The Ontario government is currently pursuing plans for three roads leading to the Ring of Fire. Neskantaga isn’t necessarily opposed to development altogether, but the nation needs to properly understand what the impacts to the environment and its way of life would be before the community can even consider giving consent, Chris Moonias said. They also need consultations to be held in the community and in Anishinaabemowin, the language spoken by many who live there. Its members need time and resources to truly absorb the various proposals and options. Neskantaga says the nation - which is also handling crises with youth suicides and long-term boil-water advisories caused by the ongoing impacts of colonization - needs more than government emails and updates. Other nations, like Neskantaga, haven’t consented to development and say the Ontario government isn’t meaningfully consulting them about processes that will shape their future for generations to come. The Ontario government is backing access road projects proposed by Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations, which would connect their communities to services and opportunities to the south, and also provide new access for mining companies. “You don’t have stability when you don’t have all the First Nations that are going to be impacted on board.” Photo: Sara Hylton / The Narwhal Neskantaga Chief Wayne Moonias previously told The Narwhal investors in potential mining projects in the Ring of Fire should know his First Nation hasn’t consented to development, and is willing to push back. But miners have been asking governments to approve and build them for over a decade so they can access mineral deposits in the area.Īlmost everyone agrees that roads would upend life for First Nations in the Ring of Fire region, but different leaders and individuals within each community have varying views on what should happen and whether governments and industry have gone about it the right way. Right now, there are no permanent roads to the area. In Ontario, the provincial government has been laser-focused on the remote and environmentally-sensitive Ring of Fire region in the James Bay Lowlands.
But with that push has come renewed concerns from First Nations, many of which have said nothing should be happening on their territories without their free, prior and informed consent. They came together as governments across Canada are pushing to open more mines faster, an effort to secure supplies of minerals needed to build lower-emissions technology like electric vehicles.
Neskantaga, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Muskrat Dam, Grassy Narrows and Wapekeka are among a group of nations that formed the First Nations Land Defence Alliance earlier this year in an effort to defend against resource extraction in their territories. Photo: Carlos Osorio / The Narwhal Where First Nations in Ontario stand on Ring of Fire development Allen Brown, right, represented Wapekeka. Bottom: Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug councillor Cecilia Begg, Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle and Muskrat Dam representative Alvin Fiddler joined Wayne Moonias and Chris Moonias on a trip to Queen’s Park to ask Ford for a meeting. Top: As incoming Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias and his predecessor, Chief Wayne Moonias, called to Premier Doug Ford from a balcony, Ford stared straight ahead and refused to acknowledge them. “Our people’s lives are important,” said Wayne Moonias, Neskantaga’s outgoing Chief, as security ejected him and Chris Moonias from the room. Ford stared straight ahead as more voices chimed in, some chanting “no Ring of Fire.” Some ministers looked up, but not the premier. Ford didn’t answer, deferring to another minister instead.Īnd so Chris Moonias stood, pointing his finger at the premier below, his voice echoing through the chamber. Moments earlier, amid question period, NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa had asked Premier Doug Ford if he would meet with the chiefs seated above to hear their concerns, a sit-down they said they’d been seeking for weeks. In another balcony across the room, dozens more members of the nations looked on. They were there Wednesday to warn the government that they stood united to push back against the province’s efforts to expand mining in their territories - particularly in the Ring of Fire region.
The Chief-elect of Neskantaga First Nation was seated with representatives of four other nations from the Far North: Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Muskrat Dam, Grassy Narrows and Wapekeka, all located over 1,000 kilometres away from Toronto. In a balcony at the Ontario legislature, overlooking rows of lawmakers sparring over mining in the Far North, Chris Moonias rose to his feet.
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