This road is as much a federal responsibility as it is provincial. Maybe more so, since it is a given that the local communities have to get the benefit of or it simply won't get built. Hell, the highway upgrade between Kamloops and Alberta border cost is being equally shared, and local FN receive no particular benefit, and actually are against it.

In fact, when Harper made his statement that it was a provincial matter, he was attending the opening of a piece of highway in Manitoba that the feds had helped build.

It will come, but the politics have to be right. As it stands, Wynne has challenged the feds to come to the table, and if they come, she gets bonus points. The feds, though, have to do it in a fashion that suggests they are the saviors as they come prancing up to the table.

Unfortunately for CLF, the situation changes considerably. They have drawn a line in the sand. If the Province can get the feds onside, they then have to go hat in hand to CLF asking them back to the table. That, and the fact they are an American company, would suggest it isn't going to happen. This is good though, for Noront. As of now, a producing mine in the area is an absolute necessity, and they are the only ones even remotely capable of doing this.

Year end is, as of last week, a very interesting point in time. Important decisions will be made in that short time, and the ones that get delayed until after, will have very different parameters.

Best regards

K