Click below to watch David Orazietti interviewed after a breakfast event with the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce:

Sault MPP David Orazietti was the guest speaker at a breakfast event on Wendesday at the Delta Waterfront. The event was put on by the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber Of Commerce and included discussion on a number of topics and how they relate to the local economy. One of those subjects was hydro and the recent decision to make the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate — a savings of 25 percent — permanent. Orazietti was asked if the issue reached a tipping point considering northern industry has wanted a break on electricity rates for the last number of years…

Orazietti also talked about the sale of Ontario Hydro with the money to go towards transportation infrastructure. He mentioned that he would still like to see the Trans-Canada four-laned from Manitoba to the Quebec border — with some help from the federal government. The ‘conversation with David Orazietti’ was an opportunity for chamber members to learn more about how the Queen’s Park representative feels about important issues for the Sault and the local business community. On the subject of tourism, Orazietti was asked about the 11th hour decision by Ottawa to lend financial support to continue the Algoma Passenger Rail Service. While he criticized the Harper government on its inaction on areas like the Ring Of Fire, Orazietti reacted positively to the decision by Ottawa to keep the Sault to Hearst service going…

The Sault MPP further elaborated on the Ring Of Fire and the lack of federal support on what he calls a ’60 billion dollar opportunity’. While the province has already committee a billion dollars for infrastructure related to that project, Orazietti questioned why Ottawa isn’t ‘standing up for Ontario’ mentioning past federal support for the Alberta Oilsands in the west and Hibernia on Canada’s east coast. Orazietti says the most important economic issue for Sault Ste. Marie right now is the development of the Deep Water Port — a project he describes as an economic ‘game-changer’…

Local employment was also brought up at the morning event. When asked about youth employment, Orazietti mentioned co-op opportunities with the Ministry of Natural Resources as a partial solution: the MNR is the second largest employer of youth in Ontario. He also says the province continues to work with Tenaris, despite layoffs resulting from low oil prices.