Wynne to visit Ontario's North, Thunder Bay not on itinerary

TORONTO – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne on Saturday begins a week-long tour of Northern Ontario, though her series of stops does not appear to include Thunder Bay.

Wynne is expected to visit schools, hospitals, businesses and First Nation communities between Aug. 6 and Aug. 12, her plan to listen to local ideas and highlight the Liberal government’s economic and job growth success in the region.

She’s expected to make a number of infrastructure-related investments during her trip, which will also detail funding for health care and other measures to enhance public services and accelerate economic growth in the North, according to a media release issued on Friday.

Scheduled stops include more than a dozen communities, including Sudbury, Espanola, Little Current, Elliot Lake, Blind River, Sault Ste. Marie, Batchawana Bay, Wawa, Fort Frances, Emo, Dryden, Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Moosonee, Moose Factory, North Bay, New Liskeard and Kirkland Lake.

"I’m looking forward to visiting Northern Ontario to talk about our government’s investments to support a vibrant and competitive economy across Northern Ontario and to enhance the public services that people count on. We are building on the North’s many strengths as part of our efforts to ensure that everyone in Ontario can enjoy a high quality of life,” Wynne said in the release.

Thunder Bay MPP Michael Gravelle said it’s proof the Liberal government has the North in its crosshairs.

"Our government has continued to make the North a priority with unprecedented investments in Northern communities, services and infrastructure. As a proud resident of Thunder Bay and the Minister of Northern Development and Mines, I’m delighted to see the Premier touring the North yet again. No government before has demonstrated such resolute support for Northerners," he said in a prepared statement.

Conservative Leader Patrick Brown told the Canadian Press he plans a similar visit to Northern Ontario at month’s end.

"I am pleased to see that Premier Wynne and her Liberal government have finally noticed that northern Ontario exists, because their record proves that the region has been nothing but an afterthought," Brown said in a release published by CP on Friday.