Some First Nations communities near the Ring of Fire are ready to give mining companies an eviction notice.
Calling all mining companies operating in the Ring of Fire “intruders,” six Matawa communities are giving the companies 30 days to leave the area unless government-to-government negotiations start.
Representatives from Aroland, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming, Longlake #58, Neskantaga and Nibinamik First Nations say they are prepared to impose a moratorium on all exploration and development in the area.
“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,” Aroland First Nation chief Sonny Gagnon is quoted as saying in a news release issued to media Friday.
The release states that the chiefs have been calling for government-to-government negotiations with the federal and provincial governments for more than two years without success.
Instead, they have been ignored while development speeds ahead, which includes roads and other infrastructure.
“All of 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 revenue resource sharing,” Nibinamik chief Johnny Yellowhead said in the release.
“Unless we stop this project now and assert our Aboriginal and Treaty rights we will be left on the sidelines watching the chromite leave our lands while our communities remain in poverty.”
Neskantaga will be making a case to the mining court on July 5 that the province must consult and accommodate First Nations before any decisions are made on the proposed Cliffs chromite project.
While the communities are not opposed to development, the release states it must be sustainable and responsible.
Fearing environmental damage to the surrounding lands and rivers, the communities say development could change First Nations ways of life forever without providing any benefits to address issues like inadequate housing, chronic unemployment, poor education and substance abuse problems.
Matawa officials were not immediately available for comment.
