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http://www.firstperspective.ca/news/3506-rae-seeks-permission-to-represent-first-nations

Category: [LINK=/news]NEWS[/LINK] Created on Friday, 08 March 2013 13:49 Last Updated on Friday, 08 March 2013 13:49 Published Date
By Lee Berthiaume And Michael Woods, Postmedia News

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae is asking the federal ethics commissioner whether he can serve as chief negotiator for First Nations seeking greater resource revenues from the province of Ontario and remain a federal member of Parliament.

Rae announced his intentions to Liberal MPs and senators during a weekly caucus meeting on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, the same day First Nations leaders from northern Ontario told Premier Kathleen Wynne they had selected Rae to represent their interests.

The aboriginals want Rae to represent them in discussions on how to divvy up billions of dollars worth of expected revenues from major mining developments - known as the Ring of Fire - and prevent environmental damage.

It's the first time Rae has revealed what he plans to do after he hands over the Liberal party's reins to the new leader on April 14.

As a former Ontario premier and an outspoken advocate for aboriginal rights, Rae would bring heft and a great deal of experience to an issue that is of paramount importance to First Nations in Ontario and across Canada.

"He's been around," said Aroland First Nation Chief Sonny Gagnon in an interview from Toronto. "He's been a premier. He's done negotiations for other communities. He understands us."

A key issue Rae is asking the ethics commissioner to address is whether he can collect payment from the Ontario government in connection with his work as a negotiator with the First Nations while at the same time collecting his MP's salary.

Rae's new position would involve representing First Nation interests in Ontario's multibillion-dollar Ring of Fire mineral development project, located about 540 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

Thought to be one of the most promising mineral development opportunities in Ontario in decades, the Ring of Fire is home to major chromite, copper, nickel, zinc, gold and kimberlite deposits.

The chromite deposit is the largest ever discovered in North America - with the commercially valuable mineral a key ingredient in creating stainless steel. Estimates put total revenues for the Ring of Fire at as much as $50 billion.

Gagnon said the First Nations compiled a list of potential "high-profile" negotiators that included former Newfoundland premiers Danny Williams and Brian Tobin and former prime minister Paul Martin as well as Rae.