Thanks Oiramoric on the NOT board for this:

Thursday, 11 March 2010 09:26 Written by James Murra

QUEEN’S PARK – The issue of mining in Northern Ontario was raised during Question Period in Queen’s Park on Wednesday. Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle had two questions on the opportunities for mining in the north.

Gravelle may have opened the Liberal Government up to greater critical attack with his comments on the McGuinty Government's plans for the North. The Premier in his "Open Ontario" five year plan has touted the "Ring of Fire" and a chromite deposit as the way forward in re-building Ontario and especially Northern Ontario's battered economy.

However in attempting to deflect an attack from Progressive Conservative MPP Randy Hillier, Gravelle is stating that there will be no mine likely for at least five years. A spokesperson from Minister Gravelle responded to NetNewsledger.com stating, “The Minister is very excited about the Ring of Fire. What the Minister meant by “dialing back”, was that we have to remember that a mine is realistically at least five years away. However, there will be construction jobs in the lead up to this”.

The first question was a question from fellow Thunder Bay MPP Bill Mauro, one that allowed the Minister to share the McGuinty Government speaking points. The second question came from Progressive Conservative MPP Randy Hillier.

Hillier pounced on Minister Gravelle over comments the Minister had made during a CBC Radio interview. “On Monday, Dalton McGuinty came out and told the world that the ring of fire was ‘the most promising mining opportunity in Canada in a century’,” said Hillier. “Now, that sounds pretty exciting, doesn’t it? But of course, as with most things in this government, it’s all a bait and switch.”

Hillier charged, “Yesterday, the Minister was on CBC radio in Thunder Bay, saying ‘I’ve been sorta trying to get those people who are very excited to dial it back just a bit’. Those are totally different messages, and I have to ask: Why does the Premier say one thing, and his Minister says the opposite?”

“The Minister and the Premier aren’t on the same page,” stated Hillier. “You can’t have it both ways. This minister needs to represent the north to Queen’s Park. Instead, he’s trying to pull the wool over our eyes, and sell the World Wildlife Fund’s policies up north.”

Here is the transcript of the question from PC MPP Randy Hillier:

Mr. Randy Hillier: My question is to the Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry. Minister, is your government engaged in bait-and-switch activities here? Yesterday in a CBC radio interview about the Ring of Fire, you stated: "I've been sort of trying to get those people who are very excited to dial it back just a bit." But in Monday's throne speech, you called the Ring of Fire "the most promising mining opportunity in Canada in a century."

Minister, why are you speaking out of both sides of your mouth on the Ring of Fire?

Hon. Michael Gravelle: Indeed, we are very excited about the potential opportunities, and the fact that it is part of our Open Ontario plan is extraordinarily exciting.

I certainly would invite the member to join us. I know that you were at the Prospectors and Developers Association convention in the last couple of days. We appreciate you being there-one of the most successful in years. The fact is, you heard from many people who were speaking about our government of Ontario's plan to support and promote the Ring of Fire development. So indeed, we want to have you onside for this.

This is something that needs to be managed in an appropriate fashion. In terms of our opportunities that we have, we are going to be working with our First Nation communities, working in terms of making sure it's environmentally sustainable. But there is no question-you can go down to the convention and meet with the many aboriginal leaders who are there. They're also very excited about the opportunities that are there.

This is about finding a way to take advantage of an opportunity that we haven't seen in the province of Ontario in 100 years, and I am just thrilled that our government is promoting its development.