Skip to content

Letter: Here it is right here, Charlie

TimminsToday received the following letter from FedNor Minister Greg Rickford in resonse to a recent press release from MP Charlie Angus : ************************* RE: Charlie: No mention of Northern Ontario or FedNor in budget I am disappointed but

TimminsToday received the following letter from FedNor Minister Greg Rickford in resonse to a recent press release from MP Charlie Angus:

*************************
RE: Charlie: No mention of Northern Ontario or FedNor in budget

I am disappointed but not surprised that Charlie Angus, NDP Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay, misled your readers recently about the content of our federal balanced budget. 

Despite his claim otherwise, Budget 2015 indeed includes new support for the Ring of Fire and FedNor, which would be evident had he bothered to read it.
As stated on page 218: “Chromite deposits located in Ontario’s Ring of Fire have production potential that could make Canada a significant global producer, processor and supplier of products that contain the critical metal chromium.”

Our budget therefore specifically proposes to allocate an additional $23 million to stimulate technological innovation needed to develop rare earth metals and chromite.

Pages 211 and 212 also include initiatives building on our government’s support for mining by extending the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for another year, and announcing new measures making it easier for companies raise capital, create jobs and contribute to the economy.

Page 190 highlights a new infrastructure fund that provides FedNor with additional resources. 

Specifically, page 191 proposes “to create a new dedicated infrastructure fund to support the renovation, expansion and improvement of existing community infrastructure in all regions of the country” as part of the Canada 150 celebrations. 

Unfortunately, the Mulcair NDP’s opposition to our tangible support for Northern Ontario is not new. 

Readers of TimminsToday will recall their predictable criticism of our recent investment with the Province of Ontario in First Nations’ plans for a transportation corridor.

If the NDP doesn’t support the first step towards advancing development of the Ring of Fire – focusing on specific proposals that improve community access – they certainly can’t be counted on to support the others in our Budget.

Nevertheless, we call on the Mulcair NDP to support our balanced budget and additional support for the Ring of Fire and FedNor, instead of advocating risky high-tax schemes and re-establishing the wasteful, ineffective long gun registry. 

Only our Conservative government can be trusted to manage Canada’s economy and keep taxes low for northerners.

Honourable Greg Rickford

Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor)

*************************

(PHOTO: Greg Rickford, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for FedNor, speaks in Sault Ste. Marie in this file photo. Darren Taylor/Village Media)