Ontario government ends Ring of Fire regional agreement with Matawa First Nations

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The provincial government has officially ended the regional framework agreement between Queen's Park and the First Nations closest to the Ring of Fire, pledging to move forward with a series of bilateral agreements instead.

The press secretary for Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford confirmed those details to CBC News on Tuesday. Rickford was scheduled to be at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie that morning to make an announcement.

The future of the regional table's existence, that was designed to guide talks between the province and the Matawa First Nations over resource development in the mineral-rich James Bay lowlands, has been uncertain since the Progressive Conservatives formed government in 2018. 

Money tied to the agreement, signed between the previous Ontario Liberal government and Matawa, ran out at the end of October; as well, the appointment of Frank Iacobucci, who was the chief negotiator for the province, was not renewed by the PCs, with the retired Supreme Court judge stepping aside over the summer.

Rickford's press secretary told CBC News that Rickford's announcement in Sault Ste. Marie was to update the mining industry on the Ring of Fire and a move away from "bureaucratic delays."

The regional framework's viability was also in doubt under the former government, with then-Premier Kathleen Wynne saying in a letter to the Matawa chiefs in 2017 that they "should not squander" a 2014 financial commitment and that she would work individually with any chief who would work with her.

Additionally, some of the Matawa First Nations themselves expressed concerns with the state of the talks, with Neskantaga and Eabametoong slamming the previous government and calling for a "re-set", saying the framework was unfair and accusing the province at the time of engaging in a "closed-door" process with individual First Nations.

Ring of Fire mining company Noront Resources and Marten Falls First Nation jointly issued a statement welcoming Tuesday's announcement.  Marten Falls is the proponent of an environmental assessment for the first stage of an access road connecting the community to an all-season road.  The end goal of the project is to connect to the Ring of Fire.

"For communities like Marten Falls, it is an unprecedented opportunity to transform our socio-economic future," the statement said, referring to developing the Ring of Fire, calling it "a generational opportunity."