Take your turn on the way to the Ring of Fire
posted on
Nov 05, 2014 07:24PM
Black Horse deposit has an Inferred Resource Now 85.9 Million Tonnes @ 34.5%
Federal-provincial relations between some provinces and our First Nations have sunk very low. The Canadian government shares a great part of the blame for hampering our nation's prosperity.
For example, in Ontario, friction between federal Conservatives and provincial Liberals has allowed the Ford Motor Company to select Mexico over Ontario for it's $2 billion investment in new light motor engine production that would have created 1,000 new auto jobs in Windsor. It would have made Canada a future leader in a world coveted technology.
Our present federal and provincial governments misunderstand the importance and wisdom of aggressive investment and is forfeiting the dividends of creating good jobs, anchoring key facilities, building an industry supply chain, fostering research and development, and leveraging a larger investment from our private sector.
In another example of irresponsible political squabbling, federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver told the tabloids that he was still waiting for the Liberal government to submit its list of preferred infrastructure projects under the Building Canada Plan, which is designed to give predictable long-term funding to provinces and territories.
However, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said her government has already sent Ottawa an agreement on how it would access the federal funding in June for the $11 billion to infrastructure investments and "we are still waiting for their response."
"In June, we sent a draft application framework to the federal government, and they haven't replied. They also haven't set any deadlines with respect to this process. We need to know how the funds are going to roll out before sending a list of priority projects," Ontario Infrastructure Minister Brad Duguid said.
Some legacy projects like the Ring of Fire represents an enormous opportunity to drive significant economic growth for First Nations, indeed all Northern Ontario communities and Canada as a whole for decades. The overall value of the minerals within the Ring of Fire area are estimated to potentially exceed $60 billion.
Tony Clement, Canada's Treasury Board President and the previous FedNor minister responsible for the Ring of Fire, claimed it will be the economic equivalent of the Athabasca oil sands, with a potential of generating $120 billion. Clement says the Ring of Fire represents a "once-in-a-life opportunity to create jobs and generate growth and long-term prosperity for northern Ontario and the nation.
The federal infrastructure allocation for Ontario is just $2.7 billion over 10 years while Ontario is investing $130 billion over that same time period.
The Ring of Fire represents a terrific opportunity for mining companies, federal and provincial governments to engage in truly meaningful consultation with our First Nations with respect for their jurisdictions, laws, protocols and treaties.
Canada needs massive updates to it's infrastructure to maintain power, water, transportation and communication systems for it's citizens and their businesses. Canadians need their government to support projects that secure high-value jobs and deliver long-term economic benefits to Canada.
When will the federal government stop it's petty bickering with provinces like Ontario and First Nations and truly work together to fund, develop and maintain Canadian infrastructure so important to the security and prosperity of our great country?