Party Program
The NOHP’s dream for Northern Ontario was to build a totally integrated industrial complex, i.e., Northern Ontario would produce manufactured products from its natural resources, instead of just exporting raw materials. This would create prosperity for the region, and jobs to enable young people to stay in Northern Ontario. (Many young people leave the region to look for work in southern Ontario and other areas.)
The party aimed to expand the existing complex basis (i.e., mining, milling, smelting and refining, processing activities) to first level manufacturing processing industries and second level manufacturing industries, e.g., stainless steel work, nickel plating, zinc galvanizing, wire and cable works, copper and brass mills, secondary smelting, die casting, sand casting, foundries, iron and steel work, brasses, bronzes alloys, nickel alloys, alloys steels.
Northern Ontario has significant metallic mineral resources: the region produces nearly half of the world’s nickel, and a substantial portion of the Canada’s gold, silver, copper, zinc, uranium, cobalt and platinum metals.
But according NOHP founder Ed Deibel, 100% of Northern Ontario’s raw resources are exported out of the region, and 80% are exported to other parts of the world. Only 20% are turned into made-in-Canada manufactured produces for exports and our domestic markets.
Consequently, Northern Ontario’s economy is concentrated on the extraction and semi-processing (e.g., smelting) of raw materials, which are high-pollution industries.
The NOHP believed that a provincial government could reverse a hundred years of mismanagement by the federal and provincial government of these mineral resources.
The NOHP would have implemented policies requiring that Northern Ontario’s natural resources be manufactured into made-in-Canada manufactured products, with the aim of diverting 50% of its raw materials to manufacturing in Canada.
The NOHP believed that Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system would provide cheap transportation for shipping access manufactured goods to the world markets, and that railways, highways and air transportation could be improved to get manufactured products to world markets.
Furthermore, the region’s highly educated labour force, access to energy, and non-renewable natural and renewable raw resources would be an excellent basis for a strong manufacturing sector.
The NOHP would focus on state of the art technology to minimize pollution and pursue sustainable development.
Strategies for achieving these goals would include:
- Designating Northern Ontario as a manufacturing centre;
- Finding new and innovative ways to turn raw resources into manufactured products for export and for domestic markets;
- Building a culture of innovation and research by encouraging research and development in Northern Ontario universities, and the transfer of new technologies and products to the new manufacturing culture of Northern Ontario;
- Implementing tax incentives for news job created in the manufacturing sector in Northern Ontario; and
- Enforcing the Ontario Mining Act (section 91) condition that patent ores to be treated in Canada.
Article prepared with the kind assistance of Mr. Ed Deibel.
Read more about this topic: Northern Ontario Heritage Party
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