http://www.thesudburystar.com/2015/12/03/province-dinged-on-the-ring-of-fire

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Ontario auditor-general Bonnie Lysyk's value-for-money annual report, as it pertains to the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, outlines a pattern of inaction by the Liberal government to do anything to develop the Ring of Fire.

The province has shirked its responsibility to consult with first nations near the Ring of Fire, leaving that up to private companies, says Lysyk in the report.

It created a Ring of Fire secretariat in 2010 that has 19 employees and has spent $13.2 million in the last five years while missing deadlines established by the ministry and lacking performance measures to assess its effectiveness.

Not a penny of the $1 billion promised by the province to develop Ring of Fire infrastructure has been spent, said the auditor-general.

The Ring of Fire Infrastructure Development Corporation set up in 2014 to accelerate the building of roads, hydro and other services still has no representation on its board from first nations or industry. It continues to be run by five senior bureaucrats.

Yet it cost $550,000 to set it up and it is expected it will have annual expenditures of $4 million, including $2.5 million for staffing, when it is operational.

Lysyk offers recommendations to ensure the "timely development" of the Ring of Fire. She says the ministry should:

n Establish a detailed plan with measurable outcomes, and regularly assess and report on progress in achieving them;

n Work to engage all stakeholders, including the federal government, in the funding and development of the region;

n Work to expedite negotiations with aboriginal communities.

Nipissing Progressive Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli, who has visited the Ring of Fire five times, couldn't agree more with what he called a "searing" report by Lysyk. He said the audit shows that millions of dollars is being spent by government on administration and none to develop infrastructure.

Algoma-Manitoulin New Democrat MPP Michael Mantha said the ministry has spent more on staffing its secretariat in the last five years than it has on anything constructive in the Ring of Fire. He said the report confirms what his party has been saying for years about inaction in the Ring of Fire.

Fedeli said it's frustrating to let what Lysyk called the most promising mineral find in a century sit idle because the provincial Liberals have no plan to move it forward.

The headlines in Lysyk's report tell the story, said Fedeli.

"Ring of Fire development has been slow," "Little development on the Ring of Fire to date," "Province lacks detailed plan or timeline to develop Ring of Fire," Secretariat missing deadlines, lacks performance measures to assess effectiveness in aiding development," "Stakeholders not engaged in the RofF development corporation."

Lysyk points out that despite the excitement after rich chromite deposits were discovered in the Ring of Fire in 2008, little has been done to develop them.

The Ring of Fire Secretariat, established in 2010 to lead the overall development of the region, has grown to have three regional offices, with 19 employees and total operating expenditures of $13.2 million in the last five years.

Yet there are no performance measure to gauge whether the Secretariat is being effective, said Lysyk.

She noted the Secretariat has "continuously missed milestones established by the government for the development of the Ring of Fire."

When the Secretariat was established, the Liberal government was optimistic development would start in the Ring of Fire by 2015.

Lysyk reported the Ring of Fire Secretariat has distributed $15.8 million to aboriginal communities for "capacity building," education and training initiatives, but some of the money hasn't been properly accounted for.

The objective of the audit, said Lysyk, was to see if the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines had effective systems and processes in place.

She concluded the ministry has not been effective in "encouraging timely mineral development in the province."

Lysyk gives the Liberals credit for establishing a regional framework agreement with aboriginal communities that lays out a community-based negotiation process for development of the Ring.

"However, the area is still not close to being ready for production since its discovery in 2008, and we found the ministry has no detailed plan or timeline for developing the region," Lysyk wrote.

Mining company officials with whom she spoke told her potential investors have been pushed away because consultation with first nations has been left up to companies and not led by the province.

Sudbury Star mining columnist Stan Sudol said the auditor-general's report highlights the lack of infrastructure in the Ring and the failure of government to make decisions relating to it.

He believes the priority transportation project has to be the east-west road that links four first nations and the Ring of Fire to the provincial highway system. "The aboriginal communities are very supportive," he said. "The delays on road construction have been astonishing."

In her report, Lysyk has essentially taken Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle and his bureaucrats "behind the woodshed and delivered one helluva beating."

Lysyk noted in her report that mining provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec have full control over first nations consultation, whereas the Government of Ontario "delegates the responsibility to the junior miners," said Sudol.

"The report strongly suggested this must change," he said.

When asked to comment on the auditor-general's conclusions about his ministry, Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle issued a statement thanking Lysyk for her recommendations and said his ministry continues to make improvements and build on its successes.

"This report has given us much to consider as we work to ensure Ontario is the global leader in mining," he said.

Gravelle said he looks forward to releasing the renewed mineral development strategy for the province this month.

"It will support his ministry's commitment to implement change related to her recommendations," he said.