Frank Iacobucci says his trip to the Ring of Fire is about respect.
The province’s chief negotiator for the Ring of Fire and retired Supreme Court Justice has been visiting Matawa communities this week to meet with chiefs, discuss issues and explain his mandate.
“So they get it from me and they’re not just reading about it,” he said before a trip to Neskantaga Thursday morning.
Iacobucci said he has been fully immersed in the Ring of Fire file since being appointed negotiator earlier this month. He’s also been speaking with Matawa’s negotiator Bob Rae and says the two will sit down together very soon.
“It takes two to tango and I don’t want to start unilaterally saying what a timeline is before I’ve sat down with Bob Rae,” Iacobucci said.
The trip will also give Iacobucci the chance to learn more about the communities and what their issues are. While environmental impacts, capacity, infrastructure and revenue sharing have been highlighted as the key issues, Iacobucci said they might not be the only ones.
“There may be other things that arise from those things that we’ll have to identify and deal with,” he said. “I think you want to keep your mind open.”
Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle is also making the trip. He said it’s important to build relationships before negotiations get started.
“The goal is to understand the communities better,” he said.
