Post by Rick (Admin) on May 11, 2013 13:55:28 GMT -5
Gravelle says divestment not the only option
Divestment should not be the only option for the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, says Northern Development Minister Michael Gravelle.
Reflecting a major change in the province's approach to the ONTC, Gravelle told municipal politicians Friday during a Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) conference in Parry Sound that he's come to the conclusion other avenues need to be explored when it comes to the future of the Crown agency.
“We need to be open to options other than divestment,” said Gravelle, noting the shift is a result of feedback he's received since taking on the Northern Development and Mines portfolio earlier this year.
Gravelle said that includes feedback from an ONTC advisory committee he established consisting of Northern stakeholders, including North Bay Mayor Al McDonald.
He said the committee is slated to meet in Toronto on Thursday and will discuss what some of those other possible options for the ONTC may include.
“It will be an important meeting,” said Gravelle.
While in North Bay in March for the advisory committee's inaugural meeting, Gravelle told the media that clearly the decision has been made and that province is moving forward with divestment.
McDonald said Gravelle's new position regarding the ONTC marks the first time there has been any significant movement on the divestment issue since the province announced in March of last year it planned to sell off the Crown agency.
“I'm very pleased,” he said, suggesting the progress is the result of a willingness from all sides to work together.
McDonald said he was also encouraged to hear Premier Kathleen Wynne say during her remarks to the FONOM conference that the ONTC and Metrolinx need to work together.
Prior to the announcement that the ONTC would be divested, there was talk of a strategic alliance between the ONTC and Metrolinx, which would provide steady refurbishment work for the North Bay-based Crown agency.
Although it may no longer be the only option, Gravelle cautioned that divestment is not off the table. He also noted that “everyone” agrees that the ONTC business model needs to change, whether or not that's a result of restructuring or divestment.
Brian Kelly, a spokesman for the General Chairperson's Association, representing unionized workers at the ONTC, welcomed the news that the province has heard Northern stakeholders and is willing to consider other options.
“We're cautiously optimistic,” said Kelly, noting the ONTC unions have also acknowledged that the status quo is not working.
He said the unions would be anxious to meet with the province to discuss how to get out of “divestment mode” and back into “rebuilding mode.”
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli called Gravelle's announcement a clear reaction to his revelation that the government won't save $265 million through divestment but that it will actually cost $265 million, a swing of $530 million.
And he said prior to the last provincial election, when a strategic alliance between the ONTC and Metrolinx was announced, it turned out to be not true at all.
Whatever the decision regarding the ONTC, Gravelle said it needs to make sense and to meet the objectives set out by the province.
The province has said decisions regarding divestment should recognize the economic development value of the ONTC and reflect the need for a Northern transportation strategy that recognizes growth and prosperity.
Ontera, the ONTC's telecommunications arm, is already near the end of the divestment process. The province said in March that proposals were being evaluated and that the next step in the process involves the selection of one or more preferred bidders, followed by negotiations.
Gravelle acknowledged that Ontera is a long way down the divestment road. And he said he has not seen any of the bids. But Gravelle said any proposals for Ontera must also meet the objectives that have been set out by province as has been the case from the outset.
The Ontario Northland Pensioners' Association, meanwhile, has invited Gravelle and other government and ONTC officials to attend its annual general meeting at 2 p.m. at the Elks Club on May 23.
The association was formed in 1999 to recover money they say was improperly removed from the pension surplus by the ONTC to pay for retirements between 1996 and 2004.
www.nugget.ca/2013/05/10/gravelle-says-divestment-not-the-only-option