Seems to include a little jab at KWG and their USA proposition....

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We’ll look at another issue. On one of his last tours through northern Ontario—the Ring of Fire is very near and dear to our hearts in northern Ontario. The Ring of Fire is going to bring a lot of economic opportunity to this province.

Hon. David Zimmer: I’ve been working very hard on that file.

Mr. John Vanthof: The minister says he has been working very hard on that file, and I have no reason not to believe the minister. He hasn’t gone a long way, but he has been working hard.
The leader of the Conservatives has publicly stated that if it takes too long, he’s going to jump on a bulldozer and build the road himself. Again, another great bumper sticker, Speaker, but you know what the people in northern Ontario heard and you know what the First Nations in northern Ontario heard? The person who is—

Interjection: The Premier.

Mr. John Vanthof: No, that the person who is running for the job of Premier doesn’t understand the vast majority of this province, and he doesn’t understand how this province works. He doesn’t even really understand how the mining industry works, because the mining industry in this province works very hard to be environmentally friendly. They work very hard to play by the rules, because the rules protect them. The rules protect them. The last thing the mining industry wants is somebody saying things like that, that they don’t care about the rules; they’re just going to hop on a bulldozer and build the road themselves.
You know what? That’s actually the reason I’m standing here today, because there was a time in Ontario when the Conservative Premier was going to forget about the rules and fill a mine with garbage in northern Ontario, no matter what. It took us 10 or 15 years to fight that, and that’s exactly how I ended up here, because they didn’t care about the rules, and we’re hearing exactly the same thing now.

Do people in Ontario want red tape? No. There’s a difference between red tape and rules that actually protect people. And if we’re going to do the Ring of Fire right, we have to do it with our partners, with the First Nations, with the people who live there. We have to make sure it’s done right and that those jobs that are going to be created provide long-term sustainability to the people who live there and to the people who live in the rest of the province, because we haven’t done a very good job of that in the past. The First Nations know that, and so do people in northern Ontario know that. It’s not a case of hopping on a bulldozer and building a road up north so you can bring the money down here or so you can send the ore to some plant in the States. If we’re going to do this, we should do it right.

The last two things I have heard the Conservative leader speak about, and I’m quite shocked that the interim leader or the House leader—what would Mr. Fedeli be? He’s still the official Leader of the Oppos-ition. I’m quite shocked that he would actually echo some of those sentiments, because he knows. He’s a very credible person, and he knows.

Hon. David Zimmer: Oh, you’re going too far.

Mr. John Vanthof: No, no. I don’t agree with his philosophy, but I’m not going to say that Mr. Fedeli doesn’t understand the issues. I totally disagree with his philosophy, but he understands the issues. I can’t believe that Mr. Fedeli—actually, I think Mr. Ford said they would have two bulldozers, that Vic would be on one and he would be on the other. I can’t believe he thinks it’s as simple as a bumper sticker, because it’s not. It’s not.