Province names Ring of Fire go-to guy – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – July 3, 2013)

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

One of the country’s best legal minds will sit down with a former premier and Rhodes scholar when the Ontario government and Matawa Tribal Council discuss the impacts of mining development in the Ring of Fire.

The province announced Tuesday it has appointed retired Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci as its Ring of Fire negotiator for talks with the Matawa group, which represents half a dozen fly-in reserves in the immediate ROF orbit.

The position follows news last month that main ROF proponent Cliffs Natural Resources has temporarily halted its work on the environmental assessment for its chromite project.

Specifically, Iacobucci is to focus on environmental protection and monitoring, planning and development, revenue sharing, and social and economic supports for First Nations as they relate to future mining in the ROF belt located 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

The 76-year-old Iacobucci, who recently authored an unflattering report about how aboriginals are being disadvantaged by the province’s justice system, called his appointment an “honour.”

The Ontario government earlier asked him to look into the lack of First Nations representation on juries. In February, Iacobucci released a report that found aboriginals face “systemic discrimination” when it comes to criminal justice or child services and the courts — especially in the North.

Last month, the province set up a panel to oversee the implementation of Iacobucci’s recommendations.

“I feel passionately about involving First Nations in decisions about development in their communities and traditional lands and ensuring they benefit from the economic opportunities to be realized from development in the Ring of Fire,” he said in a news release Tuesday.

Iacobucci is to report to Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle.

“I’m confident that Mr. Iacobucci will help ensure that everyone benefits from the economic and social opportunities of this unprecedented natural resource,” Gravelle (Thunder Bay-Superior North) said in the release.

Iacobucci, a respected scholar and hands-on legal expert, is expected to be sitting down with former federal Liberal leader Bob Rae, who was earlier tapped by Matawa as its lead ROF negotiator. He resigned his MP’s seat to take the job.

Matawa did not immediately release a statement about Iacobucci’s appointment. The group has challenged in court the way Cliffs’ chromite project is being scrutinized from an environmental standpoint, saying it should be subject to an independent review panel.

Cliffs last month said it was frustrated by an inability to find common ground on what the terms of reference for its ROF environmental assessment should be.

Noront Resources, which is proposing to build a nickel mine in the Ring of Fire zone, praised the province’s appointment of Iacobucci.

“We look forward to his counsel and collaboration as we move ahead on this very exciting opportunity for the region,” Noront chairman Paul Parisotto said in a news release.