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Province makes good on Ring of Fire Development Corporation promise

THUNDER BAY -- The province has announced its long-awaited Ring of Fire Development Corporation, but admits there's still a lot of work to do.
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THUNDER BAY -- The province has announced its long-awaited Ring of Fire Development Corporation, but admits there's still a lot of work to do.

The non-profit corporation will have four interim board members, all senior public servants, and will now start reaching out to First Nations, industry and the province hopes the federal government to get more partnerships.

Eventually the corporation will be responsible for establishing the best transportation corridor into the potentially lucrative mining area as well as advise on how to best spend the province's $1 billion commitment to fund the infrastructure.

"To have the corporation oversee that is vital," Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said.

In the meantime it will run on a $2 million operating budget from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines to get started.

The board, which includes Infrastructure Ontario's Ehren Cory, assistant deputy minister for  economic environmental justice and intergovernmental policy Rob Dowler, transportation assistant deputy minister Linda McAusland and northern development assistant deputy minister Bill Thornton, will seek out "formal partnerships" Gravelle said.

"The partnerships are the key," he said.

What the board will eventually look like or how many members there will be has yet to be determined. While it will be headquartered in Thunder Bay, the exact location is also not yet known. 

Originally announced late last year, establishing the development corporation was promised within 60 days of the Liberal government taking office, a promise Gravelle said Premier Kathleen Wynne has now kept.

 

 





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