NDP: Ford ripping up agreement with Matawa-member First Nations drags Ring of Fire backwards

THUNDER BAY — Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to the Ford government ripping up the regional framework agreement between Ontario and the chiefs of the Matawa First Nations, which was designed to advance development in the Ring of Fire:

“Ripping up the framework agreement between Ontario and the nine Matawa-member First Nations takes Ontario backwards by a decade when it comes to igniting the Ring of Fire.

Families and communities in the North are counting on the Ring of Fire to provide stable jobs and economic opportunities for young people. The Wynne Liberals already wasted a decade of potential economic opportunities for northerners by getting nearly nothing done on the Ring of Fire. Now, the Ford government is making things worse, destroying what little partnership work has already been accomplished with First Nations communities, delaying Ring of Fire development even further. The framework agreement the Wynne Liberals signed had problems that needed to be fixed. Scrapping it instead of fixing it will take the Ring of Fire delays from bad to worse.

The NDP will keep fighting for investment into the Ring of Fire development — development that can only happen in true partnership with First Nations."