MPP Michael Gravelle (Lib., Thunder Bay-Superior North) says he's now in a better position to lobby for a ferrochrome processing facility in the Northwest.
The newly minted Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry admits he has taken heat in the past for being viewed as not pushing hard enough to bring the plant here.
Gravelle said he's ecstatic about the new role he has been handed in Premier Dalton McGuinty's cabinet. His previous post as Minister of Northern Development and Mines was handed to Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci.
Gravelle said this area will not be disadvantaged by having a Minister from Sudbury in charge of the mining portfolio.
When Gravelle held the post, he said it was more difficult for him to lobby for the plant in his riding because it would have represented a conflict of interest. But now that he's with the MNR, he said he will now be in a position to do that freely.
Gravelle added that the overall goal of the province is to have that processing plant located in Northern Ontario, however the final decision will rest with Cliffs Natural Resources.
