Ontario’s Far North Feels Neglected by Politicians

The 34-year-old single mother laments the inaction of various governments over the years.

They only give us some help when we declare a state of emergency, she observes. We have to climb on the roof and scream before we get any help.

She hopes that the government that will be elected on June 2 will wholeheartedly support the residents of the Far North, a vast region that covers more than a third of the province.

” I wouldn’t want them to forget us. I’ve felt like this all my life and I don’t want my children to be forgotten. »

Ms. Baxter, like other locals, would like Ontario’s Far North to be a priority. The cost of living, food insecurity, lack of health services and housing are particularly important issues.

Susanna Baxter works at the community health center. Her family’s groceries cost her between $400 and $600 per two weeks, which means she lives paycheck to paycheck. And the food isn’t always fresh when it arrives in the Northshe notes.

If she or her children need dental treatment or suffer from serious health problems, they must travel to Geraldton, more than 200 km away.

The mayor of Moosonee, a village just south of James Bay, thinks the Far North has often been overlooked by politicians. Wayne Taipale says that the NDP MP for Mushkegowuk—James Bay, Guy Bourgouin, went a number of times in the region in recent years.

He would like the representatives of the other political parties to do the same.

” It is as if the other parties in the race forgot that the province does not stop at North Bay or Sudbury. »

The lack of infrastructure largely explains the difficulties in accessing goods and services in Ontario’s Far Northsays economics professor at Lakehead University Livio Di Matteo.

These are remote communities. You can’t get there by driving an hour or two on the 401 freeway. You often have to take a very small planehe adds.

Even if you wanted to build houses there, says Mr. Di Matteo, you would have to transport the materials on the winter roads. which are not passable for very long.

Everything is more complicated and more expensive: building houses, installing facilities or providing high-speed Internet to improve living standards and attract health and education workers.

Marten Falls First Nation Chief Bruce Achneepineskum says the children are out of school this year because there is no proper housing for the teachers.

This would not be acceptable anywhere else in Canadahe says.

The province has promised for years to promote the development of mineral deposits in the Ring of Fire, 500 km north of Thunder Bay. The all-weather roads that would be built for the project would link the Aboriginal villages of the region and facilitate the transportation of the population, the provision of services and the movement of goods.

The Progressive Conservatives, who are seeking re-election, as well as the Liberals and New Democrats have promised to move forward. But regardless of which party will be elected, consultation must take place with the First Nations of Webequie and Marten Falls, who will be affected by the project.

The two First Nations are leading the planning for this road project. Mr. Achneepineskum hopes the road will be built, but also wants the project done right, noting that previous policies affecting First Nations, such as residential schools, had disastrous consequences.

These are our ancestral lands, he said. We want to protect this territory in all respects; whether it is for the environment, the resources it contains and the sharing of revenues, the way in which the environmental impact is assessed, who are the players in the industry and the collaboration with governments so that First Nations benefit they too of this prosperity.

” We hope to be at the negotiating table where real dialogue can take place and real partnerships can be established. »

Susanna Baxter also has a message for the political parties in the race: Think of us. And not just during the campaign.