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By LEN GILLIS

len.gillis@sunmedia.ca

There was lots of encouraging dialogue, but very little in the way of specific promises after Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and several key members of her cabinet met with Northern Ontario community leaders in Timmins on Friday.
Northern leaders however were more than pleased that the Premier even bothered to visit Timmins and listen to the concerns of mayors, councilors and First Nations chiefs. It has been more than thirty years since a premier and so many cabinet members have gathered in Timmins for one event.
“I have to say that the fact that there are so many of us here reflects our commitment to the North,” said Wynne.
“And I want you to know that it is sincere, that ministers and members across our government, you know we are governing one Ontario and that means that it is very important for all of us to connect with you, who know what is happening in your communities,” she told more than one hundred gathered leaders.
The premier spoke to the concern long voiced by Northern Ontario politicians; that Queen’s Park treats the north less favourably than the south.
“I don’t believe that politics should pit regions or people against each other. I just don’t think that is how it works best. If Ontario is to succeed then every part of the province has to be successful,” she said.
Getting down to business, the premier spoke of the Ring Of Fire mining project, the multi-billion dollar chromite mining prospect located several hundred kilometres north of Longlac. Once the project proceeds to development stages, mining supply communities such as Timmins, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and North Bay stand to reap huge financial benefits.
Cliffs Natural Resources, the major player in that prospect, has suspended environmental assessment work over disputes with the province and other mining companies in the area.
The premier told the Timmins conference she is not worried about that right now.
“I don’t want us to be sidetracked by doubts and those who are ready to make premature pronouncements about our future prospects here in the North. This is especially true when it comes to something as crucial as the Ring Of Fire,” she said.
Premier Wynne said she had a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday hoping to convince him that the Ring Of Fire is not only important for Ontario, but also for Canada. The premier is hoping that the federal government will provide matching funds, billions of dollars, as Ontario intends to spend on infrastructure for that project in the coming years.
So far, the reigning Conservatives in Ottawa have not indicated that will happen.
“I am more optimistic than I was before I had the meeting with the Prime Minister,” Wynne said in response to a question from The Timmins Times.
“I think it is clear that he recognizes how important the Ring Of Fire is as an economic development opportunity.”
“We are not giving up on the Ring Of Fire. We are carrying on. We believe this is a huge opportunity, so we want the federal government working with us and I am optimistic that we will get there,” said the premier.