It would be a minimum of three years before Ontario’s ministry of northern development and mines could complete its planned move of a major part of the ministry to Sudbury, according to the ministry’s deputy minister.
George Tough, in an interview with him and assistant deputy minister Dennis Tieman, said for instance the time frame will hinge on such factors as building of completely new facilities in Sudbury to house the relocated government units.
The move, so far, has seemed to attract little attention or comment. What it will involve is the relocation of the Ontario Geological Survey, and the mineral resources branch to Sudbury, along with the ministry’s head office functions.
As well, the Toronto-based staff of the mining health and safety branch of the ministry will go to Sudbury. All told, about 290 positions will be affected, most of which will be Sudbury-bound.
The Ontario Geological Survey, Mr Tough said, would be located at a research facility at Sudbury’s Laurentian University, as would a new mining research directorate announced recently by the Ontario Mining Association.
The latter will be totally financed by industry, and will initially concentrate on ground control and rock mechanics in underground hard- rock mines.
Premier David Peterson, who is currently carrying the northern development and mines portfolio, expressed the rationale behind the moves, in recent speeches delivered in Sudbury and other northern Ontario min”
Mr Tough emphasizes that the relocation scheme is still very much in the initial planning stages, and that opinions and suggestions are being sought from such industry organizations as the Prospectors and Developers Association, and the Ontario Mining Association.
“People are asking that we step carefully on this,” he said.
The plan, in fact, appears not to sit all that well with the Prospectors and Developers.
Lionel Kilburn, president of the Association, told The North”
Mr Tough emphasizes that the relocation scheme is still very much in the initial planning stages, and that opinions and suggestions are being sought from such industry organizations as the Prospectors and Developers Association, and the Ontario Mining Association.
“People are asking that we step carefully on this,” he said.
The plan, in fact, appears not to sit all that well with the Prospectors and Developers.
Lionel Kilburn, president of the Association, told The Northern Miner he did not think the move was a good thing. His group, for instance, objects to the government’s decision being taken without prior consultation with the industry.
“It’s moving against the flow, in our view,” he said, and likely will make it more difficult, rather than easier, to communicate with the ministry and with the government.
Mr Kilburn said there will be primarily a communications problem, which can only be solved if the ministry sets up, as quickly as possible, a highly sophisticated electronic communications system, linking Sudbury with Toronto and other mining centres in the province.
He said despite its concerns, the PDA is taking a positive view of an already-decided situation. “We could end up with a system that is better than the one we’ve got now,” he conceded.
Henry Brehaut, president of the Ontario Mining Association, appeared less concerned than the PDA with the implications of the ministry’s plan.
“From the operator’s point of view, there’s not a lot there,” he said, adding that it’s more of a situation where exploration people “will get on the band wagon.”
One thing that does concern the OMA, though, is the possibility of losing access to the key senior people at the ministry, from the minister down. “It’s essential we have ready access.” Mr Brehaut said.
Mr Tough and Mr Tieman acknowledged that they and other senior staff would likely be spending more time in Sudbury as a result of the shift.
In the new quarters there, there will be new offices for both the minister and the deputy minister, as well as others.
A lot of the drive for the relocation concept came from Premier Peterson, Mr Tough said, indicating the premier is still very much behind it.
“We feel we have made very positive moves,” he said.
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