The prospect of an all-season road corridor that would eventually provide year-round access to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario appears to be moving ahead – albeit slowly.
Construction of the road network would permit access to the area about 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay that is flush with chromite, nickel, copper, gold, zinc and other minerals.
Road access to the region is necessary to enable the minerals to be transported to the highway system. The province is trying to create an end-to-end manufacturing chain for electric vehicle batteries and sees the region as a prime source for the critical minerals needed.
Premier Doug Ford has stated his enthusiasm and intent to connect the region and northern industries, resources and workers to the south of Ontario to build up home-grown supply chains. With a risk of U.S. tariffs, he maintains the project is vital to unlocking the region’s potential.
The project is progressing but at a snail’s pace and hurdles remain. The development is complicated by the fact there are nine First Nation communities located around the proposed Ring of Fire mining site, collectively known as the Matawa First Nations.
A few weeks ago, an agreement was signed with Aroland First Nation north of Geraldton to upgrade Anaconda and Painter Lake Roads and invest funds in infrastructure and energy transmission.
The deal also includes the establishment of an advisory body to move the work forward.
As part of the deal, Ontario is providing $20 million to Aroland for community infrastructure projects that support business development, boost community well-being and preparedness to participate in economic activities related to mineral development in the region. Another $2.27 million will be contributed to support business development and community wellness.
In a second development, 15 First Nation partners and the Impact Assessment Agency of ϳԹ (IAAC) agreed on terms of reference for a regional assessment on the impacts of any future development.
A working group of community members from the First Nations communities and IAAC will conduct the regional assessment and prepare a report that, once finalized, will be submitted to the chiefs of all First Nations partners and the federal minister of environment and climate change.
The assessment will examine the environmental, health, social and economic effects and benefits of any future development.
While there have been steps forward, the project has also been slowed by a series of road bumps.
Earlier, the Matawa Chiefs Council (MCC) took exception to a promise made by Ford that he and Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development, job creation and trade, would be prepared to hop on a bulldozer himself to start building the roads to get to the James Bay lowlands.
The council said in a statement it also objected to an indication by Ford that First Nations had consented to his Am-Can fortress strategy. The MCC emphasized their land is not for sale.
Specifically, the MCC said the strategy and rhetoric around having secured Indigenous rights holders’ consent to resources required for the critical minerals supply chain lacks consideration of claims that have been filed by First Nations in the region against Ontario and ϳԹ.
Since 2018 when Ford took office, First Nations in Matawa have attempted to establish a working relationship with the Ontario government on a meaningful approach to advancing development of the north, including the proposed Ring of Fire, the MCC statement said. It holds the position that the province’s authority to grant access to critical minerals in the Ring of Fire region within MCC traditional homelands is “precarious” and the First Nations have protocols on access to the lands that need to be followed.
Previously, the council had also been disturbed by a sign posted on private property in a high-traffic area in Geraldton that allegedly spread a hate message against First Nations in the Ring of Fire.
The sign featured a bulldozer with the slogan Tread on Them, a reference to the historical American Gadsden flag that was a symbol of the colonies during the American Revolution.
The chiefs maintained the sign and message were extremely racist and posted as a reference to Ford’s willingness to hop on a bulldozer himself to build roads to the region. The MCC called on the
Municipality of Greenstone to remove the sign because, in a broader context, it is the type of slogan that has allowed extremist and threatening ideology to take root.
The MCC argued when Ford first made the bulldozer comment, it emboldened citizens of Ontario to show dehumanizing attitudes towards the First Nations communities and their positions towards their homelands.
“Regardless, this does not deter us from saying and doing what we believe in,” the MCC stated. “Our people can not be concerned with their safety if there is any progress to take place.”
The MCC is considering bringing a claim of discrimination to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario over the sign.
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