Ontario signs agreement with federal government to speed up Ring of Fire development
Projects in Ontario will no longer require assessments from both the province and the federal government.
A new agreement is promising to eliminate duplicative processes in situations where a project might have, for example, required an environmental assessment at both the provincial and federal levels.
The agreement was announced by Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney in a joint press conference in Ottawa on Thursday.
Prime Minister Carney says the agreement will allow approvals to be more flexible and efficient, “while maintaining both federal and provincial standards.”
Premier Doug Ford is framing the agreement as the final piece of the province’s new “One Project, One Process” framework, adding “One Decision” as an addition to the new concept.
“It’s time for Canada to build big things again,” Ford says.
The premier also characterizes the new agreement as the last step in unlocking the Ring of Fire for development, having now made agreements with the Aroland, Webequie, and Marten Falls First Nations.
The Ring of Fire is a region to the northeast of Thunder Bay, rich in critical minerals that are needed in modern technologies such as computers and electric vehicles.
The Premier states that opening the Ring of Fire to development could grow the Ontario economy by $22 billion and create 70,000 jobs.
Critically, the Premier is promising that with this agreement in place, shovels could be in the ground in the Ring of Fire in June.
The premier’s agreement with Carney could also see developments sped up in other parts of the province for projects such as roads and bridges.
The news is being greeted positively by the Northern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA): “Reducing duplication between federal and provincial processes is a common-sense step that provides certainty, improves timelines, and helps move nation-building projects forward,” says NOMA president Rick Dumas. “The Ring of Fire represents a generational opportunity for Northern Ontario, Ontario, and Canada—and this agreement helps unlock that potential.”
