Mining Conflict and Opposition – Page 70

Environment Canada raises alarms on chromite mining development in Ring of Fire – by Tanya Talaga (Toronto Star – June 26, 2012)

June 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.

The same toxic material that Erin Brockovich discovered in the water of a small California town could pollute northern Ontario due to chromite mining in the Ring of Fire, documents obtained by the Star show.

Environment Canada has raised a series of red flags regarding a massive chromite mining initiative in the Ring of Fire, located 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. The federal ministry warned in a letter to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency of potential adverse effects of mine waste, including the carcinogen chromium-6.

The letter is further proof of the need for proper environmental assessments on the Ring of Fire — something environmental advocates and First Nations leaders say has yet to happen.

However, Kate Jordan, an official with Ontario Ministry of the Environment, told the Star mining projects undergo “extensive reviews and approvals by a number of provincial and federal agencies” to make sure the environment is protected.

[Ontario] Premier determined to mine Ring of Fire, despite opposition – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – June 23, 2012)

June 23, 2012

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

“We’ve been blessed with some rich mineral deposits (in Ontario). There will be
some stops and starts (in the development), as is human nature,” he said. “If
you bring some good will to the table, it’s amazing what you can get done.”
(Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty – June 22, 2012 – Sudbury)

Premier Dalton McGuinty is determined to work through any complications that threaten Ring of Fire development, he said while at a Vale event in Sudbury. “We need to find a way to work through any differences,” he said. “It’s not an option not to find a way.”

McGuinty’s comments come after six northwestern Ontario First Nations communities threatened to prepare eviction notices for mining companies working in the Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich area located about 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay. These communities are demanding to be more involved in any decisions made in the area.

When asked if he is concerned about growing First Nations opposition to Ring of Fire development, McGuinty remained optimistic.

“We’ve been blessed with some rich mineral deposits (in Ontario). There will be some stops and starts (in the development), as is human nature,” he said. “If you bring some good will to the table, it’s amazing what you can get done.”

First Nations plan to evict mining ‘intruders’ – CBC Radio Thunder Bay (June 22, 2012)

June 23, 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Northwestern Ontario communities aim to stop development in the Ring of Fire until First Nations’ concerns are met. Six northwestern Ontario First Nations are preparing eviction notices for mining companies working in the Ring of Fire.

Aroland, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming , Long Lake 58, Neskantaga and Nibinamik plan to give the companies 30 days to cease all activity.

Neskantaga chief Peter Moonias said unless there are government-to-government negotiations over First Nations’ participation in the mining projects, the communities will evict what he calls the intruders on their lands. The chiefs have been calling for those negotiations for more than two years.

“Cliffs, Noront and all the other mining companies active in the Ring of Fire will have 30 days from the time the eviction notice is served to pack up their bags and leave our lands,” Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation said. His comments were echoed by Chief Johnny Yellowhead of Nibinamik First Nation.

MEDIA RELEASE: Chiefs Take Action and Prepare Eviction Notice to Mining Companies working in the Ring of Fire

June 22, 2012

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA – JUNE 22, 2012: Six Northern Ontario First Nations who will be impacted by the proposed mines and infrastructure development in the Ring of Fire are in the final stages of issuing a 30-day eviction notice to all mining companies with exploration and development camps in the region. The forthcoming eviction notice for a moratorium on all Ring of Fire mining activity will come from the First Nation communities of Aroland, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming, Longlake #58, Neskantaga, and Nibinamik. Other First Nations in the area will also have the opportunity to sign on before it is distributed.

Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation said, “Cliffs, Noront and all the other mining companies active in the Ring of Fire will have thirty days from the time the eviction notice is served to pack up their bags and leave our lands.”

Chief Peter Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation said, “We are sending a strong message to Ontario and Canada that we need to negotiate a process for First Nation participation in the mining projects that will be changing our lives forever. Unless and until we have a table for government to government negotiations we will evict the intruders from our lands.”

Chief Johnny Yellowhead of Nibinamik First Nation said, “All the Memorandums of Cooperation in the world cannot hide the fact that there are no negotiations or agreements in place with Ontario and Canada to deliver First Nation decision making, a full and thorough regional environmental assessment with hearings in our communities and resource revenue sharing.

Ring of Fire moving too fast, say chiefs – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – June 20, 2012)

June 20, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Development of the Ring of Fire is moving far too fast for First Nations to adequately prepare, say the chiefs of two northern First Nations whose traditional lands overlap the proposed mining area.

Both Chief Eli Moonias of Marten Falls First Nation and Chief Cornelius Wabasse of Webequie First Nation say they are not against development, and they both want to ensure that First Nations benefit from any mining projects that do go ahead in their area.

But both agree that current pace of planning for the Ring of Fire, and the proposed schedule laid out by Cliffs Natural Resources for the first project in the region, does not give their communities time to prepare for the major changes facing them.

“I’d like to have time before everything starts so that we’re satisfied that we’re taking the right direction, so we’re not jumping to conclusions here,” Moonias said.

Marten Falls wants to further explore negotiations with the provincial government over resource revenue sharing, Moonias said. He also wants to see what happens with the judicial review of the environmental assessment, currently before the courts, before making any decisions on whether to support or oppose the proposed Ring of Fire projects.

Pacific Rim Mining locked in closely watched fight with El Salvador – by Jeff Gray (Globe and Mail – June 20, 2012)

June 20, 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.

Tom Shrake, the American mining industry veteran who heads Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining Corp., is nothing if not an optimist.

He’s had no end of troubles: His staff in El Salvador have faced intimidation at gunpoint by local opponents of his proposed mine. Anti-mining groups have accused his company of involvement in the killings of local activists, charges he vehemently denies and for which he says there is no evidence. And the government of the tiny, impoverished country has decided to block all mining within El Salvador’s borders out of fear that a mishap could contaminate the country’s water supply.

But Mr. Shrake says he remains committed to digging for gold and, he argues, digging the local population in northern El Salvador out of poverty. This month, he got a green light to keep fighting for that plan from a World Bank investment tribunal in Washington – a fight being watched closely by the mining industry, international trade lawyers and anti-mining activists.

“We don’t want to go to court. We never wanted to go to court … But they left us no choice,” Mr. Shrake said in an interview from Reno, Nevada, where he is based.

The New Conquistadors [Canadian Miners Conlfict/Image in Panama] – Mellissa Fung, Paul Seeler and Lynn Burgess (CBC National News Documentary – June 18, 2012)

April 5, 2015June 20, 2012

Click here to watch the documentary “The New Conqistadors”: http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/thenewconquistadors/

Starting in the early 16th Century, Spanish explorers arrived in Central and South America in search of gold, silver and spices. While the term “Spanish Conquistadors” references an era of great Spanish power and influence, for the indigenous people living in the lands the Conquistadors reached, it was considered a time of exploitation, disease and oppression.

Five hundred years later, there are some – particularly in the indigenous communities of Latin America – who are seeing this as new era of economic conquest, one with significant environmental and social consequences. This time, the new “conquerors” are Canadian mining companies.

These “new conquistadors” have generated enormous wealth for Canada and the countries in which they do business. Canadian mining companies often have “sustainable development” programs that provide a range of opportunities for locals and attempt to offset the negative environmental effects of mining. However, the economic, environmental and social changes these mines bring to rural communities have generated considerable debate in Latin America. This project is intended as a catalyst for discussion.

Reaching agreements [Ring of Fire First Nations] – by Jodi Lundmark (Tbnewswatch.com – June 19, 2012)

June 20, 2012

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

The chief of Neskantaga First Nation wants a government-to-government agreement for decision-making on matters concerning the Ring of Fire. Chief Peter Moonias wants to see the Ontario government and First Nations leaders sitting at the same table, talking to each other and creating an agreement on how to make decisions for resource development in the north.

“That’s what I want to see. That’s what’s needed up there or else we’re going to forever be doing this fighting all the time,” said Moonias.

The province has an obligation to consult with each First Nation and Moonias said he hasn’t been talked to by anyone from the government or any of the mining companies. He said speaking to just a few of the First Nations won’t work because one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to the Ring of Fire. Moonias also said they want an environmental assessment done before development begins.

“It has to happen whether people like it or not. The impacts on that thing is so great. I don’t think very many people know how serious that mine is going to be, how big that mine is going to be,” he said.

Neskantaga targets Ring of Fire access road – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – June 19, 2012)

June 19, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Neskantanga First Nation is stepping up efforts to block Cliffs’ proposed transportation corridor to the Ring of Fire. Last week the Mattawa First Nation launched a two-pronged attack on the 340-kilometer, all weather access road that Cliffs wants to run south from the Ring of Fire to Nakina.

With its first move, Neskantaga applied to an obscure Ontario mining court to decide whether the First Nation has rights to the land over which the corridor would be built.

Then on June 13 lawyers for Neskantaga issued a letter to Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Michael Chan, demanding that Ontario refrain from authorizing Cliffs to do archeological work on land the transportation corridor would be built on.

“The current road proposal encompasses areas used traditionally by Neskantaga members and ancestors, and in particular sites at which Neskantaga members are buried,” wrote Gregory McDade of Ratcliff and Company LLP in the letter to Chan.

Federal minister’s comments cause First Nation backlash – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – June 13, 2012)

June 14, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

The federal government’s minister of FedNor has ignited a backlash from First Nations leaders around the Ring of Fire by saying that delaying development is ‘inexcusable.’

Conservative MP Tony Clement told reporters in Thunder Bay on June 11 that while the government takes its obligation to consult with First Nations seriously, it will not give First Nations communities a veto over development.

Clement was answering questions about comments made by Neskantaga First Nation Chief Peter Moonias that he would die before allowing a Ring of Fire road to cross the Attawapiskat River.

“There’s going to be headlines here or there when somebody walks away from the table and then marches back to the table,” Clement told TB Newswatch. “But at the end of the day we find ways where the private sector can work with First Nations, can work with governments to ensure these projects can go ahead in a sensible manner.”

Grassy Narrows and the priorities of Joe Oliver – by Peter Andre Globensky (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 11, 2012)

June 14, 2012

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

Peter Andre Globensky, a resident of Thunder Bay, is the former CEO of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, the intergovernmental agency responsible for advancing and harmonizing environmental protection in Canada. He was also an ex-officio member of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy.

Forty years ago I had the privilege of securing financial resources for First Nation representatives seeking redress from Dryden Pulp and Paper (Reed) for the suffering inflicted on the residents of Grassy Narrows and the destruction of their life-sustaining ecosystem.

Beginning in 1962 and without the benefit of environmental regulation, the company dumped nearly 10 tons of methyl mercury, a lethal neurotoxin, into the Wabigoon River. Bio-accumulating in fish, it poisoned First Nation residents dependent on this vital food source.

Four decades later as recent protests at Queen’s Park will attest, the suffering in Grassy Narrows continues. Back then, it was all justified in the name of job creation and legitimate profit. Or, as Joe Oliver and Greg Rickford would have us believe, the price of progress.

Marten Falls questions true cost of Ring of Fire – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – June 13, 2012)

June 13, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

Marten Falls First Nation knows it holds many cards when it comes to the Ring of Fire. And Chief Eli Moonias is not afraid to say no, if the government and industry do not work with the First Nations on developing the mines.

He just has not seen the need to say no yet. “There’s no development yet. There’s only a proposed development,” Moonias said. “As for the benefits, that is yet to come. That’s what we’re concerned about.”

Moonias outlined a range of challenges and concerns his First Nation has with the proposed Ring of Fire developments during a meeting with reporters in the community on June 7. Paramount among Moonias’ concerns is the potential for environmental pollution of the land, water and animals.

Marten Falls is well aware of the Athabasca River example in Alberta, Moonias said. He does not want to be in the same situation in the future as First Nations downstream of Alberta’s oilsands find themselves today, with pollution in the water and air, and fish and animals contaminated from the mines.

Regulate mining industry or expect more conflict, say leaders – by Shawn Bell (Wawatay News – June 12, 2012)

June 13, 2012

http://www.wawataynews.ca/

First Nation leaders are criticizing the Ontario government’s new mining act, saying it puts too much faith in industry to “do the right thing” without adequate monitoring or regulations ensure meaningful consultation happens.

In a six-page letter to the Minister of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM), Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) pointed out a range of flaws with phase two regulations, including concerns over the lack of compliance monitoring and enforcement.

“First Nations should not be asked to trust that companies will do the right thing,” NAN’s letter states. “There must be ongoing monitoring of all project sites, to ensure companies are properly motivated to comply with permit terms.”

According to NAN’s letter, the government has said it will identify the “bad apples” among exploration companies over time. “The only way this would happen is by letting them spoil the land, perhaps even more than once, and then stop it from happening in the future,” NAN wrote. “This reactionary approach is not acceptable.”

First Nation wants ‘ultimate say’ on mine project, chief says – (CBC Radio Thunder Bay – June 12, 2012)

June 12, 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Marten Falls First Nation Chief Eli Moonias says province must recognize their voice

When the Chief of Marten Falls First Nation met with the Ontario mining minister Tuesday, he planned to tell him it’s time for the province to follow through on its treaty promises.

Minister Rick Bartolucci was expected to explain the province’s proposed framework for moving ahead with the Ring of Fire mining development and what benefits it might bring the First Nation. Chief Eli Moonias said the people in Marten Falls are looking for a lot more than the small amount of money each band member receives on treaty day.

“Since 1905, all we have had with the province is the four dollars per year that they pay,” Moonias said. “Now, here is an opportunity to do treaty implementation.” Moonias said that means the province must recognize First Nations will have the ultimate say in how — or even if — a mine is built.

Wolf Lake mining claim gets renewed – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – June 1, 2012)

June 1, 2012

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

The Ontario government has extended mining exploration rights on the largest remaining stand of old-growth red pine forests left in the province.

In a much-anticipated statement Thursday, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci made clear it was his government’s obligation to extend long-standing mining claims in Wolf Lake.

Under Ontario’s Living Legacy land use strategy, Wolf Lake’s Forest Reserve designation allows the mining claims and leases held by Flag Resources in the Wolf Lake area north of Greater Sudbury to continue.

“The company has met the renewal criteria established under the Mining Act and is entitled to have its lease renewed,” Bartolucci said. Located 50 kilometres northeast of Sudbury, Wolf Lake lies in the Temagami district. It is beloved by hikers and canoeists for its soaring stands of 300- year-old red pines and deep blue lakes.

Naomi Grant, of the Wolf Lake Coalition, said extending the claim clearly runs counter to the ministry’s own guidelines. “According to public records, very little activity has occurred on this lease for the past 30 years,” she said.