First Nations and Ontario's Ring of Fire
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1484 .... September 20, 2017
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First Nations and Ontario's Ring of Fire
The Ring of Fire continues to divide First Nations and suck up money that should go to healing communities.
Ontarians for a Just Accountable Mineral Strategy
Ontarians for a Just Accountable Mineral Strategy (OJAMS) condemns the Wynne government’s recent decision to begin road construction to the Ring of Fire mineral deposit in 2019 without obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of the Matawa First Nations. This decision is not only in violation of the constitutionally-recognized rights of Aboriginal peoples, but also the Ontario Government’s Regional Framework Agreement with the Matawa First Nations finalized in 2014.
The Ring of Fire is a large, crescent-shaped mineral deposit containing chromium, copper, zinc, nickel, platinum, vanadium and gold. It is located... in the traditional territories of the Matawa First Nations in the James Bay lowlands in Ontario’s Far North, site of one of the world’s largest remaining intact forest ecosystems. Hyped as Ontario’s version of the Oil Sands, the deposit has been said to contain $60-billion in mineral wealth. But after an initial staking rush in 2007, development stalled in 2014 following the collapse of the commodities super cycle. While mining industry proponents have blamed onerous environmental regulations and negotiations with Indigenous peoples for the delay, the reality is that the project cannot go ahead without significant public sector support.
OJAMS is composed of people from diverse communities and interests in Ontario that want to see a mineral strategy that...
