Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford waded into the Ontario election after appearing at the House of Commons natural resources committee today, taking a battering ram to the governing Liberals for making splashy resources announcements without giving specifics.
“We’ve gone through some silly exercises by the provincial government and I’ve been clear about that before,” said Rickford, after exiting the committee room where he was presenting his department’s latest main estimates.
“Announcing up to one billion dollars hasn’t taken investor confidence, private sector, First Nations or the federal government very far,” he said, referring to Premier Kathleen Wynne’s announcement before the writ dropped that her government would put $1 billion toward opening up the Ring of Fire mineral deposit in the province’s north.
“Saying that you’re going to have a development corporation with no articles of incorporation, no policy documents by their own admission to support it is unbelievable,” he added.
In December, Ottawa and Queen’s Park got into a scrap over Wynne’s announcement of a development corporation to get the region opened up to transportation infrastructure. The announcement of $1 billion before the election earlier this month hinged on the budget passing, which didn’t happen after the NDP pulled their support.
At the time, the Liberals called for the federal government to match their commitment. But since the campaign began, the party has said it will commit the funds regardless of what Ottawa does.
The NDP have said they would also like to spend money on opening the Ring of Fire, but haven’t pegged a figure publicly yet.
If the federal government is to spend money, Rickford wants it to come from the relatively new $14-billion Building Canada Fund, something Liberal MPPs have said they would prefer not happen. Instead, they’d like to see a separate contribution.
Rickford, still a fresh face on the resource portfolio, hails from Kenora, Ontario, just south of the Ring of Fire. The untapped mineral deposit lies under a vast swath of forest and marsh just west of James Bay, but is too far from road, rail or electrical lines to develop without government help.
Until the election results provide clarity on what Ontario will do, Ottawa is focused on propping up the region in areas with which it has more experience, like job training and encouraging First Nation participation in environmental assessments, said Rickford.
“I’m very sensitive to the foundational pieces that they need,” he said, adding that he’s lived in many of the communities that would be most impacted by the development.
Private sector interest, most notably Cliffs Natural Resources chromite deposit, has slumped since last summer.
Last Friday, the U.S. iron miner sold an exploration camp in the Ring of Fire to Toronto-based Noront Resources, which has been trying to develop its Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper platinum and palladium deposit.
For the original version of this article, click here: http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/05/29/rickford-takes-mid-election-jab-at-ontario-liberals-over-ring-of-fire/