http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has agreed to meet Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne on Parliament Hill Thursday afternoon to discuss Ontario’s Ring of Fire, a mining development project worth an estimated $60 billion.
Wynne is hoping to break the current impasse and convince the prime minister to match the costs of developing the mineral rich region, 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, in northern Ontario.
The Ontario government told CBC News last week it was surprised to hear the prime minister dismiss the development in the Ring of Fire as a provincial issue, given that repeated calls for the federal government to play a role in the project had gone unanswered in recent weeks. Harper recently said “this is a project that is primarily under provincial jurisdiction because ultimately resources belong to the provinces and resource development is a provincial responsibility.”
Rich in chromite, nickel and gold, the Ring of Fire is considered to be mining jackpot for the province, but Wynne is making the case that the federal government has a responsibility in the development and funding of the infrastructure required.