Let's take this opportunity to thank the Chamber of Commerce for coming out with their excellent report. The Gov't should be embarrased that it took the Chamber/private sector to do what they should have done years ago.
We should not be so surprised that the polititians have done nothing but spin their wheels on the ROF. The main objective and raison d etre for a polititian is to get reelected. In ontario most voters live in siouthern ontario and really have no understanding or interest in the Ring of Fire. So polititans push southern projects to buy the votes of southern voters.
Whn compared to the western provinces, Ontario has basically ignored the development of Northern Ontario, preferring to spend most of their money on the south. This short sighted thinking is comming back to haunt Ontario now that southern manufacturing has dried up.
Over the last 100 years Ontario should have been slowly developing the infrastructure in the north...electricity, rail, roads. How much immagination does it take to understand how much richer the province would be if there were 20 mining centers like Sudbury in the north? Does anyone really think that the ROF is the only mineral deposit in the north that has not been discovered and developed?
Why was this not done? Incompetence of government coupled with the nature of polititians whos only priority is to get elected. Just satisfy the people in the south because that is where your support lies. Provincial economic development be damned.
Someone asked if the infrastructure could be developed without FN approval? Certainly. Do the FN want electricity and roads/rail? Of course they do.
The ROF was discovered at least 5 years ago. There is no reason why something could not have been done to start power lines and planning. The same applies to roads...evn if it was just a few km of upgrading to winter roads.
We all feel your frustration Babjak. We have to get it right. What a joke. Has the gov't ever heard of the 80/20 rule? You can get 80 % of the benefit from 20% of the effort. Look it up on wiki. But you need to put in the 20% effort and that doesn't mean talk.( and bull shit).
For those of you in southern ontario perhaps you are starting to see what we in the north have been putting up with for years.
SN
