Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas – Page 207

The Ring of Fire and the oilsands – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – August 2, 2012)

August 4, 2012

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Ontario’s Conservative leader made an excellent observation a few weeks ago when, after a visit to the Ring of Fire, he said the development is akin to being Ontario’s oilsands.

Tim Hudak took a lot of criticism for the comments. Environmentalists targeted his claims that the Ring of Fire should be developed as quickly as the oilsands. Mining supporters worried about Hudak’s comparison to a development viewed as environmentally devastating. But Hudak was right, and he should be given credit for vocalizing something many are thinking but few are talking about.

The Ring of Fire does have the potential to be Ontario’s oilsands. With hundreds of claims already staked in the region, an estimated $30 billion worth of chromite in the region and countless other mineral deposits alongside of it, the Ring of Fire truly will change northern Ontario forever.

Hudak obviously believes Alberta has done it right when it comes to oilsands development. “Sometimes we look (with) wonder and awe at what Alberta can do,” he said, following the visit. “We can do that in Ontario and we can do that with the Ring of Fire.”

Indigenous worker numbers skyrocket in mining – by Gian De Poloni (Australian Broadcasting Corporation News – July 31, 2012)

July 31, 2012

http://www.abc.net.au/news/

The number of Indigenous people working on major mining projects in Western Australia has skyrocketed over the past five years.

In the resource-rich Pilbara region, big companies like Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Chevron and Fortescue Metals are keen to hire as many Aboriginal people as they can, and they are keen to work. Brendon Kelly is a 40-year-old Indigenous man with five children living in Port Hedland.

BK, as he is known to his mates, decided three years ago he wanted to be a part of the biggest mining boom the country has ever seen. He undertook a course with Ngarda Civil and Mining, one of the largest Indigenous training groups, and now works as a drill and blast engineer at BHP’s Yarrie iron ore mine, about 200 kilometres north-east of Port Hedland.

“There are four Aboriginal people on our crew, it’s pretty multicultural out here on site at the moment,” he said. “It’s a really good thing, the more the better.” BK is urging others to consider getting training. “There’s better security and independence for yourself and your family,” he said.

Native Canadians Fear Mining Boom in “Ring of Fire” – by By Fawzia Sheikh (Inter Press Service News Agency – July 30, 2012)

July 31, 2012

http://www.ipsnews.net/

TORONTO, Jul 30 2012 (IPS) – With accusations that Canadian resource companies and government officials are disregarding the need for indigenous consent in development projects, First Nations leaders have lashed out by approving a resolution calling for a moratorium on mining development in the so-called Ring of Fire until proper consultation begins.

The Ring of Fire includes chromite, nickel, copper, platinum, zinc, gold and kimberlite deposits and is touted as the most promising mineral development opportunity in Ontario in nearly a century.

The resources are located 540 kilometres east of the city of Thunder Bay within the shared territories of a handful of Aboriginal communities around McFaulds Lake. The region is home to more than 100 bodies of water and four major rivers in the James Bay Lowlands in the northern part of the province.

“We haven’t had any meeting that is meaningful with the province,” Chris Moonias of the Neskantaga First Nation told 633 chiefs-in-assembly at the Assembly of First Nations annual conference from Jul. 17 to 19. “Right now, we’re being bullied by a mining company, a giant mining company and a desperate province.”

CSIS said to be probing financial links between First Nations, China – by Jen Gerson (National Post – July 25, 2012)

July 28, 2012

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

CALGARY — Canadian intelligence services appear to have probed financial links between First Nations groups and Chinese companies as scrutiny continues to mount on China’s interest in this country’s natural resources sector.

This week, Chinese oil company CNOOC Ltd. announced a $15-billion takeover bid for Calgary-based Nexen, a proposal that will have to pass scrutiny under the Canada Investment Act. The deal seems to be raising warning flags among politicians who fear the energy-hungry superpower’s influence in Canada’s oil patch. But scrutiny of China’s investment reach appears to stretch back several years.

Vancouver-based lawyer Merle Alexander said he was approached by Canadian Security Intelligence Service agents twice, in 2010 and in 2011, after presenting seminars on a memorandum of understanding signed between the Kaska Nation and Silvercorp., a B.C. company with Chinese links.

He said they identified themselves with CSIS badges and “appeared interested in determining whether there is direct involvement or influence between the Chinese government and First Nations governments,” he said.

Weenusk struggles to keep home lands free – Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – July 26, 2012)

July 27, 2012

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Residents of Weenusk First Nation are fearing for the loss of their traditional lifestyles as Ontario gets set to release geological data on one of the province’s last pristine wildernesses.

The Ontario Geologic Survey (OGS) conducted aerial geological surveying over a broad section of untouched wilderness along the shore of Hudson Bay between November 2011 and February 2012.

Many people in Weenusk, a community of approximately 300, believe the release of the information will spur mineral exploration on much of the First Nation’s traditional territory, and in the process irrevocably alter a way of life that has been practiced since time immemorial.

“We want to keep the land free,” says George Hunter, a community member and former chief of Weenusk. “To us, freedom doesn’t have staked claims. The moment you have staked claims and private property, our true freedom is compromised forever.”

Legal fight tarnishing gold firm – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – July 26, 2012)

July 27, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – The president of Solid Gold Resources blames the ongoing conflict with Wahgoshig First Nation and the provincial government for his company’s plummeting stock values.

“It has completely destroyed it,” said Darryl Stretch. “It’s at three cents, which values my company at less than what it costs to put a shelf together these days. “When we came out with our IPO (initial public offering), it was at 25 cents… For the stock price to be at three cents is unreasonable and outrageous.”

Solid Gold holds claims within a 200-square-kilometre area outside the boundary of the Wahgoshig reserve. In January, the First Nation succeeded in having an injunction imposed against the exploration company to stop drilling in that area.

In February, Solid Gold filed a Leave to Appeal on the basis that “any consultation and accommodation required should have been completed (with Wahgoshig) by the Crown long before mineral claims were granted to Solid Gold,” said Stretch.

[Noront’s Leanne Hall – First Nations] Skilled Builder (CIM Magazine – June/July 2012)

November 3, 2015July 27, 2012

Founded in 1898, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is a technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries.

Leanne Hall, vice-president, human resources, Noront Resources Ltd.

When Leanne Hall takes on an assignment, she does two things: “I always look at it from the eyes of different stakeholders,” she says, “and I always try to leave places in a better position than where I originally found them.”

These approaches have shaped her career in human resources and corporate social responsibility, which is now focused on developing the workforce to support Noront Resources’ Eagle’s Nest mine, currently under development in northern Ontario. Prior to joining Noront, Hall headed Woodland HR Inc. in northern Alberta, where she seized on the skills shortage and the province’s privatization and expansion of its career and employment services to carve out a niche for herself. “At the end of 14 years, we had assisted over 20,000 people in northern Alberta with their career and employment goals,” she says.

Hall explains that she used a “grassroots” approach. It involved meeting one-on-one and asking people what they had always dreamed of doing, uncovering their skills and talents, developing a career plan, and matching them with employment that could fulfill those dreams. In an economy where cyclical oil prices hit hard at times, she says, it’s important to love what one does; that is what makes it possible to thrive. Having a career plan not only helps achieve this, it aids retention at companies that smooth their employees’ path to advancement.

National native chief Shawn Atleo wants resources partnership with Canadian provincial premiers – by Heather Scoffield (Canadian Press/Toronto Star – July 25, 2012)

July 26, 2012

The Toronto Star, has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

OTTAWA — National chief Shawn Atleo wants the premiers to recognize First Nations as full and equal partners in developing natural resources, but he says such recognition should not have to wait for politicians to agree on a national energy plan.

The head of the Assembly of First Nations and other aboriginal leaders are meeting today with premiers in Lunenburg, N.S., in advance of the annual Council of the Federation summit on inter-provincial relations.

The premiers, like Atleo, are consumed with devising better ways to develop natural resources so that more people can benefit, and so that the environment does not pay too steep a price.

But details of what a national energy strategy would look like are vague, and buy-in from all the provinces is uncertain — especially now that Alberta and British Columbia are sparring openly over the Northern Gateway pipeline.

Chiefs near Ring of Fire not seeing eye-to-eye on evictions – by Tbnewswatch.com – July 23, 2012

July 24, 2012

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

Chiefs near Ring of Fire not seeing eye-to-eye on evictions

A pending eviction notice to mining companies with interest around the Ring of Fire is causing divisions among Matawa First Nation communities. Six of the nine Matawa First Nations are supporting a plan to evict several mining companies from the area.

Neskantaga First Nation Chief Peter Moonias says the group is still preparing to take the next step, and he says people are starting to realize that the government is lying about their consultations.

But Chief Eli Moonias from Marten Falls, one of the Matawa communities opposed to the eviction, has a different viewpoint. Eli Moonias said he believes they have achieved consultation and the main operator, Cliffs Natural Resources, is now ready to discuss a memorandum of understanding.

The Marten Falls Chief added that it is First Nation leaders who are the ones now showing disrespect, and resolution of the matter is being pushed forward despite strong opposition.

Ring of Fire court battle on horizon after Neskantaga meets mining minister – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – July 23, 2012)

July 23, 2012

Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice: http://wawataynews.ca/

Neskantaga First Nation is preparing for an extensive court battle over the Ring of Fire, following the latest failed meeting between the First Nation and the Ontario government.

Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias and Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation called for a pause of the Ring of Fire during a meeting with Ontario’s mining minister Rick Bartolucci on July 18, but Moonias said the government did not take the suggestion “too seriously.”

“The government is just going ahead with (with development) as if we’re nothing,” Moonias said. “It looks as if ‘yes’ has already been given from the First Nations, but we never did (give consent).”

Moonias and Gagnon argue that development of the Ring of Fire needs to stop in order for First Nations to establish plans for maximizing economic benefits and mitigating environmental risks.

Ring of Fire Minister not listening to First Nations – Blogpost by Shane Moffatt (Greenpeace Canada – July 21, 2012)

July 23, 2012

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/

I recently had the privilege of attending a meeting with the Minister of Northern Development and Mines as an observer with Neskantaga First Nation. You can follow Neskantaga’s campaign to protect their rights here.

Talks were focused on proposed industrial developments in the so-called “Ring of Fire” in Northern Ontario. The “Ring of Fire” refers to a mineral rich area around McFaulds Lake, located over 1,000 kilometres north of Toronto in the heart of the boreal forest and in a one of the largest wetlands in the world. This also is smack in the middle of the traditional territories of Matawa First Nations, a Tribal Council of nine Ontario First Nations.

On May 9th, a giant US mining company (Cliffs Natural Resources) announced that they will go ahead with a $3.3 billion Ring of Fire project, which includes a chromite mine east of Webequie, a transportation route running south from the mine site and a ferrochrome processing plant in Sudbury.

The reaction from First Nations was swift and unequivocal – with Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose describing the announcement as a “classic example of development going ahead without adequate consultation, input and consent from our First Nations.”

Aboriginal students graduating from post-secondary schools in record numbers – by Michael V’Inkin Lee and Christopher Reynolds (Vancouver Sun – July 15, 2012)

July 21, 2012

The Vancouver Sun, a broadsheet daily paper first published in 1912, has the largest circulation in the province of British Columbia.

First nations students are attending — and graduating from — post-secondary schools and professional programs like law and medicine in record numbers

Mary Brearly had no idea as a little girl that she would grow up to be an underground miner. “I didn’t know that I could do that, I guess. Nobody had told me,” said the first nations Thompson Rivers University graduate, who earned her processing operations qualifications through the B.C. Aboriginal Mine Training Association in Kamloops last year.

Brearly, 27, is part of what the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education says has been a 25-per-cent surge in post-secondary enrolment among aboriginal youth over the last four years. Statistics from some colleges and universities in B.C. also show that more aboriginal students are completing certificate and degree programs in a broader range of fields.

“Ensuring that aboriginal learners have access to post-secondary education and training is essential to fulfilling our labour needs,” said Naomi Yamamoto, the minister of advanced education.

The new shape of a centuries-old relationship [resource boom and First Nations] – by Ken Coates and Brian Lee Crowley (Troy Media/Vancouver Sun – July 20, 2012)

July 21, 2012

The Vancouver Sun, a broadsheet daily paper first published in 1912, has the largest circulation in the province of British Columbia.

Resource boom holds potential to set all Canadians, aboriginal or non-aboriginal, on a more promising path

Ken Coates is Canada research chair in regional innovation at the University of Saskatchewan and Brian Lee Crowley is managing director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a public policy think-tank in Ottawa.

Regardless of short term ups and downs, Canada’s resource economy is booming as never before. Industrialization and urbanization, chiefly in Asia, will be the unstoppable engine driving the world’s appetite for our resources. This should be an opportunity not just for all Canadians, but especially for many aboriginal Canadians who inhabit the land surrounding the mining and energy projects under-way or planned across the mid and far North.

In fact, this new resource-based wealth could be the key to progress in ending the shameful plight of too many first nations people in Canada. To do so, however, we are going to have to change behaviour and expectations on both sides of the aboriginal/non-aboriginal divide. Happily, far from being a distant and improbable prospect, we can already discern the new shape of the relationship.

Indigenous conflict with resource developers is hardly new. Since the arrival of Europeans, mass evictions, pollution and social turmoil related to resource wealth have been facts of indigenous history.

Stan Beardy on treaties, resources and national agendas – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – July 19, 2012)

July 21, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Wawatay spoke with Regional Chief of Ontario Stan Beardy soon after he won the election to represent 133 First Nations. Here is an excerpt from that interview.

Wawatay: What are your thoughts on winning the election, and what that means for yourself and for northern First Nations?

Stan Beardy: First of all, it’s definitely a great honour to be selected as Regional Chief of Ontario with 133 First Nations. Yes, I am from the North, and I have a good understanding of northern issues, but I am responsible for all First Nations in Ontario. I believe there is great diversity, and we need to find a way to use that diversity for our strength.

My mandate is for three years, and I believe I was selected based on the platform which I put forward. I am very strong on our rights-base, and I am very strong on our Treaty position. That Treaty relationship, I believe, is the number one priority in terms of moving forward on improving the quality of life.

When we talk of First Nation laws across Ontario, and asserting our jurisdiction, we’re talking about finding a way to harmonize the federal government’s legislation and laws with ours.