Northern leaders look beyond resource based economies to prosper

Municipal leaders from northeastern Ontario are descending on Sudbury today to take part in the annual regional conference of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities.

The theme this year is Redefining Resourcefulness, as it is meant to encourage leaders to look beyond their traditional sources of revenue.

Kapuskasing mayor Al Spacek is president of the federation.

"We not only have a strong base in our traditional-based economies, but also, there's a lot of value and future in the non-traditional ones such as education, health care and tourism," he said.

"Some that maybe haven't been viewed as basic fundamental economic pillars and yet, they very much are."

Diversifying the northern economy is key for Iroquois Falls mayor Michael Shea, as his community is still grappling with the closure of Resolute's paper mill.

"We're trying to find ways to address 18 per cent of the budget that at one point, Resolute, part of their tax base, did represent 18 per cent," he explained.

Shea said he'll look for those savings when he meets with cabinet ministers at a forum later this week, a key event that Timmins mayor Steve Black will attend, to find out more about the province's $130 billion infrastructure plan.

"The question still remains how's the half that isn't going to the GTA is going to be split up amongst the province," he said.

Sudbury's mayor Brian Bigger said the province has already guaranteed funding for the Maley Drive extension, so he's concentrated on hosting the event and networking.

"The main reason for this meeting is to have representatives from northeastern Ontario all get together and identify some of our common goals," he said.

The meeting in Sudbury wraps up on Friday.