The federal government’s minister of FedNor has ignited a backlash from First Nations leaders around the Ring of Fire by saying that delaying development is ‘inexcusable.’
Conservative MP Tony Clement told reporters in Thunder Bay on June 11 that while the government takes its obligation to consult with First Nations seriously, it will not give First Nations communities a veto over development.
Clement was answering questions about comments made by Neskantaga First Nation Chief Peter Moonias that he would die before allowing a Ring of Fire road to cross the Attawapiskat River.
“There’s going to be headlines here or there when somebody walks away from the table and then marches back to the table,” Clement told TB Newswatch. “But at the end of the day we find ways where the private sector can work with First Nations, can work with governments to ensure these projects can go ahead in a sensible manner.”
Chiefs from four First Nation communities surrounding the Ring of Fire responded angrily to Clement’s comments, including Moonias.
“Minister Clement chooses to minimize what I have said,” Moonias said in a statement. “I am not threatening to walk away from the table as he suggests, I am planning to prevent a road from being built over the Attawapiskat River unless we get the proper, negotiated Joint Review Panel EA process.”
“The minister underestimates our connection to our land and he underestimates our determination,” Moonias added.
Clement was in Thunder Bay to promote the federal government’s new legislation that will streamline the environmental assessment process for resource development projects.
The government wants one review per project, with a two-year timeline.
Chief Eli Moonias of Marten Falls First Nation said the government’s plan to streamline a system that already moves too fast is “inexcusable.” Moonias cited the problems facing communities downstream of Alberta’s oilsands due to pollution from those developments.
“If a delay had taken place (on the Athabasca River) in order to ensure proper environmental controls than the water there might still be drinkable and the fish would still look normal,” Marten Falls’ chief said. “As it is there is now arsenic and mercury in that once pristine river.
“(The Athabasca) was destroyed with a short fast-track Environmental Assessment process like the one Canada is using for the Cliffs Chromite project,” Moonias added. “Now they want to streamline the process further with new legislation. Is there something wrong with the government’s thought process, if not their mental capacity?”
Chief Roger Wesley of Constance Lake First Nation and Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation also expressed their disappointment with Clement’s comments, and reiterated their call for a full Joint Review Panel assessment in the Ring of Fire.
“A Joint Review Panel EA would give time for appropriate consultation and a serious look at the impacts on the land, but also on our people,” Wesley said. “Impacts to our culture, our communities, our land and way of life are not irrelevant.”
Matawa Tribal Council is currently in the process for a judicial review of the environmental assessment being used for the Cliffs Chromite project. Matawa case is expected to come before the courts sometime over the next year.