Six First Nation communities plan to issue eviction notices to mineral exploration companies operating in the Ring of Fire.
In a June 22 news release distributed by Mining Watch, Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation said Cliffs Natural Resources, Noront Resources and all the companies working in the James Bay Lowlands exploration camp “will have 30 days from the time the eviction notice is served to pack up their bags and leave our lands.”
The communities of Aroland, Constance Lake, Ginoogaming, Longlake #58, Neskantaga and Nibinamik issued the joint release.
“We are sending a strong message to Ontario and Canada that we need to negotiate a process for First Nation participation in the mining projects that will be changing our lives forever. Unless and until we have a table for government to government negotiations, we will evict the intruders from our lands.”
The chiefs said both Ottawa and Queen's Parks are ignoring them while mineral development in Ontario's Far North is “proceeding full speed ahead with developing the road, infrastructure, refinery and mines.”
Chiefs in the communities close to the Ring of Fire are calling on the Canadian government for a full scale environmental assessment of the Cliffs' Black Thor chromite deposit through a negotiated joint panel review process.
The chiefs have launched a judical review of the federal government's comprehensive environmental assessment study now underway. That matter goes before courts in 2013.
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