Last week provincial residents were informed that the most recent round of provincial budget cuts have included services provided under the Bear Wise program. While talking to regional media last week Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Minister Michael Gravelle said part of the $50 million he has to cut from his department’s budget will include the elimination of technicians to trap and relocate bears. The Bear Wise program, which reported 87 bear occurrences in the Red Lake District last year and 113 in 2010, will still provide 24-hour-a day phone service for advice, said Gravelle.

Responding to a media request on program changes MNR Media Relations Officer Jolanta Kowalski said “Since the Bear Wise program began in 2004, MNR has invested $33.7 million to ensure that Ontarians are aware of the known and preventable causes of human-bear conflicts. The program has been successful in helping municipalities and the public to deal with human-bears encounters. As a result of the program, public awareness is high and many municipalities have robust bear wise strategies in place. The time is right to shift this program from an active management model to one that emphasises personal responsibility.”

Provincial advocates say the Ontario government’s move is going to put campers and residents in greater danger as more than half the number of staff trained to deal with bears that threaten people’s safety are being cut.

“The McGuinty Liberals are way off base with claims that government can take this huge step back and make the warding off of bear attacks a personal rather than public responsibility,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union last week who noted there are now only 21 technicians in 15 northern Ontario communities, down from 48 in 25 communities. “Bears don’t read MNR education materials or heed NO TRESSPASSING signs. Sometimes, despite people’s best efforts, bears pose a danger to humans. Cutting experts out of the mix is hardly the answer.”

Gravelle said last week that residents who feel threatened by our fuzzy neighbours should call 911 or the Ontario Provincial Police. This philosophy has concerned one local resident, Sandy Marshall, who had a series of visits from a now-dispatched bear last summer.

Marshall characterized her reaction to the cuts as disbelief last week and said in a statement “while most bears wander around the community during the night, perhaps causing some damage to garbage containers, and the mess associated with such, and as much as that is annoying, it isn’t really a concern to public safety.
However, I am aware of a few circumstances where bears become bold, and approach residential areas during the day, posing a safety risk to residents. If we are to rely solely on the OPP to protect the community from these embrazened bears, I think we are putting ourselves in jeopardy. The OPP’s role is not that of wildlife management, and they may be busy with other calls that prevent them from responding immediately. Also, if they are able to respond, and must take the necessary steps of dispatching the bear, who will deal with the remains? Will they be left to rot on community streets, or individuals’ properties? This could then draw in other predatory creatures, creating an untenable situation. I am also concerned that if residents feel unprotected, they may take matters into their own hands, and attempt to deal with a nuisance bear on their own.”

The Government of Ontario is banding behind a $3.3-billion investment to build a chromite mine, transportation corridor and processing facility in Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire. Set to pave the way for a “new generation of prosperity in the north”, the investment was announced by Cliffs Natural Resources last week and is promising thousands of jobs and new infrastructure for the region.

“Ontario is blessed with an abundance of natural resources at a time in history when the world is developing faster than ever and demanding these resources,” said Rick Bartolucci, Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM). “We are taking advantage of this incredible opportunity in the Ring of Fire to further open up Northern Ontario by bringing thousands of jobs, new infrastructure and economic opportunities to cities, towns and First Nations’ communities.”

One of the more than 20 companies currently holding claims in the Ring of Fire, an area located 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay in Ontario’s Far North, Cliffs Natural Resources is an international mining and natural resources company and has set its sights on a large deposit of chromite—the key ingredient of stainless steel. The largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a significant producer of high and low volatile metallurgical coal, the Company will build a $1.8-billion chromite processing facility near Sudbury to create 450 construction jobs, employ 450 people when the facility is in operation and to create more than 750 additional direct and indirect employment opportunities for Northern Ontarians.

“The Ring of Fire is a tremendous investment that will bring tangible benefits for Thunder Bay and Greenstone, as well as other communities in the Northwest, including First Nations in the Ring of Fire itself,” confirmed Michael Gravelle, Natural Resources Minister and MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North. “There are significant economic opportunities to be realized for our communities including new jobs and infrastructure, training opportunities, and a range of local and regional business opportunities, all which will drive growth and increase investment for future generations.”

Despite the provincial government’s enthusiasm, not everyone is onboard with Ring of Fire development. This includes Aroland First Nation which recently filed a request for disclosure to the MNDM on information pertaining to the Cliffs’ chromite mining project under the Freedom of Information and Protection Privacy Act.

Situated west of Nakina in Greenstone, within the Thunder Bay district, Aroland First Nation is one of the communities that will be directly impacted from the Cliffs initiative and according to Chief Sonny Gagnon, the decision to file a freedom of information act came after the community discovered that the provincial government and Cliffs had been holding confidential meetings and concealing information. “We need to find out what has been going on behind closed doors. Our community is going to be impacted by the Cliffs project along with many others, but we are not part of these meetings, nor were local municipalities,” he said on May 7th prior to the province’s official declaration of support. “We need to find out the extent of these exclusive meetings. They are deciding the future for everyone in Northwestern Ontario without consulting any of us.”

The freedom of information request seeks records in the possession of the MNDM and any provincial department and ministry with which the MNDM participated in the decision to site the Cliffs Natural Resources Ferrochrome Production Facility in the greater Sudbury area. “This is exactly why a Comprehensive Environmental Assessment does not work for First Nations,” furthered Gagnon. “We want a negotiated Joint Review Panel, we want to fully participate, we want to protect our land, our people and exercise our Aboriginal Treaty Rights. We don’t want too be a victim of the Comprehensive Study EA and end up like Attawapiskat.”

Serious concerns were again raised by Chief Gagnon after an “11th hour meeting” on May 8th between provincial officials, Chief Gagnon and Chief Elijah Moonias of neighbouring Marten Falls First Nation. “After ignoring First Nations for months, Ontario thought they could divide and conquer us by holding an 11th hour meeting and making a few promises without our fellow Matawa Chiefs present,” the frustrated Chief offered later in the week. “Ontario needs to deal with First Nations first rather than simply taking orders from Cliffs. We want the refinery in Aroland territory and we want the highest standard of environmental review for the project.”

While the chromite project has advanced to the feasibility stage, the Company must receive provincial and federal environmental assessment approvals, consult and negotiate agreements with affected First Nations communities, work with governments to address the lack of infrastructure in the Ring of Fire and complete its commercial and technical feasibility studies before the project can break ground.

Mat Cats Gymnastics has finally wrapped up their amazing competitive season. Five regional and one national level gymnast made the trip to Sioux Lookout on April 28th to compete in the final North Western Ontario competition of the season. All six gymnasts showed off their amazing routines and returned home with many medals and ribbons.

The following weekend, Mat Cats top four gymnasts headed to Toronto to compete in the Burlington Spring Cup. This competition is the largest invitational competition in Canada and featured gymnasts from Ontario, Quebec and Alabama. The four gymnasts competed some of their best routines of the season and returned home with plenty of new goals to work towards.

Mat Cats Gymnastics competitive team is now back in the gym training new skills and already preparing for the 2012/2013 competition season which begins in November. Our competitive team would like to thank all of the parents who spent many hours traveling and sitting in chalk filled gyms this season. The girls greatly appreciate all of the support they have received from the community and would like to especially thank the following sponsors who help make travel to national and international competitions possible; Red Path, Merritt, Goldcorp, Atlas Copco and Normet.

RESULTS:

Sioux Lookout Invitational:
(Gymnast/ Level/ Vault/ Bars/ Beam/ Floor/ AA)
Shyana Picard – 9yrs/2/2nd/2nd/2nd/2nd/2nd
Erin Green – 10-11yrs/2/5th/3rd/4th/4th/4th
Rebecca Potter – 10-11yrs/2/4th/5th/5th/5th/5th
Brianna Andrusky – 10-11yrs/3/4th/4th/4th/4th/4th
Elise Delaney – 12-13yrs/3/3rd/3rd/5th/4th/5th
Trinity Mercer – 9yrs/8/1st/1st/1st/1st/1st

Burlington Spring Cup:
(Gymnast/Level/Vault/Bars/Beam/Floor/AA)
Jasmine Fiddler – 10yrs/4/11th/7th/10th/11th/13th
Ally Clement – 10yrs/5/12th/11th/15th/13th/16th
Trinity Mercer – 9yrs/8/4th/4th/4th/4th/4th
Hannah Gula – 12-13yrs/8/7th/8th/8th/10th/8th

Twenty-six cast members took to the stage at the Ear Falls Legion for a three night performance of Theatre 105 from May 3-5, 2012 which celebrated the 25th show for the local stage performers. The show entitled “Everything Old is New again” included premier “skits, jokes, songs and dance” said Jean Robinson, who has been at the helm of all 25 productions over the last 24 years.

“We started 25 shows ago – one year we did two shows because it was Ear Fall’s anniversary so we did two shows that year,” described Robinson last week while discussing the history of the group “We started in the Hydro Hall and then it got too small there so we moved to the Legion. [The show] is a community theatre, any adults that want to be in it can be in it – we quite often have teenagers and once in a while we have children.”

Along with the growing cast Robinson recognized long-serving members Jim Desmarais and Rudy Prokesch who have also been part of the production for the past 25 shows and said this year’s performance saw actors recycling some old material along with some new songs and new jokes. “We used a lot of the old skits – a lot of the actors saying here we are still at it with new material.”

The three night performance brought out a packed house for three nights and sold out tickets to the Ladies Auxiliary fundraising dinner before Saturday’s performance.

Speaking to the Northern Sun News last week, Mayor Kevin Kahoot described the production as great for the community noting “Theatre 105 is truly an annual event that makes the residents of Ear Falls feel like family.”

The Municipality of Red Lake will appoint a new Councillor next week to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Councillor Jason Baker in March. Opting to forgo an expensive by-election, the governing body has 60 days to fill the post and will pick from a list of candidates that includes Balmertown residents Russel Power, Alana Procyk and Carol Baron as well as Red Lake resident Sidney Gould at its May 22nd Open Meeting of Council.

Elected to serve as Council representative with the Municipality of Red Lake in October of 2010, former Balmertown resident Jason Baker was on an approved leave of absence from his civic responsibilities when his formal resignation was tendered on March 30th, 2012. Sitting on the Municipal Planning Advisory Committee as well as the Municipal Parks and Recreation Committee, Baker transferred his employment from Goldcorp Red Lake Gold Mines to a mining company in Manitoba in late 2011 which complicated his ability to attend meetings and factored into his decision to vacate his seat on Council.

“It is my hope to return to the Municipality of Red Lake to continue with my civic life as I believe in this community and the people that live in it,” Baker wrote in his letter of resignation. “It has been my privilege to represent and serve with Mayor Phil Vinet, Council and Staff.”

Seeing little good in tapping into taxpayer dollars to fund a by-election for a two-year term, Municipal Council decided after declaring an official vacancy on April 16th that they would move forward with the option to appoint a new Councillor. Issuing a request for interested members of the general public to submit their names for consideration, an official list of candidates was finalised on May 4th and now Council will move to appoint a new member from that catalogue.

Prior to the appointment on May 22nd, each of the four Municipal candidates will be given an opportunity to address Council for a period of not more than ten minutes before being asked to respond to a series of questions predetermined by current members of Council. To be provided a maximum of one minute to answer each question, candidates will be sequestered in a separate room while they await their interview session however will be permitted to join the gallery once their turn has passed. Once Power, Procyk, Baron and Gould have had an opportunity to speak, members of Council will cast a verbal vote and a new Councillor will be appointed to fill the vacancy. According to Municipal Clerk Shelly Kocis, the Declaration of Office will be completed at that time and then the successful candidate will join the other Councillors at the table and the meeting will continue.

As the appointment of a new Councillor will take place at an Open Meeting of Council in Council Chambers in Balmertown, all members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend.

Last weekend community volunteers took to the streets to help green-up the Red Lake area. Participating in the Red Lake Green Committee’s annual Garbathon, area residents scorned sidewalks, ditches and green space for litter and debris before gathering at community fire halls for refreshments and the chance to win a handful of prizes.

While collecting misplaced garbage may not be everyone’s idea of a well-spent Saturday morning, especially when the sun is shining and the local links, fishing holes or garage sales are calling your name, there is certainly a sense of satisfaction to be found from cleaning up areas riddled with trash which extends far past any physical workout. Take a look around our communities and you’ll no doubt spot the difference right away. It’s nice to live in a litter-free zone even if there’s bound to be some new trash collected in pockets of grass as the months of summer progress.

If you missed the opportunity to participate in this year’s Garbathon, do not miss another chance to lend a helping hand this weekend as a group of volunteers band together to clean up an illegal dump site down Nungesser Road. Hoping to make fast work of the piles of trash and recyclables located on the Balmer Demonstration Road approximately five kilometres down Nungesser Road, the group will hit the ground running at 9:00am on May 26th and is encouraging anyone interested in protecting our local green spaces to show up with gloves in hand to help load trucks with debris to be transported to the Municipal Waste Disposal Site.

And if you’re unwilling or unable to help with that, here’s a plan of action that can easily be tackled on a day-to-day basis with little inconvenience or trouble really—when you have garbage or recyclables in need of disposal find a trash or blue bin and hit your mark. It’s certainly nice to see so many people joining the plight to make the Red Lake area litter-free but such measures wouldn’t be needed if the litterbugs among us were respectful to the environment and this community and didn’t toss their waste on the ground in the first place.

Letters to the Editor can be submitted via news@thenorthernsun.com

VOICE for hearing impaired children is a charity that helps deaf and hard of hearing children to learn to listen and to speak and to effectively integrate into our community.

Submitted photo.

District residents will be finding out this month if natural gas service will be coming to their doorsteps as Union Gas Limited has given project partners mere weeks to confirm funding on the more than $19 million expansion.

Communicating with Municipal officials last week the company noted that $2.7 million in federal funding has yet to be secured and a further $750,000 shortfall had been identified when all the funding was accounted for. Writing a letter, dated May 1st, to inform municipal officials on the status of the project General Manager for Infranchise Sales and Marketing David Simpson explained: “Union Gas, like the Municipality, would like to see these communities serviced with natural gas as originally planned; however, based on the funding sources currently identified for Phase II, a shortfall of $0.75 million still exists.” Giving the Municipality until May 3rd to decide, Simpson proposed that the Municipality commit to funding the shortfall and offered a four year payment schedule starting in 2013.

Calling an emergency council meeting on May 3rd to address the request, municipal staff recommended committing the funding, as without it, the project would either be cancelled or scaled back. Addressing those gathered Chief Executive Officer Brian Anderson explained that by approving the expenditure “Council would not have to sit down and point at a ratepayer and say you are not getting natural gas. If we don’t have the [money] the project will be dropped or downsized by $750,000 so there will be areas within the three townships that would not get gas.”

Anderson says the $187,000 a year required to pay back Union Gas for the shortfall would be obtained through the tax revenue gained by the Municipality from the utility along with the realized savings from converting applicable municipal buildings to the lower cost fuel option. “The Municipality pays approximately $160,000 per year in fuel oil costs. These costs will be reduced by 40 per cent once converted to natural gas for a savings of $64,000. The Municipality also pays approximately $24,000 per year for propane. These costs will be reduced by 50 per cent once converted to natural gas for a savings of $12,000,” he added.

Concerned about the commitment made to district residents in July 2010 when the Municipality promised it would not pass on the cost of the natural gas project to the ratepayers, Councillors questioned where funds for infrastructure upgrades would come from and what the impact on the project would be if federal funding was not secured. Anderson noted that municipal reserves could be tapped for the up to $20,000 needed to upgrade municipal heating and water systems and that without the federal funding the project is expected to be cancelled.

Weighing in on the discussion Mayor Phil Vinet advocated for the Municipality to support the gas line expansion into the community. “What it does is provides for $150,000 plus in tax revenue from here to eternity. That is where the money is,” explained the Mayor. “You are actually leaving a legacy of predictable revenue over 10, 20, 50 years. Ear Falls is a classic example, they put the line in [in the 60s] and they have been enjoying the tax benefits until this very minute and it is predictable revenue as it is based on your tax rates…with it going on commercial land it could generate significant dollars over the next 50 years.”

After 35 minutes of discussion Councillors voted unanimously to approve a Resolution supporting the expenditure. The municipal funding will join the provincial contribution announced last fall of $4.9 million, Goldcorp’s contribution of $2.15 million and Union Gas’ expenditure of $8.8 million. Although a figure related to the number of homes to be serviced was not available at press time from Union Gas, municipal officials confirmed many Red Lake, Balmertown, Cochenour and Chukuni Subdivision properties are scheduled to receive the service and properties in Madsen, Starratt Olsen, McMarmac and McKenzie Island are not.

Last Piece of the Puzzle

The federal government has been the last partner to come to the table to support the residential and commercial portion of the Red Lake Gas Pipeline Project having been asked to provide $2.7 million through regional development agency FedNor. When contacted last week, Parliamentary Secretary for the agency and Kenora MP Greg Rickford confirmed an application for the funding had been received and is currently being reviewed through the agency process. Unable to provide a timeline on when a decision will be made Rickford said there are economic benefits to a project of this magnitude. “I think [the project] represents an important alternative energy which will help sustain the community residentially and industrially. I think this whole process finds itself in a situation where major industries in Red Lake need the additional energy requirements so the benefits to residents I think comes along with that and to that end it is a more energy efficient and affordable form of energy so I think all around it is good for the community.”

Union Gas says as the construction season is underway and workers are returning to the area to complete the 43 kilometres of pipeline and supporting infrastructure that will connect Goldcorp Red Lake Gold Mines properties to a natural gas supply. The first phase of the pipeline project is expected to be completed and online by the fall.

Northern Ontario’s economic development agency is passing along federal budget spending cuts to regional organizations, however, officials say core program funding won’t be affected. Parliamentary Secretary for FedNor Greg Rickford confirmed last week the department will be phasing out the Local Initiatives Program administered by Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDC).

“FedNor’s contributions to CFDCs and program spending will not be affected,” noted the Kenora MP. “Obviously like other economic development programs and agencies we are going to implement expenditure reductions in efficiencies and programs. We don’t believe that this will mean any closures in FedNor offices at this point but we are committed to balancing our budget and every department and program is going to feel a varying degree of a pinch. What I can say specifically is the Local Initiative Program funding to CFDCs will be phased out as existing agreements expire.” Rickford says as the contracts come up on current top-up programs funding will not be reviewed. “Some agencies have signed agreements just before the budget ended and they are good for three years so they won’t be affected by this but if some are set to expire within the next year they are just not going to be renewed.”

For the Red Lake that means funding will no longer be available past December 31, 2012 says Cathy Quesnel-Loessl, Manager/Business Development Coordinator for Chukuni Community Development Corporation.

“As this will be the final year for delivery of the Local Initiatives (LI) program in the district, CCDC is encouraging organizations to apply for up to $5,000 to assist with projects that they may not have the funding for,” said the manager this week. “All guidelines are available on our website at www.chukuni.com under the Local Initiative Program tab. If you’re not sure if your project is eligible, please contact the office to discuss it further. Chukuni has a contract for $50,000 this year and our goal is to make sure it is fully utilized by the district. Please get your applications in ASAP.”

Since its inception the Local Initiatives Program has provided an average of $50,000 annually to local not-for-profit groups funding for various projects containing elements of economic development and demonstrating a commitment to improving community well-being. Since the program began in 2002 it has dispersed in excess of $433,000 and leveraged over $742,000 for projects that Quesnel says may not have happened without the assistance of the LI contribution.

Next month a familiar face will be taking the reins at Rubicon Minerals Corporation as last week the company announced Michael Lalonde would assume the position of President and Chief Operating Officer. The appointment is effective June 1st and will include a six month transition period. The company said in a release last week that Lalonde’s mandate is to optimize the development of the Company’s flagship, Phoenix Gold Project, situated in Red Lake, Ontario, and to position the Company for future growth.

“We are delighted to welcome Mike to Rubicon and look forward to him leading the next chapter in the development both of our Phoenix Gold Project at Red Lake and the Company going forward,” said David Adamson of the new hire. “Mike has demonstrated extensive, successful senior level experience in all aspects of the development and operation of numerous gold mines with a variety of recognized producing companies. This includes his highly relevant experience with Goldcorp at Red Lake, both at its high-grade, world class producing Red Lake Mine and its ongoing Cochenour development project. Mike’s appointment is a significant endorsement of Rubicon and our Phoenix Gold Project and I look forward to working with him during the transition and beyond.” Adamson will remain Chief Executive Officer during the transition period and thereafter will assume the position of Chairman of the Board.

In referring to the contribution of David Adamson, Chris Bradbrook, lead Director, stated: “Under David’s leadership, Rubicon has undergone exceptional growth, transforming from a small exploration company with an $8 million market capitalization to its current status as a permitted, well-funded, highly valued and respected company with a world class, new gold deposit in Red Lake, as well as control of a significant portion of the Red Lake Gold camp. We recognize David’s significant role in maintaining the vision that Red Lake could drive shareholder value for Rubicon. He received well-deserved public recognition for his role in the discovery of the F2 Gold Deposit as a 2010 co-winner of the AME-BC Colin Spence Award for Excellence in Global Mineral Exploration. We thank David for his dedicated contribution to Rubicon over 16 years and look forward to his continuing contribution both during the transition period and thereafter, as Chairman.”

Lalonde leaves his previous position of Director of Underground Projects for Goldcorp Inc which included managing the development of the Cochenour project in Red Lake and his resume also includes General Manager of Goldcorp’s Red Lake Gold Mines between 2008 and 2011 and General Manager of Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine in Guatemala between 2006 and 2008 which brought the underground operation into full production status. Lalonde holds a B.Sc. in mining engineering from Michigan Technological University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario.

Goldcorp Inc representatives said last week that no one had yet been named to replace Lalonde with Corporate Communications Manager Christine Marks noting “we have a great team in place who will continue the exceptional work they’ve always done. We wish Mike the best in his future endeavors and thank him for his contribution to Goldcorp.”