Fisher Harbour project moves to the next stages

by Neil Zacharjewicz

NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN and the ISLANDS - Despite the efforts of those opposed to the planned expansion of activities at Fisher Harbour, council for the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands has helped to move the project to the next step.

At its February 17 meeting, council voted 5-3 in favour of allowing Alexander Centre Industries Ltd. to amend a town zoning by-law restricting the height of buildings at Fisher Harbour to allow for the construction of a building nearly 100 feet in height. In addition, council opted not to comment on the company's request to amend the commodities list required on Fisher Harbour's water lot lease to allow for nickel concentrate and copper concentrate through the site. Voting in favour of the motions were Councillors Tom Batman, Tony Ferro, Marcel Gauthier, Gary Green and Sam Nardi, while Councillors Bill Koehler, Jim Stringer and Jib Turner were opposed. While Mayor Joe Chapman opted not to vote, under the Municipal Act, choosing not to vote during a recorded vote is considered to be a vote against the motion, although this was not apparent to the mayor until a meeting with a representative from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs held the next evening.

Alexander Centre Industries Ltd. had applied to the town to amend the zoning by-law in order to construct a building to house nickel concentrate and copper concentrate for INCO. The project is part of a proposal to INCO to ship nickel from Voisey's Bay through Fisher Harbour to INCO's Copper Cliff refinery. The proposal is one of several INCO will be considering, although INCO officials have suggested the preferred option at this point is to ship to a port on the St. Lawrence Seaway and move the nickel to its Sudbury and Thompson, Manitoba operations by rail.

The fate of the project now lies in the hands of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). According to Briane Riche, acting area supervisor for the MNR, the Fisher Harbour project is currently considered to be a 'B' Category MNR Class Environmental Assessment project. With the 30 day period for comment on the commodities list having closed on January 27, Alexander Centre Industries Ltd. is now required to prepare a project evaluation, which will identify the purpose of the project, alternatives, a project description, potential environmental effects, guidelines that the MNR considers applicable and any related approvals deemed relevant to the project, required mitigation and enhancement measures, consideration of whether monitoring is required, description of any consultation conducted and issues raised, and an assessment of the project to meet its intended purpose. This project file is a requirement for 'B' Category MNR Class Environmental Assessment projects.

"People can still provide comment after (January 27th)," Mr. Riche noted.

Once the MNR has received the file, the ministry will evaluate and either accept it, request more information from the proponent, or request the voluntary elevation of the project to a Category 'C' or Category 'D' MNR Class Environmental Assessment.

Mr. Riche noted that the project cannot proceed unless the company puts forward a project evaluation, and it could take the ministry anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months to consider the evaluation. He pointed out the evaluation is given consideration by MNR biologists, planners and technicians.

Should the project move forward from the project evaluation stage, a Notice of Completion is sent to all persons and agencies that commented or asked to be notified of the decision. The notice will provide for a 30 day period for comment and an opportunity to review the project file at the MNR office in Espanola during regular office hours. This stage also provides an opportunity for any concerned party or individual to formally request the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) issue a Part Two Order, which would require the project be subject to an individual environmental assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act.

In the event that no Part Two Request is received during the 30 day comment period, the request is resolved and a Statement of Completion is prepared by the MNR and placed on file, allowing the project to proceed.

At the February 17 meeting of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI) council, Councillor Turner expressed concern that the town was being divided over the issue of the project for the sake of a building permit. He noted the company has been operating as it wishes, shipping bulk salt without a license from Fisher Harbour, while the MNR has been more concerned with cottagers building docks on waterlines than resolving this situation.

"This is scary stuff, and I am opposed to it continuing," he said.

The fact that the company was looking to build a larger building on its own property that was not accessible by the public and did not require town services seemed reasonable to Councillor Nardi, who pointed out the project will be International Organization of Standards (ISO) certified. Furthermore, he said he had many cottagers from the ward complain about their high taxes.

"This is about the only way we can hold the lines on those taxes," he said.

Increased traffic and safety issues, noise pollution, and environmental impacts were all concerns expressed from the heart by the residents in the area of Fisher Harbour, noted Councillor Stringer. He suggested that there was a potential downside which could impact the local tourism industry, and he believed council needed to weigh this possibility against any possible up-side. He said it was up to council to represent the people in the area of the project, and the people in the area were opposed to the project.

Whether the residents of Ward One were seasonal or not, Councillor Koehler noted they were taxpayers in the community and had come forward because they had concerns about the project. He noted that he had heard some comment that many of these people were seasonal residents, and should not have a say on the matter.

"I take great exception to anyone thinking this way," Councillor Koehler stated. "These people are a very important part of our community."

While he had given the proposal some consideration, Councillor Green noted that the neighbouring aquaculture operation was not opposed to the Alexander Centre Industries Ltd. request. He added that he was in favour of amending the zoning by-law.

"I am not opposed to amending the commodities list," Councillor Green suggested.

Councillor Marcel Gauthier suggested the issue was a technical one: amending a zoning by-law. He suggested the company would have many hurdles to face even if council approved the amendment, and said that he had faith in the MNR, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to monitor the project.

"We need economic development in our community," he said.

Councillor Ferro indicated while it was not an easy decision, he had weighed every concern, and came to the conclusion that the town was only being asked to consider an amendment to a zoning by-law.

"(The other concerns) will be addressed through the proper agencies," he suggested. "I, for one, am in favour (of the project)."

While he admitted that he was torn on the issue, having had a great deal of affection for the McGregor Bay area, Councillor Tom Batman indicated he believes that the town needs progress.

"Nothing can stay the same forever, and nothing ever does," he said. "I have watched the town where I grew up become almost extinct."

"I do not share the bleak assessment of our community that some others do," stated Mayor Chapman, who suggested there are other ways for the town to grow besides creating jobs. Attracting retirees, he noted, would be one avenue. He said his heart went out to those residents who want to keep the municipality as natural as possible, and suggested council's new priority would be ensuring the project created the minimal environmental footprint on the community.

Lack of familiarity with commodities list led to MNR error at Fisher Harbour

by Neil Zacharjewicz

NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN and the ISLANDS - Commodities lists on water lot leases are uncommon in the Espanola and Sudbury area, and this is believed to have been one of the reasons the Ministry of Natural Resources mistakenly overlooked the fact that bulk salt has been shipped out of Fisher Harbour for several years.

The fact that bulk salt was not on the commodities list for Fisher Harbour, which is owned by Alexandre Centre Industries Ltd., first became apparent to many residents of the area at a recent public meeting held by council for the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI). At that meeting, John Diebel, a spokesperson for the Birch Island Cottagers Association, questioned why the company was applying to have bulk salt added to the commodities list when it had been shipping salt from Fisher Harbour for years.

"I'll be honest, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) comes out looking kind of bad here," said Brian Riche, acting area supervisor for the ministry. He pointed out that, while the situation occurred before his time at the Espanola office, he has been unable to find any documentation allowing Alexander Centre Industries Ltd. to ship bulk salt or silica sand through Fisher Harbour. In fact, the company has been doing so against their Crown water lease.

In an interview following the meeting, Mr. Riche indicated he had looked further into the incident. He explained that when Fisher Harbour was first built, it became involved in one of the first environmental assessments ever conducted, and as a result of that process, a commodities list had been required for the water lot lease.

It would not be until years later that Alexandre Centre Industries Ltd. began shipping in salt through the harbour, and while ministry staff were aware of the water lot lease, few remembered that a commodities list had been required for the property, since the situation was unique in the Sudbury and Espanola area, Mr. Riche explained. As time passed, those ministry staffers retired, and new employees were hired who were not aware of the situation.

It was not until well into the 1990s that a ministry employee, who had been examining the water lot lease agreement, realized that there was a commodities list attached to the lease, he said. At this point, the MNR approached the company to remind them of the commodities list. The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) ordered Alexandre Centre Industries Ltd. to conduct an environmental impact study to determine the effects of the bulk salt on the area.

Mr. Riche noted that the study revealed no environmental impact, but since the company had already made commitments to ship the salt through the harbour, the MNR resolved to allow the company to continue to ship the salt provided they applied to amend the commodities list. The reasoning, he explained, was that while the salt was having no environmental impact, ordering the company to stop shipping the salt would have resulted in an economic impact. Furthermore, he pointed out that the only power the MNR had to enforce the commodities list was to, ultimately, shut down the harbour.

Alexandre Centre Industries Ltd. agreed to apply to amend the commodities list, Mr. Riche indicated, but decided that if the company was going to make an application, it would also like to look at adding additional items to the commodities list. He noted that it took the company until late in 2003 to come up with the list of items it wished added to the commodities list.

The current commodities list for Fisher Harbour includes coal, iron ore pellets, limestone, lumber, paper products, container shipments, and steel. The company has applied to have bulk salt, nickel and nickel concentrate, copper and copper concentrate, quartzite stone products, and natural lake silica sand added to the commodities list.

Mr. Riche pointed out that the situation, ultimately, would have been resolved by the end of 2004 anyway, as the water lot lease expires at the end of the year.

"I am totally not satisfied with his explanation of what has gone on here," stated Joe Chapman, mayor of NEMI. He said the ministry now needs to create some sort of plan as to how it will monitor the site "for the sake of the residents who are uncomfortable with this."

M'Chigeeng opens Health Centre extension

by Michael Erskine

M'CHIGEENG---Patient confidentiality will be the big winner with the addition of over 3,000 square feet of office and meeting space to the M'Chigeeng First Nation Health Centre in a $530,000 expansion.

As the smoke from the cleansing bowl of Elder Ina Panamick still wafted gently through the air, M'Chigeeng Chief Glen Hare addressed the assembled dignitaries and community members who had come out for the M'Nedamowin Health Services grand opening, Thursday, February 19.

"It makes me proud to be at this grand opening," said Chief Hare, after his initial address in Ojibwe. "People ask me all the time, how do we advance so fast? I tell them it is because of the workers, the team we have working together to make these things happen. Not only myself and council, but the workers, everyone working together, that makes things go on. I can't say thanks enough."

Health Services Manager Joe Laford acknowledged the pipe and drum and everyone who came out to help celebrate.

"We practice a holistic approach to medicine," said Mr. Laford. "We deal with the spiritual, emotional and mental well-being of our people, as well as the physical."

The four directions of the medicine wheel are an integral part of the healing process, the process of making one whole as part of the larger community.

Thanks to the efforts of Roger Beaudin, said Mr. Laford, the work he put into finding funding where none seemed to be, the expansion had become a reality.

Mr. Laford pointed out the significance of the Thunderbird emblem in the tiles of the floor.

"The Thunderbird had been in the original building, before the last expansion," he said. "Now it is with us once more."

In fact, thanks to the consultative approach of Chris Perry and the rest of the team from Perry & Perry Architects, said Mr. Laford, the entire building sits in the shape of the Thunderbird. A fact that is only truly appreciated when viewed from the air, but which lends its spirit to all that is endeavored within the confines of the building.

The ability of workers to now meet with clients, in private is of particular importance in allowing the healing process to begin, especially in the area of mental health.

"We used to have four people in an office," said Mental Health Worker Lynn McGregor as she surveyed her new office. "There would be two minimum at any time."

The spirit of team work that infused the building of the new extension was poignantly emphasized with a donation to the Health Centre from the workers presented by Geraldine Ense-McGregor.

The design and construction of the addition was completed with a close eye cast to the future, as beams and walls are robust enough to allow a second floor to be added later.

"We've nowhere to go but up," quipped Chief Hare.

Throne speech preludes savings for municipalities

by Michael Erskine

OTTAWA---With the fire-storm erupting all around him from the Quebec sponsorship program, Paul Martin appears to have missed out on any benefit from what should have been a 'good news' story in rural municipalities.

This year's Throne Speech, the first for the fledgling Martin government, delivered a significant bonus for municipalities across the province, especially those looking at building new water plants, new sewage treatment plants or adding new roads to their infrastructure.

The 100 percent municipal exemption from the GST and HST announced in the Throne Speech will inject $7 billion into municipalities over the next decade, including $580 million in the first year alone, as the exemption is retroactive to 2003.

"We should see savings of about $14,000 this year," said Gore Bay Treasurer Pam Bond. "But next year's savings should be substantial, $224,000 if the new waterplant is taken into account."

A significant amount of savings will be realized by Assiginack as well next year, with that township also facing the considerable costs associated with new water plants.

For the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands the savings will easily reach $54,000 over the next two years, said Clerk Treasurer Ned Martin. Should the town's waterfront development plans move forward within the next decade, a significant amount of savings will likely be generated there as well.

Central Manitoulin is anticipating a further $40,000, on top of the normal $60,000 they currently receive in GST rebates, according to Clerk-treasurer Ruth Frawley.

Reeve Richard Stephens noted the recent announcements of the GST rebate and the possibility of municipalities receiving a portion of the gas tax were two of the main things that arose at the recent Association of MunicipalitiesOf Ontario meeting.

It also means that the $150 million of property taxes currently sent to the federal government by municipalities will stop, ending a difficult to justify situation where one level of government is taxing the taxes of another level of government.

A commitment to move toward addressing the near crisis state of municipal infrastructure was also put forward in the tone of the Throne Speech.

All this is welcome news for struggling municipalities, faced with rising costs at the District Social Service Administration Board, Sudbury District Health Unit and policing costs, over which they exercise little or no control.

"The Government of Canada has outlined an agenda that is both socially and economically responsible," said Algoma Manitoulin MP Brent St. Denis, about the Throne Speech generally. "With new funding for health care and municipalities, a commitment to lifelong learning and a democratic reform plan, the Speech from the Throne provides a forward, optimistic vision for Canada and all Canadians."

Although the GST and HST rebates will have a positive effect on most Island municipalities, many were unable to immediately identify exactly what that benefit will be. Complicating the calculations is the fact that some of what a municipality buys is already rebated, in part portion at least, and in other cases, such as resold services, only the value-added portion is remitted.