Thunder Bay often feels neglected by decision makers in Toronto as well as the national media. Indeed, it has sometimes been expressed that for Thunder Bay, bad publicity is better than no publicity at all as it draws attention to its needs. I disagree and am more disposed to the adage that no news is good news. Thunder Bay has been making the national media all too often over the last few months and the attention is not favorable. One really has to wonder why community leaders in Thunder Bay have not been expressing more concern about the issues spanning indigenous relations, institutional problems and social issues given the waves of negative attention.
One only has to take a look at the Toronto Star to see the spotlight that has been focused on Thunder Bay. Indeed, many issues appear to be getting more attention in Toronto and the national press than in Thunder Bay itself. The ultimate economic spillover on our community in terms of its potential as a good place to invest and do business is in serious danger. This is not good for the community and if you think I am exaggerating the potential negative long-term impact that this could have on the city's image and ultimately its economy, take a look at the list of stories that have appeared in the Toronto Star since early May. If you were an investor planning to open a business in Thunder Bay, a tourist thinking of visiting or a student planning to attend the university or college, how would you react to the following list of stories that mention Thunder Bay - just from the Toronto Star?
Northern Economist 2.0
Wednesday 12 July 2017
Sunday 9 July 2017
Economic Forecasts and the Impact on Northern Ontario's Economy: Overview and Assessment
Northern Ontario’s economy, with its traditional reliance on
transportation and resource sector activities in the end relies on the
international economy as a source of demand for its products. With that in mind, it is helpful to see
what the latest forecasts are for the world economy and the potential impact on
northern Ontario. FocusEconomics – headquartered in
Barcelona – is a major international economic research and forecasting company that provides
data and analysis on international economic indicators and produces economic forecasts and
reports. It covers 127 countries, 12 global regions and 33 commodities. It recently released its July 2017 Consensus Forecast for major economies.
Tuesday 4 July 2017
Airships to the Ring of Fire
One of the hurdles to the economic development of the chromite deposits in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire (along with commodity prices and complex negotiations with First Nations) is transportation access to the remote and geographically challenging region. While there has been talk of road and rail access, both of these options are quite expensive. Well, from the pages of the Winnipeg Fee Press comes an editorial that makes the case for an alternate approach -airships. An editorial in the July 3rd edition highlights the work of University of Manitoba professor Barry Prentice who has invested years of his time (and had to deal with some major challenges) in developing an airship prototype.
The Winnipeg Free Press editorial notes that the precedent for northern access using airships is being pursued in northern Quebec where a Quebec Company called Quest Rare Minerals is planning to use a fleet of seven Lockheed airships to transport supplies to its Strange Lake mine near Labrador as well as then carry out the ore. Needless to say, the applicability of the concept to transport in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire is obvious and I have made the case before. Even the House of Commons has apparently thought airships to access the north was an idea worth exploring. The case seems even more compelling now given the increasing fragility of winter ice roads in getting supplies into the north. The First Nations have also noted the possibility of airships as a potential approach as this piece by Chief Elizabeth Atlookan notes. Is this an idea whose time has finally come?
The Winnipeg Free Press editorial notes that the precedent for northern access using airships is being pursued in northern Quebec where a Quebec Company called Quest Rare Minerals is planning to use a fleet of seven Lockheed airships to transport supplies to its Strange Lake mine near Labrador as well as then carry out the ore. Needless to say, the applicability of the concept to transport in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire is obvious and I have made the case before. Even the House of Commons has apparently thought airships to access the north was an idea worth exploring. The case seems even more compelling now given the increasing fragility of winter ice roads in getting supplies into the north. The First Nations have also noted the possibility of airships as a potential approach as this piece by Chief Elizabeth Atlookan notes. Is this an idea whose time has finally come?
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