Well, the Drummond Report (a.k.a. The Commission on the
Reform of Ontario’s Public Services) is finally out and it is indeed a weighty
tome. It is encyclopedic in its scope
and details hundreds of recommendations.
Despite it being described as gloomy, I thought that it was actually a relatively
optimistic document. While Ontarians
have to come to grips with a diminished economy and diminished fiscal state, as
the report writes: “By current international standards, Ontario’s debt is still
relatively small. We are a very long way
from the dreadful fiscal condition of countries that have dominated the news in
the past two years.” This reinforces my
prior view that the report is in many ways a bogeyman designed to scare
Ontarians before a relatively more modest program of expenditure restraint is
introduced in the spring Ontario budget.
There is a lot of material here but a preliminary scan
suggests the report has some very interesting and useful ideas – some of which
will not be palatable to the government.
Health and education get off relatively lightly in that they are recommended to have nominal if small expenditure increases.
With respect to Northern Ontario, the Drummond Report is rather
impressive in its grasp of the significance of various aspects of Northern
economic development. The following
points in particular extracted from the Drummond Report:
Ring of Fire: This development of major mineral deposits in northern
Ontario offers the prospect of substantial socio-economic opportunities for all
northern residents, particularly Aboriginal Peoples. The government should
collaborate with Aboriginals, industry and the federal government to maximize
these opportunities.
Recommendation
9-8: Develop a labour-market policy
framework to link planning for employment and training services more strongly
to economic development initiatives led by ministries such as Economic
Development and Innovation; Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and Northern
Development and Mines.
Ring of Fire
The Ring
of Fire development in northern Ontario represents a significant opportunity to
both realize major mineral development in the region and improve socio-economic
opportunity and quality of life for Aboriginal People and other residents of
the north. Managed properly, the project will provide benefits over several
decades. Success in the Ring of Fire
will require collaboration between Aboriginal People, industry, and the federal
and provincial governments. With a focus on creating a healthy workforce,
education and skills training, and basic community infrastructure, the
government should take innovative approaches to expand labour-market and
training programs for First Nations communities. This approach would include
implementing a full range of employment programs and related social supports
that are available through social assistance for recipients living on reserve.
These include education programs, job-specific training, literacy programs and
programs that support young parents. The Commission is optimistic that industry
partners will employ Aboriginal People throughout the life of the Ring of Fire
and work as partners with government to deliver or fund (perhaps both) the
employment and training services required. If voluntary efforts by the business
sector lag, the government should consider putting a levy on mining-related
activities to directly fund initiatives that will prepare Aboriginal People to
participate economically in the Ring of Fire.
All in all, this is not bad news for the north. The specific focus on the Ring of Fire and its potential benefits for Aboriginal peoples will hopefully provide an impetus for the provincial government to pursue this region as an investment frontier for the entire province. The Drummond Report also mentions regional
gas tax revenues, which suggests that he may be more inclined towards
devolution in his perspectives than the Ontario government as a whole. After all, if you can have regional gas tax
revenues, why not regional resource revenue retention? As for the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, there
is no specific mention of what should be done with it. However, while the report is critical of
business subsidies, it recommends that future policy should refocus the mandate of business support programs from job
creation to productivity growth in the private sector. Refocusing the NOHF to productivity investments is not a bad thing.
