There has been a lot of teeth gnashing and finger pointing since Cliffs announced it put its Ring of Fire mine environmental assessment on hold. Opposition parties have put the blame on the provincial government. And First Nations, specifically Matawa First Nations, were implicated for holding up the process with a judicial review.
Following the announcement, it was like the sky was falling. Ontario’s once bright mining future was being painted with dark clouds overhead.
But there’s no reason to cry. A delay in Cliffs’ project is not the end of the world. It may actually be the best-case scenario.
First Nations have long argued that they are not ready for the Ring of Fire. More time is needed to prepare the communities, train members for the jobs that will become available and ensure all the necessary agreements with governments and companies are in place. And while governments and industry acknowledged those needs, work seemed to continue unabated while discussions with First Nations were ongoing.
During a media tour in 2012, the chiefs of both Webequie and Marten Falls – two communities that in many ways are at the forefront of working with governments and industry – argued that the Ring of Fire was coming too fast.
Chief Eli Moonias of Marten Falls said that he wanted to explore resource revenue sharing agreements with the governments, take stock of the environmental effects of the proposed developments and do an analysis of similar mining operations in other parts of the world before making any decisions on whether to support or oppose the developments.
But Moonias made it clear that under Cliffs’ timeline there was no way his community would be able to adequately prepare or assess.
At that time Cliffs was talking about starting production at its mine site in 2015.
Things have changed since then.
Earlier this year Cliffs announced that its expected production timeline was being extended from 2015 to 2016 or “beyond.”
The American mining company said it would make a decision on whether to move forward with the project by the end of 2013, and that the decision would be based on market conditions as well as the company’s outlook at the time. Cliffs also said it was now looking for a partner for the project.
So the decision last week to “temporarily suspend” its environmental assessment of the proposed chromite mine was only further evidence that Ring of Fire timelines are being pushed significantly back.
That is a positive thing for First Nations, who now have more time to prepare for what will be a region-altering development.
After the past few years, the communities have a pretty good idea of the number and types of jobs that are expected in the Ring of Fire. Meanwhile organizations such as Matawa’s KKETS and Oshki-Pimache-O-Win have started the process of creating training programs and getting community members ready to work. And every year more and more First Nations people are finishing high school and graduating from colleges and universities.
The educated workforce that the mining companies desire is slowly being created. More time can only be a good thing, so long as focus and funding from governments continues to flow to the communities and organizations to get First Nations people trained.
But more time for preparation is not the only benefit of a delay in the Ring of Fire.
Cliffs acknowledged that one of the big reasons for suspending its environmental assessment is the ongoing legal battle over the federal environmental assessment in the region. Matawa’s judicial review, calling for a Joint Review Panel assessment of Cliffs’ project, is still before the courts. A hearing is expected sometime in September.
The legal decision will have a big impact on not only Cliffs’ environmental assessment, but assessments throughout the Ring of Fire. If the judge rules in favour of Matawa, and the Joint Review Panel that the communities want gets implemented, a two-year assessment with an independent panel of experts and hearings in communities will take place.
It did not make sense to go through the EA process while a ruling on the Joint Review Panel was yet to be made. If Matawa wins, Cliffs would have had to restart its EA anyways. It is better for everyone to decide once and for all what kind of EA will take place for the Ring of Fire, and then move forward with it.
And on a positive note, Cliffs is saying it will continue to work with First Nations on getting agreements in place, despite the delay in its project. The provincial government seems willing to do the same.
It may be that when the process ramps up again, and we look back over these next few years, everyone will agree that First Nations, industry and governments took full advantage of the delay to become much better prepared for the Ring of Fire.
This delay might truly be a blessing in disguise.