THUNDER BAY -- An NDP government would inject $1 billion into Ring of Fire infrastructure over the next 20 years, says Thunder Bay-Superior North candidate Andrew Foulds.
The party would also return FedNor to standalone agency status and restore $12.6-million annually to the regional economic development department ripped out of its budget by the Conservatives over the past nine years.
Foulds and Thunder Bay-Rainy River candidate John Rafferty on Monday unveiled the NDP’s Northern Ontario platform , a 16-page document that touched on national daycare, the lowering of small business taxes, healthcare and a mineral exploration tax credit in the North to help junior mining companies prosper.
The NDP can succeed in the Ring of Fire, where others have failed, Foulds said.
“I think the reality with the Ring of Fire is we want to make sure we have the money there, but we also need to make sure it’s long-term and secure,” Foulds said. “We have to work with the provincial government.
“But we also have to work with the provincial government and we have to work with First Nations.”
Foulds said the NDP is committed to working in a collaborative effort to ensure the Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich deposit in Ontario’s North that has been stalled by a lack of transportation infrastructure and First Nation objections, moves ahead.
“This project is huge, not only for Northern Ontario, but for the entire nation, so you need a federal partner that will show leadership and a commitment to secure balanced funding.”
Rafferty said FedNor’s ability to help people in Ontario’s North has been hurt by continued Conservative cuts and slashes and it has to stop.
“That will put it on the same footing as other agencies across Canada and I think that’s only fair for the people of Northwestern Ontario,” Rafferty said.
It’s not just the money that’s gutted FedNor, he added, noting more than 13,000 jobs have been lost in Northern Ontario over the past 12 months.
“It’s also the millions of dollars that have been left unspent and returned to the government,” Rafferty said. “So we’ll put an end to that.”
The NDP plan also includes 19,000 daycare spaces for Northern Ontario , $100 million nationwide for rural broadband access and a gasoline ombudsman.
“People are sick and tired of being gouged at the gas pump,” Foulds said.
The Liberals, Green Party and Conservatives have yet to release a Northern Ontario-specific platform, though all three have touched on the issues mentioned by Foulds and Rafferty.
The election is scheduled for Oct. 19.
