Frustrated in particular by the decade-plus of delays to the Ring of Fire critical mineral project in northern Ontario Ford is hoping to get the country’s 12 other provincial and territorial leaders on side at the Council of the Federation.
Ottawa needs to work with provinces so that big infrastructure projects can get going faster, says Premier Doug Ford in what will be his main push as he heads to the annual summer meeting of provincial and territorial leaders.
Frustrated in particular by the decade-plus of delays to the Ring of Fire critical mineral project in northern Ontario — as well as slowdowns on others in dealing with two levels of government — Ford is hoping to get the country’s 12 other provincial and territorial leaders on side at the Council of the Federation, which runs Monday to Wednesday in Winnipeg.
“As we welcome hundreds of thousands of newcomers every year, we need to ensure we’re building the infrastructure required to keep pace with our historic growth,” Ford said in a statement to the Star. “My priority at this year’s summer meeting is making sure we are doing everything we can to get shovels in the ground faster so we can build more homes and deliver on key projects, like Highway 413 and the Ring of Fire.”
Highway 413 is to undergo both federal and provincial impact assessments. And with Ontario’s focus on new electric vehicle battery plants, timely mineral extraction in the province is going to be key.
For the rest of this article: https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2023/07/09/shovels-in-the-ground-faster-frustrated-by-long-delays-doug-ford-plans-to-push-other-premiers-to-support-better-co-ordination-with-ottawa-for-big-infrastructure-projects.html