Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2  Speaker, I want to thank the member for Nipissing—Timiskaming for the question and also for his hard work for his constituents and for the whole northern part of Ontario, whether it be the Ring of Fire or other areas. In caucus and in meeting with him, I know the member has a real passion for his riding and for the industries up there. The member brought forward a very good point, and that is the point on consumers: consumer conduct, a consumer code, a consumer agenda.

Regional Economic Development  Last year alone, the Conservatives spent $7.5 million less than planned on FedNor's main fund. Given our economic challenges in northern Ontario and the need for development in the Ring of Fire, here is an easy question. Why did the minister return the money approved by Parliament to the treasury?

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we welcome the Ontario government to support the Ring of Fire. What it needs to do is to be clear that this is a priority for it. We will continue to work with first nations, other levels of government, business and industry leaders to see that this project comes to fruition.

Regional Economic Development  Mr. Speaker, our government supports the development of the Ring of Fire, a project that can provide significant economic benefit to northern Ontario. We have been clear that the new building Canada plan provides significant infrastructure funding for this kind of legacy resource development.

Regional Economic Development  Mr. Speaker, according to Ontario's Lieutenant Governor, the Ring of Fire is the most promising mining opportunity in Canada in a century. Here is what the Conservatives are putting at risk: 5,500 full-time jobs, $60 billion of mineral reserves, $25 billion in economic activity, and $6.7 billion in government revenues.

Northwest Territories Devolution Act  The feds walked. They blew it. We have a motion at committee to look at the Ring of Fire, to find out what happened. However, the Conservatives go in camera and kill the study of the Ring of Fire, the same men and women who stand up and say they are the defenders of resource development and they understand the economy.

Regional Economic Development  Mr. Speaker, here is what is at stake for Canada in the Ring of Fire: 5,500 jobs; $25 billion in economic activity for our financial services, wholesale, retail, utilities, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors; full participation of first nation communities.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, despite their claims, the Conservatives do not support the Ring of Fire. Their actions speak louder than their words. The minister has flatly refused to invest in the infrastructure required to unlock the jobs and economic potential of our region, saying that we must fight for scraps of a fund the Conservatives already slashed by billions of dollars.

Infrastructure  We remain very optimistic that once the province has submitted its list of priorities for infrastructure projects, which should include infrastructure projects to support the Ring of Fire, we will be there.

Committees of the House  I am talking about offshore oil and gas in Newfoundland; precious metals in northern Quebec; mining operations in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire; new hydro developments in Manitoba; potash and uranium in Saskatchewan; bitumen reserves, oil and gas, and other resources in Alberta; and new mining developments in northern B.C. and across all three northern territories.

Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve Act  However, until we move forward with the sense of getting the buy-in from the public—and it is possible, and big projects can move ahead—we end up with what we have in the Ring of Fire, which is billions of dollars of potential still sitting in the ground because the Conservative government and the provincial Liberals cannot get their heads around respectful consultations.

Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve Act  The other thing I hear from the mining sector is that if there is a role for the federal government, it is how does it ensures there is training for the large percentage of unemployed first nations youth who are in the territories, like the Ring of Fire, so they can become employed and part of the economy? That way, we can move together. However, again and again, we see this myopic belief that the environment will pay whatever price to fast track development, even when the development is not sustainable because we will not get the long-term benefit from the jobs.

Employment  I would ask the member, when we bring these initiatives forward, can we count on his support to vote for those resources being allocated to train people in northern Ontario so they will be trained and ready for those jobs when those jobs come to fruition? The Ring of Fire holds tremendous economic promise for aboriginal communities, for the Mattawa First Nations of northern Ontario in particular. That is why we support aboriginal people in gaining the skills needed in a rapidly growing mining industry through partnerships such as the one we have with the KKETS, Noront Resources Ltd, and the Confederation College in Thunder Bay, which includes a total of $5.9 million in funding.

Northwest Territories Devolution Act  He was going to be the special point person and the Conservative government was going to make the Ring of Fire happen. The Conservatives were going to be the champions of the development of the Ring of Fire. Well, they all ran away from that one; we do not hear a peep out of them. We also saw how the provincial Liberal government completely botched it.

Regional Economic Development  Northern Ontarians are tired of empty talk that is not backed up by any action. Unlocking the vast potential of the Ring of Fire will require a nation-to-nation approach and real engagement from the federal government. Northern communities should not be forced to pay the price for the government's inaction.