Grits would offer guarantees to jumpstart Ring: Trudeau – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – December 13, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

A Liberal federal government would play a key role in helping Ontario develop the Ring of Fire by providing matching funds or loan guarantees similar to those offered in the Upper Churchill to develop infrastructure, says Justin Trudeau.

The Ring of Fire is a tremendous resource not just for Northern Ontario, but for the entire country, said the Liberal Party leader during a visit Thursday to Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre.

“The federal government needs to be part of the infrastructure projects that are going to unlock this great potential,” Trudeau told reporters after a tour of the aboriginal health centre where a chorus of three-year-olds sang to him in Ojibwe.

When asked what he thought about the battle of words between Ottawa and Ontario over who should do what to develop the chromite deposits, Trudeau said too much of politics is focused on finger-pointing.
”People need to sit down together and try to figure out the way to move forward that will be of benefit economically but also for communities, for our first peoples and for the long-term sustainability of our environment as well.”

Hans Matthews, chair of the board of Shkagamik-Kwe, and executive director Angela Recollet, spoke of the challenges their health centre is facing with the aboriginal population expected to increase 70% by 2026.

Trudeau said the type of care offered at Shkagamik-Kwe will be a big piece of the future of health care as governments face the challenge of rising costs and look for different solutions.

While in Sudbury, Trudeau was to meet with members of local riding associations, tour one of the city’s mines and attend a $1,200-a-plate fundraising dinner at Bryston’s on the Park in the evening.

He made no apology for building a war chest to take on the federal Conservatives in 2015.

Liberals are “reaching out to as many people as possible (to be) able to go up against a very, very determined ruthless negative political machine that the Conservatives have built on an awful lot of money,” said Trudeau.

He extended an invitation to Sudburians to join him at an 8 a.m. breakfast Friday at College Boreal for which there is no charge.

For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/12/12/grits-would-offer-guarantees-to-jumpstart-ring-trudeau