This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/
The Ontario government says its recent land withdrawal near Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) will help avoid future disagreements like the ongoing conflict between God’s Lake Resources and KI.
The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines announced Mar. 4 that it has withdrawn 23,181 square kilometers “in the vicinity of KI” from prospecting and mine claim staking.
But KI Chief Donny Morris said the land withdrawal caught his community off guard, considering that negotiations between the First Nation and Ontario over land claims broke down months ago.
“I think they jumped ahead of us,” Morris said. “It should be a historical event when you withdraw that much land. There should have been meetings about it. Instead they are telling us what’s best for us.”
In a notice posted to the ministry’s website, the government stated that the land withdrawal will “give clarity to the province’s mineral exploration industry and avoid future disagreements over the land in question.”
The withdrawal does not affect God’s Lake Resources mining claim at Sherman Lake, which has become a flashpoint for conflict between KI, the government and the company.
God’s Lake, a junior gold mining company, plans to restart exploration work at the site this month despite ongoing protests from KI.
Morris has stated that his community plans to mobilize against the company’s exploration work.
KI’s chief said that since the land withdrawal does not stop God’s Lake Resources from its planned exploration work at Sherman Lake, the government needs to go back to the drawing board and work with the First Nation on an appropriate land use plan.
Ontario’s land withdrawal announcement came just days before a planned KI rally in Toronto. The rally, scheduled for Mar. 6, is geared at bringing attention to the ongoing dispute between the First Nation and God’s Lake Resources.
“We’re going to let the public know that this is still an issue, even though we’re way up here in the North,” Morris said of the rally. “And to see this overwhelming support that we have.”
The CPAWS Wildlands League, a conservation group, applauded Ontario’s move to set a moratorium on exploration in the region, but cautioned that efforts still need to be made to resolve the conflict between KI and God’s Lake Resources.
“We see the announcement as a positive step by the province to provide certainty for local communities, ecosystems, and the broader mining sector,” said Anna Baggio of Wildlands League. “(Yet) under the old Mining Act, God’s Lake Resources can ignore the wishes of the community in this area. We urge the province to resolve this issue quickly and bring peace to the land.”
KI band members and members of KI’s band council will speak to a Toronto audience on Mar. 5 about the situation the community faces with God’s Lake Resources. Then on Mar. 6 members of KI will lead a rally and a march outside the Prospectors and Developers Association conference, where thousands of mining industry and government delegates from around the world have gathered.