This article came from Wawatay News: http://www.wawataynews.ca/
The Ontario government has paid $3.5 million to buy out God’s Lake Resource’s controversial claims in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) territory.
The government announced its deal with the junior gold mining company on Mar. 29. Under terms of the settlement God’s Lake agreed to surrender its mining leases and claims.
The land in question was added to the more than 23,000 square kilometers that Ontario previously removed from development in the region. KI Chief Donny Morris said the announcement was good news for his First Nation.
“Now my question to the government is when do we sit down and discuss the real, tangible things,” Morris said. “Everybody thinks we’re anti-development, but we’re not. But we are signatory to the Treaty, and we want to have say over development.”
Ontario’s minister of northern development and mines, Rick Bartolucci, said the agreement responds to KI’s concerns while allowing God’s Lake to move forward with mineral exploration in other parts of the province.
“Our government is committed to assisting companies move forward with exploration and development in Ontario and continuing to meet our duty to consult,” Bartolucci said in a press release.
The dispute between KI and God’s Lake has been growing since last September, when KI issued a eviction notice to the company after community members came upon an unannounced exploration site on traditional lands.
The conflict came to a head on Mar. 6 when KI councilors, elders and community members held a rally in Toronto outside the Prospectors and Developers Association international mining conference.
God’s Lake had said it would resume exploration work despite the First Nation’s opposition, sparking an impromptu camp being set up by Morris and other community members at the Sherman Lake exploration site.
The settlement between Ontario and God’s Lake is the second time Ontario has paid out millions of dollars to a company over a dispute with KI. In 2008 the government paid over $5 million to Platinex after the conflict that resulted in six KI members, including Morris, being jailed for over three months for blocking the mining company.
Morris said that the government now has to get land use plans completed before another mining company ends up with a big payout of public money.
“This is where I want the government to come to the table,” Morris said. “Now is the time. You can’t just keep throwing public money at every company that comes along.”
“Let’s hash out these things, let’s negotiate, let’s discuss the opportunities,” Morris added. “The government has to understand that there is another entity up north.”