OTTAWA _ The Conservative majority on a House of Commons committee has shot down an NDP proposal to have Ontario provincial officials appear to testify about the Ring of Fire resource development in northern Ontario, The Canadian Press has learned.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is in Ottawa today to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the stalled, multi-billion-dollar mining development.
The federal Conservatives expressed great interest in the Ring of Fire earlier this year but appear to have washed their hands of the project since a major U.S. company indefinitely postponed its $3.3-billion chromite operation.
The prime minister declined to comment on the decision by
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (
NYSE: CLF,
Stock Forum) last month, calling the Ring of Fire a provincial responsibility.
On Wednesday, the Natural Resources committee went behind closed doors to assess New Democrat Claude Gravelle's motion on hearing from Ontario officials about federal help in developing the Ring of Fire.
Sources say the government majority voted down the motion.