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Consultations continue with northern Ontario First Nations who are opposed to mining activity in the remote Ring of Fire region. The Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations are the only two in the region to voice support for road and mining projects, while others such as the Neskantaga, Grassy Narrows, Wapekeka, and Big Trout Lake First Nations oppose the projects due to environmental concerns.
“We need community support and for us to be ready for mining development and large projects in our area,” said Marten Falls First Nation chief Bruce Achneepineskum on Tuesday at a Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) seminar. “It’s all part of what we call meaningful participation and taking the lead on these large scale projects. (In the past) we were treated as minorities without significant say on our traditional lands.”
Consultation is ongoing with some 22 communities, said Qasim Saddique, technical co-lead with consultancy Suslop, which is working with First Nations on environment assessments (EA) and design related to the Northern Road Link that would connect communities to proposed critical mineral mines in the Ring of Fire region.
“We have a strong interest in meeting with them to have a direct dialogue. We just had two Aboriginal and treaty rights forums in Thunder Bay.
For the rest of this article: https://www.northernminer.com/news/pdac-2024-first-nations-manage-tricky-work-of-indigenous-consultation-on-ring-of-fire-road/1003864658/