Peter,

I agree with you. Final blessing of Bill 45 ( only signature of governor needed) and then some infrastructure announcements.

When big money is involved Gov't money = tax money, certain protections have to be put in place to prevent games.

A good example is Northern Quebec. Just picture for a moment what happened here recently in Northern Quebec.

A bunch of exploration companies dig up some good stuff.. companies like Strateco Resources and Stornoway Diamonds. The Quebec Gov't did some number crunching and figured construction of Hwy 167 would allow these projects along with others to be develped. They looked at the number of projects that could come on board, looked at the revenue and figured paying a huge chunk of this road would be an economic benefit. Stornoway Diamonds also paid a significant amount (picture our senerio with Cliffs and the gov't).

then.....

Some time passed road construction started and the Quebec gov't found the cost of the road almost doubled all this happening at a time Quebec is being described as economically bankrupt.

At the same time

...the Cree decided they changed their mind about uranium exploration and started demanding a moratorium on uranium. This affects a total of 20 exploration companies. Strateco having spent the most money and having just recieved the covented green light from the Canadian Nuclear Agency for advanced exploration.

The Expensive road Hwy 167 is built.

Now what?? The gov't has a higher cost of this road then expected AND AT THE SAME TIME FN's that signed an MOU want uranium exploration stopped. Profits from the eventual Strateco mine- Matoush were to help pay for the road.

Now,

Picture the Ontario Gov't pays for a big chunk of Ontario North Infrastructure and then once the chunk of money comes from taxpayers and the infrastructure is done........A particular FN group suddenly demands a moratorium for Chromite mining. What then? More time and money wasted for more talking??

You think this could not happen?? Look at what just happened in Quebec. The closest residents AFFECTED want the project to go. The cree 250 km away...suddenly ...have a problem with it and to make it even worse...the project resides on 100% crown land.

I remember very clearly the FN's wanting the smelter location near Nakina. When the location of Capreol came up....suddenly.....the chromite smelter was dangerous. Just unreal. You don't get things to go 100% your way and the hissy fit starts.

Bill C45 passed the senate a few days ago and now the bill will be sent to the Governor General and become law once he signs it. The Ontario Gov't will dot I's and cross T's before making an infrastructure agreement as large as this to protect the taxpayers and prevent the situation the Quebec government has to deal with.