THUNDER BAY – The mining industry in Ontario needs a strong voice in government, and more importantly, a government that understands that further regulation will not help grow the industry and create new jobs.
The PC Party of Ontario plans to repeal Bill 191, The Far North Act; a law that effectively turns the North into a museum by banning development and killing potential jobs. We will also provide assistance by allowing local municipalities and First Nations to keep the revenue from the Mining Tax for any new mines that are developed.
As Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Tim Hudak helped to take Ontario to the very top of the rankings of the world’s best mining jurisdictions. In 2001, we were ranked 1st overall. Today we have plunged to 19th, and we are just 7th in Canada. Ontario needs a robust mining industry and the good, reliable, high-paying jobs it brings. A Tim Hudak government will be its strongest supporter.
The real reason jobs are leaving Northern Ontario is because of Dalton McGuinty’s skyrocketing hydro rates, bureaucratic red tape and bans on development. The Ontario PC Party is the only party to release a comprehensive plan based on two years of listening directly to residents and business operators within Northern Ontario. Changebook North addresses the entire northern economy.
The NDP has yet to indicate their intentions in regards to Bill 191, nor have they presented a Northern plan. And unlike Tim Hudak and the PC Party of Ontario, they have no plan to make hydro rates competitive.
Anthony LeBlanc
Candidate, Thunder Bay Superior North
