Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli presented evidence in the Ontario Legislature today that the Wynne Liberal government is considering a chromite tax.
“I ask the minister, did the Liberal government ever propose a chromite royalty? Is that why Cliffs left Ontario?” Fedeli asked during Question Period.
Cliffs, an American Natural Resources Company, suspended the project in 2013 after numerous delays and difficult discussions with the province and the First Nations communities.
After the Northern Development and Mines Minister refused to provide a direct answer to that question, Fedeli confronted him with documents released during the Gas Plant Scandal which show such a tax is indeed on the table.
“The section on Cliffs reads: “The province created a chromite royalty… Expected revenue from the new chromite royalty which was created for this Ring of Fire project ranged from $6.6 million to $34.4 million per year,” Fedeli said during Question Period, quoting the document.
“A major mining discovery is made, and the very first thing this Liberal government thought of was, 'How can we tax them more?' Well, they taxed them right out of Ontario,” continued Fedeli.
“Will the minister now admit their failed policies and new tax meant that thousands of people aren’t working in the Ring of Fire today?
The revelation comes after media reports this week that development of the Ring of Fire is threatened by the continued lack of action by the provincial government.
