More than one road will be needed to connect Webequie, Neskantaga, Eabametoong, Nibinamik, Marten Falls and Aroland First Nations to the provincial highway system, Bob Rae says.

Ring of Fire mining project needs First Nations consent, Bob Rae says

Negotiator for Matawa First Nations says no community can be left behind in development


CBC News
By: Jody Porter
Mar 10, 2015

Moving ahead with the Ring of Fire will require not just consultation, but the consent of the First Nations nearest to the mining development area in northern Ontario, according to Bob Rae.

Rae is the negotiator for the nine Matawa First Nations in their discussions with Ontario about the proposed mining project.

"This can't be a process that is driven exclusively on the interests of one project or another," Rae said. "It has to be seen as responding to a broader concern which is the isolation, the poverty, the real needs of these communities."


Negotiator Bob Rae says any development in the Ring of Fire must deal with "the isolation, the poverty, the real needs" of the nearby First Nations.

To that end, Rae said, more than one road will be needed.

First Nations envision a loop that begins near the provincial highway at Nakina, Ont. travels through Aroland and Marten Falls First Nations, connects with the route currently under study and ends at Pickle Lake, he said.

Despite the waning investment in the project from mining companies, Rae said the First Nations are keeping up "a steady pace of meetings" with the province about the Ring of Fire.

Ontario's Mining Act requires aboriginal consultation, but Rae sets the standard higher in the Ring of Fire.

It's "long past" the point where government's can proceed with development without the "full support of First Nations," he said.

"Can I imagine a situation where any infrastructure project could be built or would be built in the traditional territory of the First Nations of Matawa without their consent?" Rae asked rhetorically. "The simple answer is no."