Ring of Fire road gets provincial green light
Funding part of $1B promise toward region infrastructure, construction to start in 2019
After years of negotiations and delays, the provincial government is moving ahead with an all-season road to the Ring of Fire chromite mining development. Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Monday in Thunder Bay that agreements have been reached with the Webequie, Marten Falls and Nibinamik First Nations to begin construction of the road.
The route would go to the proposed Noront Resources mining project that Queen’s Park hopes will give Northern Ontario a much-needed economic boost as well as link remote communities with other highways.
Environmental assessments will begin in January, six months before the June 7 provincial election, and construction is set to start in 2019 in the area about 575 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.
The funding is part of the government’s promise to invest $1 billion in Ring of Fire infrastructure in the region. It is estimated that there is $60 billion in mineral deposits in the area, including chromite, an essential component in making stainless steel, nickel, gold, platinum, copper, vanadium and zinc.
“The entire Ring of Fire region has huge potential for development that would benefit all of the communities involved and the entire province, creating new jobs and improving the quality of life for people in the North,” Wynne said.
“Getting shovels in the ground to build this connection to the Ring of Fire will move us forward towards unlocking its full potential,” she said, admitting it will be a daunting project that will take years to complete.
“This is geography that is not straightforward in terms of building a road. (There) will be many, many bridges and causeways and so on because of the amount of water. So it will be a couple of years at least. But we want to get going as quickly as we can.”
Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said Wynne’s newfound sense of urgency on the Ring of Fire has more to do with politics than anything else.
“Since its discovery in 2007, it has not been a priority for the Liberals. They are only in the North now because we’re a year out from an election. Any promise Kathleen Wynne makes on the Ring of Fire today she will break if she wins again,” said Brown.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said northerners remain frustrated with the pace of movement on the project.
“That disappointment follows 14 years of Liberal government during which not one shovel has hit the ground. Not one kilometre of road has been built,” Horwath said.