Consultation and Conservation Demands Conflict with Outdated Mining Law across Canada’s Boreal Forest

Spreading disputes between First
Nations and mining companies may lead to jail time for Aboriginal leaders in
northern Ontario pending the outcome of an Ontario Superior Court of Justice
appearance today. Chief Donnie Morris and other members of Kitchenuhmaykoosib
Inninuwug (KI), an Aboriginal community in the Boreal Forest of Ontario, may
be jailed for refusing to comply with an October,2007 court ruling that allows
Platinex Inc., a Toronto-based mineral exploration company, to begin drilling
on KI traditional lands without protest or obstruction. KI had established a
peaceful protest camp at the Platinex exploration site.
    Today's hearing is part of a larger trend of heated battles on the ground
and in the courts between northern First Nations and mineral exploration
companies. Outdated laws which exclusively promote mining exploration are
coming head-to-head with modern appreciation of conservation values, including
traditional Aboriginal land use, and modern legal interpretations of
Aboriginal rights and title. Booming mineral prices have accelerated
exploration throughout the region, and unrest is growing among aboriginal
communities throughout Ontario's Boreal. At least nine First Nations in
northern Ontario have called for a moratorium on logging and mining over
concerns that they are not being properly consulted prior to industrial
activities on their lands.
    Despite the Supreme Court of Canada's rulings requiring consultation with
First Nations prior to making decisions that affect their lands, the Ontario
Government allowed Platinex to stake claims and begin exploratory drilling on
KI's traditional lands without any consultation. In response, KI decided to
peacefully oppose Platinex's mineral exploration activities on their
traditional lands. Platinex in turn sued KI for $10 billion for denying the
company access to the mining claims. The KI has now gone bankrupt since
accruing over $500,000 in legal fees resisting Platinex's action. In November
of last year, Platinex filed a motion seeking to find KI in contempt of court
and seeking fines and imprisonment. "Platinex seeks to jail our leaders and
supporters and bankrupt our community," Chief Donnie Morris said. "I'm
prepared to go to jail for my belief in my land."
    "We want our children and grandchildren to continue to use the lands and
resources to pursue their usual vocations of hunting, trapping, and fishing,"
said Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug elder Mark T. Anderson who led a group of KI
protesters on a 2,100 km walk from northern Ontario to Toronto in 2006. "We
want to protect the environment at the potential drilling/mining site plus the
surrounding area which includes our Kitchenuhmaykoosib Lake."
    The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation in eastern Ontario is facing a similar
situation. Their land was staked and exploratory drilling approved without any
consultation; they are also faced with an injunction which they cannot obey
and could soon see their leaders jailed and their community bankrupted by
contempt of court sanctions which will only inflame an already tense
situation. Along with KI, they have proposed a joint panel to investigate what
led to these conflicts and recommend new approaches to mineral exploration on
First Nations' lands, but have received no reply from Ontario Premier Dalton
McGuinty.