First of all Cliffs took over Freewest for $240M, then took over Spider for $120M - those were the largest of the takeovers in the RoF. The rest of the oft cited upwards of $500M was spent on studies, consultations with FNs etc. Noront originally was in a bidding war for Freewest with Cliffs. I'd say Noront is quite happy with the way it turned out. For the price of $20M now, they get far more and for far cheaper. Cliffs had to sell, they are a distressed company. However, it is true that government and FNs have not been as helpful as they could have been to the development of the RoF. Cliffs also did not have the right plan. Noront on the other hand has been a leader in the ring, including FN consultations and having the proper vision. Noront has helped train FN members for jobs as well. These assets under Noront are a game changer. Noront has strong backers. The government just needs to do what is right for all Ontarians and all Canadians now. There are too many politics at play. If FN negotiations have failed then so be it. If Ontario doesn't want/can't spend $1B, then they should own up to that. The recent CBC article about Chief Moonias is an example of FN politics. It is a fact that there has been plenty of time, funding and consultation on Noront's Terms of Reference since 2011/2012. Look at the links below: http://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/noront-eagles-nest-multi-metal-mine http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/details-eng.cfm?evaluation=63925 http://www2.mpmo-bggp.gc.ca/MPTracker/project-projet-03.aspx?pid=191&psid=0
As you can see, there's been an active force to delay this project. Ask yourselves who benefits the most by delaying a sound environmental design like this one? Negotiating parties that's who.
