The newly formed Northern cabinet committee shows the North is getting ready to show its economic strength, says the Minister of Northern Development and Mines.
The first meeting of the special cabinet committee was held last week in Sault Ste. Marie. The committee was created in an effort to ensure policy and legislation being passed by Ontario’s Liberal-led minority government incorporates the North more.
MPP Bill Mauro (Thunder Bay – Atikokan) will serve as the chair of the cabinet committee.
Some of the ministers on the committee include the minister of transportation, infrastructure, economic development and trade, Aboriginal affairs and natural resources.
Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle will also sit on the committee and said it’s a significant step that shows Premier Kathleen Wynne is making the North a priority.
“I think in many ways we are flexing our muscle; certainly our economic muscle,” Gravelle said.
“We brought forward some very interesting initiatives. With the mining sector truly blooming, we know beside the Ring of Fire we have eight or nine mines opening in the North over the next four or five or six years. We’re on the cusp of some extraordinary things happening.”
Gravelle said the northern cabinet committee will be essential in order to meet those challenges when they come up.
The long serving MPP has often heard that northerner’s voices aren’t heard at Queen’s Park.
The cabinet committee is another tool in making sure the North’s concerns is not ignored, he said.
“We want to make sure the entire caucus and province knows how important the North is in terms of the economic future of the entire province of Ontario,” he said.
“We may be the real driver of the economy with the excitement of the Ring of Fire and all the other mining develops that are coming about in the future.”
Although membership into the committee is for Liberal Party MPs, Gravelle said they would seek advice from opposition members.
He added the Northern Ontario Growth Plan will be a main topic of discussion for the committee.
