Municipal leaders talk future 'billion-dollar' lithium industry in Thunder Bay, Ont., at AMO conference

Leaders in Thunder Bay, Ont., voiced some of the city's top priorities at the Association of Municipalities Ontario's (AMO) annual general meeting and conference this week. 

The conference gives municipal leaders the chance to meet with provincial ministers and raise local concerns at a larger level in the hopes of getting more support.

The city sent Coun. Kristen Oliver and Coun. Shelby Ch'ng — chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the intergovernmental affairs committee — along with mayor Ken Boshcoff and city manager Norm Gale to London, Ont., to participate in a marathon of meetings. 

Thunder Bay's delegates met with eight ministers in total, discussing issues from mental health and addictions to energy and Indigenous affairs.

A key topic on the table was the future of lithium processing facilities in Thunder Bay. This comes as the province ramps up efforts to electrify Ontario and lead the emerging green economy.

This spring, Avalon Advanced Materials bought an industrial property on Strathcona Avenue, the site of a former pulp and paper mill, where it plans to process lithium for use in electric vehicle batteries.

But Avalon isn't the only company looking to set up shop in the city.

"I believe we're at the cusp of something great in Thunder Bay with not just one mining facility, but multiple mining facilities looking to set up Thunder Bay as their headquarters and their processing facilities," Ch'ng said.

Billion-dollar industry a boon for Thunder Bay 

According to Vic Fedeli, provincial minister of economic development, job creation and trade, even one plant in Thunder Bay could produce "billions of dollars," said Ch'ng.

"These plants would also yield spinoff and ancillary businesses, and coupled with research and development opportunities at local colleges and universities,"it's a huge economic boom," she said.

"[Provincial ministers] see the value of keeping the processing in the north because we're not competing with other Ontario cities, we are actually competing with southern states and Minnesota," Ch'ng explained. 

The Ministry of the Environment is working on cleaning up two brownfield sites in Thunder Bay — polluted industrial lots that have been abandoned — so they can be repurposed for lithium plants. It is also looking at streamlining permits for future processing facilities, she added.

Safe sobering site proposal underway

Also raised at AMO was the social crises Thunder Bay faces related to homelessness, addiction and mental health. 

The city recently completed work with a task force dedicated to coming up with a proposal for a safe sobering centre, something advocates have spent years pushing for as a way of preventing vulnerable people from ending up behind bars. Having a dedicated safe sobering centre in the city was at the crux of recommendations coming from a recent inquest into the deaths of two Indigenous men in police custody in Thunder Bay, Roland McKay and Don Mamakwa.

The task force unanimously chose St. Joseph's Care Group to lead the way with the next steps of the proposal, which is expected to land on the Ministry of Health's desk in the next month or two.

"When we talk about how important these types of facilities are, it's not only for the people that are experiencing trauma and addiction on the streets and to get that medical help that they need, but it also alleviates the pressure off our EMS and police by having a place where they can safely take someone to receive the care that they need, and then continue on their way to other acute care calls," said Oliver.

Guns, gangs, and autopsies

The city's AMO delegates also asked for more support to address escalating guns and gang violence, funding Thunder Bay has previously missed out on at both the provincial and federal levels. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reports the city has had the highest per capita homicide rate in Canada for four of the last five years, including last year at 12.05 per 100,000 population.

The city has secured provincial funding for two OPP officers dedicated to tackling guns and gangs, with a possible third position that is currently unfunded.

There was also a request for the province to cover the costs of sending bodies to Toronto for autopsies related to police investigations — known as medicolegal autopsies. This comes after the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre's decision to cease these examinations this June.

"We did ask the solicitor general's office to make sure that it's not borne by the City of Thunder Bay taxpayer because it does belong to the Solicitor General's office to cover those costs," Ch'ng said. "We are working on some short-term solutions [and] temporary solutions that will help ease off our tax base while also still hopefully maintaining that service."

Overall, Boshcoff said he's proud of the work council and administration are doing to bring important files to the province's attention.

"We focused on what we wanted to do and I do believe the reception was as genuine as indicated," Boshcoff said. "It was one of the most productive conferences I've been to in quite some time."