The Budget  Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget did nothing to move the Ring of Fire project forward. Communities we met are still waiting for the federal government to make this a priority. The President of the Treasury Board once promised that this project would improve the quality of life for this region.

Electricity  Perhaps infrastructure funds could be found for projects of this type of regional significance. Manitoba power generation could assist in the further development of the Ring of Fire in northwestern Ontario. When it comes to power, we have to look outside the provincial boxes.

Regional Economic Development  Speaker, our government is committed to responsible resource development that creates jobs and economic growth in northern Ontario. Can the minister responsible for the Ring of Fire and northern Ontario please update the House on the important work that our government is doing on this file?

Regional Economic Development  Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that Canada's vast mineral wealth be developed as a vital part of our national economy. I want to highlight the Ring of Fire, which will be at the forefront of a mining renaissance in our country. The Ring of Fire has the potential to create over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in northern Ontario alone, plus significant spinoff benefits throughout the province.

Regional Economic Development  I guess I failed to mention the fact that the minister responsible for FedNor and I sat down at the table with all of the first nations leaders in Thunder Bay. We have met with stakeholders who are implicated in the Ring of Fire. The prevailing concerns were that the provincial government has dropped the ball on this, and that the NDP MPs who are left out there in parts of northern Ontario are not on board and do not support the initiatives this government is moving forward with to make the Ring of Fire an economic reality.

Regional Economic Development  The minister needs to step up and take responsibility for leaving the Ring of Fire project mired in uncertainty. How is he going to fix this mess?

First Nations Elections Act  I can appreciate that his next sentence was going to be expressing his appreciation for what this government has done to invest in educational opportunities for the Ring of Fire, which would be a good talking line for him, but unfortunately this debate has to do with the first nations elections act and nothing to do with what he has said since he started his speech.

First Nations Elections Act  I see industry saying it wants to find ways to get peace on the ground so development can occur, saying that for development to happen, it needs trained, empowered first nation communities, but I do not see the federal government at the table. For example, the government claimed that the Ring of Fire—

Northwest Territories Devolution Act  The Conservatives can jump up and down all they want and pretend they are managers of the economy, but obviously they have blown the Ring of Fire, they are alienating people with the gateway pipeline and they have managed to burn their reputation internationally on Keystone XL and the environment. Hey, they are going to need a third-party manager to look after them soon.

Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act  The federal government is saying the Ring of Fire is going to be the oil sands of Ontario. Marten Falls is a little community that is right beside the Ring of Fire. It has been on a boil water advisory since 2005, for seven years.

Regional Economic Development  Speaker, a few days ago, Cliffs Natural Resources announced it was suspending its operations in the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario indefinitely. Thousands of jobs are at stake, and the economic development of many communities in northern Ontario depends on the outcome. However, the Prime Minister does not seem to be interested in the consequences of the decision made by Cliffs Natural Resources.

Regional Economic Development  Speaker, I can certainly assure the House that this government understands that business decisions are made and sometimes business decisions are unmade. However, we as a government have been very supportive of the Ring of Fire. We understand Noront is still there and still actively developing its proposals. We have been there for training. We have been there for the dialogue with first nations communities in the area, as well as the other communities.

Regional Economic Development  I simply indicated that businesses in the country make, from time to time, business decisions and sometimes they reverse those decisions due to market conditions. Regardless of that, we have great faith in the Ring of Fire certainly as a concept of development that will produce tens of thousands of jobs for the local communities throughout the province and throughout the country. We have been supportive in terms of our role and responsibility when it comes to training, when it comes to the dialogue with the first nations and other communities and we will continue to be so.

Regional Development  Almost half the supposed new jobs the government has claimed to have created have not gone to Canadians. Workers in my riding are worried that many new jobs in the Ring of Fire will go to temporary foreign workers. Like in many regions, tourism is a vital component of the economy of northwestern Ontario and Canada, but the industry is in crisis. According to the World Tourism Organization, in the last 10 years, international arrivals in Canada plunged from over 20 million to just 16 million last year.

Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2  I have never met a person in a resource community who said, “Let's poison our rivers to get a few quick jobs”. I have never met anybody in northern Ontario who said, “Let's pull the Ring of Fire out as fast as we can and ship it to China without value added”. I have never heard anybody in Timmins say, “Let's push the bitumen through as fast as we can, and if it blows out on the Mattagami or any other river, well too bad, so sad”.