Northern Growth Plan meeting in Sioux Lookout Nov. 25

A public consultation on the Northern Growth Plan is taking place at the Royal Canadian Legion in Sioux Lookout at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 25.

Minister Michael Gravelle of Northern Development and Mines said: "we just want to make sure the plan does what local residents want it to do.”

The provincial government is seeking public input in the document that has been out for a month.

The growth plan is a 25-year plan that will reflect northern priorities in such areas as education, housing, recreation and transportation.

Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Gerry Phillips, whose ministry is responsible for growth planning, will work with Aboriginal leaders, municipal leaders, business, industry and environmental groups and others to develop the plan.

According to Cal McDonald, assistant deputy minister with the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, northern Ontario has 90 per cent of the province's land mass. The north also has eight per cent of the province's population. With one-third of the north's Aboriginal population under the age of 15 and the median age being 29, MacDonald stresses that First Nation people will play a very important role in the northern workforce in the future.

"Aboriginal people will be one-quarter of the labour force (in the north) in the next generation," said McDonald.

The public has until Feb. 1, 2010 to submit written comments.

An additional public consultation will take place Dec. 1 in Moosonee at the Curling Club Lounge.

To send your feedback visit:

https://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10... [1]

For more information on Ontario's Northern Growth Plan, visit:

https://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53... [2]