Neskantaga's leadership is not completely opposed to mining in the Ring of Fire, a 5,000-square-kilometre area about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont. But they are dead set against the way the province has gone about it, saying the government has not properly involved them.
"Before anything happens, we want to be able to decide. We have to know what the real benefits are and we have to know what the real impacts are."
Neskantaga has been under a boil-water advisory for more than 28 years – the longest continuous boil-water advisory in the country, which only the community’s leadership decides when to lift. There's also a housing crisis — the fly-in community of about 350 people needs at least 100 more houses and many live in cramped conditions.
"They will contaminate the water and we could lose a lot of our fish," says Ryan Moonias, who lives in Thunder Bay with his young family but returned to Neskantaga for its annual summer festival. The second project is the so-called"Northern Road Link" that would lead to a proposed Ring of Fire mining site known as Eagle's Nest, owned by Wyloo, an Australian-based mining giant controlled by billionaire Andrew Forrest.
"But first we want to address the social conditions and economic conditions in our community. These issues are being ignored." "This is a new form of paternalism, but now it seems to be coming from our Indigenous brothers and sisters," he says."Do we have to give up our vision because we have not agreed to a collective approach?"On a recent afternoon, three Ontario ministers were ebullient when discussing the creation of an end-to-end electric vehicle battery manufacturing chain.
With development comes a host of jobs, they say, including engineering, architectural, accounting and legal work. There will also be jobs in mines and need for heavy equipment operators, among others. The province has recommitted $1 billion to develop the Ring of Fire, like the previous Liberal government before it. Ontario has repeatedly asked the federal government to match the funds, which it has thus far not done.
In 2007, nickel, copper and platinum metal deposits were discovered at the site. Nickel is a key component of electric vehicle batteries, accounting for roughly 80 per cent of one, says Straub, who came to the company in the spring. For any of that to work, the company needs a road to haul out the metals it extracts. And it needs collaboration with First Nations, he says.
"Our ask back to the government and to the other First Nations is that while we respect your opinion, that we don't get stopped in terms of the exploration work or the engineering work."
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Inside the battle over the Ring of Fire in northern OntarioOntario is planning to build a road as part of its pledge to mine the Ring of Fire region, but many see the provincial government’s ambitions as an existential threat to their way of life
Read more »
'We want to be able to decide': Inside the battle over the Ring of FireNESKANTAGA FIRST NATION, ONT. — On a rock-covered beach in the heart of the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, Alex Moonias gazes east, then north. All he sees is undisturbed land, water and air.
Read more »
'We want to be able to decide': Inside the battle over the Ring of FireNESKANTAGA FIRST NATION, ONT. — On a rock-covered beach in the heart of the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, Alex Moonias gazes east, then north. All he sees is undisturbed land, water and air.
Read more »
'We want to be able to decide': Inside the battle over the Ring of FireNeskantaga's leadership is not completely opposed to mining in the Ring of Fire, but they are dead set against the way the province has gone about it
Read more »
'We want to be able to decide': Inside the battle over the Ring of FireNESKANTAGA FIRST NATION, ONT. — On a rock-covered beach in the heart of the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, Alex Moonias gazes east, then north. All he sees is undisturbed land, water and air.
Read more »
'We want to be able to decide': Inside the battle over the Ring of FireNESKANTAGA FIRST NATION, ONT. — On a rock-covered beach in the heart of the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, Alex Moonias gazes east, then north. All he sees is undisturbed land, water and air.
Read more »