Ring of Fire blockade ends

As the blockade was coming down, more issues were popping up says the chief of a First Nation community.

Marten Falls chief Eli Moonias said his community dismantled their blockade on Koper Lake in the Ring of Fire because discussions on basic exploration issues are now going ahead. But  a company began blasting as the blockade, set up on March 3, was coming down.

Moonias said he considers the blasting advanced exploration.

"It’s not like staking or just drilling," Moonias said. "Blasting is something else."

A permit was issued for that blasting by the province Friday and began Saturday. Moonias said the permit was issued while he was in Toronto asking provincial Ring of Fire co-ordinator Christine Kaszycki to wait until discussions between government, industry and First Nations communities could begin before issuing permits.

"As we were discussing this matter somebody else was drafting this permit letter," Moonias said.

Because of the tight timeline, Moonias said it would have been impossible for the company, community or government to do environmental screening before the blasting began.

"There’s no time there for any screening at all," Moonias said. "I see that as an affront to what we did, to what we wanted with the blockade issue."

Although Moonias said the blockade addressed some of the issues, other Matawa First Nation communities didn’t help with costs or participation, which was promised to Marten Falls.

"When we got there we waited for them for a month to do it together," said Moonias. "They never showed up…there was nobody there just us."