On Friday September 28 at 8:00 am The Ontario Northlander  rolled out of Cochrane Ontario on it’s final voyage to Union Station in downtown Toronto.  Twenty-five minutes later at a small rail siding in  Porquois Junction, I boarded the train well knowing this would be my final ride.

Just a few minutes before the train arrived, I spent some time talking with Len Gillis from the Timmins Times about the heartache and disappointment I felt over the loss of passenger rail service to the north. Having traveled upon the Northlander numerous  times over the course of my life, I was deeply saddened as I took those final steps to what would be my last ride upon the Ontario Northlander.

As the train left the station I began to reflect on earlier times when I frequently rode the train home to visit my parents. On many a night in my earlier years, especially during the holiday season, I would climb aboard the night train with suitcase in hand well knowing I would arrive at my destination safely and in comfort.  

(The hazardous conditions of the roads and highways up north during the winter months made the train a much more practical and desirable way to travel.) Afterthought... the drinks sure seemed to help out a lot!!

Once on board you were free to walk endlessly through the railcars and mingle with the other passengers, often sharing a drink, perhaps a meal, and a few late night stories. In the earlier days even smoking was permitted on board in the comfort of your own seat. Berths were available for those wanting a more private experience, the occupants often contributing to the rumblings in the early morning hours.

But that was a different era… After serving the people of the north for over more than 100 years, it seems that the Government of Ontario has decided to turn it`s back on the north once again.  A move surely to have a profound effect on many of the elderly and disabled who often counted and relied on the ease and accessibility offered by the ONR service throughout the north.

Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci stated that “In a time of fiscal belt-tightening, we cannot afford an inefficient and expensive government-owned transportation and telecommunications system.” However back on April 19, 2001 during the Mike Harris reign, Rick Bartolucci was front and centre as representatives from the General Chairperson's Association (GPA) charted the Northlander and branded it "The Survival Express" marched to Queens Park where Bartolucci himself  led the crowd of northerners in the rallying cry that "ONTC was Not For Sale." Yet another display of typical Government hypocrisy.

Representatives from the General Chairperson's Association were shocked by the Governments own response to their request on August 22, 2012 to charter the Northlander Train on Saturday September 22, 2012 in order to thank Northerner's for their support in utilizing the passenger train over the years. The GPA were notified by letter that the McGuinty Government will not allow representatives to charter the Northlander for a planned customer appreciation trip. The letter stated "In response to your request to charter a special train on September 22, 2012 ONTC is in process of discontinuing the Northlander passenger train service and will not be chartering any trains on or before September 28th, 2012"

Ron Marleau, President of the GPA concluded "The evidence is now overwhelming that Premier McGuinty and Minister Bartolucci do not want to hear from citizens, communities nor business who live, work and play in Northern Ontario”.

With rallies planed along the route, Cochrane’s Mayor Peter Politis who was aboard the final train bound for Toronto from Cochrane criticized the government for ignoring “all pleas for reasoning, all rationale on environmental impacts, and all exclamations by Northerners for respect of their way of life and their right to determine their futures for themselves.” 

To those aboard the train,  this final voyage south represented once again that the people of the north mean little if anything to those who seemly run the show in Ottawa and the huge corporations that pull their strings. With the recent expansion of Xstrata operations at the Kidd Creek Mine  in Timmins, ON and the De Beers Victor Mine in Attawapiskat in north eastern Ontario, many believe that the people  are being shoved aside as Xstrata and De Beers plan to use the line to haul their raw minerals south, effectively shutting out essential passenger rail service in the north. The fury over the cancellation of Ontario Northland has reopened the discussion of a new province in Ontario. Those living in the north believe that it’s time to take matters into their own hands wanting to create a new province of Northern Ontario.

Furthering their cause is the McGuinty Government’s decision to slam the door shut on overnight stays at several provincial parks in north eastern Ontario. Politicians across the north are infuriated with Queens Park and plan and plan to meet on Oct 18th at Queens Park to seek a reversal of this decision. Al Spacek, who is president of the 114-member Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities says, Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle's reasoning doesn’t hold water since the number of visits to René Brunelle Provincial Park near Kapuskasing have increased each year for the past three years and this year boasted 15,000, which he says is “very good.”

Perhaps it is time for all concerned to rethink how we operate in the north.  With the abundance of natural resources in the north, it  makes good sense to want to keep the money generated through the sale of the North's resources close to home. If the south can’t fix it, maybe it’s high time we did!

Either way, it’s a sad End of an Era for the Ontario Northland!

 Online Photo Album  Images  and Video by Derek J. Sowa