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Mayors still have hope for Ring of Fire

“The Ring of Fire is a huge priority for Northern Ontario."
northernmayorsjune1416
Northern Ontario Large Urban Mayors discuss a number of issues effecting the North in a meeting on Wednesday in North Bay. Photo by Chris Dawson.

Northern Mayors are hoping to form a delegation in hopes of seeing more movement from the Province on the Ring of Fire.   

The Mayors and CEO’s of Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and North Bay gathered in the Gateway City on Wednesday to discuss a number of Northern issues (NOLUM).   

The mayors all agree and support the need to move forward with the development of infrastructure for the Ring, including the establishment of an east-west corridor route that would enable adequate transportation to the site. 

Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs will lead the Northern Mayors on this issue. 

“We’ve been talking about developing the Ring of Fire for years, but there has been little progress to-date,” said Mayor Hobbs.  

“The Ring of Fire is a huge priority for Northern Ontario. The development has large economic potential for the local mining industry, the construction industry, the financial industry, not to mention the overall economic benefits for First Nations communities and the province, and we need to move forward.”

North Bay Mayor Al McDonald sees the Ring of Fire project stalled. 

“We don’t see any movement on it. People are working on it but we don’t see any movement,” admitted McDonald. 

“From a local perspective Timmins and North Bay would see the benefit because of the ONTC. We are really pushing for the rail  and the ONTC for the Ring of Fire.

“You have the five mayors here saying we need to move on this file so we really need the province and the federal government to start working together to get this moving. The first piece out of the ring of fire is the nickel and the chromite is the second component but we need some movement on it and really it is the infrastructure to be able to get the minerals out of the ground or out of the site but that’s by rail and road.”

Nipissing MPP and former North Bay Mayor Vic Fedeli has been openly critical of the Liberal government’s handling of the Ring of Fire.  

“They have done nothing except receive criticism from the auditor general. So there’s a lot of good work that can be done but under this government we have seen nine years now of Ring of Fire squandered.”    

 

Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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