On News Your Ontario Northland Employee Newsletter
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ISSUE 2 | 2020 ON NEWS YOUR ONTARIO NORTHLAND EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER Connecting the Northwest In May, Ontario Northland had its first ever “This route extends the integrated trip across the Ontario border to Winnipeg, transportation system that is growing Manitoba. throughout the province to provide passengers with more convenient connections and direct “This is a proud and historic day for Ontario stops at hospitals, post-secondary education Northland, to expand bus service across institutions and other transportation providers.” northwestern Ontario, with stops in Thunder Bay, Dryden, Kenora and Winnipeg,” says Corina Moore, President and CEO. - 2 - Connecting the Northwest The Passenger Services team deserves a round of applause for working quickly to get the new service mobilized as communities in the Northwest were without intercommunity bus transportation. The current service, offered a few times a week will facilitate essential travel needs with plans to increase frequency on the routes later this year. Did you know? • The new route from Sault Ste Marie to Winnipeg is over 1,250 kms. • A ticket from Ottawa to Winnipeg is as low as $263.35 for an adult (before tax) or $223.85 for student or senior (before tax). • Winnipeg’s train station was designed by the same architects who designed New York City’s Union Station. • Winnipeg is the headquarters for Canada’s grain industry. It is home to the only commodity exchange in the country – the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange. • The Winnipeg Jets has the smallest market of all the NHL teams yet they sell more merchandise than any others. New Vice President of Transportation We’re pleased to introduce Drew has held a variety of positions throughout his Ontario Northland’s new Vice 35 year career in rail, some of which were Rail Traffic President of Transportation, Controller, Train Master, and management roles Drew Duquette. Drew is a responsible for preventative maintenance and major 4th generation railroader and infrastructure projects. is proud that his two sons continue on the legacy as “I am very pleased to be joining Ontario Northland, 5th generation railroaders. a company with strong roots and a rich history. I look forward to bringing my experience to this team “Drew is a strategic leader of railroaders,” says Drew Duquette, incoming Vice with exceptional railway President of Transportation. “I was born in the North, so experience,” says Corina it feels good to return and contribute to a region that has Moore, President and CEO always been important to me.” of Ontario Northland. “I am confident that his strong In his role, Drew will be responsible for strategic skillset will continue to leadership that will shape company policy and culture, improve and expand our further our legacy and astutely oversee operating and transportation services.” capital budgets for rail freight, mechanical, infrastructure and passenger and freight car remanufacturing. - 3 - Continuously Welded Rail (CWR) Delivery Kicks Off Busy Track Work Season Railways in northern climates such as ours have only a few short months to get a year’s worth of infrastructure work completed. This season, our rail replacement program’s target is to replace 165,000 feet of rail. To kick off the busy work season, 96,000 feet of continuously welded rail was delivered. This rail was purchased from L.B. Foster, was Ontario Northland Family manufactured by Steel Dynamics out of Columbia City, Indiana and delivered using special cars able Shows Support for Front line to handle 1600 foot lengths of rail. Health Care Workers Part of the replacement program also includes installing 80 foot pieces of rail, this is the In April, Ontario Northland employees in Cochrane and North standard length of rail and is bolted together, not Bay showed their support for front line health care workers in continuously welded. This rail came to us all the the form of a parade of its vehicles and honking as a tribute way from Poland. It was delivered to the port of to their commitment to keeping our communities safe during Thunder Bay and arrived by rail in North Bay. the pandemic. The rail is delivered alongside the track using In partnership with railways across Canada, Ontario specialized equipment, an OTM Tracker that is a Northland locomotives have been sounding one long whistle single, fully integrated track maintenance machine. at 7pm everyday recognizing the front-line heroes who are The OTM Tracker is pulled on the track by a Brandt providing care and essential services. Truck, which pulls railcars for rail distribution. Sometimes, a hi-rail excavator is used to help with The Remanufacturing and Repair Centre’s famous daily horn rail distribution as well. has been giving an extra blow at 7:30pm everyday too! If Ontario Northland continues to replace between Thank you to our very own front line heroes who keep our 150,000-180,000 feet of rail every year, the entire company moving goods and people safely. railway will be completely renewed in 13 years. - 4 - Working at Ontario Northland through COVID-19 COVID-19 has had many impacts in the way we conduct business. We are an essential service and we must keep people and goods moving to and from northern Ontario. We’ve adapted quickly and continue to make changes where we need, to ensure the health and safety of all our employees, passengers and customers we serve. Check out these pictures to see how we’ve adapted. Lil’ Railroader Kellyn Ames reached out via Facebook in May to let us know how appreciative she was for the Locomotive Engineers and Conductors who wave to her son Tucker as they passed by. “I live in Swastika, ON right beside the train tracks and every single day my son waits for them. I almost swear the workers look for my son now, as every single day they make sure to open their window, wave and make an extra honk! I just wanted to say thank you, as they honestly give my 2 year old something to look forward to each and every single day!! It is now his daily routine!” Recently, a couple of employees dropped off some Ontario Northland merchansie and a colouring book for Tucker. - 5 - - 6 - Meet Our Commissioners Get to know your Ontario Northland Transportation Commissioners! In this issue of the ON News, we are featuring Lillian Trapper and Randy Nickle. We look forward to continuing to feature our Commissioners in each issue. Pictured in front of the Cobalt Station painting reminds him of his roots, he was born in Cobalt. Lillian Trapper Randy Nickle Lillian Trapper, a resident of South Porcupine, is Randy Nickle, a resident of Kenora, has a strong business passionate about preservation, conservation and the background as an A&W Franchise owner for more than management of natural resources. In her current role 38 years. as Regional Climate Change Coordinator with Chiefs of Ontario, she participates on federal and national climate Randy and his wife Lori jointly operated a motor coach change initiatives as per the Assembly of First Nations agency in Dryden and Kenora making him very familiar agenda and with Ontario First Nations through the with the transportation industry needs of northwestern political body of the Chiefs of Ontario. Ontario. Her work experience includes local, regional and national He has spent decades committed to tourism in the forums on First Nation issues and concerns. She also northwest, most notably chairing the Committee of sits on the Northern College Indigenous Council on Harbourfest, one of northwest Ontario’s largest Music and Education and is a member on the Board of Governors. Family festivals. Lillian practices and promotes cultural indigenous activities and lifestyle and speaks Cree. She holds a He’s participated in various board and committees, Bachelor of Geography from Carleton University and ranging from economic development and tourism, to a Masters of Arts Environment and Management from Copperfin credit union board member and many years in Royal Roads University. minor sports. Randy’s roots span all the way to Temiskaming Shores, where he was born in Cobalt and still has family. - 7 - Paint Shop Secures New Business Ontario Northland’s paint shop is known for quality and workmanship when it comes to applying paint and decals to railcars. The 20,000 square foot state- of-the-art facility can accommodate a variety of different transportation equipment and that’s exactly what they’ve been doing. If you have recently visited the facility you would have noticed trucks, buses, mining equipment and locomotives. “Having diversity in the paint shop allows us to showcase our expertise to other industries,” says Stan Lonsdale, Manager of the Paint Shop. “We have an excellent reputation and attracting more work to the shop is our priority.” Recent work includes Miller Waste dump trucks, Minesteel underground mining rail cars and Cementation’s mining equipment. Cochrane Station Inn Corina Moore named Honorary Donates to Men’s Shelter Colonel of 21 Aerospace Control The Cochrane Station Inn donated surplus linen & Warning Squadron and pillows from guest rooms to the Ga Beh Shoo men’s shelter in Cochrane. Corina Moore, President and “It feels great to be able to support local charities CEO of Ontario Northland, such as this one,” says Eric Rochon, Manager has been named the new of Passenger Services. “Even though we aren’t Honorary Colonel with the 21 using the products for our guests, they are still in Aerospace Control & Warning excellent condition.” Squadron. Ontario Northland supports many other “I’m looking forward to organizations through donations of gently used applying the same passion items in the communities it serves throughout and innovation towards this northeastern Ontario. role as I do here at Ontario Northland,” says Corina Caption: Julie Fasano, Ontario Northland Moore.