There have been some important events over the past 3 months. The official signing ceremony forming a partnership between the Municipality and Aroland First Nations is of ongoing importantance in our joint economic interests related to the Ring of Fire. Quite simply, we want the same things, which are jobs and economic development opportunities that are linked to future mining and processing facilities. In early November, I attended the three day Canadian Aboriginal Mining Conference in Winnipeg. The largest Canadian conference in this format, “Seeking Consent, Seeking Resources” was very rewarding as I gained a deeper understanding of the necessary steps to get permissions for mining activities and exploration to take place on Treaty Lands. Our Greenstone booth was extremely well visited which displayed the Ring of Fire region to the north of Greenstone. The interest in the Ring of Fire is enormous and was discussed in several conference sessions.
In mid November, a group of business people, GEDC staff and three members of Council travelled to the Red Lake area as guests of Red Lake’s Municipal and Economic Development staff. The site visit was organized and was funded through Greenstone Economic Development Corporation. The team was provided with a better understanding into the issues, challenges, and impact on a municipality like Red Lake, which it is being affected by new mining developments. Red Lake has seen a tremendous restart of it’s world class gold mines. Issues related to it’s airport expansion, housing, pressures placed upon municipal infrastructure, acquiring and zoning lands for development, opportunities and challenges, were all introduced to the 19 members of this delegation. A final report is being prepared by GEDC and will be released to the public. Lessons learned can be applied to Greenstone.
