Cliffs will suspend indefinitely its Chromite Project in northern Ontario. It's time for all of us to take a deep breath and turn our attention to designing a thoughtful regional strategic environmental assessment so that the ecosystems in this area can be maintained, First Nations respected and industry can finally get the certainty it seeks.

Mining giant Cliffs Natural Resources' decision to halt work on the largest project in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire region has aroused a sudden interest in the lumbering development. The opposition at Queen's Park pounced to lay blame on the province for the squandered opportunity. While no one denies that Cliffs' move is a game changer, the looming question is whether it's a game ender. Fault will inevitably be assigned: was it that First Nations were "anti-development"? Was the province too slow or too unorganized to act? Or did the miner misjudge how quickly they could put a shovel in the ground? Any attempt to analyze what went wrong, and whether it can be put right, must go far beyond those surface level questions.