"Most communities near the Ring of Fire are First Nations, which fall under federal jurisdiction."

Maybe the Feds need to be reminded of their obligations here. Regardless of the Ring of Fire and all its promise, the point of fact here is that they are dismissive, if not mute, when it comes to any mention of the First Nations of Northern Ontario. Correct me please if I am wrong here, but as of yet I have heard nothing positive coming from the Feds when the issues of the First Nations such as lack of employment, addiction, access to roads, communication, better living and cleaner power are brought to the table. You would think that the Ring of Fire would be welcomed by the Federal government in light of what it could do to tackle this problem, not to mention the level of commerce that could be sought out once we establish a better connection (physical and social) with the north. IMO the Feds know they are looking bad here in front of the First Nations, and I think they are just waiting for Noront's EA to go through before they not only save the day, but save face as well.

The game plan I see here for any funding from the Fed involves first derisking before developing, so IMO the north will have to wait.

TM.