As per the audio clip, recommended form of infrastructure for ROF will be released next week....time 4:27 in an 8 minute clip

Northern Policy Institute talks Ring of Fire infrastructure

CBC NewsPosted: May 20, 2014 1:16 PM ET Last Updated: May 20, 2014 1:16 PM ET

The Northern Policy Institute's mandate is to "provide proactive, evidence-based and purpose driven recommendations to government and industry on policies and programs that strengthen the regional economy and create a more competitive and productive northern Ontario." (Shutterstock/Sergey Nivens)

Think Tank 8:00

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It's Northern Ontario's fledgling think-tank. But what exactly does the Northern Policy Institute do? Charles Cirtwill is the president and CEO of the Northern Policy Institute.

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The fledgling Northern Policy Institute [NPI] will soon release research on the Ring of Fire that deals with issues such as road access versus rail access to the mining region.

The think-tank was established to do independent studies on big issues affecting northern Ontario.

Northern Policy Institute president Charles Cirtwill. (http://northernpolicy.wordpress.com/)

“I've had opportunity ... to hear [Matawa First Nations negotiator] Bob Rae talking about investing in infrastructure and talking about it not for the purposes of accessing the resource, but for the purposes of meeting the obligations that we as a society have to those communities,” said NPI president Charles Cirtwill.

“So that's a conversation we have to have. What are the criteria that we should be using to make the choices?"

The institute will also examine a host of other issues, from education to the minimum wage, Cirtwill said.

The institute is a not-for-profit organization, funded by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and has offices in Thunder Bay and Sudbury.