2010-08-10 at 14:28

Marten Falls First Nation council and chief has cancelled a conference scheduled for this week on the emerging business opportunities in the Ring of Fire.

Chief Elijah Moonias said Monday the council was considering cancelling the conference because of questions surrounding consultation fees.

The Ring of Fire Emerging Business Conference, scheduled for Aug. 11 to 12 at the Valhalla Inn, would have cost $5,000 for any company wanting a 45-minute consultation session with Marten Falls’ chief and council concerning exploration and development opportunities near the northern community.

Chief Elijah Moonias said $5,000 is a lot of money and it wasn’t the community’s idea to charge the fee or even host the conference; they were approached by One World Brand Management, the company planning the event.

"They didn’t come to Marten Falls and say ‘let’s do this, what do you think, do you authorize this?’" Moonias told Thunder Bay Television. "They just went ahead and set up and some councillors are questioning that."

It looks suspicious, he added, noting Marten Falls won’t receive any money from the conference fees.

"We didn’t come up with that number; we had nothing to do with it," Moonias said. "I’m leery of things like that. I don’t want to get caught in it. I don’t want to get involved in somebody’s scheme."

As the Ring of Fire co-ordinator for Marten Falls, Bruce Krupp of Krupp Consulting hired One World Brand Management to co-ordinate and execute the Ring of Fire Emerging Business Conference.

He said he is the sole liaison with Marten Falls for the event.

"The First Nation was, and has been, consulted on a regular basis for the past five weeks with respect to all elements of the conference," he said in a statement to media. "We were all proceeding forward as of 11 a.m. Aug. 9. I was officially notified at 5:15 p.m. that day that the conference had been cancelled by chief and council."

Krupp said he has no knowledge of and cannot comment as to the reason or rationale why Marten Falls council cancelled the event.