THUNDER BAY – The City of Thunder Bay is finding mixed success in its push on several priorities at the Association of Ontario Municipalities (AMO) conference, an annual gathering of municipal and provincial leaders.
Members of the city’s delegation said Tuesday progress remained uncertain on priorities they had raised in meetings with a handful of provincial ministers, including the Thunder Bay Expressway, the call for a mental health and addictions crisis centre, and the city’s bid to host the 2024 Ontario Winter Games.
Mayor Bill Mauro raised the call for a 40-bed crisis centre with Minister of Health Christine Elliott, he said. The proposal, created by the Thunder Bay Mental Health and Addictions Network, a coalition of over 20 local organizations in the sector, was submitted to the province over a year ago.
Advocates envision the centre serving as a hub to provide short-term crisis support and connect patients with other resources in the community, as some local agencies report turning away more people seeking withdrawal management services than they’re able to help.
The province has indicated an upcoming announcement of new support for treatment beds, Mauro said, but based on a recent meeting with Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo, he’s skeptical it will be sufficient to address the needs outlined in the proposal.
“Of course, any announcement of support will be welcome, but there was no clear answer on whether or not this comprehensive proposal we’ve submitted is going to be entertained or not,” he said. “We were really hopeful that would have gotten some traction by now.”
Delegates from the city also met with Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney, discussing the local Alstom plant’s long-term viability.
“We’ve just had some good news, and we expressed our thanks to the minister in that regard. But we do know the runway is not long… we’ll be back at this probably in a year or so unless we see more procurement contracts come forward.”
Most of the conversation, however, was about longstanding plans to reconfigure the Thunder Bay Expressway into a divided highway. Funding commitments for the project remain uncertain, though a briefing noted from the province indicated a potentially encouraging timeline, Mauro said.
That document suggested part of the project will be ready to go out for bids in 2021, and could be shovel ready by 2025, according to the mayor.
In the meeting with Mulroney, however, he said no firm timelines were offered.
“In terms of progress, on the bureaucratic side, I think the work is being done to get it closer to being able to go out to bid,” Mauro said. “But at the same time, it’s fair to say there’s not money attached... In terms of being in the queue even when all the paperwork gets ready, there’s certainly no determination we can draw that the Thunder Bay Expressway is at the top of that list.”
Mauro expressed more optimism on the city’s 2024 Ontario Winter Games bid, saying he had heard anecdotally the city might have been the only one to apply.
He expressed surprise at the lack of a formal announcement, months after the submission deadline. The city will seek provincial assistance for athlete travel subsidies for the event, if awarded, Mauro said.
City councillor Brian McKinnon, another AMO delegate, said the meeting has been productive, but there was no question its virtual format limited the ability to make connections.
“What’s missing is what we call the parking lot meetings,” he said. “That’s where a lot of things happen.”
