Ontario court quashes gold mining permit over lack of meaningful consultation with First Nation – by Jorge Barrera (CBC News Indigenous – July 17, 2018)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/

Court says company’s potential Barrick deal drove ministry’s decision to issue exploration permit

A ruling issued Monday by the Ontario Superior Court quashing a gold exploration permit should send a message to the new Doug Ford government that it can’t “bulldoze” its way into the mineral-rich Ring of Fire development, says the chief of Eabametoong First Nation.

The Ontario Superior Court said in the ruling that the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, under the previous Liberal administration, failed to properly consult with Eabametoong First Nation before it granted a gold mining permit to Landore Resources Canada, a subsidiary of U.K.-based Landore Resources Ltd.

The court found that the ministry “changed course without any explanation” to the First Nation and issued the permit to ensure Landore had it in hand for talks on a potential deal with gold mining behemoth Barrick Gold Corporation.

“The ministry’s conduct cannot reasonably be considered to be the type of conduct that would promote reconciliation between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples,” said the ruling, issued by Justice Frank Marrocco, Justice Harriet Sachs and Justice C.J. Horkins.

“That requires managing the consultation process in a way that fosters trust as opposed to misunderstanding and betrayal.” The court ruled that Landore’s permit application be sent back to the ministry “pending completion of adequate consultation with Eabametoong.”

For the rest of this article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/eabametoong-ring-of-fire-landore-permit-1.4750681