(The Northland Daily News posted the following article by Rick Owen on its website on June 19.)
KIRKLAND LAKE, Ont. — The ON General Chairpersons’ Association is confident the ISG plan for Ontario Northland will work without the need for an immediate capital injection from the government.
Representatives from unions and management formed the Ontario Northland General Chairpersons’ Association and came up with what it calls the Internal Solutions Group proposal to operate the ONR. The government then gave exclusive rights to CN Rail to negotiate to purchase ON Rail, but CN backed away because it said it couldn’t live up to the job commitments the government was calling for. Since then the Ontario Northland General Chairpersons’ Association has been trying to get the government to accept the ISG plan.
“We are convinced the ISG proposal can work without a capital infusion. The only thing required of the government immediately, is the commitment to implement the ISG proposal so the restructuring process can begin. We are not looking for the sort of huge capital injection required by GO Transit, we only need the authority to begin the changes that will improve our profitability,” said GCA President Phil Koning.
The CGA says service improvements were the stated purpose of the process initiated by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines in March 2000. Three years have passed and the province has yet implemented any service improvements in Ontario Northland.
“The only thing that is required is the authority and direction to implement the ISG proposal and begin the service improvements contained within it. We have commercial sources of revenue to draw from and an improved and more profitable Ontario Northland will reduce the requirement of future contributions by the province,” said Koning.
“Minister Wilson has previously stated he wants to work with the unions, we are ready to do that and are waiting for Premier Eves to contact us. The Commission needs to be replaced in accordance with the municipal resolutions passed in 2001. Once the governance aspect of the proposal is addressed, the Internal Solutions Group stands ready to work with the province to ensure the six objectives are maximized through the implementation of the plan,” said Koning.