cut to its budget.
The Northern Development and Mines budget will drop from $770.8 million to $724.6 million, bringing it closer to what it was in 2011.
Gravelle said they decided to cancel the Northland Transportation Commission train between North Bay and Toronto in order to save some money. He said a lot of the funding is being allocated into other areas, such as $5 million to First Nation communities near the Ring of Fire.
“Northland Transportation Commission has had some impacts on the reduction of the budget and the different allocation for the electricity rebate program is a factor as well,” he said.
“If the circumstances change and indeed the needs increase then we will make the point that that need is met.”
Gravelle said he was glad the province continued to support the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and the Northern Highways program.
While Gravelle’s budget is being cut, some ministries are seeing an increase. The Ministry of Natural Resources is expected to see a slight increase in its budget by roughly $4 million.
But the cuts has some local officials worried.
Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce President Charla Robinson said it’s still unclear exactly why the Northern Development budget was increased and wanted to know where that $50 million had gone to.
“It looks like it was a one-time increase last year,” she said. “I think we need to get some details. Certainty it is a concern whenever there’s a dramatic decrease in funding particularly in an area like Northern Development and Mines where there’s so much potential. It’s concerning to see when the revenues and the resources are reduced so we’ll be looking to find out more details.”
She said there’s a bit of a disconnect with the province on the massive economic benefits the Ring of Fire could provide. She said that means they have to stress their message even more in order to hammer the point home.
The cuts also worry mayor Keith Hobbs.
“Every talk we’ve had with the premier and with the ministers they seem to know the ramifications of getting the mining piece right,” he said. “We figure there’s a two year window in order to see some real development and some real work on infrastructure starting.”
