Globe says Noront hears Ford endorse Ring of Fire Globe says Noront hears Ford endorse Ring of Fire
2021-12-08 07:56 ET - In the News
The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the Ontario government is rewriting the way it consults first nations in the province's Far North in its attempt to accelerate plans to build a road to the remote Ring of Fire mineral discoveries. The Globe's Niall McGee and Jeff Gray write that indigenous groups that oppose the mining project accuse Premier Doug Ford of trying to do an end run. The Progressive Conservative government's fall economic statement last month included proposed changes to Ontario's Far North Act aimed at spurring the construction of an all-season road into the region. Mr. Ford's legislative changes would lift protections on 225,000 square kilometres of land in the Far North. The Ford government's proposed changes mean the province could potentially develop an area without unanimous first nations support. Noront Resources owns most of the mineral concessions in the region. It has long struggled to move its projects forward. Despite the long odds of development, Mr. Ford has made claims in recent weeks that the Ring of Fire could soon be part of a domestic supply chain to make batteries for electric vehicles -- even though Ontario has no such industry to speak of now.
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