NDP candidates say Conservatives have ignored Ring of Fire

Northern Ontario NDP candidates are slamming the federal Conservatives for their lack of progress on the Ring of Fire file.

Kenora hopeful Howard Hampton and Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle said Prime Minister Stephen Harper has failed to support mining in the region.

“It’s pretty rich for Mr. Harper to come to Northern Ontario and pretend he supports mining jobs after he has so badly mishandled the Ring of Fire,” said Hampton in a release issued on Wednesday.

“The Conservative failure to support infrastructure in our region has cost billions of dollars of investment and thousands of potential jobs for Northern Ontarians.”

The NDP candidates say Harper has failed to co-operate with other levels of government to develop the project and his government’s latest budget ignored the Ring of Fire.

“The Conservatives claim of helping ‘hard to reach’ mines is laughable – many of these mines are hard-to-reach because their government has failed to invest in infrastructure in Northern Ontario,” said Gravelle.

“This is a project that will benefit our region for generations to come. The government must sit down with First Nations, the province, and northern communities to get moving on the Ring of Fire.”