Supplied photo: KWG Resources is one of the companies exploring the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northwestern Ontario.

Sudbury must push for place on Ring board: JR

thesudburystar.com
By: Jim Moodie, The Sudbury Star
Tuesday, September 2, 2014

It's essential that Sudbury has strong representation on a Ring of Fire development corporation, say mayoral hopefuls.

On Thursday, Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle announced the long-awaited entity — meant to oversee the creation of infrastructure for ore access and transport — has been legally incorporated, with an interim board of directors and a base in Thunder Bay.

"The minister was clear that the next task is to identify and recruit business and First Nations leaders, along with representation from the federal government," John Rodriguez said in a release.

The former mayor, who is seeking to reprise his role through October's municipal election, suggested now is the time to make the case for a Sudbury presence at the table.

"I implore Mayor (Marianne) Matichuk to call an immediate meeting of our area leaders from the business and First Nations communities to develop a slate of qualified persons as candidates for consideration to the board," he stated. "Please act now before Sudbury is left on the outside looking in."

Dan Melanson, who is vying with Rodriguez and eight others to fill Matichuk's shoes, agreed it's important Sudbury is in the mix, particularly since "Thunder Bay is better situated in both geography and representation."

The former head of the Greater Sudbury Taxpayers Association said he'd be "a lot more optimistic about the degree of input Sudbury is going to have if we had a member representing us from the party that's in power."

Melanson stressed "it's not that I have anything against the NDP," which holds both of Greater Sudbury's provincial seats, "but to have the maximum influence over the government, you want to have a member of the party in power."

Both Gravelle and Greg Rickford, the federal minister of natural resources, represent Northwestern Ontario ridings, and Thunder Bay is closer to the James Bay chromite deposits than Sudbury.

For those reasons, the Lakehead area "is probably more in the driver's seat," said Melanson.

Still, he believes Sudbury has a lot to offer — as well as gain — when it comes to the Ring of Fire, and that must be communicated from the municipal level.

"City governance is going to have to take a leadership role to try to influence Sudbury getting its fair share of Ring of Fire development," he said.

The municipality — and Capreol, in particular — was earlier identified by Ring player Cliffs Natural Resources as the potential site of a chromite processing facility, although that has begun to look less likely as time has gone on and Cliffs has suspended its exploration and development work in the region.

Yet, even if Sudbury doesn't become a refining hub for Ring ore, "we still have a world-class mining supply industry that would play a role," noted Melanson.

And in the meantime the city boasts a great deal of expertise that should be tapped for the nascent development corporation, he said.

"If you want a balanced board of directors, there should be a number of seats filled by people from Sudbury," said Melanson. "We have a wide variety of disciplines here that have experts who could provide valuable information."

Sudbury's expertise isn't only in regard to extraction, he added. "We have environmental expertise as well."

Ron Dupuis, a veteran councillor seeking the mayor's job, said he welcomes the news out of the Northern Development and Mines ministry last week and feels confident the Nickel City will have a role to play in Ring development.

"I admire the fact the Liberals did establish this within the time they promised, because it shows there is a commitment," he said. "And once the appointments are made I'm sure Sudbury will be represented, because Sudbury is the hub of Northern Ontario."

Dupuis described the Ring of Fire as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for the region. "So, we need to be actively supporting and pursuing this opportunity, which will mean tremendous benefits for our community and all of Northern Ontario."

Brian Bigger, who took a leave of absence as the city's auditor general to seek the mayor's role, said he hadn't fleshed out his position on the Ring of Fire yet and would prefer to research the issue more thoroughly before commenting.

jim.moodie@sunmedia.ca

Sudbury must push for place on Ring board: JR

thesudburystar.com
By: Jim Moodie, The Sudbury Star
Tuesday, September 2, 2014