funny how this gets a final passed advocacy 11 days before elections

https://sudburychamber.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/FINAL-PASSED-Advocacy-CCC-Resolution-Make-the-Ring-of-Fire-a-Nationally-Significant-Initiative-2019-09-23.pdf

Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce Make the Ring of Fire a Nationally Significant Initiative

ISSUE: The Ring of Fire is a transformative project for Canada. Federal action is required to expedite the development of the Ring of Fire and ensure the economic and social potential of this nationally-significant, multigenerational project is realized.

BACKGROUND: The Ring of Fire is a mineral resource rich area of approximately 5,120 km2 located in the James Bay Lowlands region of Northern Ontario. Since the early 2000s, significant deposits of copper, zinc, nickel, platinum, palladium, vanadium, and gold along with the first and largest deposit of chromite in North America have been discovered.

Based on current projections, the Ring of Fire is estimated to hold more than $60 billion in geological riches1 with deposits being significant enough to sustain activity for a century.

 The Ring of Fire is not only a Northern Ontario or Ontario project, but it should be a Canadian priority as well as it will have far reaching impacts across the nation.

In the first ten years of the Ring of Fire development, all levels of government stand to increase their tax revenues by nearly $2 billion, with the federal government projected to accrue between $870 to $940 million.

3 In the long term, the federal government is expected to receive $2.89 to $3.25 billion in taxes from the Ring of Fire.

4 The Ring of Fire is also estimated to sustain over 5,500 full-time equivalent jobs annually within its first ten years, along with significant GDP increases and economic activity in multiple sectors.

5 Benefits will not only impact the mining and mining supply sectors but will also generate economic opportunities within the manufacturing, construction, utilities, wholesale/retail, trade, and financial services sectors among others. The Ring of Fire’s polymetallic deposits are of global significance and have the potential to enable the diversification of Canadian exports; a current goal of both the federal government and business community. The Ring of Fire holds billions of dollars’ worth of high-quality chromite, an essential metal in stainless steel production, demand for which is expected to increase in the years to come.

6 China, the largest importer of chromite, accounting for 60 percent of global demand, has already demonstrated significant interest in the Ring of Fire.

7 The federal government should promote the Ring of Fire’s polymetallic deposits internationally

as a significant investment and trade opportunity. Further, the Ring of Fire has the potential to result in significant innovation gains in Canada, a top priority for the Government of Canada.

Private sector actors for example are already developing innovative energy saving methods such as refining ferrochrome using green and lowcost natural gas rather than electricity.

The federal government should work with Indigenous groups and private sector actors to spur environmental innovation and explore technologies that can reduce energy costs and help make exploration in the Ring of Fire more efficient.

The Ring of Fire has endless economic opportunities but will only be successful if community needs are addressed. There are a number of Indigenous communities in close proximity to the Ring of Fire.

The Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor) is the lead federal organization dedicated to the development of the Ring of Fire. In Budget 2019, the federal government committed significant funding toward skills training and building Indigenous capacity, both critical investments needed for the Ring of Fire to succeed.

These communities will require continuous skills and educational programs to build capacity in management, finance and regional/community-based infrastructure planning in order to participate in decision-making and resource development and to prepare community members for potential job opportunities.

There is also a severe lack of trade-enabling infrastructure in the region to connect communities to each other and to resource development. The previous provincial Liberal government signed a Regional Framework Agreement with nine Matawa First Nations in 2014 to address revenue sharing, infrastructure and monitoring, and it committed $1 billion to develop an all-season transportation corridor.8 On March 2015, a joint federal and provincial announcement of $785,000 was made for a study to examine the potential of a transportation corridor that would connect Ring of Fire mineral deposits and four remote First Nations.

The current provincial government has indicated it views the Ring of Fire as a high-priority item. A region that lacks roads, rail, power lines, potable water and access to grid power requires a more significant, sustained and long-term investment and vision to meet these infrastructure needs;

it is critical that the provincial and federal governments work together to bring adequate trade-enabling infrastructure to the Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire has its challenges. After more than a decade since its discovery, progress on infrastructure development remains slow, development timelines are uncertain, private sector investors are increasingly frustrated, and the region’s peoples face significant social and economic hurdles. However, there are opportunities to capitalize on.

The Ring of Fire is in direct alignment with a number of federal government objectives such as raising living standards of Indigenous peoples and involving them more genuinely in resource development.

After recent challenges with Canada’s trade relations with the United States, further export diversification and increased investments in trade-enabling infrastructure in all sectors of the  economy are critical to the long-term health of our economy.

The federal government has made a number of efforts in recent years to increase trade relations with China and other growing economies. The Ring of Fire meets these criteria.

Now is the time for the federal government to scale-up efforts and work jointly with the Government of Ontario, Indigenous groups, industry and community partners to capitalize on the window of opportunity and advance this project forward.

The Ring of Fire has been referred as “Canada’s next oil sands”, a “game changer” and “the most promising mining opportunity Canada has seen in a century.” The Ring of Fire also offers a unique opportunity to be a template for the development of natural resources in remote and isolated locations alongside Indigenous communities. This type of framework can serve to help inform resource development across the nation.

The Ring of Fire should be treated as a national priority and communicated to all federal government departments as such.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The Canadian Chamber of Commerce urges the Government of Canada to: 1. Recognize the development of the Ring of Fire as a project of national significance.

2. Work with government, industry and community partners to build capacity and community readiness of Indigenous communities and people so that they may take full advantage of resource development in the Ring of Fire.

3. Actively promote the Ring of Fire, along with other mining projects, in the global arena as a trade and investment opportunity through Global Affairs Canada.

4. Work with the Ontario government, Indigenous communities and industry to develop a plan to address infrastructure needs in the Ring of Fire.

5. Partner with the Ontario government, the private sector, and Indigenous communities to explore innovative technologies and R & D opportunities to reduce energy costs and create efficiencies in the Ring of Fire.