With the Liberal government set to announce a huge boost in infrastructure spending, Charlie Angus says it’s time to take action on the Ring of Fire. The massive mining project has been stalled for a decade from a lack of leadership at either the provincial or federal level. While the Liberal Platform did not commit to the Ring of Fire, New Democrats are asking that the government commit to it in the upcoming budget.
Angus has written to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr urging federal action to ensure that the potential of the project is realized, and to ensure that regional First Nations are able to fully benefit from the project.
“I appreciate the new government’s talk of infrastructure investments but they can’t simply look at the nation from an urban lens. The mining regions of the north are suffering from a serious downturn and a long-term vision for the resource industries of the north is needed.”
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce estimates the project will generate in the short term 9.4 billion in GDP, 6.2 billion for the mining industry, sustain 5,500 annual full time jobs, and generate 2 billion in government revenues. Over the 32 year lifespan of the project it is estimated that the project will generate over 25 billion in GDP, up to 16.7 billion for the mining industry, and 6.7 billion in government revenue.
“The previous government wasted ten years on getting the ring of fire to move forward. Consultations with First Nations and long-term infrastructure investments are complicated projects that take time to work out and implement. It is imperative that the government start to put the fundamentals for the Ring of Fire in place, so, that we can take advantage of the market on the upswing.”