Critical highway infrastructure improvements have been made, and more are to come, the premier says.
GREENSTONE – Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government is following up on commitments made to Greenstone, the premier said Wednesday in a media event along Highway 584.
As an example, he cited work done to upgrade the highway in anticipation of a mining boom.
Critical highway infrastructure improvements have been made, and more are to come, Ford told reporters.
The upgrades south of the Ring of Fire region will benefit area First Nations as well as the resource sector, he said.
“Along with the upgrades being made to infrastructure, we’re also investing in skills development programs for Indigenous community members in the mining and construction sectors as part of our ongoing efforts to advance meaningful and lasting economic reconciliation with First Nations,” he stated in a news release.
First Nations leaders and Greg Rickford, the province’s Indigenous affairs minister, accompanied Ford at the media event.
Work done on Highway 584 so far includes replacement of seven culverts in 2024, with 26 more culvert replacements on the way.
Pavement rehabilitation and widening is also planned for the highway.
“This work has intensified over the past several months, and this is the preliminary work that needs to be done” ahead of Ring of Fire development, Rickford said.
The roadwork is “about safe passage” and has “happened faster than anybody expected it to,” he said.
“This is a region of growth, the new centre of gravity for economic activity, and we’re going to do it in full partnership with Greenstone and importantly and especially the First Nation leadership in this region.”
In June, the Ontario government signed agreements with two Indigenous development corporations: Kenogamisis Investment Corporation and Minodahmun Development LP.
Kenogamisis is a joint venture corporation of Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek (AZA), Aroland First Nation, Ginoogaming First Nation and Long Lake 58 First Nation. Minodahmun is a partnership of AZA, Aroland and Ginoogaming.
With $2 million in support from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, Kenogamisis purchased the Greenstone Gold Mine Assay Laboratory in Geraldton.
The province funds the Indigenous Workforce Development Program operated by Minodahmun to develop First Nations employment in the mining sector.
Other Greenstone-area projects getting provincial support include development of the Migizi Plaza Rest Stop near the junction of Highway 11 and Highway 584 and creation of a fully accessible garden at Geraldton District Hospital.
source snnewswatch