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Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas

Excerpt From 2025 Ontario Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario – Critical Minerals, Ring of Fire and Indigenous Initiatives (May 15, 2025)

https://www.budget.ontario.ca/2025/pdf/2025-ontario-budget-en.pdf   (pages 36 – 43)

Ontario calls on the federal government to recognize the important role that Ontario shipbuilders can play in the National Shipbuilding Strategy to bolster Canada’s domestic shipbuilding capabilities, as well as supporting Canada in meeting and exceeding its two per cent of GDP NATO spending target as part of national defence commitments.

Unleashing the Economic Potential of Critical Minerals

The imposition of U.S. tariffs has highlighted the urgent need to bolster Ontario’s economic resilience. This includes greater emphasis on domestically sourced critical minerals to maintain secure supply chains and unleash Ontario’s economy.

Critical minerals, such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements, are the foundation upon which modern technology is built. Rapidly changing technologies are, in turn, increasing the global demand for critical minerals, which have become important to strategic industries, including in the defence, aerospace, automotive and energy sectors.

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Lecce touts Ontario’s mining strategy as key to energy security and economic self-reliance – by Barbara Patrocinio (QP Briefing – May 16, 2025)

https://www.qpbriefing.com/

“Our job is to be bold,” Lecce said. “We’re not just exporting minerals. We’re exporting a model for how a modern, secure, and sovereign economy can look in the 21st century.”

In an interview marking mining week, Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce says Ontario is poised to become a global “clean energy superpower,” and he’s betting big on critical minerals, faster permitting timelines, and more domestic processing to get there.

Lecce outlined his vision for the province’s resource sector, which he described as essential not only to creating tens of thousands of jobs, but also to defending Canada’s economic sovereignty.

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Ice roads are a lifeline for First Nations. As Canada warms, they’re disappearing. (Grist.org – May 15, 2025)

https://grist.org/

Indigenous peoples are navigating the slow collapse of winter roads — and an even slower pace of help.

It was the last night of February and a 4×4 truck vaulted down the 103-mile winter road to Cat Lake First Nation in northern Ontario, a road made entirely of ice and snow. Only the light of the stars and the red and white truck lights illuminated the dense, snow-dusted spruce trees on either side of the road. From the passenger seat, Rachel Wesley, a member of the Ojibway community and its economic development officer, told the driver to stop.

The truck halted on a snow bridge over a wide creek — 1 of 5 made of snow along this road. It was wide enough for only one truck to cross at a time; its snowy surface barely 2 feet above the creek. Wesley zipped up her thick jacket and jumped out into the frigid night air. She looked at the creek and pointed at its open, flowing water. “That’s not normal,” she said, placing a cigarette between her lips.

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Northern Ontario First Nations fear uphill battle to preserve rights as Bill 5 speeds through legislature – by Aya Dufour (CBC News Sudbury – May 16, 2025)

https://www.cbc.ca/

Ford government says it’s cutting ‘red tape’ to speed up resource development projects

Bill 5 is a broad piece of legislation that has implications for mining development, endangered species, archeology and Indigenous peoples. It’s part of the Ford government’s “plan to protect Ontario” by cutting “the red tape that has held back major infrastructure, mining and resource development projects.”

The bill was tabled a few weeks ago and is now slated to be examined by a standing committee at Queen’s Park, whom Friends of the Attawapiskat river founder Michel Koostachin is set to address in the coming weeks. “There’s not going to be any consultations whatsoever with this bill,” said Koostachin.

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NEWS RELEASE: Tariffs or no Tariffs, Genuine First Nation Partnerships must be the Backbone of Sustainable Development in Ontario and throughout Canada (Eabametoong First Nation – May 14, 2025)

Eabametoong, Ontario – “Respect and wisdom go a long way, although they are becoming rare in these days of selfinterest,” reflected Chief Solomon Atlookan and Council from Eabametoong First Nation. “Many politicians are promising change and racing to push new projects without thinking through what positive development is really about – improving quality of life for the long term.”

Yesterday Prime Minister Carney announced his new cabinet, and many in Canadian and Provincial politics have been scrambling to respond to the threats coming from our long time American allies. The leadership of Eabametoong First Nation has written to invite governments and businesses to return their focus to a much deeper and fundamental alliance: Treaty #9 and relationships with First Nations. EFN is calling for a ‘war council’ to be formed with the specific focus of promoting the economic and social sustainability of our shared way of life.

“Our ancestors fought and spilled blood alongside the settler forces in 1812 to preserve our way of life against American expansionism, and we later agreed to a Treaty that promised shared control of our lands and the mutual prosperity of our peoples.

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Federal government appoints first Indigenous Minister of Indigenous Services Canada – by Willow Fiddler (Globe and Mail – May 14, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The first Indigenous person ever to be appointed Minister of Indigenous Services Canada has a big job ahead of them and high expectations to meet, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations says. Mandy Gull-Masty, from the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi in Quebec, was sworn in on Tuesday to lead the ministry, which administers services and programs for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.

AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse told The Globe and Mail that Ms. Gull-Masty will be held to a higher standard because she is a First Nations woman, but that she will prove her leadership to the country.

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Canada is not for sale — And neither is Neskantaga First Nation, says chief – by Jon Thompson (Ricochet Media – May 12, 2025)

Front

‘This is a genocide:’ no clean water, healthcare as drug pandemic rages

Neskantaga First Nation Chief Gary Quisess is only six weeks into his first term, and is facing simultaneous crises in his community and in Thunder Bay. But he left home and travelled to Queen’s Park today to call out what he describes as “genocide” buried in new provincial environmental legislation.

Ontario’s proposed Bill 5, the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act, would allow the province to designate “special economic zones” that would qualify to bypass environmental regulations and speed up development. It is expected to be in force as early as September, and Premier Doug Ford intends to name the proposed Ring of Fire mineral development as the first such site.

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B.C. won’t fast-track projects without First Nations’ ownership, Premier says – by Justine Hunter (Globe and Mail – May 11, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The British Columbia government is moving forward with controversial legislation to allow it to fast-track major projects deemed to be of provincial significance, but Premier David Eby says none will be built without First Nations’ consent – and financial benefits.

The only way forward with major projects in the province is through Indigenous partnership, he said in an interview. Federally designated projects that would cross into B.C. should expect to meet the same standard, he added. “For us, it’s about actual ownership by the Nation whose territory the projects are going on.”

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3 First Nations chiefs warn Ontario’s premier Treaty 9 lands are ‘not for sale’ – by Edzi’u Loverin (CBC News Indigenous – May 09, 2025)

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

Province is using tariffs as ‘an excuse’ to push through mining project approvals, says lawyer

Three Treaty 9 First Nations chiefs say they will challenge a proposed Ontario law to implement “special economic zones” to speed up development, if passed.

Chief Donny Morris of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, a community around 580 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, said Wednesday his response to Bill 5 is the same as Premier Doug Ford’s response to U.S. threats of annexation. “Canada and Ontario lands is not for sale. It’s the same perception we have, too,” he said.

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Treaties can’t be relied upon to stop Alberta from leaving – by Jamie Sarkonak (National Post – May 9, 2025)

https://nationalpost.com/

These Lands were never ceded, nor surrendered.” What he meant by “internationally binding”wasn’t clear, and he certainly wasn’t correct about cessation. Treaty land is by definitionceded land — it was surrendered in exchange for benefits provided by the Crown.

Various Indigenous leaders have complained vocally about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s roundabout way of engaging with the province’s separatist movement by making it easier for organized citizens to arrange for referendums.

But the moment they have me nodding along in understanding, they pull their own sovereigntist card: arguing that the numbered treaties situated in Alberta are a higher, purer form of authority; that secession talk violates treaty rights; and that treaty land is literally their property and thus untransferable.

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Indigenous leaders call on Ford to halt mining bill, consult – by Jessica Smith Cross (The Trillium – May 6, 2025)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

The bill would give ministers the power to exempt projects from legal requirements

Indigenous leaders are warning the Ford government that its failure to consult their people on its mining legislation could prompt “a confrontation on the ground.”Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler was at Queen’s Park Monday to watch the debate over Bill 5, the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act.

“It’s very concerning to hear some of the responses from the government, from the MPPs from the Conservative side, talking about how they see our territory as their land, as their resources,” Fiddler told reporters.

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Agnico Eagle calls for Canadian Arctic strategy amid US threats – by Divya Rajagopal (Reuters – May 2, 2025)

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/

Agnico Eagle Mines, Canada’s biggest gold miner, wants the new government to develop a formal Arctic strategy in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada its 51st state, the company’s Chairman Sean Boyd said.

Earlier this year, Agnico overtook Barrick Mining’s market capitalization to become the world’s second-largest gold miner, just below Newmont Corp, the largest extractor of bullion by production and market capitalization.

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Agnico Eagle podcast spotlights Nunavut’s people, environment and mining – by Henry Lazenby(Northern Miner – May 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX, NYSE: AEM), generating about one-fifth of Nunavut’s gross domestic product, launched The Arctic Edge podcast series on Thursday. This series aims to show listeners the realities about the Territory and Canada’s North, Agnico chair Sean Boyd tells The Northern Miner.

Hosted by journalist Hannah Thibedeau, the series includes interviews with Inuit leaders, politicians, business executives and military figures. The first two episodes are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, with an Inuktitut edition due later.

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[Yellowknife, Northwest Territories] Deep in an Abandoned Gold Mine, a Toxic Legacy Lurks – by Vipal Monga (MSN.com – May 4, 2025)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/

YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories—This small subarctic city has a big problem. There are 237,000 metric tons of arsenic trioxide locked in the subterranean caverns of Giant Mine on the edge of Yellowknife, an unwanted byproduct from what was once one of the largest gold mines in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Consider that it only takes 140 milligrams of arsenic trioxide to kill a person; there’s enough of the poison here to kill 1.7 trillion people.

The local indigenous people refer to the arsenic as a sleeping monster. Company and government officials hoped the arsenic would remain frozen underground forever. But mining operations and climate change caused the permafrost to melt, raising fears in the city of 20,000 people that toxic material could mix with the runoff and slither into the nearby waters of Great Slave Lake, the world’s 10th-largest freshwater body.

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Explainer: What is the Ring of Fire and when will it be developed? – by Jim Moodie (Sudbury Star – May 5, 2025)

Project Location & Study Area (CNW Group/Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

One analyst calls this part of Northern Ontario ‘the most important mining discovery in Canadian history’

It spans an area of Ontario bigger than Quetico Provincial Park — itself nearly as big as Algonquin Park — but few people have visited and you won’t find it easily on a map. Tip: if you Google Winisk River Provincial Park, that will at least get you in the right neighbourhood.

As murky as it might be geographically, however, geologically and economically it has been thrust under a spotlight — particularly of late, as both Queen’s Park and Ottawa look to parry U.S. trade moves and build domestic might going forward. The Ring of Fire has become a household name, and a source of superlatives.

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