In conversation with a 'tour de force'.

For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting the Thunder Bay mayor, Lynn Peterson is a tour de force.

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Behind all the ribbon cutting ceremonies, evening galas and the fancy-shmancy luncheons, there is a meat and potatoes kind of character.

"I don't like fluff," she says in her matter-of-fact sort of way.

She enjoys rolling up her sleeves and getting into the meat of the matter, establishing the challenges and finding solutions.

She has been up to her eyeballs in strategy meetings, negotiations and no-nonsense, frank discussions with respect to the Thunder Bay economy and has revelled in the experience.

A new breakthrough project in the health science sector in particular has Peterson excited about the city's future.

Three multi-national companies are jockeying for position on the naming rights to a new centre for molecular research in Thunder Bay.

Siemens Canada, Royal Philips Electronics and General Electric have thrown their hat into the ring along with a financial commitment to develop a new $36-million centre for molecular research.

Only one will be chosen to work alongside renowned scientists from Sunnybrook & Womens Research Institute (SWRI), the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), Lakehead University and Genesis Genomics.

"This will be fun," Peterson says. "There is a bidding war going on. I love it."

Researchers at the centre will examine early cancer detection through molecular targeting and the body's response to pharmaceutical treatment.

The city has already committed $5 million toward the project and is awaiting word from the federal and provincial governments for more financial support.

"We have committed our bit to it. All we need is $12 million from the feds and $12 million from the province over five years."

The remaining monies will come from private contributions.

Peterson says the premier and ministers are interested, the challenge is finding a category in which the project fits.

"We have ministers saying to staff 'find a way to get it done.'"

Peterson has no doubt this will happen. Just as she knew recommendations from the Ontario Minister of Natural Resources' Council on Forest Sector Competitiveness report (of which she was a member) had to be implemented.

"We made this such a huge issue," she says.

The group, consisting of municipal, forestry, environment and labour delegates, grabbed the attention of Premier Dalton McGuinty and southern Ontario mayors alike. They spoke of the delicate balance between southern Ontario companies dependent on Northern Ontario wood manufacturers. If one lumber company is negatively affected, others will follow, they argued.

McGuinty and Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay used the report to implement sweeping changes that have resuscitated the industry's global competitive position. Specifically, a recent announcement to invest $220 million on primary and secondary road maintenance and construction has reduced wood delivery costs by $5 per cubic metre. This investment allows industry to match it with their own cost saving measures.

"That is why the bad is not as bad," she said, referring to a speech she made in December summarizing the state of the city's economy as "the good, the bad and the ugly."

"There are still going to be more mill closures I would think," but the recent influx of investment dollars has leveled the international playing field, she says.

"This would not have been accomplished without the coalition."

The forest sector has been, and will continue to be, one of the city's bread-and-butter industries. With the boreal forest at the city's doorstep, there are opportunities to redefine local corporate strategies.

Peterson has also taken on the plight of Bombardier Transportation's local plant as it defended its right to have Ontario government contracts filled in Ontario.

Now the company, which has posted a fourth quarter profit up 54 per cent over 2004 to $86 million US, is on the heels of a contract that could see the plant floor bustling in full operation once again. Bombardier is in exclusive discussions with the Toronto Transit Commission to design and construct a subway car model that will replace 232 cars. Another contract will also be let for 250 Toronto streetcars: 100 new and 150 refurbished. This could mean a replenished workforce of up to 900 employees.

www.thunderbay.ca

By KELLY LOUISEIZE

Northern Ontario Business