Feds, Ontario to sign deal reducing regulatory burden on Ring of Fire, other projects

TORONTO — Ottawa and Ontario are set to finalize a deal Thursday that will reduce the regulatory burden on large projects, including the road to the Ring of Fire, The Canadian Press has learned.

Provincial and federal government sources who are not allowed to speak publicly say Ottawa has agreed to eliminate any duplicative work on its impact assessments on large projects.

A draft agreement posted on the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s website says the goal is to work together to implement the “One Project, One Review and One Decision” approach.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was asked if this would be the final piece of the puzzle in order to begin building the roads to the Ring of Fire next year.

“I believe so,” he said.

Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation are leading environmental assessments on three roads that would connect the provincial highway system to their communities and mining activities in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario.

In a side deal on the Ring of Fire roads, the federal government has committed to completing its impact assessment on the same timeline as the province’s environmental assessment, as both First Nations say they are set to begin building the roads in 2026.

The province has also signed a deal with Aroland First Nation further south at the foot of the roads to the Ring of Fire that will see an old nearby logging road upgraded.

“This is about bringing them prosperity, bringing Ontario prosperity, making sure that we work with the communities up there,” Ford said.

Ontario Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford called the upcoming deal “good public policy” that will help the First Nations the province has partnered with to build the roads and other badly needed infrastructure in those communities.

“It need not be smothered in regulatory processes that just serve to make the development of this infrastructure and the penultimate goal of bringing the world its critical minerals longer than it should,” he said.

Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce said they need to get on with building.

“I think part of this agreement that (Ford) has landed is really about securing a path to delivering the roads and ultimately delivering prosperity and more self reliance for Canada,” he said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ford will sign the deal at a ceremony in Ottawa on Thursday. Carney’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Canadian Press learned about the details during a recent trip to the Ring of Fire region as part of a reporting project supported by the Pulitzer Centre.

Both Webequie and Marten Falls say the roads will help lift the fly-in communities out of poverty, though other nearby First Nations are not on board with the plan.

A source in Ford’s office who is not allowed to speak publicly about the yet-to-be-announced deal says the changes will dramatically speed up big projects across the province, including roads, highways and mines.

“This is huge, not just for the Ring of Fire, but for mining in general, and building roads and highways,” the premier’s office source says. “It will be 10 times more transformational than any major project.”

A senior federal government source, who likewise was not authorized to speak publicly about the deal, says it is all about eliminating duplication. The environmental standards will remain stringent and rights and protections will be upheld, the source promises, including for the roads to the Ring of Fire.

The federal government has launched a regional assessment working group to better understand the impacts of development, but the province and Webequie and Marten Falls say it will not affect the road.

The two governments aim to work together on assessments of navigable waters, species at risk and migratory birds, all long in the federal purview.

With these deals in place, the province is no longer expected to use controversial new powers to designate the road to the Ring of Fire a special economic zone. That provision would have allowed the province to suspend provincial and municipal laws with the goal of speeding up construction of a proposed mine in the Ring of Fire.

The area is said to be replete with critical minerals, but many other First Nations are against development in the region — including the roads and the mine they would lead to.

Wyloo, the Australian mining giant, is nearing completion of its feasibility study on two proposed, connected underground mines at its Eagle’s Nest site.

Wyloo and Juno Corp., a Canadian junior mining company formed in 2019, own the vast majority of the more than 40,000 claims staked in the Ring of Fire. Two other companies, Teck Resources (which recently merged with Anglo American) and Canada Chrome Corporation, also hold a significant number of claims.

The companies say they’ve found a wide variety of critical mineral and base metal deposits, including nickel, copper, chromite, titanium, platinum, vanadium, iron and gold. They are used to make all types of batteries, cellphones, stainless steel, semi-conductors, drones, satellites, data centres and computers.

Meanwhile, Ontario has finalized its regulations to allow for the designation of special economic zones, which will come into force on Jan. 1, 2026.

That was a key component in Ontario’s Bill 5 omnibus package that passed into law last spring. The province gave itself the power to suspend any and all provincial and municipal laws in an effort to speed up the construction of large projects, particularly mines.

Ford has mused about using it for his proposed traffic and transit tunnel under Highway 401.

The special economic zone idea sparked outrage among the majority of First Nations in the province, who saw it as a threat to their way of life.

The new regulations give Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli the power to choose which areas could be deemed a special economic zone, which company or individual can be deemed a trusted proponent and which projects would be part of the designation.

Those decisions will pass through cabinet first.

“Special economic zones will bolster Ontario’s economic advantage by cutting red tape, accelerating approvals and protecting the jobs and industries that keep our province resilient and competitive,” Fedeli said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2025.

Liam Casey and Allison Jones, The Canadian Press