Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire a hot election issue

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Rich in resources, northern Ontario's so-called Ring of Fire region will require working with First National groups and an investment in roads and other infrastructure before it can be developed. (Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry)

Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty regularly calls the Ring of Fire mineral deposit one of Ontario's brightest hopes for a shiny new economy and “the most promising mining opportunity in Canada in a century.”

The mineral deposit covers a vast stretch of the James Bay lowlands in the province's far north.

It's full of chromite, the key ingredient in stainless steel. It’s a commodity dozens of mining companies say could result in a multi-billion dollar boom.

But the promise of a bright spot in the struggling economy is tarnished by confusion over who owns the resources in Northern Ontario.

The Ring of Fire sits entirely within Treaty 9 territory. This vast area stretches north from Timmins, across the James Bay lowlands to the Hudson Bay coast and all the way west to the Manitoba border. Although it covers about two thirds of Ontario’s land mass, a recent court ruling suggests the provincial government has limited control over its resources.

Murray Braithwaite works with Fasken Martineau, a law firm specializing in mining issues. He said the Ontario Superior Court’s Keewatin decision has changed the rules regarding resource extraction in the region. In August, the court ruled that the province cannot authorize timber and logging if those operations infringe on federal treaty promises that protect aboriginal rights to traditional hunting and trapping. It’s still unclear how that decision will affect mining operations.

“Everyone is trying to digest the decision,” Braithwaite said. “The implications of leases being invalid are difficult to accept.”

Braithwaite said he expects the decision will trigger an appeal and lead to years of legal wrangling. As a result, it may be a long time before the rules about doing business in Ontario’s Far North can be clarified.

First Nations want a say in development

But First Nations aren’t waiting for court decisions to assert their authority over land they claim as their own.

Many have taken their cue from the UN declaration on indigenous rights which states that consultation about development is not enough, consent is also required.

One First Nation northwest of the Ring of Fire but still in prime mining country issued its own watershed protection plan in July.

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug declared more than 13,000 square kilometres of land near their community off limits to mining companies and other industrial uses.

It’s not the first time Kitchenuhmaykoosib has attempted to stop mining activity. Leaders from the community were sent to jail in 2008 for opposing mining development on land now covered by the new watershed declaration.

Eventually the chief and several councillors won their appeal and were released from jail. The province had to pay the mining company $5 million to drop its claims to mine in the First Nations territory. The provincial bureaucrat in charge of negotiations during that dispute has since been appointed by the Liberal government to head up the Ring of Fire development.

Among the three major provincial parties, only the NDP say they support First Nations’ right to say no to development.

Even chiefs who are actively working with mining companies say the provincial government is a bit player in developing the Far North.

Peter Moonias is the chief of Neskantaga First Nation. His community, and three other First Nations on the edge of the chromite deposit, recently signed an agreement to work together to own and operate a road to the resources.

“We can’t just sit back and wait for them to develop the land, we had to be part of it,” Moonias says. “We have to work with the companies, whoever wants to work with us. If they don’t want to work with us, I think it’s going to be a battle for them to get in there.”

Infrastructure is lacking

As for the province, Moonias says, “I’m sorry to say this, [but] I have kind of lost interest to deal with those guys because they give me the run around all the time. They say this is the land that belongs to the Crown.

“But if they recognize that it’s the First Nations that have the last say on the land, then we will work with the provincial government on that basis.”

Mining companies temper their concern about potential land disputes with their desire to assure investors all is well.

Still, many are looking for the province to offer clarity and support. There are no roads and no power grid into the Ring of Fire. That’s infrastructure governments typically subsidize for large developments such as the chromite deposit, which could provide jobs and tax revenue for decades.

Most mining company executives working in the Ring of Fire have spoken with party leaders to suss out their platforms, but to protect their investment, they’re spending much more time talking to chiefs.