The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.
DETAILS have a way of getting in the way of ideas. You just get rolling when something unexpected stands in your way. How you deal with it determines if you succeed, fail or get bogged down. That’s where the huge potential of Ontario’s giant mining development sits — bogged down in jurisdictional disputes and, as of this week, a fundamental misunderstanding of events among Ontarians who had never heard of the Ring of Fire before a pollster called.
The Municipality of Greenstone and Aroland First Nation, both of which had sought consideration as sites for a chromite smelter, released a public opinion poll which they say shows Ontarians support them. They might, but this poll doesn’t prove it.
Cliffs Natural Resources, lead player in the Ring of Fire, considered several locations for its smelter and chose Sudbury because it has existing infrastructure. Other locations would add considerable cost and “put the economic viability of the project in jeopardy,” William Boor, a Cliffs vice-president, wrote in an open letter in this newspaper last month.
Greenstone, Aroland and other First Nations, are seeking changes to the development and the poll seeks to bolster their case. A thousand people across Ontario were asked their awareness of the Ring of Fire which has been compared to Alberta’s oil sands in terms of development potential. Only 30 per cent had even heard of it.
Question 2 locates the development “in First Nations territory in Northern Ontario. In your opinion, should the Ring of Fire resources be processed or smelted in the First Nations area that it is mined in?”
Less than half of respondents (45 per cent) agreed while 30 per cent did not. Given the serious lack of knowledge evident in Question 1, it is likely that many would not know that locations other than Sudbury would involve hundreds of millions in additional capital costs and tens of millions in additional operating costs, according to Boor.
Question 3 — Should the First Nations have been consulted on this issue? — suggests they were not. Naturally, 89.3 per cent of respondents agreed with consultation. Those who don’t know about the project are also unlikely to know that Boor wrote: “We have and will continue to hold many productive meetings with First Nations leaders. We will continue to hold information meetings in their communities to obtain their input and hear their concerns.”
Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon has said that he and his community have been shut out of discussions. Boor counters that Cliffs officials have met with Gagnon many times but that he has refused numerous requests to hold information meetings in Aroland even as Cliffs provides funding to the community in accordance with an agreement.
Question 4: Do you support or oppose the position of the First Nations that they will not allow the mining to take place unless it is processed in their territory? Supporters numbered 57 per cent. Yet six area chiefs, including Gagnon, say the mining projects will damage land and river systems. Why would Gagnon want a huge smelter?
The six chiefs issued an eviction notice this week to all mining companies in the area citing lack of consultation and an inability to share the wealth. “Unless we stop this project now,” said Nibinamik Chief Johnny Yellowhead, “we will be left on the sidelines watching the chromite leave our lands while our communities remain in poverty.” Boor said he wants to work with First Nations “to investigate the opportunities to provide jobs and business opportunities.”
Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle wrote here last month that two-thirds of the jobs created by Cliffs’ mine and a related transportation corridor would be in Northwestern Ontario “most significantly benefiting First Nations,” Greenstone and Thunder Bay. He said the Ontario government will support the First Nations to ensure their people are ready to “contribute to and significantly benefit from” the Ring of Fire.
It is clear that what is being said by some in this discussion does not acknowledge what is being answered by those in a position to know. Let us get on with this.