SAULT STE. MARIE – While attending a campaign stop in Sault Ste. Marie, Doug Ford re-affirm his commitment to opening up the road to the Ring of Fire which has not seen any headway into becoming operational since the Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Indigenous affairs, Greg Rickford, met Marten Falls Chief Bruce Achneepineskum and Webequie First Nation Chief Cornelius Wabasse for a signing ceremony. This ceremony solidified the partnership between the two First Nations and the Ontario government, which now have the support of these First Nations to develop all-season road infrastructure and move forward with the Ring of Fire developments back in March 2020.
"Only the Ontario PCs have been able to work alongside Indigenous partners to break the log-jam and take important steps forward in getting an all-season road built to the Ring of Fire," said Doug Ford. "For 15 years, the Liberals were all talk but no action. Andrea Horwath and Steven Del Duca will find any reason to say no to building a road to the Ring of Fire with endless studies, reports and committees."
In late 2021, it was reported that access to the Ring of Fire required 450 kilometres of new roads, which would connect many remote First Nation regions that are currently air-access-only and do not have readily available access to clean drinking water to Ontario’s provincial highway system. Since then, the provincial government has volunteered $1.6 billion of government funding for the proposed roads.
"For too long, our northern and Indigenous communities have been cut off from the rest of Ontario because previous governments never made them a priority," added Ford. "They’ve heard enough empty talk and broken promises. The Ontario PCs will get it done and build the road to the Ring of Fire."
The PC government seems to understand that connecting the mineral-rich opportunities in the Ring of Fire with the manufacturing and auto sectors in southern Ontario will support the province in becoming a leading producer of critical minerals.
Critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium are needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. Therefore, the PCs conclude that a road leading into the Ring of Fire will support improved access to goods, services, and health care for remote communities and bring better jobs and bigger paycheques to northern communities.