Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas – Page 232

Junior mining firms in ‘revolt’ over native deals – by Jeff Gray (Globe and Mail – March 28, 2012)

April 25, 2012March 28, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

On the sidelines of the mining industry’s massive annual conference in Toronto in early March, a group of disgruntled junior exploration companies held a private meeting.

Calling themselves Miners United, the ad-hoc group of about 60 small-firm executives shared concerns about the concessions and cash they say native bands expect from companies looking for minerals on Crown lands that are considered traditional aboriginal territory, where bands retain hunting and fishing rights. Scores of disputes between native groups and mining companies now end up in court.

A landmark 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decision said the Crown has a “duty to consult” native bands about development on Crown land that is considered part of a band’s traditional territory. Courts have allowed governments to delegate part of this duty to resource companies, many of whom then negotiate agreements with native groups. But there is a growing backlash among junior miners about these agreements.

[NDP Sarah Campbell] MPP calls for talks on changing Far North Act – by Bryan Meadows (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – March 24, 2012)

March 24, 2012

The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell is calling for more consultation on changes to the Far North Act, with a goal of replacing it with new legislation that is more acceptable to Northern Ontario residents.

“The Liberal government didn’t listen to northerners and First Nations in Northern Ontario when they introduced the Far North Act,” Campbell said, in introducing a motion, calling for consultations, to the provincial legislature this week.

“Getting this right will help create economic opportunities and job creation in Northern Ontario and make sure the benefits are shared with the people who live here,” she said.

Campbell’s motion also proposes additional funding for First Nations’ land use planning, a joint co-ordinating body between First Nations and government, a resource revenue-sharing model, and the end to the provision that allows the government to overrule land use plans completed by First Nations.

Solid Gold reports progress in [Wahgoshig First Nation] dispute – by Ron Grech (Timmins Daily Press – March 23, 2012)

March 23, 2012

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

Some headway is being made in efforts to resolve a conflict between Solid Gold Resources Corporation and Wahgoshig First Nation.

“The government has made certain offers, which I won’t go into at the moment, to accommodate the First Nation,” Darryl Stretch, president of Solid Gold, told The Daily Press Thursday. “The very fact that the government has made some offer of accommodation inspires me just a little, tiny bit. Because it’s always been our position that the government must stand between us and the (First Nation) government.”

Stretch said all along, regional First Nation leaders have been asserting their communities are led by an autonomous government.

If that is to be the case, Stretch added, “then I don’t quite understand why my government would be insisting I go and enter agreement with their government. It just doesn’t make sense.”

[Northern Ontario] English River logging suspended during court battle – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – March 23, 2012)

March 23, 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.

The Ontario government has agreed to suspend logging north of the English River in a territory five times the size of Toronto as an 11-year legal fight winds its way through the courts.

Last August, the Ontario Superior Court ruled the province does not have the power to take away treaty rights negotiated over 150 years ago by allowing industrial activity without the consent of Grassy Narrows First Nation. The decision is being appealed and is expected to be heard this fall.

But while all commercial logging cannot occur in the Grassy Narrows traditional area north of the river without the community’s consent, it can south of the river, said David Sone, a spokesperson for the environmental organization Earthroots.

“The people of Grassy Narrows and First Nations across the province have suffered for decades for decisions imposed on them and their land without their agreement,” Sone said.

MEDIA RELEASE: First Nation and Conservation Groups Seek Investigation of Exploration Company God’s Lake Resources by Securities Regulator

March 20, 2012

For Immediate Release March 20, 2012

This joint media release was issued by: Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninnuwug First Nation; MiningWatch Canada; Earthroots; Ecojustice and Wildlands League

TORONTO – Today four conservation groups have joined with the northern Ontario Oji-Cree community Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug or “KI” to request the Ontario Securities Commission investigate junior exploration company God’s Lake Resources (stock symbol GLR). KI and the groups are concerned that GLR may have made misleading statements in its public filings. The
company’s documents suggest the company was making progress towards an agreement with KI to allow exploration on leases and claims held by GLR and within KI’s traditional territory.

“Despite repeated correspondence from KI that it had placed a moratorium on all mining exploration in their homeland, from what we have reviewed, GLR has not yet communicated this risk to their investors” said Justin Duncan, staff lawyer at Ecojustice, “as a result, we have asked the Securities Commission to investigate whether GLR has violated the Ontario Securities Act.”

“The KI moratorium on mining exploration is no secret” said KI Chief Donny Morris. “We have said in writing, we have said on Youtube, we have said it on the radio and we have said from jail and we will say it again:

Mining conference [PDAC] highlights First Nation issues – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – March 16, 2012)

March 19, 2012

This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/

For Neskantaga First Nation Chief Peter Moonias, the massive Prospectors and Developers Association mining conference was more than just a chance to promote the agreement his First Nation signed with three of its neighbours on building a transportation network to the Ring of Fire.

It was also a chance to bring a First Nation message of treaty rights in regards to land to companies and governments alike.

“The companies have to respect the communities, and understand the rights of treaties for First Nations people. They then have to sell that agreement to the government,” Moonias said. “It’s important to carry the message to companies and government that Native people have that right to the land, through treaties.”

Moonias, along with chiefs from Eabametoong, Nibinamik and Webequie made a splash at the conference on Mar. 5 when they signed an agreement to pursue the development of an East-West transportation corridor to the Ring of Fire.

Ahead of the [mining potential] curve [in northern Ontario]- by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – March 16, 2012)

March 19, 2012

This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/

One thing was overwhelmingly clear during last week’s Prospectors and Developers mining conference in Toronto: the eyes of the mining world are focused squarely on northern Ontario.

Booths for the two big Ring of Fire players, Noront and Cliffs Resources, were packed all week. But it was not only the Ring of Fire getting attention. From gold mining around Red Lake to uranium and other heavy metals near Lake Nipigon, the mineral potential across the vast north was on display.

That incredible amount of interest in northern Ontario makes it all the more important for governments – First Nations, provincial and federal – to get ahead of the curve and plan now for the future.

There is no doubt that mining, if done well, can have many benefits for communities and the region. There is also no doubt that if poorly planned and/or poorly managed, mining can leave huge messes – both environmentally and socially – behind it.

‘I see other people trying to tell us how to run our land’ [KI First Nation] – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – March 16, 2012)

March 19, 2012

This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/

KI lands and resource Stephen Chapman was a main speaker during the KI rally in Toronto, outside the Prospectors and Developers Association conference. He spoke to Wawatay News about his community’s struggle to protect its traditional lands from mining and on watching First Nations involvement in the Prospectors conference.

Wawatay (wwt): First off, why was it important to bring this message to Toronto?

Stephen Chapman (SC): Toronto is a big place. We want to spread the word as much as possible, to Ontario, Canada and all over the world.

Wwt: The last time you went through this there was a lot of support down here in Toronto. Does that make it easier this time?

SC: Yes. We made connections before, and our connections are growing. They support us and they spread the word.

Oilsands a lesson for Ring of Fire – Column by Brian MacLeod – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – March 15, 2012)

March 15, 2012

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

If you don’t put a priority on the environment, you can milk a province’s natural resources in good times, but it catches up with you. Alberta is a perfect example, though you’d never know that by Ontario’s Progressive Conservative MPP Randy Hillier’s comments.

In a column on the Calgary Herald’s website, Hillier vents about the Dalton McGuinty Liberal government’s excessive number of environmental regulations, which Hillier says has turned “a land of milk and honey into a land of mediocrity.”

He laments that the Ring of Fire chromite deposit in Northern Ontario remains undeveloped. “McGuinty has locked our resources away and they remain untouched. Rather than accepting the word of their beloved environmental advisers, McGuinty and his Liberal government should spend more time discovering Ontario for themselves.”

The oilsands are a major economic driver in Alberta. The province expects to bring in $184 billion in royalties over the next 25 years.

KI rallies Toronto as chief mobilizes in North – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – March 14, 2012)

March 15, 2012

This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on March 6, the bustle of thousands of mining executives drowned out nearly everything but talk of the benefits of mining.

Outside however, in the cold wind on Toronto’s Front Street, a very different message was on display.

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) councilor Cecilia Begg was telling the national media and everyone else who asked that yes, she was ready to be arrested again for protecting her community’s traditional lands.

KI lands and environment coordinator Stephen Chapman was at the microphone, speaking to the hundreds of KI supporters who had gathered in the cold to wave banners, shout slogans and demand that the government take KI’s concerns seriously.

“If the world is contaminated, where else can we move to?” Chapman asked, to cheers. “We need to realize now, before it is too late, that we are destroying ourselves and our future generations.”

Ontario Mining Association forum expands First Nation-mining industry dialogue

March 14, 2012

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

An Ontario Mining Association forum on mining sector and First Nation issues held last week has expanded the dialogue on the expectations and realities of both groups. The panel had three representatives from industry and three senior First Nations representatives.

The moderator was Sandra Gogal, an expert in Aboriginal and resource industry law with Miller Thomson, an OMA member. “We want to facilitate open dialogue and a sharing of information amongst panelists and the audience,” she said. “There are many successes but we want the forum to be challenging and address issues where there may be differences on both sides of the debate.”

On the topic of overlapping land claims by more than one Aboriginal group, Michael Fox, President of Fox High Impact Consulting, said “This is a relatively new phenomenon dealing with overlapping traditional protocols changed by a third party. You can only move as fast as the communities can move and an educational platform has to take place first.”

Hockey star raises First Nation awareness as cultural ambassador for mining

March 13, 2012

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

Former Philadelphia Flyers scoring ace Reggie Leach took on the role of cultural ambassador as a luncheon speaker last week to improve Ontario Mining Association members’ awareness of First Nations realities. An Ojibway and member of the Berens River First Nation in Manitoba, he grew up as the youngest in a family of 13 children in Riverton, Manitoba.

Many people are able to recount his exploits and successes on the ice. After being selected third overall in the 1970 National Hockey League entry draft, Reggie Leach went on to play 934 NHL games, score 381 goals and record 285 assists for 666 points. He is a Stanley Cup winner and a Conn Smyth Trophy winner. In the 1975-1976 season, he scored 61 goals in the regular season before netting 19 goals in 16 playoff games — 80 goals in one season.

Fewer people may know about his growing up through a childhood of relative poverty. He didn’t start to skate until he was 10 and he did not have his own pair of skates until he was 14. “I am always trying to give back and my life is now for First Nations kids and getting them going in the right direction,” said Mr. Leach.

New rules for First Nation consultation [in Ontario] – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – March, 2012)

March 13, 2012

Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal is a magazine that showcases the mining expertise of North Bay, Timmins and Sudbury.

The verdict is mixed on the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines’ proposed regulations for First Nation consultation.

Posted in late February on the province’s Environmental Registry and detailed in an information update mailed out to 11,000 stakeholders, the regulations introduce “a graduated system of consultation that reflects the type of activity on the land,” said Rob Merwin, director of the Ministry’s Mining Act Secretariat.

Prospectors and exploration companies will still be able to stake claims without notifying First Nations or surface rights owners. They will also be able to access their claims for hand sampling. However, anything more than that, such as line cutting, will require the prospector or exploration company to submit a plan to the Ministry.

“Plans are a notification process through which a prospector or exploration company fills out a form that tells who, where, when and what they plan to do,” said Merwin. “Plans will be shared with affected First Nations and posted on the Ministry’s web site.”