The grand chief of a group of northern Ontario First Nations is blasting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over his promise to fast-track approvals and pump money into the Ring of Fire mineral region.
OTTAWA — The grand chief of a group of northern Ontario First Nations is blasting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over his promise to fast-track approvals and pump money into the Ring of Fire mineral region.
Thunder Bay, Ontario – Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation welcome Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s commitment to invest $1 billion in road infrastructure to the Ring of Fire and to improve the federal permitting process.
This investment responds directly to requests made by both First Nations for funding and aligns with their longstanding efforts to lead the development of sustainable infrastructure that will connect our communities, unlock critical resources, and create long-term economic opportunities. The promise to share tax revenues at the federal level is also a welcomed new commitment and pathway to economic reconciliation.
The Northern Road Link, a project led by Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations, is a crucial component of the broader effort to connect remote First Nations to the provincial highway network. By securing reliable infrastructure, the all-season roads will enable safe transportation, increase access to essential services, and support responsible resource development in the Ring of Fire region.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ontario/
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced Wednesday that within six months of taking power, he would green-light all federal permits for the Ring of Fire and commit $1 billion to build new roads.
Poilievre, who is holding a rally in Greater Sudbury on Wednesday evening, said progress on the Ring of Fire is key to “unlocking billions of dollars in resources and taking back control of our economy from the Americans.” The long-delayed mineral project 500 kilometres east of Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario includes large deposits of high-grade chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper and platinum.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/
Pierre Poilievre vowed to approve all federal permits in Ring of Fire within 6 months
The federal Conservative leader is in Sudbury today making promises, if elected, to unlock access to critical minerals in the Ring of Fire and build a new road into the remote mining camp in northwestern Ontario.
“[The Ring of Fire] could make Canada very rich. It would be life changing for northern Ontario towns, galvanizing thousands of paycheques and modern infrastructure,” Pierre Poilievre said at a news conference Wednesday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/
How a remote peat bog became a key figure in a global political conflict
The Ring of Fire in northwestern Ontario has become a key figure in the battle to control critical minerals, which experts say is the heart of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada.
While a remote Ontario peat bog may not be the stage that first comes to mind when picturing the geopolitical conflict, the critical minerals beneath it are essential to renewable energy and digital technology.
Canada faces a direct economic sovereignty challenge from U.S. President Donald Trump. The spectre of general tariffs and the weaponization of U.S. federal investments loom over Canada’s integrated manufacturing sector.
Canada should take this moment not just to defend itself but to set some of its own terms. We need a bold strategy focused on critical mineral extraction and processing capacity. Canada holds some of the world’s most valuable untapped resources that could rebalance our economic leverage in North America.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/
First Nation advocates say it can’t happen at the expense of their rights
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his promise Monday to speed up mineral extraction in the Ring of Fire, but advocates for First Nations say it can’t happen at the expense of Indigenous treaty rights.
Ford told an audience at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs take aim at the Ontario economy, and Ontario needs to prepare for “anything and everything.” “Together we need to build a stronger, more resilient and self-sufficient economy,” Ford said.
Mining Injustice members blocked the northside entrance to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for 30 minutes during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention on Sunday
TORONTO – The world’s largest mining convention is well underway inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, but outside, a lively protest denouncing the companies for their alleged unethical roles with international excavation projects has taken shape.
The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is expected to bring tens of thousands of representatives from the global mining industry to the city’s downtown core between Sunday and Wednesday.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Premier delivers sense of urgency in pushing for expedited approvals, development of critical minerals projects
Premier Doug Ford is ready to shove Ottawa out of the way to make progress in the Ring of Fire. Fresh off last week’s provincial election win and armed with a strong majority, an emboldened Ford appeared at the PDAC mining show in Toronto, March 3, ready to pick a fight with the feds in order to expedite critical minerals production in the face of a looming trade war with the U.S.
Calling Ontario as being in a pandemic-like “survival mode,” Ford said he’s taking bold policy steps, backed by investments, to build a resilient economy and to use critical minerals production as leverage against the Trump administration’s expected tariffs on Canadian goods.
Two of the three Indigenous-led environmental assessments of the access roads to the Ring of Fire are nearly complete, but the third is expected to take three more years, followed by a decade of construction
Despite the Progressive Conservative government’s promises to fast-track the building of roads to the proposed Ring of Fire mining development in northwestern Ontario as a way to build “Fortress Am-Can” with the United States, current estimates suggest the final leg of the all-season road to the project site won’t be completed until sometime between 2035 and 2040.
At the same time, significant progress is being made on all three access roads needed to connect the Ring of Fire, Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation with the TransCanada Highway.
https://ricochet.media/indigenous/
Greg Rickford’s opponents wanted the opportunity to debate him on the Ring of Fire mining development
Ontario’s election is entering the final stretch and Greg Rickford is nowhere to be found. The Kenora-Rainy River riding incumbent, who was most recently the minister of both northern development and Indigenous affairs, has not submitted to any media interviews or public debates. His NDP opponent finds it familiar.
When Rudy Turtle led the River Run demonstration to march on Queen’s Park in September, the former Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation) Chief was hoping to meet with the Minister and the Premier.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives have pledged to set up a $500-million critical mineral processing fund to invest in “strategically located” facilities to develop the province’s vast resources of lithium, graphite, zinc, cobalt and other key minerals and metals.
The fund, a central economic plank in the party’s re-election platform released on Monday, is the biggest government pledge so far to build a network of refining facilities mining experts say are needed to ensure Canada reaps the benefits of producing minerals and metals important for the global energy transition.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/
More power generation, meaningful consultations with First Nations needed if projects are to move forward
Whichever party is elected as the next provincial government needs to show better support for northwestern Ontario’s mining industry if some of the region’s major developments are to move forward, industry and First Nations groups say.
“We need Queen’s Park to actually recognize us more,” said Garry Clark, executive director of the Ontario Prospectors Association. “We need more money put into exploration to move things forward.”
A re-elected PC government will make Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest, create better jobs with bigger paycheques and do business, including in the north
Thunder Bay, February 22, 2025 — Today, Doug Ford outlined the PC plan to speed up approvals, cut red tape and invest in infrastructure to unlock the enormous economic potential of Ontario’s critical minerals in the Ring of Fire and protect northern Ontario’s economy and workers.
“Over the past seven years working with First Nations, we’ve made significant progress building the roads to the Ring of Fire,” said Doug Ford. “As we face down the threat of President Trump’s tariffs, we need to do more and we need to do it faster. To protect Ontario, we have to get our critical minerals out of the ground, processed and shipped to factory floors. We have to double down on working with First Nations to speed up approvals and get shovels in the ground on critical mineral projects.”
President Trump is on a mission to suck up every dollar of investment he can for America’s economy. He’s promising major reforms to streamline regulations and speed up approvals.
https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/
Anishnawbe Business Professional Association proposes new framework that follows the path of reconciliation
Jason Rasevych would like to see corporate Canada do more to put into practice what they put on paper. The president of the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA) notices that mining companies often make statements in their annual sustainability reports about how they’re working progressively with First Nation communities.
Most of it is centred around promises of jobs and business opportunities. What’s missed is how mining activity will impact a community’s culture. While companies often say they are committed to reconciliation, Rasevych asks, “How are they reporting on that each and every year?”
