Province, First Nations sign critical road agreement – by Staff (Sudbury Star – March 3, 2020)

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It will help open up the Ring of Fire to development

The province says it is moving forward on the Ring of Fire. The government of Ontario, Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation took a major step forward Monday in unlocking jobs and opportunity in the Ring of Fire region by entering into what they called a historic agreement to advance the planning and development of a proposed road to the site.

The 5,000-square-kilometre Ring of Fire is a major mineral deposit in Northern Ontario approximately 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay. Currently, there are no roads to the area, rendering access to the site and transportation of goods difficult. Estimates “suggest multi-generational potential for chromite production, as well as the production of nickel, copper and platinum,” the government said Monday.

Chief Bruce Achneepineskum of Marten Falls First Nation and Chief Cornelius Wabasse of Webequie First Nation joined Premier Doug Ford and Greg Rickford, minister of energy, northern development and mines and the minister of Indigenous affairs, at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention for a signing ceremony.

“We look forward to working together with Ontario to ensure the sustainable development of our ancestral territories,” Achneepineskum said. “Marten Falls First Nation takes seriously our right to make decisions for the betterment of our community.

We are moving ahead with this agreement so all communities in the region can connect to the next phase, which is to secure and bring good-paying jobs in mining, construction and other skilled trades to our communities.”

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