Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.
While the province endured another tongue-lashing in the legislature Tuesday over accusations it’s bungling the Ring of Fire development, some observers wondered why the government still won’t commit to building a main access road to the rich mining region.
“A road must be seen as an investment both in terms of mining development and human capital,” said Red Lake Mayor Phil Vinet, a former miner. “Look at the road (Highway 105) to Red Lake (and surrounding gold mines),” Vinet added. “It was built in 1948 and paved in 1960, an investment that has paid for itself many times over.”
In the legislature, NDP MPP Mike Mantha scolded the Liberals for lacking a plan for the province’s remote North.
“When will we see a real plan for Ring of Fire development that benefits Northern communities, First Nations and all Ontarians?” said Mantha (Algoma-Manitoulin). Natural Resources Minister David Orazietti replied that the province is working on the Ring of Fire project.
But Orazietti, saying the file is “complex,” accused Mantha of “over-simplifying” the process to get the region developed.
“We are prepared to work with any company who is coming forward to help develop the Ring of Fire and to create jobs,” said Orazietti.
Last month, main Ring of Fire proponent Cliffs Natural Resources warned its plan for a chromite mine was in jeopardy without a commitment to a north-south, all-weather transportation route linking the proposed mine site to CN Rail’s main line 340 kilometres to the south.
The company is appealing a provincial ruling that said Cliffs can’t build the road because it would infringe on mining claims held by a competitor.
On Tuesday, Orazietti repeated the province’s take — that the situation is a legal dispute between two private companies.
But Cliffs, which has spent more than $500 million on Ring of Fire pre-development work, has asked the province to help it find an alternative Crown-land route that could bypass the mining claims.
Asked Tuesday if any progress had been made in that regard, a spokeswoman for Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle did not specifically mention a road.
“We continue to have productive and focused discussions with all companies on aspects related to this project, (and) certainly that includes infrastructure.”
Though some may feel the project has stalled under the Liberal government, some are willing to give the province the benefit of the doubt.
“In our last meeting with Mr. Gravelle, he assured us there is a lot being worked on behind the scenes,” said Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association president Dave Canfield.
“Our main concern is that once (mining development) is ready to go, will the province have the infrastructure in place to be ready for it,” Canfield added.
Vinet agreed with Orazietti that the Ring of Fire project is complicated.
“There are so many players involved — the government, mining companies, First Nations and federal agencies — you wonder if everyone’s on the same page,” he said.
The province does have a Northern growth plan, said Vinet, but he added that in his view, “there’s not a lot of meat and potatoes in it.”
Unlike Quebec, development north of the 50th parallel has historically not been a priority in Ontario, said Vinet, regardless of who’s been in power at Queen’s Park.
Ontario lacks an equivalent of Quebec’s Highway 109, a year-round paved route that nearly reaches Hudson Bay, Vinet noted.
“You look at the (Ontario) governments of Bill Davis, David Peterson and Bob Rae,” he said. “Nothing ever got done (in the remote North).”