Court rules it has no authority to determine adequate consultation or rewrite provincial legislation
The Ontario Superior court has dismissed a challenge by Neskantaga First Nation and its claim of inadequate consultation on a proposed section of the Ring of Fire road.
Neskantaga, located 430 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has been an opponent to the proposed road to the Ring of Fire, arguing that there’s an inadequate First Nations consultation framework in Ontario. Neskantaga filed its court application in November 2021, about a month after the province approved the terms of reference for the environmental assessment for the Marten Falls Community Access Road.
Neskantaga called the consultation process “deeply inadequate” regarding the terms of reference for an environmental assessment for the proposed Marten Falls Access Road, which Neskantaga claims crosses its homelands. Its leadership said it had been dealing with multiple, ongoing series of crises, including pandemic-related lockdowns, a 25-year boil-water advisory, crumbling infrastructure, inadequate healthcare services, and frequent community evacuations.
The court found that the province didn’t illegally “offload” its duty to consult responsibility to another party. There was evidence showing the province’s detailed consultation process and that the government “maintained oversight and intervened when issues arose.”
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