Media.Knet.Ca

May 13, 2011

A new winter road and two new cell towers in Northern Ontario will help improve access to essential services, create 20 jobs and help the northern economy turn the corner.

With support from the province, the Moose Cree First Nation will establish a 170-kilometre winter access road from Moose Factory to Otter Rapids next winter. This will help residents travel and have access to goods more easily to-and-from the James Bay coastline.

Ontario is also supporting NetCentral, in partnership with Bell Mobility, build two cell towers along Highway 17, one at Echo Bay and the other at Desbarats. These new towers will give local residents and visitors access to broadband services and cell coverage. This will help northerners connect with relatives and friends anywhere and will help local businesses compete with the rest of the world.

Updating Ontario's roads, highways, transit, hospitals and schools is part of the government's plan to create jobs, grow local economies and ensure the province remains strong and competitive for years to come.

 – Michael Gravelle
Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, and chair of the NOHFC

• Ontario is investing $590,000 to the Moose Cree First Nation through the NOHFC's Infrastructure and Community Development Program.
• Ontario is investing $945,150 to NetCentral through the NOHFC's Emerging Technology Program.
• In its Growth Plan for Northern Ontario released March 4, the Province identifies modern transportation and information infrastructure as critical to Northern Ontario's future.
• In April, Ontario had an increase of 56,000 jobs and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9 per cent.