It's more than just the collapse of the northern forest industry.

It has been used as the catalyst to grow the mighty economy of southern Ontario. It has contributed to the vast success of our largest cities and corporations and has been a significant part of the growth of our country. It has been mismanaged and it is now on the verge of disappearing altogether--it is the socio-economic fabric of small town Northern Ontario.

The total collapse of the forest industry in Northern Ontario is only the latest symptom of an apparent "terminal illness" that may result in the disappearance of an entire culture and way of life. As a reader, you may not totally agree with the assertion of a disappearing culture, but no doubt you recognize the culture and economy of small town Northern Ontario is undergoing a metamorphosis.

While organizations such as the Northeastern Superior Mayors Group and the Northern Ontario Municipal Association attempt to plan for the future through wholesale generational changes, individual communities such as White River, Chapleau, Nipigon, Ignace, Dubreuilville, Pickle Lake, Smooth Rock Falls, Wawa etc. struggle for their very existence. As an example, during a recent meeting of the Northeastern Superior Mayors Group, participants listened intently as White River Mayor Angelo Bazzoni explained the immediate results of the announcement by Domtar to permanently cease its White River operations. Residents, some of them long term, have already permanently left the community for the "friendlier" employment opportunities offered in places such as Sault Ste Marie, Thunder Bay, the GTA and of course Alberta.

With no economy, why should they stay? This all leaves it even more difficult for the remaining employers (many of them service establishments) to find and retain employees for even the simplest of functions. More importantly, the township itself will no doubt see a rise in tax arrears for assessment that may no longer have any value; it will certainly not have the funds needed to maintain its infrastructure, including a brand new water treatment plant. A predicted population drop of 75% to 250 residents is being anticipated thereby affecting the entire region.

Answering the question of just what went wrong in White River or any other small community undergoing a similar fate, is no easy task and goes well beyond the scope and expertise of this column. Let us however, review a couple of matters that perhaps may illustrate the type of "double standard" assistance that is available to small town Northern Ontario as it relates to other communities--even in Northern Ontario.

Long ago, when the small one-resource Northern Ontario town was established, its demise due to a lack of an economy was never envisaged. Mills were built, mines were opened, the companies grew rich and the provincial and federal governments benefited. As long as the raw natural resources were available, the populace fared well. As the resources disappear, people are forced to move. There are no special assistance funds set up (except in exceptional circumstances) to alleviate the move from viability to "ghost town". In the past 10 years, we have seen the evolution of the "Adjustment Committee". These committees do an excellent job of addressing the needs of the people affected; they provide training and in some cases immediate access to Employment Insurance funds so that the affected people can adjust to the new realities. Unfortunately such committees only facilitate for a short time and even then the training provided, for the most part enables trainees to find employment at another more affluent community; all to the disfavour of the original community.

But what of the supporting public sector jobs in the subject communities? Given the geography of Northern Ontario, are these jobs not present? Can they not help to stabilize the economy? Well, starting in 1996, the Mike Harris government moved to centralize many of the services that traditionally had been housed in all small communities. How this benefited the smaller, isolated communities is certainly not obvious. Do not think for a minute that the practice has ceased; it continues to this very day. In the past few days, several daily newspapers in Northern Ontario reported on the quarterly Ontario Lottery and Gaming announcement of the disbursements of funds to communities who host Provincial Casinos. The final quarter of 2006 will see the City of Sault Ste Marie receive $370,000 while the City of Sudbury will receive $525,000.

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The funds are used by each community at its discretion. Sault Ste Marie uses their funds to contribute towards a new hospital, physician recruitment and additional police and fire protection. Just how can smaller communities garner these same funds? They cannot. In fact, participation in this program is for a select few communities only. It should be noted that in 2006, the provincial casinos contributed over $100 million to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which goes to benefit all qualifying charities across the province--including those in the larger centers that already have casinos. The bottom line is that smaller communities are not afforded the same opportunities as communities that host the casinos--so how do those same communities benefit--they don't.

Lastly, a word about provincial and federal funding programs. Many funding programs that are offered by either the Provincial or Federal Governments have a ceiling on the amount of money that is available or they subscribe to a point system whereby the higher scored proposals receive funds until the funds have been exhausted. Please do not assume that all funding programs are administered in this way--they are not.

Indeed there are some fine programs that have benefited many communities across the north--one such success is the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. Regardless, some funds set community against community and certainly give the advantage to larger centers. For example, the recent announcements concerning the third and final COMRIF applications were made. Within the mix, there were larger and smaller communities. Given that the amount to be disbursed is limited and given that each application is scored, smaller communities may not fare well in the process.

Firstly, larger communities by their very nature will apply for larger projects and therefore require more money. In turn this reduces the amount available for all, including the smaller communities. Secondly and this could apply to all funding opportunities; how can smaller communities with their limited or non-existent resources and staff expect to compete against the larger, better funded, relatively resource-rich communities? They cannot and this sets up the real "double standard."

The above are only three illustrations of a support system that seems to have gone mad. In addition to the obvious difficulties that we are all aware of, I suspect that the imminent release of the 2006 census will only confirm, like previous censuses, that we are indeed in trouble. Not only is the culture of Northern Ontario at risk so is our very existence--it is more than just the collapse of the forest industry.