Mining Conflict and Opposition – Page 64

Natives have ‘hand out,’ says mine CEO – by Sebastien Perth (Sudbury Star – November 9,2012)

November 9, 2012

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

The president of a mining company in the middle of a dispute with an aboriginal group in Northern Ontario said he feels he is being “extorted” by the Wahgoshig First Nation.

Darryl Stretch said his company, Solid Gold Resources Corporation, has made a high grade gold discovery near Lake Abitibi in 2011, but can’t explore any further due to a court order.

The Wahgoshig First Nation filed an injunction against Solid Gold to stop its exploration on land they claim treaty rights over, at least until the two groups can come to an agreement.

Solid Gold won a court ruling allowing it to appeal the original injunction decision. That case will be heard in January.

The root of the dispute can perhaps be traced back to a 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decision that said the crown had a “duty to consult” with native groups when an activity had the potential to affect treaty rights. The federal government updated its guidelines for federal officials to “fulfill the duty to consult.”

OPA wants to clear the air [NAN and Solid Gold] – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – November 9, 2012)

November 9, 2012

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

The Ontario Prospectors Association says it wants to meet with high-ranking aboriginal leaders to clear the air after it was accused this week of supporting “radical and racist” tactics at a Sudbury exploration conference.

“We believe there has been a total misunderstanding about this, and we want to sit down and talk with NAN (Nishnawbe Aski Nation),” OPA executive-direct Garry Clark said Thursday from Sudbury.

Clark, who is based in Thunder Bay, emphasized that his organization is anything but racist, and said he was taken aback by the allegation.

“We’re an organization that promotes the province as a place for (mineral) exploration,” he said, noting the Sudbury conference included presentations by aboriginal representatives. About $1 billion worth of mining exploration occurred in Ontario last year, “mostly conflict-free,” among companies and First Nations, Clark added.

An uproar occurred Wednesday afternoon when NAN held a news conference at the conference to denounce what it sees “as a racist media campaign against the Wahgoshig First Nation.”

First Nations level racist charges against mining association – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – November 8, 2012)

November 9, 2012

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

A contentious presentation at a mining symposium has raised the ire of a First Nation group and community. Darryl Stretch, president and CEO of Solid Gold Resources, presented at the Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium put on by the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA) in Sudbury Nov. 6 and 7.

He has been fighting to resume exploration on his Lake Abitibi area property after an Ontario Superior Court upheld an injunction by nearby Wahgoshig First Nation to cease exploration early this year. The court also ruled that the company did not make an effort to consult with the community despite provincial requests to do so since 2009. Stretch is appealing the earlier court decision and the Divisional Court of Ontario will hear the appeal in January, 2013.

His presentation contained references to First Nations as “hostile third-party governments” and included a cartoon image of First Nation people. His main contention is that the duty to consult First Nations, in relation to exploration, lies with the Crown and not industry.

In response, Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno, along with Wahgoshig First Nation Chief David Babin, is calling on the province to withdraw its support and public endorsement of “racist and radical” mining industry representatives, and named the OPA and another group called Mining United.

NEWS RELEASE: Batchewana First Nation wants apology from Ontario Prospector’s Association

November 9, 2012

November 08, 2012

Batchewana First Nation disappointed with Ontario Prospector’s Association

On November 1, 2012, Ontario introduced new rules and tools to the Mining Act to try and balance the interests of the mineral industry, Indigenous Peoples, and private land owners.

Changes in the act attempt to make Indigenous consultation a cornerstone of mineral exploration and mine closure activities.

The Batchewana First Nation is governed by their own law and policies, which include a consultation policy and detailed permitting process that has cultivated positive working relations with several proponents such as Superior Copper Corporation and BluEarth Renewables.

Batchewana First Nation’s Natural Resource department attended the Ontario Prospectors Association’s (OPA) Exploration and Geoscience Symposium on November 7, 2012 where these changes to the Mining Act came under fire.

Solid Gold Resources Corporation President and CEO, Darryl Stretch presented a slide show titled, Deathwatch of the Resource Industry, making claims that the Ontario Government has set mining back to the Stone Age.

Wahgoshig First Nation – Ontario sending misguided message to First Nations – NNL Staff (NetNewsLedger.com – November 7, 2012)

November 8, 2012

http://www.netnewsledger.com/

SUDBURY – Mining News – Wahgoshig First Nation Chief David Babin with support from Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno is calling on Ontario to withdraw its support and public endorsement of racist and radical industry representatives, particularly members of the Mining United group and the Ontario Prospectors Association.

“Representatives of this radical association of junior mining groups has waged a racist media campaign against the Wahgoshig First Nation, who are taking a legal and principled position to defend their Treaty and aboriginal rights, as well as ensuring that Ontario meets its obligations on ‘the duty to consult’ in good faith,” said Grand Chief Yesno. “The Province of Ontario and the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines continue to send a misguided message to First Nations by supporting this group.”

Mr. Darryl Stretch who represents Mining United, and Solid Gold Resources Corporation is presenting at the 2012 Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium (OEGS) to be held in Sudbury, ON November 6 and 7 2012. The Ontario Exploration & Geoscience Symposium is coordinated by the Ontario Prospectors Association with workshops, a variety of technical presentations and exhibits.

Of concern to NAN is the continued support of Minister Rick Bartolucci for the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA), who will have a full line up of MNDM staff alongside Mr. Darryl Stretch who is scheduled to present directly to the symposium delegates. Mr. Garry Clark, Executive Director of the OPA, member of the Minister of Mines Mining Act Advisory Committee and the Ontario Geological Survey Advisory Board has also stated publicly that Mining United may become a subcommittee of the OPA organization.

Miners racist, natives charge – by Sebastien Perth (Sudbury Star – November 8, 2012)

November 8, 2012

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

Mining companies looking to work on First Nations territory should be better educated about native rights to prevent some of the racist treatment First Nations leaders charge their members have had to endure.

Dave Babin, chief of the Wahgoshig First Nation north of Kirkland Lake, singled out one company, and its president in particular, for criticism during a press conference in Sudbury on Wednesday.

Solid Gold Corporation president Darryl Stretch faced an injunction in January to stop his company from drilling near Lake Abitibi, while he consulted with the Wahgoshig First Nation.

In a Globe and Mail interview published in March, Stretch said the First Nation wanted him to pay $100,000 for a study to see if his company’s drilling went over any burial grounds.

“It’s not my obligation to go find arrowheads for those people, period,” he told the Globe. “If they don’t like you, you don’t work. What kind of deal is that? Because I didn’t do it right, the way the Indians wanted me to? Because I didn’t give them money? Because I didn’t beg them for permission to go? It’s just ridiculous, the whole concept.”

First Nations level racist charges against mining association – by Northern Ontario Business staff (November 7, 2012)

November 8, 2012

Wahgoshig First Nation Chief David Babin and Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno are calling on the province to withdraw its support of the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA) and an industry fringe group for what they term a campaign of “racism” against First Nations.

Babin and NAN were outraged by a presentation made by Darryl Stretch, president of Solid Gold Resources, at the Ontario Exploration and Geoscience Symposium in Sudbury on Nov.7. The annual event is hosted by the OPA and contains a significant provincial government presence.

Stretch is the midst of an ongoing, heated legal dispute with the Wahgoshig First Nation over an exploration drilling program at his Lake Abitibi gold play in northeastern Ontario.

Chiefs want Ontario to cut support for ‘racist, radical’ industry groups – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – November 7, 2012)

November 8, 2012

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

A junior mining company that called First Nations “hostile third-party governments” has raised the ire of indigenous leaders across Ontario.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) and Wahgoshig First Nation called on the Ontario government to withdraw its support of “racist and radical” industry representatives during a press conference in Sudbury Nov. 7.

The chiefs targeted Mining United, a group of junior exploration companies, and the Ontario Prospectors Association (OPA).

“Representatives of this radical association of junior mining groups has waged a racist media campaign against the Wahgoshig First Nation, who are taking a legal and principled position to defend their Treaty and Aboriginal rights, as well as ensuring that Ontario meets its obligations on ‘the duty to consult’ in good faith,” said NAN Grand Chief Harvey Yesno in a press release. “The Province of Ontario and the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines continue to send a misguided message to First Nations by supporting this group.”

NEWS RELEASE: NAN GRAND CHIEF CALLS ON PROVINCE TO WITHDRAW ITS SUPPORT OF RADICAL MINING INDUSTRY GROUPS

November 8, 2012

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUDBURY, ON: Wahgoshig First Nation Chief David Babin with support from Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno is calling on Ontario to withdraw its support and public endorsement of racist and radical industry representatives, particularly members of the Mining United group and the Ontario Prospectors Association.

The Ontario Exploration & Geoscience Symposium is coordinated by the Ontario Prospectors Association with workshops, a variety of technical presentations and exhibits.

The invisible gold rush – by Sean Phipps (The McGill Daily – November 5, 2012)

November 5, 2012

http://www.mcgilldaily.com/

Sean Phipps is a U2 Latin American Studies and Environment student. He can be reached at sean.phipps@mail.mcgill.ca.

Canadian imperialism and the gold mining boom

As I write this the price of gold is $1,776.80 an ounce, the highest it’s ever been, up from $1,023.50 in 2008 and $282.40 in 1999. Global economic instability has fueled this dramatic spike, and along with it a massive increase in gold production, an expansion that some have termed “an invisible gold rush.”

In Canada we – or at least some of us – directly benefit from this expansion. 75 per cent of the world’s mining companies (in both production and exploration) are Canadian registered, and several of the industry’s biggest players such as Barrick, Goldcorp, and Kinross are Canadian. And, with a government increasingly working to reflect the needs and interests of the extractive industry, these companies have emerged as key dictators of our country’s economic and foreign policy.

As a country, we are increasingly tied to gold. It is with this in mind that I chose to look at the long and often brutal history of gold mining, the way in which we have viewed gold over time, and to help piece together our strange relationship with this mineral.

Why gold? What has led us to value it above all other substances? Looking at a sample in the display cases in the Redpath Museum, it is hard to deny its beauty. However, gold’s real power has always been symbolic, for gold is wealth itself.

Amnesty International Film Festival: Canadian conquistadores exposed in Under Rich Earth – by Martin Dunphy (Georgia Straight – November 1, 2012)

November 2, 2012

http://www.straight.com/

Villagers in a remote Ecuadorian valley band together to repulse rapacious Canucks

The documentary Under Rich Earth, screening at this year’s Vancouver Amnesty International Film Festival, has been in release for a couple of years now, but don’t let that stop you from checking it out if you haven’t already done so.

Popular docs such as Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry and Big Boys Gone Bananas!*, both of which are also part of this latest installment of Amnesty’s local exposition, do a good job of uncovering government and corporate malfeascence.

The appeal of Under Rich Earth—which details the struggle in Ecuador, a putative democracy, of poor farmers against police, politicians, and paramilitaries in the employ of a Canadian mining company—is how it fits into the part of Amnesty’s mandate that commits the volunteer-activist organization to fight against political killings and disappearances.

Neither of those outrages are inflicted on those portrayed here, but the film details the myriad small steps—including corporate spin-doctoring, police co-optation, economic suasion, the division of communities, and, finally, threats, bogus legal charges, and physical intimidation and harm—that often lead to those ultimate violations of human rights.

Opposition on uranium mines won’t change: Cree – by Michelle Lalonde (Montreal Gazette – October 23, 2012)

October 24, 2012

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

MONTREAL — The next step in the proposed uranium mine project near Mistissini in northern Quebec got a green light from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission last week, but even the commission acknowledges that the Cree Nation is waving a big red stop sign.

Chief Robert Shecapio flew down to Montreal from his community of Mistissini, north of Chibaugamau, this month to draw attention to his community’s intense opposition to uranium mining. That position is held widely across the nine Cree nations of northern Quebec, not to mention hundreds of municipalities all over the province that have passed resolutions against it.

“We are not opposed to any other kind of development foreseen in our territory … (but as for uranium), our opposition will not change.” Shecapio told The Gazette last week.

The Matoush Project is the most advanced of about 20 proposed uranium mining projects for northern Quebec, and was part of the defeated Liberal government’s much-vaunted Plan Nord. While the Parti Québécois called for a moratorium on uranium mining in 2009, the party was less clear on the issue during the recent election campaign.

Environment Minister Daniel Breton and his aide Danielle Rioux have refused repeated requests for an interview with The Gazette on the issue over the last two weeks.

B.C. government investigating claims about Chinese recruiters looking for miners – by Jeremy Nuttall (Vancouver Sun – October 23, 2012)

October 23, 2012

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Canadian Press – VANCOUVER – The provincial government is investigating after the B.C. Federation of Labour complained an employment agency has been advertising for Canadian jobs, offering miners in China a chance to work here in exchange for exorbitant recruitment fees.

The investigation was launched because it is against the Employment Standards Act to charge a foreign worker a fee for information about employment or help them find a job in the province. Workers also cannot be forced to pay back any costs associated with recruitment to the company or agency.

“It is a serious allegation,” said Jobs Minister Pat Bell of a news release issued by Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour. “I hope he has substance to it. If he does, we will get to the bottom of it.”

But that’s not good enough for the B.C. Federation of Labour, which has been a vocal critic of the decision earlier this month to allow foreign, temporary workers into B.C. coal mines. “The only sensible thing to do is to suspend the permits and conduct a full investigation,” Sinclair said in the release.

PRESS RELEASE: NUCLEAR: DOCTORS SUPPORT THE MORATORIUM ON URANIUM EXPLORATION AND LAUNCH OF A GENERIC BAPE PROCESS FOR URANIUM MINES IN QUEBEC

October 23, 2012

PHYSICIANS FOR GLOBAL SURVIVAL (CANADA)

2012.10.23

Physicians for Global Survival (Canada) says it is in total agreement with Quebec Environment Minister Daniel Breton’s decision to impose a moratorium on uranium exploration and to launch a generic BAPE process regarding uranium mining in Quebec.

Some Canadian provinces and US States have already enacted a moratorium on uranium exploration and use: British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Virginia. We firmly believe that Quebec must follow suit and that it should seriously study the risks associated with this industry.

There are many reasons why PGS opposes the development of uranium exploration and mining. The first one is that this industry spews enormous quantities of toxic and radioactive wastes into the environment (80-85 per cent of the initial ore mass). Some of these substances have half-lives of thousands of years. Others, such as radon gas, can travel far from the mine site and contaminate the environment. The risk of air, land, groundwater and surface water contamination is quite significant.

We wish to underline that the health risks associated with radioactive substances are already well known and that this knowledge is getting better and better. Uranium causes bone and kidney pathologies and is toxic to the neurological system, liver and embryo.

Melancthon mega-quarry: It’s limestone vs. potatoes – by David Suzuki (Toronto Star – October 19, 2012)

October 22, 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.

David Suzuki is a scientist and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation communications specialist Jode Roberts.

A billion tonnes of limestone lie beneath the rural countryside in Melancthon township, 100 kilometres north of Toronto. A plan to remove it spotlights the challenges faced everywhere when the desire to protect valuable and ever-diminishing farmland clashes with efforts to push industrial development.

The Highland Companies, backed by a $25-billion Boston hedge fund, hopes to blast a big hole in this fertile land to get at a deposit of 400-million-year-old sedimentary rock. The pit would cover more than 930 hectares and be almost 20 storeys deep — the second-largest quarry operation in North America, and the largest in Canadian history.

According to the company’s proposal, moving this much rock will require 20,000 kilograms of explosives a day for the next few decades, and hundreds of trucks and heavy machines. The proposed quarry would be 200 feet below the water table — vertically deeper than Niagara Falls, and twice as wide.