Ontario to create development corporation

The Ontario government announced it wishes create a development corporation with parties involved in the Ring of Fire.
Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle released a statement on Nov. 8, calling the Ring of Fire “a tremendous opportunity with incredible potential to unlock economic potential within the region.”
Gravelle said the creation of the development corporation will bring First Nations, mining companies, and provincial and federal partners together to settle divergent interests and get back to making this development happen.
The announcement ccame weeks after Cliffs Natural Resources said it is reconsidering its project in the region after a court ruled it could not build a road over land staked by KWG Resources, which wants to build a railway.
In his statement, he says that the Ring of Fire will “create thousands of jobs and significantly strengthen our economy for years to come.”
Gravelle states that it is important to lay the necessary groundwork because the Ring of Fire opportunity is a major resource development project located in a remote part of the province of Ontario that has never seen development before.
He says that the groundwork is already underway in the form of a historic regional process with Chiefs of Matawa Tribunal Council led by former Justice Iacobucci and Bob Rae, capacity building to ensure people have the training and skills required to take advantage of the benefits that developing the area will bring, and community readiness initiatives to support communities as they become vital transportation hubs, as well as new centres for the mining services and supply sector.
“Recent developments and divergent private sector interests have impacted our ability to move forward on vital infrastructure required to develop the region,” Gravelle said in the statement. “We need to get people in to work and goods out to the global market.”
The province wants the federal government to also get involved. Premier Wynne has written a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper seeking a role for the federal government to partner with Ontario through the Ring of Fire development corporation, in order to create vital infrastructure investments for the region.
One First Nations leader say there was “minimal consultation” before Gravelle made the announcement.
In an interview with CBC Thunder Bay, NAN Deputy Grand Chief Les Louttit called the province’s proposed Ring of Fire development corporation a “Father knows best” approach.
Loutitt said that he hasn’t had any contact from the province about its plan.
“This is normal, a normal policy for this government,” he told CBC. “You pretend to consult and you do minimal consultation, then you defer that responsibility to the industry.”
Gravelle told CBC the province is still having talks with NAN on broader regional infrastructure needs, but welcomes NAN’s input on the Ring of Fire specifically.
Louttit told CBC that more work needs to be done on those broader needs, and further stated that the north requires a northern Ontario regional development plan.