The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.
Ontario PC leader tours James Bay lowlands
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak believes everybody with an interest in the Ring of Fire needs to keep their eyes on the prize. Hudak spent Monday touring the Noront Resources mining facility operating within the Ring of Fire.
His visit comes just days after First Nation leaders threatened to halt mining operations in the region by presenting an “eviction notice” to companies that have staked claims.
“There is going to be plenty of wealth to share,” Hudak told The Daily Press. “I think if we can align all our incentives towards job creation and new investment, that will probably make the biggest difference ever when it comes to addressing the poverty that afflicts so many of our First Nations, particularly in remote areas.
“This is a once-in-a-century economic development opportunity. It’s breaking a new frontier in job creation and investment in Northern Ontario. It has the possibility of surpassing the Sudbury basin and the Porcupine Gold Camp for mineral potential. We’re talking about over a hundred-billion dollars in value. So we need to move forward.”
First Nation communities appear set on locking horns with mining companies operating in the Ring of Fire because leaders feel they are not being adequately consulted.
On Friday, six Northern Ontario First Nations jointly issued a “30-day eviction notice” to all mining companies with exploration and development camps in the Ring of Fire.
The notice calls for a moratorium on all mining activity within the Ring of Fire until the First Nation leaders gain a sense that they are being adequately consulted about future development in that region.
Hudak said the onus falls on the government to help smooth out these conflicts while paving the way for development within the Ring of Fire.
“I know there has been some criticism of the government’s handling of this in terms of consulting with First Nations. We need to do a much better job at looking to the big picture, pulling together the First Nations, mining companies … to focus on what is the biggest economic opportunity in our province of the century,” said Hudak, who served as a minister of northern development and mines when the Ontario Tories were in government.
“This is going to have enormous economic development opportunities up the corridor and all the way south to the rest of the province,” he said. “I think what we need to see here is more focused leadership and putting someone in charge of clearing out the barriers so there are no obstacles that stand between the minerals under the ground and creating jobs across the province. The Premier has a role to play in championing this project, not only in Northern Ontario, but across our province and our country.”
Speaking to The Daily Press in early afternoon, Hudak said he flew up from the Toronto area early in the morning and got a tour of the full operation within the Noront mining facility.
“We’re going top to bottom, showing how the drilling process works, how the core samples are analyzed, how they map out where they’re going in the future, and then talked through the business case for Noront and then afterwards we’re going to do a helicopter fly-over the general area.
“When I see places like this and talk to people in the mining sector, I know that there is a great potential ahead of us. We just need to seize it.”