From the Chronicle Journal in Thunder Bay.....

A new forest tenure system and revised mining act will help Northwestern Ontario recover financially in the new year, Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Minister Michael Gravelle said Tuesday.

“I feel very, very confident and optimistic about the future,” Gravelle told the Port Arthur Rotary Club during a luncheon at the Prince Arthur Hotel.

“I recognize that we will continue to face . . . challenges, and there‘s going to be some ups and downs as we go through the various cycles we go through.”

His optimism – for the purposes of Tuesday‘s speech, in any case – was founded on the new forest tenure system, mining act revisions and the Northern Ontario growth plan.

Of the forest tenure overhaul, Gravelle said his ministry has managed to find around 11 million cubic metres of wood that will be up for grabs. Both big, established companies and small startups can bid, and the supply will go to whoever presents the best plan.

“A number of the companies who have sustainable forest licences have not harvested for several years,” he said. “We certainly need to continue to support our primary forest sector.

“But I also think we need to be able to give an opportunity to the new entrants, new companies who have got some ideas, particularly on the value-added side, to move things forward.”

The wood supply isn‘t being taken away from the licence-holders, Gravelle said. All companies have the chance to bid on the supply, he said, adding he wants to ensure the companies will actually use the wood they have access to.

After the speech, Gravelle said that, in the best years, about 25 million cubic metres of wood supply would be used provincewide, so the amount that‘s up for bids is substantial.

The deadline for bids is March 6, and Gravelle said the ministry should be able to announce who‘s getting what six months after that.

The mining act revisions, he said, came because the 100-year-old legislation needed updating.

“It needed to more properly reflect the values of the 21st century, certainly in terms of how we work with our Aboriginal partners in particular,” he said. “But we also recognized how important it was to maintain a positive investment climate.”

Gravelle said the mining sector has seen a positive turnaround in the region. The North American Palladium mine at Lac des Iles is to reopen next month, he said, and exploration is at a good level, but not as high as it has been in the past.

Then there‘s the Ring of Fire, an area in the James Bay lowlands rich in chromite, which Gravelle equated to the discovery of nickel in the Sudbury basin.

Finally, the growth plan will identify areas that Northern Ontario economic development efforts should focus on, he said.

A draft was released in the fall, and it‘s currently working its way through the consultation circuit. The final plan will likely be released in the spring, Gravelle said.