Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Mr. Hamilton, and Minister Rickford, for being here today.
My first question is in regard to mentions of the Ring of Fire in the estimates. Back in 2013, Minister Clement, likened this project to the Alberta oil sands and estimated there could be up to $130 billion of wealth tied up in this mining project. Mr. Clement also said that he didn't believe this was an opportunity we could afford to pass by.
It's worth noting that budget 2013 made some very small, almost token if I may say, commitments to the Ring of Fire. Last fall, Lourenco Goncalves, the CEO of Cliffs Natural Resources, commented on the progress of this project. He said, “I don't believe under my watch, and I plan to stay [alive] for the next 50 years...that the Ring of Fire will be developed". He also said, “The Ring of Fire is a remote land with no railroad, no road, nothing”, and he added, “Without the infrastructure, there’s nothing we can do.”
Since then his company, as you know, has abandoned the project and taken a $264 million writedown as a result.
The Ontario government has put a billion dollars on the table in an effort to get the project going with the proviso of course that the federal government also comes to the table. This mining project is in your riding, Minister, so I'm sure you can highlight exactly what new support there is for the Ring of Fire in these estimates and explain how this new support will help kick-start this $130-billion project.