Premier Skips Controversial Vote

A controversial bill on Northern land development has been passed in the Ontario Legislature, despite the objections of First Nations and many Northern communities.
NDP critic Gilles Bisson says the Liberal government should not have rammed the bill through when First Nations and Northern business leaders said it was a bad idea.
The bill will protect at least 225,000 square kilometres of Boreal Forest from development, up to 21% of Ontario’s land mass.
First Nations leaders accuse Premier Dalton McGuinty of lying to them by promising not to pass the legislation without their approval.
McGuinty skipped Thursday’s vote on final reading of the Far North Act.