The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.
“We’ve been blessed with some rich mineral deposits (in Ontario). There will be
some stops and starts (in the development), as is human nature,” he said. “If
you bring some good will to the table, it’s amazing what you can get done.”
(Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty – June 22, 2012 – Sudbury)
Premier Dalton McGuinty is determined to work through any complications that threaten Ring of Fire development, he said while at a Vale event in Sudbury. “We need to find a way to work through any differences,” he said. “It’s not an option not to find a way.”
McGuinty’s comments come after six northwestern Ontario First Nations communities threatened to prepare eviction notices for mining companies working in the Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich area located about 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay. These communities are demanding to be more involved in any decisions made in the area.
When asked if he is concerned about growing First Nations opposition to Ring of Fire development, McGuinty remained optimistic.
“We’ve been blessed with some rich mineral deposits (in Ontario). There will be some stops and starts (in the development), as is human nature,” he said. “If you bring some good will to the table, it’s amazing what you can get done.”
The Ring of Fire is especially important to Sudbury. Cliffs Natural Resources, the company behind one of the mineral area’s discoveries, recently named Greater Sudbury as the site for a $1.8-billion chromite processing facility, which would mean hundreds of new jobs.
However, some native leaders in the Ring of Fire area want the smelter located in northwestern Ontario.
McGuinty, who is in town for this weekend’s Liberal meeting, to be held in Sudbury, also spoke about the planned Ontario Northland divestment. According to the premier, the province won’t be changing its decision to privatize the transpor tation company, despite strong outcry from Northern communities.
“I understand that people have some real concerns,” he said when asked about an Ontario Northland protest scheduled for today. “We find ourselves in a challenging period of time. I believe we’ve got to make choices.”
The premier added that the government has had about 25 expressions of interest relating to Ontario Northland.
“(Taxpayers) told us, number one, you will protect schools and health care,” he said, adding that Northern Ontario transportation can’t be compared to transportation in the south.
“It’s human nature for us to make a comparison, but that’s an apples and oranges comparis o n,” he said. “We keep increasing the amount of subsidies (given to Ontario Northland). The losses keep getting larger.”
McGuinty did acknowledge the importance of having some government subsidies for northern transportation.
Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci also spoke about Ontario Northland, while at the Vale event, which celebrated the beginning of construction for Vale’s Clean AER project.
“(We’re) ensuring that we have a transportation system in place that’s sustainable,” he said. “If we don’t divest in a (responsible) fashion, we would be doing a disservice to people in northeastern Ontario.”