The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper
NDP seeks support from Liberals
The New Democrats are suggesting the province use a carrot instead of a stick to convince chromite mining companies operating in the Ring of Fire to do all their processing in Ontario.
The NDP will ask the government to cover infrastructure costs as an incentive. “The Ontario government has got to respond by providing infrastructure to the site, namely hydro and transportation, which are critical to making it work,” said MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP — Timmins-James Bay).
Bisson is working with other member of the NDP caucus to put together an incentive package which they intend to pitch to the governing Liberal Party within the next couple of weeks.
The package would include an offer to develop transportation to the site in the form of railway or roads, as well as offer an industrial energy rate in the form of about four cents or less per kilowatt hour.
“Here’s the deal, you build those mines, we’ll help you develop infrastructure to your site,” said Bisson. “In exchange, you agree to do all the processing for that chromite in Ontario.”
He said it is a worthy investment when one considers there is likely to be be a minimum of three mines established in the Ring of Fire within the James Bay lowlands. The returns from corporate taxes, job creation and economic spinoffs from just one of those mines will be in the range of a billion dollars, said Bisson.
The concern about off-shore processing is not really with the anticipated nickel and copper mining operations, said Bisson. He suspects the processing for those minerals will remain within the region.
The concern applies mainly to the chromite mining operations.
Cliffs Natural Resources has made no secret of the fact it would seek an exemption from the Ontario Mining Act to ship the chromite concentrate to Asia for processing.
Asked why the Liberals would even consider an idea originating from the NDP, Bisson replied the dynamics within the Ontario Legislature is different now that the Liberals have a minority government.
“At times, I will take a run at the government. Other times, we as a party have to find ways of reaching across the aisles to achieve something that will benefit the province of Ontario. This is one of those cases,” said Bisson. “This is an important project for Northern Ontario.”
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