Mr. Mike Harris: Thank you to the minister for that answer. It’s fantastic news for people not just in Ontario but in northern Ontario. In addition to meeting with industry and Indigenous leaders, he signed a historic agreement to finally move forward on a corridor that will help connect the Ring of Fire region to the provincial highway system. Can the minister please tell us more about the announcement he made alongside Premier Ford?

Hon. Greg Rickford: As a government, we were very pleased to partner with Marten Falls First Nation, Webequie First Nation and, actually, Aroland First Nation late last fall. This was a historic agreement. For the first time ever, we have a road map from Aroland First Nation to Webequie First Nation. That has not been in place at any point in time prior to the agreement that we signed on Monday. That is a matter of fact.

But listen to Chief Achneepineskum from Marten Falls First Nation: “We are moving ahead with this agreement so all communities in the region can connect to the next phase, which is to secure and bring good-paying jobs in mining, construction and other skilled trades to our communities.” Chief Wabasse of Webequie: “We are looking forward ... to prosperity.... So that we can make change for our communities up there because we are living in poverty.” We’re pleased to move forward with this. We’re going to work with other communities in the area and develop the Ring of Fire once and for all.

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MINING INDUSTRY

Mr. Stan Cho: We heard yesterday about some very exciting announcements that the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines made last week, including a truly historic agreement to move forward with the corridor to the Ring of Fire. Our government is creating partnerships with First Nations and industry that will help our mining sector flourish. The value of mineral production in Ontario was $10.7 billion in 2019. Will the minister tell us about the important investment he announced in Sudbury last Thursday?

Hon. Greg Rickford: It was great to be in Sudbury last week and announce $63.3 million over five years for the Next Generation Network Program. Notwithstanding the NDP’s opposition to this kind of investment—which people in Sudbury took note of, actually—we launched the CENGN Smart Mining Testbed at NORCAT.

NORCAT is an extraordinary facility in Sudbury, and it should be, when 50% of iron ore harvested in northern Ontario actually comes through Sudbury. This is a place where smart technology should be developed. The test bed is going to play a key role in developing technologies that test the boundaries of traditional mining places and help companies develop world-leading technologies to make mining safer, smarter and more productive. Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, Sudbury, Timmins and North Bay are fast becoming world-class service-andsupply mining places and destinations, and we support them.

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Supplementary question.

Mr. Stan Cho: Thank you for that response, Minister. It sounds like agreements like these, investments like this, will help companies create a lot of good-paying jobs. As we move forward with historic agreements like the Ring of Fire, our government has been taking steps to address the labour shortage in the skilled trades. Can the minister tell us some of the investments that we’ve made in skills development, available particularly to young people and to the mining sector?

Hon. Greg Rickford: I was off to Thunder Bay to make perhaps some of the most important announcements that we could make as we look to a new workforce, an exciting workforce in northern Ontario. I announced more than $2 million on behalf of my colleague the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. One of those announcements was the Anishinabek Employment and Training Services centre: $750,000 in two pre-apprenticeship training projects for 35 Indigenous workers to get their start in high-demand trades. This was led by a young Indigenous Red Seal-trained worker who could hardly contain his excitement, especially when he spoke to the media and called on the members of provincial Parliament in Thunder Bay to get behind these kinds of projects and stop voting against them. Whether it’s the east-west tie legacy corridor into the Ring of Fire—we need trained and skilled Indigenous workers. That’s an important part of reconciliation, that’s what I heard from them, and that’s—

The Speaker (Hon. Ted Arnott): Thank you very much.