Originally published in The Globe and Mail
Ontario is ripping up an agreement with First Nations on building road access to the Ring of Fire region in favour of pursuing individual deals with the nine communities, saying the move will speed up development of the mining project.
Greg Rickford, the minister in charge of the file, announced on Tuesday that the new approach will mean the government can address specific community needs and opportunities with First Nation communities.
The previous Liberal government had signed a regional framework agreement in 2014 with nine First Nations in the region. In 2017, then-premier Kathleen Wynne warned that she would move to bilateral talks if there was no progress on an overall deal and signed agreements with three of the nine communities.
The Progressive Conservatives said they were hitting the reset button on the negotiations entirely.
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