Mayor looking ahead to brighter days.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: THUNDER BAY - Lynn Peterson

Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson says the city's economy maybe in transition, but the forestry industry is not dead.

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"The industry is here to stay," says the popular two-term mayor. "What it will look like in two years will not be what it looked like five or 10 years ago."

Catching the local headlines in early November were the temporary layoff of 800 workers by Buchanan Forest Products at mills across the region, including 180 in Thunder Bay. The company says the workers will be back in late January.

"As a Northerner, we live in a resource-rich area of the world, the boreal forest, and we're blessed to have it," says Peterson, who hints good news may be coming in the local forestry sector next spring.

Peterson is encouraged by what she sees in Lakehead University's wood sciences faculty and their efforts to push value-added forest products and their collaborations with business.

Likewise for the city's growing bio-economy. The knowledge and research sector is "bursting" with firms like Molecular World and Genesis Genomics having commercial success and the Molecular Medicine Research Centre under construction.

With Thunder Bay-Superior North Michael Gravelle appointed the new Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Peterson hopes the cabinet connection will enable the city to tap into Queen's Park's new $168 million Ontario Venture Capital Fund.

She says despite the bad news in forestry, there's no visible signs of decline in the community.

The city's credit rating stands at A + and there's no trend of homeowners being in tax arrears. Families are staying put, while spouses are working in Alberta's Oil Patch.

Peterson says the city is spending more money than ever on road widening and reconstruction--$15 million this year--on major projects at Red River Road and May Street.

The city's population has held steady at more than 109,000 and there's new people moving in to work in the research and innovation economy.

Peterson has publicly gone to bat for the local Bombardier plant encouraging senior government to 'build and buy Canadian' in sourcing light-rail and commuter rail cars with domestic manufacturers.

And she's determined to keep the Port of Thunder Bay as a major Canadian transportation corridor by securing government support.

She's also excited by the ambitious $100 million waterfront revitalization plans to create Prince Arthur's Landing and expects all three levels of government to contribute equally to the...