If you look back several posts here on the forum you will see the original email I sent to my MP for the Durham Region; Mr.Erin O'Toole. This is the response to that email from his office when I asked him to be a voice in parliament on behalf of the people of Ontario and the ROF, seeing has how the Prime Minister of Canada could not be bothered to either speak or act in our best interest.

Response:

Mr. ********,

Thank you for your note and your interest in an important issue. You are incorrect in suggesting the PM is not supportive of ring of fire. In fact, our government has made opening new markets for our goods and services - including resources - for Canada a key priority - including the 500 million person market of Europe with our trade deal with the EU. Beyond that, we have also made our regulatory processes more effective and less burdensome for companies operating in the resource sector. We are not lowering environmental safeguards or the needs for effective standards, but we are eliminating duplicative or even triplicative regulation on environmental assessments and other issues that provide more certainty for companies contemplating investments in northern Ontario. We have been criticized for some of these measures, but they are firmly rooted in our focus on jobs and the economy.

The provincial government has taken the lead in developing the ring of fire. I rarely wade into criticizing other levels of government, but I would suggest that the business climate and uncertainty in Ontario has led to recent decisions by some companies looking to develop the resource there. There have not been the infrastructure investments - particularly power and transmission - that is really needed to take advantage of this resource.

We stand ready the assist and have with infrastructure needs where we can. I have particular responsibility for trade and we are aggressively building markets for our goods - including resources. I know the industry quite well and we are working to encourage investment and job creation from mining and resource development.

Thank you,

Erin

Erin O'Toole