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[Northwestern Ontario] Leaders want action on mining infrastructure – by Bryan Meadows (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – August 22, 2012)

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

Northwestern Ontario municipal leaders are outlining their priorities this week during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario annual conference in Ottawa. One of those priorities, being touted by the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association, is that the province lead plans for mining infrastructure in the region.

“Northwestern Ontario is on the cusp of a mining explosion, and we need to ensure that both government and opposition members recognize the full impact of these developments for the province,” NOMA president Ron Nelson said Tuesday.

“This is not just a northern project as it has the potential to drive the economy of Ontario for decades to come,” he said, adding that “the province needs to take the lead by planning, developing and owning the roads and energy infrastructure that is needed to support mining developments in the Northwest.”

“It will be expensive, however,” Nelson said, “the return on that investment through provincial tax revenues over the next 100 years will be immense.”

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The price of [power-plant] conversion – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (August 13, 2012)

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

ONTARIO’S plan to close all of its coal-fired power plants by 2014 has suffered another setback and a Thunder Bay city councillor wants to make sure it doesn’t last long. Larry Hebert, a former city hydro official, has revealed that conversion of the Thunder Bay Generating Station from coal to natural gas is on hold because two branches of Ontario’s energy kingdom can’t agree on price. Hebert worries that advancing climate changes could result in a combination of low winter snow and summer drought that stretches hydro dams’ ability to power the Northwest coinciding with the scheduled plant closure in just over two years.

Ontario has failed to meet earlier targets to shut down the dirty coal plants because it could not get alternate energy sources up and running. It is now trying to encourage wind and solar power projects while it converts the remaining coal plants to gas or, in the case of Atikokan, forest biomass. And it cancelled two gas plant projects in southern Ontario to save Liberal seats in the last election, the costs of which will be staggering.

These are all large-scale projects that need long lead times and jobs of this scale inevitably run into delays. That is why Hebert wants council to agree tonight to petition the Energy minister to force a price agreement to get the Thunder Bay plant conversion back on track.

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Northwest Ontario women form professional mining group – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – August 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.

Women in Mining

Women working in the mining sector in northwestern Ontario are giving back to the community, while simultaneously striving to change the perception of mining as a dirty industry.
 
Thunder Bay is now home to the newest chapter of Women in Mining, an international organization that promotes the professional development of women working in the mining and metals sectors and advocates for the industry.
 
Formed in 2007, the organization has more than 700 women registered around the globe, and includes chapters in Toronto, Saskatchewan, Vancouver, Manitoba, Montreal and Winnipeg.
 
Barb Courte, owner of Northstar Drilling Inc. and Cobra Drilling Inc., was inspired to form the northwestern Ontario chapter after attending a Women in Mining function in Vancouver. Proceeds from a silent auction hosted by the group were being set aside for children’s breakfast programs in the area.

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Atleo must use mandate [resource development] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (July 20, 2012)

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

IT turns out that claims of a close race putting Shawn Atleo in danger of defeat were off the mark. But while the incumbent is back in charge of the Assembly of First Nations with a comfortable majority and a renewed mandate, his challenge is greater than ever. Challenges, really, for there are two.

First, he must quell those voices among First Nations who claim Atleo is too tight with Ottawa. Healthy consultation will achieve more than still more confrontation which now wearies many Canadians.

Atleo’s second obstacle is cobbling together something resembling a united front among an assembly of traditionally but notoriously independent members in order to convince them and the other levels of government to build a model of success around a new natural resources boom.

For the first time ever there exists a path for First Nations to lift themselves out of the poverty and dependence that for most is the norm. The exceptions have been those whose leaders used opportunity to their advantage. Whether it was building a local economy around business or the proximity of forests, oil, gas or minerals, there are a relative few First Nations who got out of the old traps and built a new life for their people.

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Find a way to get [Ring of Fire] started – by Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (July 2, 2012)

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

THE BIGGEST development in Ontario — and potential salvation of the troubled northern economy — is facing a new set of challenges from First Nations leaders. They are issuing an eviction notice to all mining companies with operations in the Ring of Fire mineral deposit. And they are suing the province for unpaid royalties on former development projects in the North.

There is so much at stake, and so much opportunity to uplift lives on and off reserves, that it would be a shame to let the development bog down if there are ways to make it happen in good time.

First, can we get a definitive statement from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty, who have discussed the development, on why a lesser study for environmental assessment is sufficient for the project rather than a more comprehensive joint review panel? This approach fits with the federal government’s new policy push to lessen environmental oversight on large energy projects, but is it the right decision? Does McGuinty agree with it?

This project will see open pit mining for decades and a long road built through virgin forest from the James Bay lowlands to the CN rail line. Does it require an environmental assessment that results in public hearings in each of the affected First Nations as their leaders contend?

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Questions and answers [about Ring of Fire] – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (June 27, 2012)

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

DETAILS have a way of getting in the way of ideas. You just get rolling when something unexpected stands in your way. How you deal with it determines if you succeed, fail or get bogged down. That’s where the huge potential of Ontario’s giant mining development sits — bogged down in jurisdictional disputes and, as of this week, a fundamental misunderstanding of events among Ontarians who had never heard of the Ring of Fire before a pollster called.

The Municipality of Greenstone and Aroland First Nation, both of which had sought consideration as sites for a chromite smelter, released a public opinion poll which they say shows Ontarians support them. They might, but this poll doesn’t prove it.

Cliffs Natural Resources, lead player in the Ring of Fire, considered several locations for its smelter and chose Sudbury because it has existing infrastructure. Other locations would add considerable cost and “put the economic viability of the project in jeopardy,” William Boor, a Cliffs vice-president, wrote in an open letter in this newspaper last month.

Greenstone, Aroland and other First Nations, are seeking changes to the development and the poll seeks to bolster their case. A thousand people across Ontario were asked their awareness of the Ring of Fire which has been compared to Alberta’s oil sands in terms of development potential. Only 30 per cent had even heard of it.

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Transportation for the North – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (June 26, 2012)

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

A WAR of words among MPPs about the government’s planned sale of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission is missing something. The Liberal government sprang the sale on the public in its last budget, claiming it will save money. ONTC serves a series of communities in Northeastern Ontario with train and bus service, much of which the government says the private sector can provide.

The NDP has been critical of the proposal. Timiskaming—Cochrane MPP John Vanthof said in March there had been a “massive public outcry from affected communities” and he called on Premier Dalton McGuinty to halt plans to privatize the passenger and freight service that “employs nearly 1,000 people across the North.”

Vanthof reminded McGuinty he had earlier promised not to privatize the ONTC, adding that, “All across the North municipal councils are up in arms . . . .”

Vanthof acquired documents showing the Liberals were considering the idea as early as March 2009 after which time Northern Development Minister Rick Bartolucci was on hand in Sudbury to cut the ribbon on a new Ontario Northland bus terminal.

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Ontarians question smelter site: poll – Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 25, 2012)

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

A majority of 1,000 Ontarians surveyed in a poll about mining development in the Ring of Fire belt said the ore should be processed in First Nation territory in the vicinity of the proposed mine site.

But while the poll results pleased area First Nation leaders, they seem moot because leading Ring of Fire proponent Cliffs Natural Resources said earlier this spring that chromite ore will be processed on the outskirts of Sudbury.

The OraclePoll Research telephone poll was commissioned by the Municipality of Greenstone and Aroland First Nation. Both communities want Cliffs to build the company’s 300-megawatt smelter on the outskirts of Aroland.

The poll results showed that 45 per cent of respondents believe that the ore should be smelted in the First Nation traditional territory from which it is mined. In a news release Friday, Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon said the poll “validates what we have known for a long time.

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Marathon mine impact report delayed – by Carl Clutchey (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 18, 2012)

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

The main environmental document outlining plans and potential impacts of a new copper and palladium mine on Marathon’s doorstep has been delayed.

The Enviromental Impact Statement (EIS) document was supposed to have been released last week, but in a letter to the federally appointed review panel for the project, Stillwater Canada said “it ran into a few delays.”  The report should be submitted (this week),” the letter adds.

Planned public hearings into the open pit project just north of Marathon’s airport can’t take place until after the EIS document has been scrutinized by both the three-member review panel and the public. A date for the hearings, likely to take place in Marathon and at Pic River First Nation, have yet to be set.

Stillwater plans to employ about 350 people at the mine, expected to be in production in three to four years if the project passes the joint provincial-federal environmental review and obtains necessary permits. The projected mine life is about 12 years.

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

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Tony Clement Speech Angers First Nation’s Leaders – “His comments are inexcusable…” Chief Moonias Martin Falls – by Netnewsledger.com – June 2012)

http://netnewsledger.com/

THUNDER BAY – Chief Roger Wesley of Constance Lake First Nation took aim at the Federal Government today saying Minister Clement’s comments in Thunder Bay this week signal a new and unfortunate turn in the Government’s relationship with First Nation Peoples.

“I am worried, but also saddened,” said Wesley, referring to the FedNor Minister’s comment during a visit to Thunder Bay, that a Joint Review Panel Environmental Assessment (EA), like the one that First Nations and Municipalities in the region have been calling for in the Ring of Fire, would only bring up “irrelevant issues.”

“A Joint Review Panel EA would give time for appropriate consultation and a serious look at the impacts on the land, but also on our people. Impacts to our culture, our communities, our land and way of life are not irrelevant!” said Chief Wesley. Minister Clement was in Thunder Bay on June 4th and gave a speech at Coastal Steel.

Referring to the comment by Clement that First Nations have no “veto” Chief Wesley said, “The Government’s duty is not only to consult First Nations, but also to accommodate First Nations. The Minister should read the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982 (sec.35).

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Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario holds the potential for billions in mineral wealth – by Tony Clement (June 8, 2012)

This speech by Tony Clement was originally posted on: http://netnewsledger.com/

Tony Clement is the President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Minister for FedNor. He has also been the Member of Parliament for Parry Sound-Muskoka since 2006.

Tony Clement Thunder Bay Speech

It’s a pleasure to be back here in Thunder Bay with you today. I want to thank Coastal Steel officials for their warm welcome and the other stakeholders here today who support the objectives of our Government’s Plan for Responsible Resource Development.

I’d like to take this opportunity to detail our Government’s many efforts to ensure Canada’s prosperity into the future. Last week, Thomas Mulcair went west and embarked on his big adventure, trying to back pedal from his short-sighted and flat out wrong statements about Canada’s resource industries.

He said Canada’s strong resource sector is a disease that hurts the country – and he said this of course before ever seeing an oilsands operation first hand. Folks I have seen the oilsands up close, and forestry camps, pulp mills, and mines and let me tell you Thomas Mulcair and I disagree completely – I know the importance and value of Canada’s growing resource sector.

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Between rock face and hard place [Ring of Fire and First Nations] -by Maureen Nadin (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – June 11, 2012)

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

This is the fourth of a multi-part series looking at the mining sector of Northwestern Ontario and the Ring of Fire.
 
Republic of Mining blogger Stan Sudol keeps his finger on the pulse of the mining and prospecting communities. The journalist and mining strategist has gone on record to express his view that the potential offered by the Ring of Fire development is “a wonderful opportunity to alleviate poverty in First Nations communities.”

Although some would argue that it is impossible to fully alleviate poverty anywhere, Sudol’s sentiment is a noble, albeit lofty expression of the economic hope that the Ring of Fire has created for communities in the mineral-rich region.

Aboriginal people have traditionally worked and had a strong connection to the land, but the modern mining industry is multifaceted and highly technological. There is a diversity of skill sets required that vary with each phase of the operation and all stakeholders must work together to open the path to the rock face for aspiring workers.

And that requires not only strategic partnerships, but a holistic “big picture” approach as to how to prepare Aboriginal people to fill those jobs.

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Ring of Fire is North’s future – Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal Editorial (May 27, 2012)

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

There is an amazing opportunity to embrace nation-building and put aside political differences. The Ring of Fire is waiting for us. It is remote and far from the roads and hydro poles that will be required to develop the deposit of chromite said to be the largest in North America and the key ingredient in stainless steel that is in everything from steak knives to prosthetic hip joints.

 From the earliest times of our planet as a molten mass, the Ring of Fire has sat patiently waiting to give up its riches.
 And all we have to do is get Ottawa, Ontario and First Nations leaders to sit at the same table and recognize this is a turning point for our nation. We have the chance to develop Northwestern Ontario and breathe a new life of prosperity into the entire region. There is plenty of wealth to go around.

 Cliffs Natural Resources plans to spend $3.3 billion to launch its Ring of Fire operations. That includes a chromite mine, a transportation corridor and $1.8 billion to build a smelter near Sudbury. If the private sector is ready to put this kind of cash up against the project, it starts to become mind-boggling how large they believe the pay-off will be.

 While it cannot be confirmed, and it was not shared with the media in the premier’s daily itinerary, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he spoke with Prime Minister Harper on Tuesday to ask how Ottawa might help with the development of this massive mining project.

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Time to reinstate spring bear hunt – Thunder Bay Editorial (Chronicle-Journal – May 29, 2012)

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

Sometimes, a dead horse has to be kicked, again and again. The former spring bear hunt in Ontario is one such animal.

If the provincial government is really serious about helping the region’s tourist industry and managing black bear populations in Northern Ontario, it will reinstate the spring bear hunt.

The hunt is currently a viable tourism and wildlife management option in nine other provinces and territories across Canada. Why not Ontario? Are their bears different from ours?

A Winnipeg man has already been bitten this year by a bear north of Sioux Lookout, hauled from an outhouse in a story that made national headlines. Children in the town’s Sioux Mountain School are reportedly being kept indoors at recess these days because bears are roaming the area. A longer fall bear hunt has not been sufficient to keep bear numbers in check and the number and reports of nuisance bears is rising throughout the province.

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