THUNDER BAY -- The province has formally asked for the federal government to match its $1 billion commitment to Ring of Fire infrastructure.
Provincial Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle and federal Minister of Natural Resources Greg Rickford still haven't spoken since Rickford called out the province in the House of Commons last month saying its much-touted $1 billion commitment wasn't actual policy.
But last Thursday Gravelle sent Rickford a letter saying that the province has submitted its application under the federal government's Building Canada fund to get Canada to match the figure. Gravelle said the ask, formally submitted by economic development minister Brad Duguid, was very detailed.
"There have been many detailed discussions about it beforehand as there will be afterword," Gravelle said. "Certainly the federal government is very familiar with the project. They're very familiar with the infrastructure needs."
Ontario is eligible for around $2.7 billion under the fund. But the province chose instead to try and access the $4 billion unallocated so far and set aside in the fund for national infrastructure, something Gravelle said the federal government needs to recognize. The Ring of Fire is a nationally significant project.
"I would hope that Minister Rickford would become very much one fo the allies in terms of persuading his own colleagues that indeed this is exactly how the federal government can contribute to the Ring of Fire fund," Gravelle said.
Gravelle is hoping to meet with Rickford over the holiday season.
