"Dimatteo argued the project is moving forward and pointed to the joint funded study with the province that’s looking at an east-west road corridor.
He said he was referring to the direction the federal government has taken in terms of building the infrastructure for the Ring of Fire. But the government wants to make it clear that those investments have to have community benefits, he said."

Moving forward would be if federals announced that they will fund at least half the cost of the east-west road. A study is merely keeping potential project in limbo.
So they need a study to tell them that four communities would have benefits immediately on completion of said road and that extensions in the future from same road would also benefit other communities.

No they do not need to "put a billion dollars" and no one said that they had to. What the federal government needs to say is that 'We recognize the immediate need of funding and will fund it up to one billion dollars once the construction plans are tabled'. That would be a commitment but not yet forking over, which they seem to be worried about ( Really?).
They do not need a plan with all the Ts crossed and Is dotted to know that about a billion is needed from them. Actually they should save more than a billion once the road is functioning for a decade or more because less dollars will be needed to support the natives if the products and services to them are much reduced in price.

If I know this and presumably most of the readers of this forum do also:
Why do we need to restate the same thing over and over again. Our comments are not reaching where they should.