The Friends of the Attawapiskat River (FAR) are a coalition of impacted community members and allies focused on stewarding and protecting the Attawapiskat River and its watersheds.
“You’re going to have to run me over”. That’s what Chief Wayne Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation said in a video filmed just after the province of Ontario announced that it has approved the terms of reference submitted by Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations for the Ring of Fire environmental assessment. This approval doesn’t mean the EA is now going to begin, but is one more step in that direction. In response, Chief Moonias made the following statement:
That same week, incoming Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias went to Queen’s Park demanding a meeting with Premier Doug Ford about the lack of consultation in the government’s Building More Mines act and the EA terms of reference. In the same spirit, Friends of the Attawapiskat River released a statement decrying the way that the provincial government’s recent actions undermine consent and will leave lasting impacts on Northern communities. Meanwhile, in a question period at Queen’s Park, Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa fiercely held the Ford government to account. It’s clear that these “steps forward” in the provincial environment process are not being met without a fight.
Despite Ford’s commitment to build more mines, the federal government seems to be taking a different approach. After a great deal of widespread pushback against the federal Regional Assessment terms of reference last year, Guilbeault has agreed to scrap the original framework and take a more collaborative approach, stating publicly that “There is no access to critical minerals in Canada without Indigenous Peoples being at the table in a decision-making position.” Importantly, Guilbeault has shared that the federal government is currently reworking the federal Regional Assessment process so that it will become much more possible for the end result of an RA process to be “no, this project cannot move forward” because of the concerns of stakeholders. It will be on everybody paying attention to hold him to that stance.
Conflicts between the provincial and federal approaches to environmental assessment, and the bureaucratic load of both simultaneous processes, has been a longstanding source of frustration in the mining industry. An article came out this week saying that the Ring of Fire has been top of agenda in four successive meetings between Ford and Trudeau at the end of 2022. The provincial Mines Minister has stated that these federal changes will not slow the provincial processes, but only time will tell how these differences will be resolved.
March 6, 2023 (Mining.com):
Ontario OKs Ring of Fire road review plan by First Nations
“Ontario has approved another small step on the long journey to build an all-season road to the Ring of Fire minerals area in the province’s far north. The province granted the terms of reference for an environmental assessment of the Northern Link road, the last terms approved among the three roads planned for the area 540 km northeast of Thunder Bay. The plans were submitted by the Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations. The Northern Link is to connect the two communities and potential mining projects.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (Global News):
Ontario approves First Nations’ plan to build road to Ring of Fire
“A plan designed by two First Nations to build a road to potential mining sites in Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been approved by the provincial government, but the mining minister has refused to say when the project would be completed. Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation designed and submitted the now-approved plan that will link their First Nations and mining sites to Ontario’s road network.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (Timmins Today):
Ring of fire takes next step over some First Nations’ objections
The environmental assessment on a portion of the road to the Ring of Fire is being led by two First Nations, but another affected community isn’t pleased with the announcement
“A plan by two First Nations to build a road to Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been approved by the provincial government — but another First Nations community affected by the project is not on board. Last year, Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation published a 253-page document outlining the terms of reference for an assessment of Ontario’s proposed road to the Ring of Fire. On Monday, Ontario approved the terms at the massive Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) mining conference in downtown Toronto. Monday’s announcement doesn’t mean the environmental assessment will now start but is a step toward that happening.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (CBC):
Ontario approves environmental assessment terms of reference for 3rd and final road to Ring of Fire
Plan co-developed and submitted by 2 First Nations in the area, but faces pushback from others in region
“The province has approved the terms of reference for an environmental assessment (EA) on the third and final road leading to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario. The terms of reference lay out the work plan — including the scope and issues to be considered — for the EA on the Northern Road Link, a proposed two-lane, all-weather road.
It’s part of a proposal, along with the Marten Falls Community Access Road and the Webequie Supply Road, to build roughly 450 kilometres of all-season roadway through the boreal forest and swampy peat lands of northern Ontario, linking the Ring of Fire to the provincial highway network.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (Financial Post):
Ontario accepts First Nations framework for environmental assessment of planned Ring of Fire road
Ontario considers Ring of Fire project one of ‘most promising’ for critical minerals
“In an incremental step forward for the Ring of Fire mining project, the Ontario government has approved a framework for an environmental assessment on part of an all-season road it aims to build in the northern part of the province. Two First Nations, Webequie and Marten Falls, both of which support building the road in the James Bay Lowlands region, designed the framework, known as the “terms of reference.” Ontario announced its acceptance of the terms at the ongoing Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s convention in Toronto, an international mining conference.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (Toronto Star):
Ontario approves First Nations’ plan to build road to Ring of Fire
A plan designed by two First Nations to build a road to potential mining sites in Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been approved by the provincial government, but the ‘mining minister has refused to say when the project would be completed
“A plan designed by two First Nations to build a road to potential mining sites in Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been approved by the provincial government, but the mining minister has refused to say when the project would be completed. Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation designed and submitted the now-approved plan that will link their First Nations and mining sites to Ontario’s road network.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (The Globe and Mail):
Neskantaga First Nation says it wasn’t adequately consulted in key Ring of Fire environmental study
Unfortunately this article is behind a paywall. If you have a Globe and Mail subscription, the link is here.
March 7, 2023 (MiningWatch Canada):
More, Worse Mining: Ontario’s Proposed Building More Mines act
“In the lead-up to the world’s biggest mining convention, Ontario premier Doug Ford and Mines Minister George Pirie announced a package of amendments to the province’s Mining Act intended to “reduce administrative burden” of developing new mines and “demonstrate responsiveness to feedback received from industry.” Yet Ontario’s regulatory burden on mining is already minimal, and provides poor protection for Indigenous peoples’ rights, the environment, or taxpayers saddled with inadequately insured clean-up costs. If anything, certainty for investors would be better served by building constructive relationships with Indigenous peoples, a strong baseline of science and planning, and a more reliable and robust regulatory environment.” Read more here…
March 7, 2023 (The Narwhal):
Scratch that: Feds to rethink Ring of Fire environmental assessment after First Nations criticism
‘There is no access to critical minerals in Canada without Indigenous Peoples being at the table in a decision-making position’, Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said
“Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has agreed to scrap a draft framework for a regional assessment in the Ontario Ring of Fire region and start over, working with First Nations. For over a decade, governments and companies have sought to mine in the remote and environmentally-sensitive area known as the Ring of Fire. Accessible only by plane, or ice road in the winter, it’s located in the James Bay Lowlands and has deposits of key minerals that some people want to mine to fuel the production of electric vehicles. The federal Impact Assessment Agency has been working on a regional assessment in the area for the last three years, a review which is meant to use western science and Indigenous Knowledge to inform future development.
That process has moved forward slowly so far, with several First Nations raising concerns about the first draft of the rules that are supposed to guide the process, the terms of reference. Last year, the chiefs of five First Nations asked Guilbeault to toss those terms out entirely, saying they focused on too small of a geographic area, didn’t include all of the types of development that could happen and limited First Nations to “token” roles.” Read more here…
March 7, 2023 (Global News):
Ring of Fire topped agenda at recent meetings between Ford and Trudeau, docs show
“An all-season road to Ontario‘s Ring of Fire — a region with rich deposits of critical minerals needed for battery manufacturing — appears to have been a primary preoccupation for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford during four successive meetings in the latter half of 2022. Federal briefing documents prepared for the prime minister ahead of meetings with Ford show that critical minerals and the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario were key topics of discussion between the two — possibly paving the way for a landmark decision to approve a First Nations-led proposal to construct a year-round access road.” Read more here…
March 7, 2023 (Net News Ledger):
“They’re going to have to run me over” — Neskantaga Chief Moonias
“Neskantaga First Nation is a small Anishinaabe community on the shores of Attawapiskat Lake in the far north of the province that has been a vocal opponent of developing the Ring of Fire. The proposed Northern Road Link is an industrial mining road that would serve eventual mines in the Ring of Fire region. In order to reach the mineral deposits, it will have to cross the Attawapiskat River, what Chief Moonias calls the “lifeblood” of his people and vital habitat for threatened lake sturgeon. “If Premier Ford wants to get on a bulldozer, if the CEO of Ring of Fire Metals wants to get on a bulldozer, they’re going to have to run me over,” said Chief Wayne Moonias upon hearing the announcement from the province Monday that the terms of reference for the Northern Road Link were approved. “That is how important this river system, and the sturgeon, are to our community. Even if it is to risk our own lives, we intend to protect our homelands.”” Read more here…
March 8, 2023 (Law360 Canada):
Ontario mining changes undermine consent, have lasting impacts
“As the Friends of the Attawapiskat River, an Indigenous grassroots group based in Treaty 9 in the far north of Ontario, stated in a press release, the province should not “push forward a project absent the free, prior and informed consent of all communities.” Article 32(2) of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples requires free, prior and informed consent to be obtained for any project affecting Indigenous lands and resources, and Article 26(2) further provides that Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use and control their lands and territories.
Indigenous communities, in particular, find themselves on the “wrong side of a toxic divide,” bearing inequitable health and environmental burden of extractive industries. This is a lived reality for members of the Friends, who have been active in calling for the protection of treaty lands from mineral exploitation and degradation, including safeguarding the integrity of the muskeg in the Hudson Bay-James Bay lowlands, for the health of their grandchildren and those not yet born.” Read more here…
March 8, 2023 (Kenora Online):
‘You’re going to have to kill us’ – Moonias to Ring of Fire Metals
“The Chief of Neskantaga First Nation says he and others within his community are willing to die to prevent the development of a mine in the Ring of Fire. Wayne Moonias made the comments in a video posted to Youtube while attending the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, directing those comments to the leadership of Ring of Fire Metals. “You’re not going to cross our river system without our free and prior informed consent, you’re going to have to kill us, you’re gonna have to do more than just getting access from the province of Ontario.”” Read more here…
March 9, 2023 (CBC):
Hover barges could be low-cost alternative for Ring of Fire road, researcher says
Green Party leader resurrects idea of ‘hover barges’ across northern Ontario’s ice roads
“A Sudbury mining innovation group says the province should consider the use of hover barges before embarking on a multimillion-dollar road construction project linking the Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich region in northern Ontario, to the provincial highway network.
Doug Morrison, president and chief exeuctive officer of the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), said the Sudbury-based innovation lab has identified the use of hover barges — large-capacity transport machines that could potentially float on the region’s already-existing ice roads — as one cost-effective alternative to transporting materials. “There’s a crying need for more supplies and material to be moved into the fly-in reserves, and this is one way to try and address that problem,” Morrison said.” Read more here…
March 10, 2023 (Timmins Today):
Incoming chief demands meeting with Ford on Ring of Fire
‘I’m only going to talk to the individual that wants to drive that bulldozer and run over my homelands’, says Chris Moonias
“Incoming Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias was at Queen’s Park on Thursday demanding a meeting with Premier Doug Ford — and only Ford — over what he considers a lack of adequate consultations on the government’s latest mining bill and the push to develop the Ring of Fire. “I’m only going to talk to the individual that wants to drive that bulldozer and run over my homelands,” said Moonias, who is set to take over as the first nation’s chief on April 1. “I ain’t talking to anybody else, except him.” Moonias’ “bulldozer” comment references a remark Ford made in 2018 about the Ring of Fire before he became premier.” Read more here…
March 10, 2023 (Northern Ontario Business):
Change in federal assessment won’t slow pace in the Ring of Fire, says mines minister
Federal environment minister wants more Indigenous involvement in Far North industry impact assessment
“Ottawa’s decision to scrap plans for a Ring of Fire regional assessment process won’t interfere with the province’s intentions to get new mines into production faster. Provincial Mines Minister George Pirie said they have guarantees from the federal government that assessments for the proposed roads into the James Bay region to connect two remote communities to the Ontario highway system will not impact any timelines to put new mines into production. “Our government is building the roads that will unlock the critical minerals in the Ring of Fire,” Pirie responded in an email.” Read more here…
March 10, 2023 (SN News Watch):
Provincial ministers have heated discussion about Ring of Fire
“During the question period at Queen’s Park, a heated discussion between the Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa and Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford over Neskantaga First Nation Chief Wayne Moonias’s comments on the Northern Links road project. The province had announced earlier this week that the terms of reference for the evironmental assessment of the road project had been approved. […] In the legislature on Thursday, Mamakwa prefaced his question by telling the Ford government that Neskantaga had “not given Ontario consent to build on a mining road on its traditional and treaty land.”” Read more here…
March 10, 2023 (Northern Ontario Business):
Northwestern MPP jumps on proposed changes to the Mining Act
Sol Mamakwa accuses Ford government of not consulting with First Nations
“Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa took the Ford government to task in the Ontario Legislature March 9 for proposing changes to the provincial Mining Act, accusing them of not consulting with First Nations. Mines Minister George Pirie announced the first of an upcoming raft of amendments to the act with more industry-friendly measures designed to put into new mines into commercial production faster. […] That didn’t square with Mamakwa, who’s expansive northwestern Ontario riding includes Neskantaga First Nation. The leadership in the remote community believes proposed development in the Ring of Fire mineral belt will have long-term negative impacts on the community and does not have faith in the environmental assessment processes.” Read more here…
“You’re going to have to run me over”. That’s what Chief Wayne Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation said in a video filmed just after the province of Ontario announced that it has approved the terms of reference submitted by Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations for the Ring of Fire environmental assessment. This approval doesn’t mean the EA is now going to begin, but is one more step in that direction. In response, Chief Moonias made the following statement:
That same week, incoming Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias went to Queen’s Park demanding a meeting with Premier Doug Ford about the lack of consultation in the government’s Building More Mines act and the EA terms of reference. In the same spirit, Friends of the Attawapiskat River released a statement decrying the way that the provincial government’s recent actions undermine consent and will leave lasting impacts on Northern communities. Meanwhile, in a question period at Queen’s Park, Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa fiercely held the Ford government to account. It’s clear that these “steps forward” in the provincial environment process are not being met without a fight.
Despite Ford’s commitment to build more mines, the federal government seems to be taking a different approach. After a great deal of widespread pushback against the federal Regional Assessment terms of reference last year, Guilbeault has agreed to scrap the original framework and take a more collaborative approach, stating publicly that “There is no access to critical minerals in Canada without Indigenous Peoples being at the table in a decision-making position.” Importantly, Guilbeault has shared that the federal government is currently reworking the federal Regional Assessment process so that it will become much more possible for the end result of an RA process to be “no, this project cannot move forward” because of the concerns of stakeholders. It will be on everybody paying attention to hold him to that stance.
Conflicts between the provincial and federal approaches to environmental assessment, and the bureaucratic load of both simultaneous processes, has been a longstanding source of frustration in the mining industry. An article came out this week saying that the Ring of Fire has been top of agenda in four successive meetings between Ford and Trudeau at the end of 2022. The provincial Mines Minister has stated that these federal changes will not slow the provincial processes, but only time will tell how these differences will be resolved.
March 6, 2023 (Mining.com):
Ontario OKs Ring of Fire road review plan by First Nations
“Ontario has approved another small step on the long journey to build an all-season road to the Ring of Fire minerals area in the province’s far north. The province granted the terms of reference for an environmental assessment of the Northern Link road, the last terms approved among the three roads planned for the area 540 km northeast of Thunder Bay. The plans were submitted by the Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations. The Northern Link is to connect the two communities and potential mining projects.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (Global News):
Ontario approves First Nations’ plan to build road to Ring of Fire
“A plan designed by two First Nations to build a road to potential mining sites in Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been approved by the provincial government, but the mining minister has refused to say when the project would be completed. Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation designed and submitted the now-approved plan that will link their First Nations and mining sites to Ontario’s road network.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (Timmins Today):
Ring of fire takes next step over some First Nations’ objections
The environmental assessment on a portion of the road to the Ring of Fire is being led by two First Nations, but another affected community isn’t pleased with the announcement
“A plan by two First Nations to build a road to Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been approved by the provincial government — but another First Nations community affected by the project is not on board. Last year, Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation published a 253-page document outlining the terms of reference for an assessment of Ontario’s proposed road to the Ring of Fire. On Monday, Ontario approved the terms at the massive Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) mining conference in downtown Toronto. Monday’s announcement doesn’t mean the environmental assessment will now start but is a step toward that happening.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (CBC):
Ontario approves environmental assessment terms of reference for 3rd and final road to Ring of Fire
Plan co-developed and submitted by 2 First Nations in the area, but faces pushback from others in region
“The province has approved the terms of reference for an environmental assessment (EA) on the third and final road leading to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario. The terms of reference lay out the work plan — including the scope and issues to be considered — for the EA on the Northern Road Link, a proposed two-lane, all-weather road.
It’s part of a proposal, along with the Marten Falls Community Access Road and the Webequie Supply Road, to build roughly 450 kilometres of all-season roadway through the boreal forest and swampy peat lands of northern Ontario, linking the Ring of Fire to the provincial highway network.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (Financial Post):
Ontario accepts First Nations framework for environmental assessment of planned Ring of Fire road
Ontario considers Ring of Fire project one of ‘most promising’ for critical minerals
“In an incremental step forward for the Ring of Fire mining project, the Ontario government has approved a framework for an environmental assessment on part of an all-season road it aims to build in the northern part of the province. Two First Nations, Webequie and Marten Falls, both of which support building the road in the James Bay Lowlands region, designed the framework, known as the “terms of reference.” Ontario announced its acceptance of the terms at the ongoing Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s convention in Toronto, an international mining conference.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (Toronto Star):
Ontario approves First Nations’ plan to build road to Ring of Fire
A plan designed by two First Nations to build a road to potential mining sites in Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been approved by the provincial government, but the ‘mining minister has refused to say when the project would be completed
“A plan designed by two First Nations to build a road to potential mining sites in Ontario’s Ring of Fire has been approved by the provincial government, but the mining minister has refused to say when the project would be completed. Webequie First Nation and Marten Falls First Nation designed and submitted the now-approved plan that will link their First Nations and mining sites to Ontario’s road network.” Read more here…
March 6, 2023 (The Globe and Mail):
Neskantaga First Nation says it wasn’t adequately consulted in key Ring of Fire environmental study
Unfortunately this article is behind a paywall. If you have a Globe and Mail subscription, the link is here.
March 7, 2023 (MiningWatch Canada):
More, Worse Mining: Ontario’s Proposed Building More Mines act
“In the lead-up to the world’s biggest mining convention, Ontario premier Doug Ford and Mines Minister George Pirie announced a package of amendments to the province’s Mining Act intended to “reduce administrative burden” of developing new mines and “demonstrate responsiveness to feedback received from industry.” Yet Ontario’s regulatory burden on mining is already minimal, and provides poor protection for Indigenous peoples’ rights, the environment, or taxpayers saddled with inadequately insured clean-up costs. If anything, certainty for investors would be better served by building constructive relationships with Indigenous peoples, a strong baseline of science and planning, and a more reliable and robust regulatory environment.” Read more here…
March 7, 2023 (The Narwhal):
Scratch that: Feds to rethink Ring of Fire environmental assessment after First Nations criticism
‘There is no access to critical minerals in Canada without Indigenous Peoples being at the table in a decision-making position’, Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said
“Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has agreed to scrap a draft framework for a regional assessment in the Ontario Ring of Fire region and start over, working with First Nations. For over a decade, governments and companies have sought to mine in the remote and environmentally-sensitive area known as the Ring of Fire. Accessible only by plane, or ice road in the winter, it’s located in the James Bay Lowlands and has deposits of key minerals that some people want to mine to fuel the production of electric vehicles. The federal Impact Assessment Agency has been working on a regional assessment in the area for the last three years, a review which is meant to use western science and Indigenous Knowledge to inform future development.
That process has moved forward slowly so far, with several First Nations raising concerns about the first draft of the rules that are supposed to guide the process, the terms of reference. Last year, the chiefs of five First Nations asked Guilbeault to toss those terms out entirely, saying they focused on too small of a geographic area, didn’t include all of the types of development that could happen and limited First Nations to “token” roles.” Read more here…
March 7, 2023 (Global News):
Ring of Fire topped agenda at recent meetings between Ford and Trudeau, docs show
“An all-season road to Ontario‘s Ring of Fire — a region with rich deposits of critical minerals needed for battery manufacturing — appears to have been a primary preoccupation for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford during four successive meetings in the latter half of 2022. Federal briefing documents prepared for the prime minister ahead of meetings with Ford show that critical minerals and the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario were key topics of discussion between the two — possibly paving the way for a landmark decision to approve a First Nations-led proposal to construct a year-round access road.” Read more here…
March 7, 2023 (Net News Ledger):
“They’re going to have to run me over” — Neskantaga Chief Moonias
“Neskantaga First Nation is a small Anishinaabe community on the shores of Attawapiskat Lake in the far north of the province that has been a vocal opponent of developing the Ring of Fire. The proposed Northern Road Link is an industrial mining road that would serve eventual mines in the Ring of Fire region. In order to reach the mineral deposits, it will have to cross the Attawapiskat River, what Chief Moonias calls the “lifeblood” of his people and vital habitat for threatened lake sturgeon. “If Premier Ford wants to get on a bulldozer, if the CEO of Ring of Fire Metals wants to get on a bulldozer, they’re going to have to run me over,” said Chief Wayne Moonias upon hearing the announcement from the province Monday that the terms of reference for the Northern Road Link were approved. “That is how important this river system, and the sturgeon, are to our community. Even if it is to risk our own lives, we intend to protect our homelands.”” Read more here…
March 8, 2023 (Law360 Canada):
Ontario mining changes undermine consent, have lasting impacts
“As the Friends of the Attawapiskat River, an Indigenous grassroots group based in Treaty 9 in the far north of Ontario, stated in a press release, the province should not “push forward a project absent the free, prior and informed consent of all communities.” Article 32(2) of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples requires free, prior and informed consent to be obtained for any project affecting Indigenous lands and resources, and Article 26(2) further provides that Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use and control their lands and territories.
Indigenous communities, in particular, find themselves on the “wrong side of a toxic divide,” bearing inequitable health and environmental burden of extractive industries. This is a lived reality for members of the Friends, who have been active in calling for the protection of treaty lands from mineral exploitation and degradation, including safeguarding the integrity of the muskeg in the Hudson Bay-James Bay lowlands, for the health of their grandchildren and those not yet born.” Read more here…
March 8, 2023 (Kenora Online):
‘You’re going to have to kill us’ – Moonias to Ring of Fire Metals
“The Chief of Neskantaga First Nation says he and others within his community are willing to die to prevent the development of a mine in the Ring of Fire. Wayne Moonias made the comments in a video posted to Youtube while attending the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, directing those comments to the leadership of Ring of Fire Metals. “You’re not going to cross our river system without our free and prior informed consent, you’re going to have to kill us, you’re gonna have to do more than just getting access from the province of Ontario.”” Read more here…
March 9, 2023 (CBC):
Hover barges could be low-cost alternative for Ring of Fire road, researcher says
Green Party leader resurrects idea of ‘hover barges’ across northern Ontario’s ice roads
“A Sudbury mining innovation group says the province should consider the use of hover barges before embarking on a multimillion-dollar road construction project linking the Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich region in northern Ontario, to the provincial highway network.
Doug Morrison, president and chief exeuctive officer of the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), said the Sudbury-based innovation lab has identified the use of hover barges — large-capacity transport machines that could potentially float on the region’s already-existing ice roads — as one cost-effective alternative to transporting materials. “There’s a crying need for more supplies and material to be moved into the fly-in reserves, and this is one way to try and address that problem,” Morrison said.” Read more here…
March 10, 2023 (Timmins Today):
Incoming chief demands meeting with Ford on Ring of Fire
‘I’m only going to talk to the individual that wants to drive that bulldozer and run over my homelands’, says Chris Moonias
“Incoming Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias was at Queen’s Park on Thursday demanding a meeting with Premier Doug Ford — and only Ford — over what he considers a lack of adequate consultations on the government’s latest mining bill and the push to develop the Ring of Fire. “I’m only going to talk to the individual that wants to drive that bulldozer and run over my homelands,” said Moonias, who is set to take over as the first nation’s chief on April 1. “I ain’t talking to anybody else, except him.” Moonias’ “bulldozer” comment references a remark Ford made in 2018 about the Ring of Fire before he became premier.” Read more here…
March 10, 2023 (Northern Ontario Business):
Change in federal assessment won’t slow pace in the Ring of Fire, says mines minister
Federal environment minister wants more Indigenous involvement in Far North industry impact assessment
“Ottawa’s decision to scrap plans for a Ring of Fire regional assessment process won’t interfere with the province’s intentions to get new mines into production faster. Provincial Mines Minister George Pirie said they have guarantees from the federal government that assessments for the proposed roads into the James Bay region to connect two remote communities to the Ontario highway system will not impact any timelines to put new mines into production. “Our government is building the roads that will unlock the critical minerals in the Ring of Fire,” Pirie responded in an email.” Read more here…
March 10, 2023 (SN News Watch):
Provincial ministers have heated discussion about Ring of Fire
“During the question period at Queen’s Park, a heated discussion between the Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa and Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford over Neskantaga First Nation Chief Wayne Moonias’s comments on the Northern Links road project. The province had announced earlier this week that the terms of reference for the evironmental assessment of the road project had been approved. […] In the legislature on Thursday, Mamakwa prefaced his question by telling the Ford government that Neskantaga had “not given Ontario consent to build on a mining road on its traditional and treaty land.”” Read more here…
March 10, 2023 (Northern Ontario Business):
Northwestern MPP jumps on proposed changes to the Mining Act
Sol Mamakwa accuses Ford government of not consulting with First Nations
“Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa took the Ford government to task in the Ontario Legislature March 9 for proposing changes to the provincial Mining Act, accusing them of not consulting with First Nations. Mines Minister George Pirie announced the first of an upcoming raft of amendments to the act with more industry-friendly measures designed to put into new mines into commercial production faster. […] That didn’t square with Mamakwa, who’s expansive northwestern Ontario riding includes Neskantaga First Nation. The leadership in the remote community believes proposed development in the Ring of Fire mineral belt will have long-term negative impacts on the community and does not have faith in the environmental assessment processes.” Read more here…
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