OTTAWA—Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson cast doubt on hopes for a mining bonanza in Ontario’s “Ring of Fire,” saying there are better projects that can be developed easier in areas closer to existing infrastructure. It’s the latest sign the Trudeau government isn’t yet convinced the region in the province’s vast, environmentally sensitive northern peatlands is the best place for new mining, even as it tries to make Canada an international powerhouse in critical minerals needed to power the global shift to a greener, low-carbon economy. It also contrasts with Premier Doug Ford’s demands for faster development in the mineral belt where projects have been considered for more than 15 years.While the Ontario government says mining the region’s known deposits of chromite, copper, cobalt, nickel and other metals could create jobs and resources for clean industries like the province’s nascent electric vehicle sector — which is set to get at least $28 billion in subsidies from Ottawa and Queen’s Park — the federal government has insisted potential environmental damage and Indigenous concerns must be addressed before development proceeds in the Ring of Fire. Final say on future projects in the region could fall to Ottawa or Ontario, depending on a variety of factors, while only two proposals — for roads into the remote area — are currently under federal review.In a recent interview, Wilkinson emphasized the many obstacles to the long-sought mining projects in the remote area 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay — and said other proposals are better-placed to provide resources needed for emerging green industries. “I actually bemoan the fact that everybody goes right to Ring of Fire, because the Ring of Fire is perhaps the most complicated area in the province,” Wilkinson told the Star. “There are a whole bunch of other critical minerals opportunities that are actually proceeding apace that are simpler, more adjacent to communities, better infrastructure, acceptance by Indigenous communities — all of those things,” he said. According to Wilkinson’s office, such better options include proposed mining projects outside Thunder Bay, like the Georgia Lake lithium project. There are also possibilities close to Sudbury, the minister’s office said, including KGHM’s Victoria mine proposal and the Onaping Depth nickel project.On Tuesday, Ford continued to champion mining developments in the Ring of Fire, and accused Ottawa of wasting time and money on environmental assessments in the area that he said duplicate existing provincial reviews.“The world is watching the Ring of Fire. We have critical minerals that will flow down into their electric vehicle program as we see that electric vehicle revolution happening right here in Ontario,” Ford told reporters at a premiers’ summit in Winnipeg.“We have to make sure we get those critical minerals out of the ground as quickly as possible, partnering up with Indigenous communities.” Despite its concerns, the federal government has never said it would try to block development in the Ring of Fire. Last month, Wilkinson sent letters proposing that Ontario and Indigenous leaders co-ordinate oversight on potential developments within the region. Ottawa is also in talks with the province to find a way to align their project assessments and avoid duplication. Meanwhile, earlier this year, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault invited Indigenous leaders in the region to help develop a framework for a regional assessment of potential construction in the Ring of Fire. That process — meant to help give a broader picture of regional impacts of development in the area — could take years, one federal source said, but it doesn’t stop specific projects from being proposed and potentially moving forward. Heading into this week’s premiers’ meeting, Ford said he would advocate for provinces to join his calls for faster reviews of infrastructure projects that he says are necessary to accommodate Canada’s growing population. Along with projects like the proposed Highway 413, which the federal government also intends to review, Ford named the Ring of Fire as a key priority as the province aims to bolster its potential to profit from the global shift to green industries that need critical minerals found in the region. At more than 5,000 square kilometres, the mineral belt covers a vast, remote area of lakes and wilderness in the northwest of the province. The region is rich in peatlands, where the soil has an abundance of decaying organic material that stores carbon. If disturbed, this carbon can be released into the atmosphere and contribute to the human-caused climate change that is dangerously warming the planet.A 2021 study by ecosystem scientist Lorna Harris and several others said Canada is home to the world’s largest store of peatlands carbon, and that up to 250 megatonnes of carbon could be released from the soil by resource development in the Ring of Fire.That’s more than 37 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2021.“You start to disturb the peat in a significant way, you’re going to release a lot of carbon emissions, which kind of defeats the purpose of getting the critical minerals,” Wilkinson told the Star in the recent interview.He also noted some Indigenous nations in the region who are concerned about developing the Ring of Fire, where objections and worries about being excluded from important decisions have persisted for years.“The Ontario government would like to actually move very quickly, but they have been dealing largely with only a couple of the Indigenous communities up there who are supportive of development,” Wilkinson said.“There are others who have expressed concern. Our view would be you actually have to talk to them — you have to understand the concern, you have to work through those concerns.”Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @aballingaTonda MacCharles is Ottawa Bureau Chief and a senior reporter covering federal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamaccKristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy
OTTAWA—Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson cast doubt on hopes for a mining bonanza in Ontario’s “Ring of Fire,” saying there are better projects that can be developed easier in areas closer to existing infrastructure.
It’s the latest sign the Trudeau government isn’t yet convinced the region in the province’s vast, environmentally sensitive northern peatlands is the best place for new mining, even as it tries to make Canada an international powerhouse in critical minerals needed to power the global shift to a greener, low-carbon economy.
It also contrasts with Premier Doug Ford’s demands for faster development in the mineral belt where projects have been considered for more than 15 years.
While the Ontario government says mining the region’s known deposits of chromite, copper, cobalt, nickel and other metals could create jobs and resources for clean industries like the province’s nascent electric vehicle sector — which is set to get at least $28 billion in subsidies from Ottawa and Queen’s Park — the federal government has insisted potential environmental damage and Indigenous concerns must be addressed before development proceeds in the Ring of Fire.
Final say on future projects in the region could fall to Ottawa or Ontario, depending on a variety of factors, while only two proposals — for roads into the remote area — are currently under federal review.
In a recent interview, Wilkinson emphasized the many obstacles to the long-sought mining projects in the remote area 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay — and said other proposals are better-placed to provide resources needed for emerging green industries.
“I actually bemoan the fact that everybody goes right to Ring of Fire, because the Ring of Fire is perhaps the most complicated area in the province,” Wilkinson told the Star.
“There are a whole bunch of other critical minerals opportunities that are actually proceeding apace that are simpler, more adjacent to communities, better infrastructure, acceptance by Indigenous communities — all of those things,” he said.
According to Wilkinson’s office, such better options include proposed mining projects outside Thunder Bay, like the Georgia Lake lithium project. There are also possibilities close to Sudbury, the minister’s office said, including KGHM’s Victoria mine proposal and the Onaping Depth nickel project.
On Tuesday, Ford continued to champion mining developments in the Ring of Fire, and accused Ottawa of wasting time and money on environmental assessments in the area that he said duplicate existing provincial reviews.
“The world is watching the Ring of Fire. We have critical minerals that will flow down into their electric vehicle program as we see that electric vehicle revolution happening right here in Ontario,” Ford told reporters at a premiers’ summit in Winnipeg.
“We have to make sure we get those critical minerals out of the ground as quickly as possible, partnering up with Indigenous communities.”
Despite its concerns, the federal government has never said it would try to block development in the Ring of Fire. Last month, Wilkinson sent letters proposing that Ontario and Indigenous leaders co-ordinate oversight on potential developments within the region. Ottawa is also in talks with the province to find a way to align their project assessments and avoid duplication.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault invited Indigenous leaders in the region to help develop a framework for a regional assessment of potential construction in the Ring of Fire. That process — meant to help give a broader picture of regional impacts of development in the area — could take years, one federal source said, but it doesn’t stop specific projects from being proposed and potentially moving forward.
Heading into this week’s premiers’ meeting, Ford said he would advocate for provinces to join his calls for faster reviews of infrastructure projects that he says are necessary to accommodate Canada’s growing population. Along with projects like the proposed Highway 413, which the federal government also intends to review, Ford named the Ring of Fire as a key priority as the province aims to bolster its potential to profit from the global shift to green industries that need critical minerals found in the region.
At more than 5,000 square kilometres, the mineral belt covers a vast, remote area of lakes and wilderness in the northwest of the province. The region is rich in peatlands, where the soil has an abundance of decaying organic material that stores carbon. If disturbed, this carbon can be released into the atmosphere and contribute to the human-caused climate change that is dangerously warming the planet.
A 2021 study by ecosystem scientist Lorna Harris and several others said Canada is home to the world’s largest store of peatlands carbon, and that up to 250 megatonnes of carbon could be released from the soil by resource development in the Ring of Fire.
That’s more than 37 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2021.
“You start to disturb the peat in a significant way, you’re going to release a lot of carbon emissions, which kind of defeats the purpose of getting the critical minerals,” Wilkinson told the Star in the recent interview.
He also noted some Indigenous nations in the region who are concerned about developing the Ring of Fire, where objections and worries about being excluded from important decisions have persisted for years.
“The Ontario government would like to actually move very quickly, but they have been dealing largely with only a couple of the Indigenous communities up there who are supportive of development,” Wilkinson said.
“There are others who have expressed concern. Our view would be you actually have to talk to them — you have to understand the concern, you have to work through those concerns.”
Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga
Tonda MacCharles is Ottawa Bureau Chief and a senior reporter covering federal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc
Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy
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