Ontario Progressive Conservatives say a share of the mining tax royalties should go to First Nations and other communities that build and support new mines.
Tim Hudak, the PC leader, introduced a policy “white paper” outlining his party’s position on the North during a visit to Thunder Bay on Sept. 17.
“The Ring of Fire is the greatest mining discovery of a lifetime but the project has gone nowhere,” Hudak stated in the introduction to the policy paper, titled Paths to Prosperity: A Champion for Northern Jobs and Resources.
To ensure mining development moves ahead, “As a first step, we need to work with business and Aboriginal communities to expedite the construction of an all-season transportation link to the Ring of Fire deposits,” the paper suggests.
The policy release comes one week after the Ontario Mining and Lands Commissioner dismissed an application from Cliffs Natural Resources for an easement that would allow the company to build an all-weather road to the Ring of Fire over mining claims staked by another company.