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Ontario government signs Ring of Fire agreements with 2 northern First Nations

Click to play video: 'Premier Doug Ford talks Ring of Fire, Ontario licence plates during news conference'
Premier Doug Ford talks Ring of Fire, Ontario licence plates during news conference
WATCH ABOVE: Premier Doug Ford had a lot to say about the Ring of Fire development and other topics such as issues with the new Ontario licence plates. Travis Dhanraj reports – Mar 2, 2020

TORONTO – Ontario has signed agreements with two Indigenous communities in a move the government says is a step forward in its plans to build road access to the Ring of Fire region.

Premier Doug Ford announced the new deals with the Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation at a mining conference in Toronto on Monday.

The previous Liberal government had signed deals with three of the nine communities surrounding the Ring of Fire, including Marten Falls and Webequie.

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But in August, the Ford government ripped up those deals in favour of pursuing new individual agreements with the nine First Nations.

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NDP northern development critic Michael Mantha says ripping up those deals was a step backwards that has further delayed the project.

The region in Northern Ontario holds some of the world’s richest deposits of chromite, nickel, copper and platinum – valued at anywhere from $30 billion to $60 billion.

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