18 15 n 79 27 34 w 46.30417 n 79.45944 w 46.30417 ; 79.45944 ontario northland transportation commission formerly called temiskaming and northern ontario railway commission type crown corporation industry transportation founded 1902 headquarters north bay ontario canada owner government of ontario website www.ontarionorthland.ca ontario northland headquarters in north bay the ontario northland transportation commission ontc or simply ontario northland is a crown agency of the government of ontario . 1 ontc operates freight and passenger services in northern ontario through its ontario northland railway and ontario northland motor coach services . it previously operated an airline norontair shut down in 1996 and a telecommunications company ontera sold to bell aliant in 2014 . contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1.2 new mandate 1.3 proposed divestment 2 restructuring 3 transportation services 3.1 rail 3.2 bus 3.3 air 4 references 5 external links history edit early history edit ontc traces its history to 1902 with the passage of the temiskaming and northern ontario railway act which received royal assent on march 17 . the temiskaming and northern ontario railway commission tnorc would oversee the construction and operation of the temiskaming and northern ontario railway t & no . the sod was turned less than two months later by ontario s commissioner of public works the honourable francis robert latchford at trout lake on the outskirts of north bay ; north bay also being the site of the first spike driven in construction of the canadian pacific railway cpr 20 years previous . 2 building the 253 mile t & no main line from north bay to cochrane was instrumental in opening this region of the province for development and settlement with its construction being cited as the reason for the discovery of a massive silver deposit at cobalt as well as gold at porcupine and kirkland lake . 2 six years after construction started the federal government s national transcontinental railway ntr main line from winnipeg manitoba to moncton new brunswick crossed the t & no at cochrane . 2 in subsequent years the tonrc authorized extending the railway first into western quebec s gold and copper fields at rouyn noranda and following world war i in 1921 the tonrc began extending the t & no northward from cochrane to the shores of james bay at moosonee where the t & no last spike was driven by the honourable justice francis robert latchford in 1932 . the commission also worked closely with sister provincial crown agency the ontario hydro electric commission in developing hydroelectric generating stations on rivers in the region such as at island falls and fraserdale . 2 new mandate edit in 1937 the temiskaming and northern ontario railway act was amended enabling the tnorc to operate buses trucks and aircraft in order to transport passengers and freight . by 1938 the commission had acquired 11 buses . in 1945 the commission acquired the temagami and the nipissing navigation companies . 2 the railway changed its name in 1946 to the present ontario northland transportation commission . the use of the word transportation instead of railway in the commission s new name reflected an expanded mandate for the organization . enabling legislation in 1946 allowed the ontc to acquire construct and operate boats as well as hotels tourist resorts and restaurants . in 1960 it purchased a trucking firm star transfer . the railway is still operated today by the commission which also operates other transport modes including bus motor coach services along the toronto north bay timmins hearst and toronto sudbury timmins highway corridors . it formerly operated a regional airline named norontair and a telecommunications company named ontera . proposed divestment edit on march 23 2012 the ontario government announced that it would begin to wind down the ontc citing increased costs to the government and stagnant ridership . passenger train service between toronto and cochrane the northlander was terminated and replaced with additional bus service and all assets of the corporation were to be sold off . 3 4 restructuring edit northern ontario municipal leaders had continued to express their fears regarding the divestment . they indicated that the onr provides a fundamental link to many remote and rural communities and provides freight transport to many companies including mining and forestry allowing them to thrive . they indicate that the government maintained its funding to the go transit network in southern ontario and it is important not forget about the important service the onr provides to northern ontario residents . 5 february 2014 the new premier of ontario kathleen wynne met with northern community leaders and the head of the company and union to discuss the future of the company . they decided the union and management would present a reconstruction plan to the government for consideration . 6 in late february 2014 a report to restructure the ontc was delivered to the minister of northern development and mines . the proposal detailed how the organization could be modernized both culturally and in job reductions through attrition . the report was well received by the minister who appreciated how management and labour come together to explore options for the corporation . 7 in april 2014 the provincial government concluded the company would remain in public hands . however the telecommunications division ontera would be sold to bell aliant . the government would reinvest in the company to purchase new coaches and refurbish rolling stock for the polar bear express . this decision was supported by other members of provincial parliament after the auditor general s review cited that it would have cost the taxpayer 820 million instead of saving 265.9 million over three years had the divestment proceeded . 8 9 transportation services edit rail edit main article ontario northland railway bus edit main article ontario northland motor coach services air edit main article norontair references edit ontario northland transportation commission overview a b c d e ontc . 1902 2002 ontario northland transportation commission annual report pdf . retrieved 2008 09 13 . dead link ministry of northern development and mines press release march 23 2012 message from ontc chair ted hargreaves march 23 2012 maria babbage 2012 06 23 . mcguinty promises to keep buses running after ontario northland selloff . retrieved 2013 02 15 . kathleen wynne encourages ontc union to work on business plan . cbc . 2014 02 06 . retrieved 2014 05 07 . ontario northland restructuring plan in minister s hands . northern ontario business . 2014 02 28 . retrieved 2014 03 07 . ross ian . ontario government will keep ontario northland . northern ontario business . retrieved 2014 04 05 . wilson pj . ontc divisions to remain public . the nugget . retrieved 2014 04 05 . external links edit ontario northland transportation commission v t e government of ontario departments and agencies ministries advanced education and skills development agriculture food and rural affairs attorney general cabinet office children and youth services citizenship immigration and international trade community and social services community safety and correctional services solicitor general of ontario economic development and growth education energy environment and climate change finance government and consumer services health and long term care indigenous relations and reconciliation infrastructure intergovernmental affairs labour municipal affairs and housing natural resources and forestry northern development and mines research innovation and science tourism culture and sport transportation boards commissions and officers alcohol and gaming commission auditor general chief electoral officer civilian police commission energy board environmental commissioner fairness commissioner film review board human rights commission information and privacy commissioner integrity commissioner landlord and tenant board liquor control board mining and lands commissioner municipal board niagara escarpment commission niagara parks commission ombudsman securities commission st. lawrence parks commission workplace safety & insurance board agencies agricorp cancer care clean water conservation ehealth elections independent electricity system operator heritage trust hydro one lottery and gaming corporation metrolinx municipal property assessment corporation northland transportation ornge parks power generation real estate council royal ontario museum science centre science north trillium foundation provincial services archives crown attorney forensic sciences provincial police serviceontario special investigations unit other executive council arts council francophone affairs parliament network seniors secretariat tfo tvo women s directorate list of defunct ontario ministries and agencies management board secretariat ontario agent general retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ontario northland transportation commission & oldid 724200934 categories ontario northland transportation commissionintermodal transport authorities in canadacrown corporations of ontario1946 establishments in ontariocompanies based in north bay ontariohidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from october 2010coordinates not on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages deutsch edit links this page was last modified on 7 june 2016 at 19 24 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view