Gilles Bisson officially tabled his Private Members Bill today in the Legislature. The Bill proposes slight changes to the Mining Act. If passed, it would call for ore mined in Ontario to be processed in Ontario. 

Bisson is hoping this would prevent Xstrata from closing the Kidd Creek Met Site in Timmins. “Currently the Mining Act says ore must be processed in Canada. By changing it to say Ontario, we would be following the lead of Newfoundland.  This is the only way to protect our jobs.”

Xstrata announced in December that they will shut down the Met Site and ship the ore to Quebec for processing. That started a community wide coalition to try and save those jobs.

“Everyone from all sectors and political stripes have come together to say enough is enough. The Ontario Government has the jurisdiction to curb the lay-offs.”

Bisson says MPP’s need to understand that the people of the province control the resources. “They belong to the people. It is the wealth that builds our communities. I really hope the other members will support my bid to keep Ontario jobs in Ontario.”