Community officials concerned that the province's infrastructure funding applications are asking them to put the cart before the horse might have an unexpected kindred soul in George Smitherman.
Ontario's Minster of Energy and Infrastructure admitted that the process "looks a bit like a Catch-22" when speaking to 200 municipal officials at the close of Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities' three-day annual conference in Sudbury's Holiday Inn on May 8.
In order to fit the funding criteria of being "shovel-ready," municipalities are being asked to front the cash for studies before knowing they'll get project funding, a process that some representatives openly expressed as being a major problem.
"Small municipalities like ourselves are not going to go and get a permit to take water and a full environmental assessment unless we know we got dollars," said Brian Koski, CAO of the municipality of Temagami.
Added Smitherman, "I have some of the same concerns. I probably shouldn't admit that, but..too late."
While the precise definition of "shovel-ready" can prove problematic for many such communities, Smitherman went on to say that the real consideration would be given to areas of obvious need which could reasonably get off the ground within six months.
However, with $8 billion in requests spread across 2,760 projects for $4 billion in funding, competition for projects will be "incredibly intense."
This fiscal year and the next, the province of Ontario will spend $32 billion on infrastructure.
Smitherman proved to be the star of the show at the ministers' roundtable which wrapped up the summit. It also featured Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield, Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle, Minister of Tourism Monique Smith and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Carol Mitchell.
However, it was Smitherman who bore the brunt of the questions, having to weather anger over taxation and frustration over funding formulae.
Cansfield fielded a few of her own in a separate interview, wherein she flatly deflected criticism that it may be premature to allocate biofibre prior to the completion of the Northern Growth Plan.
Referring to it as "preliminary criticism," she emphasized the move as one that's being overseen by top academics and experts from various ministries who are working on ideas that will later go out for broader discussion.
Thus far, the Ministry of Natural Resources has received 131 expressions of interest, half of which relate to pelletization and the other half on value-added projects like oils and wood resin.
The request for proposals for the biofibre component will be issued in June, with the winning proponents to be announced in October. The pelletization component will see RFPs later in the fall.
"There is no added manufacturing here. We ship out our raw materials, and we're going to change that."
While the exact timing of the highly-anticipated forest tenure reform has yet to be decided, Cansfield said she was currently seeking direction from cabinet on making it happen, particularly as Ontario is the only global jurisdiction to use the current system.
One community taking a keen interest in such developments is the City of Timmins, where Mayor Tom Laughren hailed the conference as an opportunity to speak directly to provincial decision-makers about key issues. As an example, he says the Northern mayors were particularly concerned about the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF), and about addressing the impact uploading has had on their communities. Rather than allowing them to put money towards roads, sewers and other key services, there has been no net benefit for many in the North.
"We're saying, 'We know you can't make the pie any bigger, but can you look at how the pie is divided up?'"
Smaller communities brought their own regional concerns to the table, which for the town of Hearst meant addressing the issues of First Nations as well as transportation, and sometimes both at the same time.
The lack of jobs and services for many First Nations in the Far North is compounded by a lack of year-round road access, which would benefit all of Northern Ontario, says Mayor Roger Sigouin.
Other road projects, such as the creation of a 78-kilometre road north to PhosCan Chemical Corp's (TSE: FOS) Martison Phosphate Project, could help it move beyond Phase I into true economic viability, he says.
Mac Bain, president of FONOM and councillor with the City of North Bay, says it's precisely this kind of close-knit, high-level discussion for which the conference was designed.
"When you go to a larger conference in Toronto or Ottawa to ask questions of a whole bunch of ministers, you're competing against 400 member municipalities, whereas here you're sitting beside your brothers and sisters in arms and you have better access to ministers than you ever could elsewhere."
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