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Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

Can the Crown make land decisions without First Nations consent? Treaty 9 lawsuit argues no – by Logan Turner (CBC News Thunder Bay – April 26,2023)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Lawyer calls lawsuit ‘frontal attack’ on colonial idea governments have ‘supreme right to rule’

Several First Nations have announced their intention to take the Ontario and Canadian governments to court, in a lawsuit their lead lawyer says could fundamentally change the way resource and land management decisions are made in the Treaty 9 area.

Leaders from 10 First Nations are at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Wednesday morning to speak at a news conference. They’re filing their notice of action for the lawsuit to Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice.

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Analysis: Earning First Nations’ trust on resource projects – by Donna Kennedy-Glans (National Post/Wiarton Echo – April 16, 2023)

https://www.wiartonecho.com/

The Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario is one lynchpin in America’s green energy moonshot. Unearthing mineral deposits more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay is essential to Ontario’s future as an electric vehicle manufacturing hub. But what happens if some local First Nations want nothing to do with mining critical minerals?

In western Canada, we’ve struggled at times to develop resources, build energy infrastructure, and export oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) — with the support of Indigenous communities. There’s no straight-forward path. When a successful project emerges, it’s worthwhile taking a closer look.

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Book excerpt: How the sparks of conflict in Ontario’s Ring of Fire set alight (Northern Miner – April 13, 2023)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Click Here to Order Book: https://amzn.to/3FVk4hK

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 10, “From backrooms to bulldozers,” of Ring of Fire: High Stakes Mining in a Lowlands Wilderness, written by Virginia Heffernan and published by ECW Press. This chapter details how a clash between Indigenous rights, Ontario’s Mining Act and hapless politicians sets the stage for conflict in the mineral-rich region.

Dalton McGuinty was Ontario premier in 2007 when the Ring of Fire was discovered. At the time, the courts were starting to consistently side with First Nations across Canada over the right to be consulted about development on their traditional lands. The province was clumsily playing catch-up.

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Province needs better dialogue with First Nations on mining: NDP – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – April 2023)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Hearing in Sudbury told that Bill 71 would amend the Mining Act aimed at shortening the time it takes to open new mines in Ontario

Northern Ontario New Democrats have accused the provincial government of reverting to a divide-and-conquer strategy that echoes the colonial past while consulting with First Nations on resource development such as the Ring of Fire.

Sol Mamakwa, MPP for Kiiwetinoong in northwestern Ontario and NDP critic for Northern Development, as well as Indigenous and Treaty Relations, was in Sudbury on Thursday for public hearings on Bill 71, the Building More Mines Act.

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Opponents to Mining Act changes accuse government of ‘politicizing’ the permitting process – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 10, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Neskantaga chief will only meet with Premier Doug Ford to discuss the Ring of Fire

Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias said he’ll only deal with Ontario Premier Doug Ford when it comes to having a dialogue on the Ring of Fire.

Moonias made his position clear in a virtual presentation with provincial politicians sitting on the Standing Committee for the Interior at an April 6 gathering in Sudbury on Bill 71, the Building More Mines Act, a raft of amendments being proposed for Ontario’s Mining Act.

Moonias said he won’t talk with the mining companies, not with any proponents, not with government staff, not even with cabinet ministers like Mines Minister George Pirie. “I’m only going to talk to the premier.”

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Ring of Fire book sheds new light on conflict in James Bay Lowlands – by Gary Rinne (SNNewsWatch.com – April 10, 2023)

https://www.snnewswatch.com/

Click Here to Order Book: https://amzn.to/3FVk4hK

Author Virginia Heffernan feels the Ring of Fire can still be a global model of sustainable resource development

The author of a new book about Northwestern Ontario’s Ring of Fire mineral zone believes a way can be found to overcome the obstacles that prevent its development. Virginia Heffernan feels no mine can be constructed without First Nations having a stake in it and unless the necessary measures are taken to protect the delicate environment of the James Bay Lowlands.

But in Ring of Fire – High Stakes Mining in a Lowlands Wilderness – the exploration geo-scientist turned mining journalist writes that she doesn’t think sustainable development is necessarily “an oxymoron in this fragile land.”

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Excerpt from Ring of Fire: High-Stakes Mining in a Lowlands Wilderness – by Virginia Heffernan (April 6, 2023)

Click Here to Order Book: https://amzn.to/3FVk4hK

A valuable discovery under the world’s second-largest temperate wetland and in the traditional lands of the Cree and Ojibway casts light on the growing conflict among resource development, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous rights

When prospectors discovered a gigantic crescent of metal deposits under the James Bay Lowlands of northern Canada in 2007, the find touched off a mining rush, lured a major American company to spend fortunes in the remote swamp, and forced politicians to confront their legal duty to consult Indigenous Peoples about development on their traditional territories. But the multibillion-dollar Ring of Fire was all but abandoned when stakeholders failed to reach a consensus on how to develop the cache despite years of negotiations and hundreds of millions of dollars in spending. Now plans for an all-weather road to connect the region to the highway network are reigniting the fireworks.

In this colorful tale, Virginia Heffernan draws on her bush and newsroom experiences to illustrate the complexities of resource development at a time when Indigenous rights are becoming enshrined globally. Ultimately, Heffernan strikes a hopeful note: the Ring of Fire presents an opportunity for Canada to leave behind centuries of plunder and set the global standard for responsible development of minerals critical to the green energy revolution.

EXCERPT: Ring of Fire – Transformative Changes For First Nations Embracing Mining Development – by Virginia Heffernan

If you journey north from the coastal communities of Moose Factory and Attawapiskat, hugging the curvaceous eastern shoreline of James and then Hudson Bay, you eventually reach the inlet that leads to the hamlet of Baker Lake in Nunavut. It’s the geographic centre of Canada. Baker Lake has been transformed by gold mining over the past decade.

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Federal funding set aside to build road through Ring of Fire – by Brian Kelly (Timmins Daily Press – April 5, 2023)

https://www.timminspress.com/

SAULT STE. MARIE — The federal government is in talks with Ontario about funding support for a road to the Ring of Fire, but Transport Minister Omar Alghabra isn’t committing to a specific date about when cash is coming to help gain access to the site’s critical minerals.

The Ring of Fire, located within the James Bay lowlands, contains chromite, copper, nickel and palladium. There is no road access. “Critical minerals are an integral part of the economy of the future and our government recognizes that,” Alghabra told The Sault Star following an announcement at PUC Services on Wednesday touting his government’s 2023 budget.

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Why Mining Has Some Indigenous Leaders Pushing Back – TV Ontario’s The Agenda host Jeyan Jeganathan interviews Chief Rudy Turtle, Grassy Narrows First Nation; Cecelia Begg, head councilor of Big Trout Lake First Nation; Chief Wayne Moonias, outgoing chief of Neskantaga First Nations (April 4,2023)

https://www.tvo.org/theagenda

Recently, a contingent travelled to Toronto as part of the First Nations Land Defence Alliance to push back on mining development in the province. In part they are reacting to excitement over a massive deposit dubbed the Ring of Fire, more than 400 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, that is rich in nickel, chromite, and other critical minerals.

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Matawa Chiefs call out province’s ‘exploitive, aggressive’ mine building strategy – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 3, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

James Bay treaty chiefs accuse province of lack of consultation in overhaul of Mining Act

An Indigenous leadership group from the Northwest and Far North is objecting to the Ford government’s “legislative bulldozer” attempt to put more mines into production faster.

Bill 71, the Building More Mines Act, is getting some blowback from the Matawa Chiefs Council, a Thunder Bay-headquartered alliance of both road-accessible and remote communities in a region that’s exploding with exploration activity and includes the undeveloped mineral-rich Ring of Fire area.

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‘You’re not listening to us’: Some First Nations warn they will resist Ontario’s Ring of Fire development – by Isaac Phan Nay (National Observer – March 30, 2023)

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

Leaders from five First Nations in northern Ontario gathered at the province’s legislature Wednesday vowing to resist proposed mining development near their lands. “We will take a stand, whatever that looks like,” Wayne Moonias, chief of Neskantaga First Nation, said. “Enough is enough.”

Representing the Neskantaga, Grassy Narrows, Muskrat Dam, Wapekeka and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nations, the leaders and community members called for a meeting with Premier Doug Ford and warned they would continue to resist if Ontario allowed development near their lands without further consultation.

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First Nations leaders removed from legislature after protesting mining development – by (The Trilliam – Aidan Chamandy – March 29, 2023)

https://www.thetrillium.ca/

It was the second time this month that leaders from the Neskantaga First Nation were at Queen’s Park to ask for a meeting with Premier Doug Ford.

Two First Nations leaders were removed from the Queen’s Park chamber on Wednesday after disrupting question period over what they say is a government trampling on their rights by speeding ahead with mining developments.

Neskantaga Chief Wayne Moonias and incoming chief Chris Moonias were sitting in the visitors’ gallery during question period when NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa asked Premier Doug Ford if the government would stop moving forward with its plans to develop the Ring of Fire over some First Nations’ objections.

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GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO STATEMENT: Ontario Responds to the Federal Government’s Budget 2023 (March 28, 2023)

OTTAWA — Today, Ontario’s Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy issued the following statement in response to the federal government’s Budget 2023:

“Our government appreciates the federal government working with us in a number of areas to help Ontario families, workers, and businesses. Together, we have attracted billions of dollars in investments, putting Ontario and Canada back on the map as an automotive powerhouse, including Volkswagen’s recent announcement that it has chosen St. Thomas as the new home of its first-ever offshore battery plant.

The Government of Canada’s 2023 budget provides significant support responding to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act with investment tax credits in clean electricity, including small modular reactors, and clean technology manufacturing and extraction of critical minerals.

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First Nations protesting Ontario’s accelerated mining development plans – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – March 29, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Five First Nations communities are planning to stare down Doug Ford in the Ontario Legislature Wednesday, alleging that the Premier is railroading through mining development without their consent.

Leaders of Neskantaga, KI, Grassy Narrows, Wapekeka and Muskrat Dam First Nations said in a statement they are converging on Queen’s Park with a message to Premier Ford that pushing through mining on their lands against their will, “courts conflict and violates their rights.”

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Excerpt from Ring of Fire: High-Stakes Mining in a Lowlands Wilderness – by Virginia Heffernan (March 27, 2023)

Click Here to Order Book: https://amzn.to/3FVk4hK

A valuable discovery under the world’s second-largest temperate wetland and in the traditional lands of the Cree and Ojibway casts light on the growing conflict among resource development, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous rights

When prospectors discovered a gigantic crescent of metal deposits under the James Bay Lowlands of northern Canada in 2007, the find touched off a mining rush, lured a major American company to spend fortunes in the remote swamp, and forced politicians to confront their legal duty to consult Indigenous Peoples about development on their traditional territories. But the multibillion-dollar Ring of Fire was all but abandoned when stakeholders failed to reach a consensus on how to develop the cache despite years of negotiations and hundreds of millions of dollars in spending. Now plans for an all-weather road to connect the region to the highway network are reigniting the fireworks.

In this colorful tale, Virginia Heffernan draws on her bush and newsroom experiences to illustrate the complexities of resource development at a time when Indigenous rights are becoming enshrined globally. Ultimately, Heffernan strikes a hopeful note: the Ring of Fire presents an opportunity for Canada to leave behind centuries of plunder and set the global standard for responsible development of minerals critical to the green energy revolution.

EXCERPT: Ring of Fire – Geological Richness on a World-Class Supersize Scale – by Virginia Heffernan

Geologists now speculate that the only way Nemis’s ring could contain so much mantle-derived (or ultramafic) magma and metal is if some cataclysmic geological event, such as two continents colliding or separating, had cracked open the basement rocks….

Now cast your mind back 2.7 billion years. The crust is splitting apart just west of the current imprint of Hudson Bay. The crust is thinner and the core hotter than now, creating a lot of melted mantle with nowhere to go. So as soon as a rift opens up, the restless magma lets loose and ascends….

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