THUNDER BAY — Ontario's minister of mining is calling Thunder Bay and surrounding region a ‘mining hub’ that will help fuel alternative energy sources both in the province and globally.
On Thursday, Minister of Mining George Pirie spoke at the Cen-Can Resources Expo being held in Thunder Bay this week.
Pirie said those involved in the resource industry, including mining, have a sense of passion and optimism around the sector.
“There’s real buzz in Thunder Bay around this conference and that is because they realize Northwestern Ontario and the hub of mining that Thunder Bay is are the centre of the EV revolution that is happening right here in Ontario and globally,” Pirie said. “We have the future of fuels right here in Thunder Bay.”
According to Pirie, Thunder Bay has strong natural resources potential not only in mining, but the agricultural and transportation sector, as well as benefits of being located so near to the United States border. He added that he believes the resource sector will help buoy the city’s population to 200,000.
“The government is fully committed to the development of the critical minerals,” he said. “They know how important it is to secure the supply chain of critical minerals. The government is fully aware of the geopolitical tensions in the world and Thunder Bay is an important community.”
Pirie also touched on Bill 71, an effort to streamline mining developments across the province, which has received criticism from First Nation communities.
“You heard me say 17 years to permanent mining is unacceptable quite frankly,” he said. “The whole mission is to make the bureaucracy of mining work at the pace of business.”
Premier Doug Ford has also talked about moving developments forward, including the Ring of Fire deposit in Northern Ontario, with him quipping that he is prepared to ‘get on that bulldozer’ himself.
Pirie said the province is committed to the Ring of Fire and has invested billions of dollars in the region not only for natural resource development, but also toward transmission lines and broadband.
“There was actually nothing happening until the premier and the provincial governments said this is important for Ontario and quite frankly the globe to develop this year,” he said. “Right now we have three environmental assessments on the go and they are being headed by Indigenous communities and that is exactly what should be happening.”
