MARATHON — The Lakeshore Natural Gas project made some headway during meetings between municipal and provincial officials last week.
The delegation from Marathon, which included Mayor Rick Dumas, discussed the topic with Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference.
"We still have some funds from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, so that is still ongoing," Dumas told CFNO.
At a council meeting, Marathon CAO Daryl Skworchinsk said that Rickford seemed interested in investing in the project. When meeting with Energy Minister Todd Smith, Skworchinski stated that they would need around $3 million to see the project begin.
Back in 2021, the municipalities of Marathon, Terrace Bay, Schreiber, Manitouwadge and Wawa signed a letter of intent for a $55 million proposal to ship compressed natural gas into their communities.
The municipalities would contract the Certarus plant in Red Rock, which would handle, compress, deliver, store, and decompress the natural gas for all five municipalities.
“We stated our case for round three of natural gas funding from Ontario that specifically focuses on virtual pipelines. Obviously, we are never going to have a pipeline on the Canadian Shield or through the Canadian Shield,” Skworchinski said.
Both the Municipality of Marathon and Terrace Bay are asking residents to participate in a research forum to evaluate the feasibility of bringing natural gas to homes and businesses. The survey is available on Terrace Bay’s municipal website and Marathon’s Facebook page. Survey respondents must be 18 years or older and the person responsible for making energy decisions for the property. Only one survey response will be processed from each property.
