Lakehead University president Fred Gilbert used Lakehead’s Paleo-DNA lab as an example of poor government policies resutling in inappropriate distribution of funding. Gilbert claims that Trent's DNA lab cluster is in fact going to duplicate some of the forensic work they can do up there. He notes that the province put Lakehead at a disadvantage when it threw new capital at Trent's DNA venture when Lakehead's existing lab has been heavily supported by Lakehead, FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

We at OurTrent wonder: "Does the province need two DNA labs duplicating each other's work?"

Thunder Bay residents have had their say as the province moves forward with its next budget.

The Finance Ministry held a closed-door pre-budget consultation Wednesday during which city groups could make proposals to Finance Minister Greg Sorbara via teleconference.

Sorbara was to attend the afternoon session in the city, but his flight was cancelled.

Participants said the meeting was still worthwhile.

Lakehead University president Fred Gilbert talked about the need for increased infrastructure development in the North.

“I wanted to point out that the existing policy puts us at a competitive disadvantage,” he said.

Gilbert used Lakehead’s Paleo-DNA lab as an example. It’s been heavily supported by Lakehead, FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund. However, the province chose to invest in a DNA lab cluster in Peterborough.

“They’re going to in fact duplicate some of the forensic work we can do here,” he said. “They can’t throw all the capital at the growth centres.”

Thunder Bay city manager Robert Petrie said he wants to make sure municipal funding programs proposed by the federal and provincial governments — including the gas tax and GST rebate — will be accessible to Northwestern Ontario, and will meet the needs of the region.

Rob Mace, president of Thunder Bay Hydro, spoke about several matters, including the pending closure of Northwestern Ontario’s two coal-fired power plants, the impact on the economy from the closures and the need for a reliable supply of replacement power.

Bill Rogoza of the Northern Ontario Native Tourism Association called for an increase in funding for the region’s tourist industry.

“We feel that the aboriginal youth have a tremendous amount to offer to the tourism industry in Northern Ontario,” he said. “We would obviously encourage the governments . . . to invest in the future of Northern Ontario through aboriginal tourism development.”

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy raised several concerns.

He said municipalities and industries are increasingly looking to the far north for raw materials, such as precious metals or wood for pulp and paper mills.

“The far north is my territory,” he said. “I have a treaty that gives us title and ownership to those natural resources. We need to redistribute the wealth, and one of the things we need to do first is sit down with both levels of government and say ‘these will be the rules of engagement.’”

He encouraged passage of Bill 97, a revenue-sharing bill.

“We’re talking about accessing jobs and training by my people,” Beardy said.

In an interview from Queen’s Park, Sorbara said he’s hosted 11 of 12 planned consultations and there are themes emerging.

He said he’s heard a lot about funding to municipalities, for example, and the plight of the forestry industry in the face of the rising Canadian dollar and high energy costs.

Unique to Thunder Bay, though, was Beardy’s presentation, which Sorbara called “powerful and direct and appropriate.”

“Basically what they said was ‘start to work with us. There is great opportunity in the North,’” Sorbara said. “I would like to meet urgently, because we need to resolve certain issues so we can proceed with that level of economic development.”

After the final consultation, Sorbara and his staff will go over what they heard. No date for the next budget has been set.