Greenstone gets it: Mercredi

A former Assembly of First Nations national chief says he is pleased with how Greenstone is working with First Nations on natural resource development, calling it a model for future projects across Canada.
The municipality is hosting Grow Greenstone Expo at the Victoria Inn in Thunder Bay, showcasing its amenities as anticipation about the Ring of Fire mining belt grows.
Hundreds of people are at the expo, looking into and promoting living and working in the township and its potential for being an industry hub for the mining project.
It also serves as an example for how communities and industry can work with First Nations to forge agreements that benefit all, said Ovide Mercredi, who was the keynote speaker on Monday.
“My talk focuses on four themes. The first is about building bridges, people learning to work together to create a common vision, and you can only create a common vision if you talk to each other,” he said in an interview.
“The other theme is blunt. It’s that the North does not belong to the government or industry, it belongs to the people who live there.
“The third is about . . . none of us are going away, so we should focus on reconciliation.
“The fourth is sharing wealth. No one has to become poor because of mineral finds, or become exceedingly wealthy at the expense of others,” said Mercredi.
Mercredi is currently a Misipawistik Cree Nation councillor and national treaties 1-11 spokesman.
The themes he listed come back to improving life for everyone who resides in the Northwest, he said.
If people open communication lines, they gain respect for each other and can work to find common ground, Mercredi said.
The people who live in the North have the final decision on how their resources will be developed, he said, adding treaty rights have to be honoured, as they were written to benefit everyone, and everyone wants to have the same high standard of living, quality education and to preserve water and the environment.
He said the themes apply to Greenstone because it’s a good model as a municipality and because of the relationship it has with First Nations.
Greenstone, he said, supports First Nations in terms of environmental assessment and respect for treaty rights, and wants all to benefit from natural resources in Northern Ontario.
“Greenstone is standing beside the First Nations and at the same time they are developing an economic model for their region that will benefit all, not just their municipality,” Mercredi said. “Their approach, in my opinion, is the way to go forward across the country between non-aboriginal people and First Nations people.”
Greenstone Mayor Ron Beaulieu echoed those sentiments.
“We are an example of how we can help the government move forward, because we want to help the First Nations have the same kind of amenities where we live,” he said. “We take these for granted, but if you go into those Northern communities, you can see there are issues that need to be addressed.
“They are not being serviced the way they should be serviced.”
Beaulieu said it is critical the municipality promote itself as investment-ready as mining companies prepare to develop the Ring of Fire.
The expo continues today.

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/content/news/local/2013/03/26/greenstone-gets-it-mercredi