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Ontario’s Ring of Fire Mineral Discovery

There’s enough for everybody here – by Harvey Yesno – Onotassiniik Magazine (Fall 2013)

 http://www.onotassiniik.com/

Harvey Yesno is the Grand Chief of NAN (Nishnawbe Aski Nation).

The following is excerpted from an opening address by Grand Chief Harvey Yesno at the Nishnawbe Aski Nation Chiefs Assembly in Mattagami First Nation, April 9, and his follow-up comments to chiefs about resource development and infrastructure, April 10.

It’s time to get down to business for Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN). The First Nations across James Bay Treaty 9 and the Ontario portion of Treaty 5 will not be bystanders or a stakeholder or an interest group as Ontario and Canada prepare to take our interest in the lands and resources to market. …

I am committed to ensuring that there be a balanced treaty and economic approach. NAN First Nations and our future generations will benefit from the development in our territory as was intended at the time of the treaty. …  How do we provoke the implementation of our treaties?

We must develop a strategic approach that includes ensuring that our treaty partners, Canada and Ontario, are equally responsible to uphold the promises made at the time of the treaty. Canada and Ontario cannot opt out of addressing the needs and concerns of NAN. Ontario cannot wash its hands of the duty to consult and accommodate First Nations, nor can it download its responsibility to industry. …

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The Ring of Fire: Ontario’s Mega Mining Project to be the “Next Fort McMurray” – by Derek Leahy ( DeSmog Canada – August 28, 2013)

http://www.desmog.ca/

Ontario’s largest mining find in decades – a 5000 square km region known as the Ring of Fire – won’t be developed by Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources without facing significant obstacles.

“We question whether the Ring of Fire can be mined without being a massive financial burden on Ontario taxpayers, or without trashing the province’s most pristine watershed,” says Ramsey Hart, Canada program coordinator for MiningWatch Canada, an Ottawa-based organization.

“It is also unclear if this development will proceed in the best interests of the First Nations living in the Ring of Fire,” Hart told DeSmog Canada.

A briefing note to the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs from earlier this year warns that the Anishinaabe/Omushkego* (First Nations of the Ring of Fire) “are some of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in all of Canada” and this could prevent the Anishinaabe/Omushkego from benefitting from the Ring of Fire mega mining project.

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NEWS RELEASE: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. Reports on Sustainability Progress

August 27, 2013

For the entire sustainability report, click here: http://www.cliffsnaturalresources.com/EN/Sustainability/Sustainability2012/Documents/Cliffs%202012%20Sustainability%20Report%20-%20Full%20Version.pdf

CLEVELAND, Aug. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (Paris: CLF) announced today the release of its 2012 sustainability report, entitled “Embracing our Past, Securing our Future.” The sustainability report is a comprehensive look at Cliffs’ global operations and outlines the Company’s progress in key areas of its sustainability strategy.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101104/CLIFFSLOGO )

“This year has been marked by continual change and volatility in the commodities market, which has presented our Company with a number of opportunities and challenges. However, our expectations of personal accountability and business ethics are unwavering,” said David Cartella, vice-president — global environmental affairs, sustainability and counsel. “Going forward, we will continue to build upon a strong foundation of sustainability with the development of a three-year, enterprise-wide strategy. Aligned with business priorities and integrated with operational and functional groups, this strategy aims to maximize our shared value by reinforcing our social license to operate.”

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Sell-off [Ontario Northland] “not only option” – by Wayne Snider (Timmins Daily Press – August 28, 2013)

The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.

TIMMINS – As Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Michael Gravelle is arguably the most important link to Queen’s Park for Northerners.

Gravelle took time out of his schedule to sit down with editorial staff at The Daily Press for an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

The minister discussed at length provincial issues specific to the region. He admitted one of the biggest bones of contention in the Northeast is the divestiture of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

“In the 2012 budget the decision was made,” Gravelle said. “There certainly was some very clear fiscal challenges and there was a decision made at that time, obviously in terms of the budget that indeed the divestment of the ONTC was the direction the government needed to go in. It was certainly a very tough decision at the time and one that (drew) a very strong reaction from Northern Ontario.”

Since that time, there has been a change in the premiership, with Kathleen Wynne replacing Dalton McGuinty. The provincial government has somewhat softened its response on the ONTC sell-off, but has not yet made any concrete promises.

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Mine training fails First Nations people, researcher says (CBC News Thunder Bay – August 27, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

Feds promise $6M to train First Nations people in Northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire.

The federal government’s $6 million in funding to train people from Matawa First Nations in the mining sector is unlikely to improve employment prospects for aboriginal people, an Ontario researcher says.

Lindsay Bell, a university of Toronto researcher, looked at mine training programs in the Northwest Territories. She says after being trained, few aboriginal people found jobs in the mines. The federal government announced earlier this month that 260 people will be trained through the fund.

The money will go to a group of stakeholders called the Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance, which includes Matawa First Nations, NorOnt Resources and Confederation College.

The program will feature 15 courses including environmental monitoring, heavy equipment operation and several pre-trades courses such as carpentry, plumbing and welding. Other job possibilities range from security guard to camp cook to electrician.

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Ring of Fire makes Northern voices louder – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – August 20, 2013)

http://www.northernlife.ca/

Province listening as mayors join forces to push their priorities

The mayors of the five biggest cities in Northern Ontario hope speaking with one voice will convince the province to act on some of the longstanding issues they say has held the region back for decades.

And with the Ring of Fire representing the biggest single economic development opportunity in the province, the government is listening, says Greater Sudbury Mayor Marianne Matichuk.

Matichuk, Al MacDonald of North Bay, Debbie Amoroso of Sault Ste. Marie, Tom Laughren of Timmins and Joe Virdiramo, acting mayor of Thunder Bay, unveiled their Northern Priorities document Tuesday at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario meeting in Ottawa.

The annual event offers Ontario’s 444 municipalities access to provincial cabinet ministers, opposition leaders – and even representatives from the federal government. Local politicians normally schedule one-on-one meetings with ministers and make a pitch for their city’s priorities.

But in an unprecedented move, the leaders of the North’s five biggest cities made a collective pitch, calling on the province to focus on six areas they say are key to economic development.

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Feds should pursue stronger EA on Ring of Fire – by Steve May (Sudbury Star – August 21, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Letter to the Editor

Kenora MP Greg Rickford, minister of Science and Technology, with responsibilities for FedNor and the Ring of Fire, was in Greater Sudbury last week to discuss resource development in northwestern Ontario.

Rickford says he wants to push partisan politics aside and begin a process of “thorough consultation”. This new approach from Stephen Harper’s Conservative government is long over due.

The extraction of mineral resources in the remote Ring of Fire represents a multibillion-dollar enterprise, potentially creating thousands of jobs throughout the North. The challenges are significant –but the boost to the North’s economy (and the province) may be worth the investment of public dollars on capital projects, such as a rail or road access.

With comparisons being made between the Ring of Fire and Alberta’s oil sands, it’s no wonder that environmentalists and First Nations communities are wary of runaway development decisions being made by governments without due consideration of future impacts.

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FedNor minister optimistic about Ring of Fire “legacy” project – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – August 2013)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

Greg Rickford has only been in his new role a month, but he vows he will do things differently as minister of state, science and technology, FedNor and the Ring of Fire. But FedNor’s mandate will stay the same.

“With respect to FedNor, we will continue to remain focused on our core principles: community economic development, business growth and innovation, and economic development initiatives,” said Rickford, who was appointed to his new role after a July cabinet shuffle, during a stop in Sudbury at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

By a show of good faith, he’s hired on a Northerner in the newly created role of senior policy advisor, who will answer directly to Rickford’s chief of staff. Mark Wright, a Lakehead University grad and the former director of the Thunder Bay Port Authority, will be exclusively focused on Northern Ontario, FedNor and the Ring of Fire, which Rickford deems “a legacy project.”

With a value of $93 billion in 2012, products from Canada’s mineral industry make up more than a fifth of the country’s exports, Rickford said. Projects like the development of the Ring of Fire chromite deposit, located in the James Bay Lowlands, are poised to add even more value to that sector.

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Ring of Fire a ‘legacy project’: Minister – by Laura Stricker (Sudbury Star – August 17, 2013)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper

Ottawa remains committed to helping develop the so-called Ring of Fire, but it will do so carefully, the government’s Northern Ontario cabinet minister said in Sudbury on Friday.

Greg Rick-ford, Canada’s new science and technology minister, made the promise during his first visit to Sud-bury since taking on the title.

Rickford, who is also responsible for FedNor and the Ring of Fire, spent two days in Greater Sudbury, making a funding announcement at NORC AT and a speech to the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce.  The visit is part of a Northern Ontario tour that included visits to Thunder Bay and North Bay.

During both local stops, he affirmed the federal government’s commitment to pushing forward on the Ring of Fire — but carefully.  “I fully expect that we will begin a process of thorough consultation,” Rickford, the MP for Kenora, said Friday morning, shor tly before announcing funding for jobs for recent graduates. 

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Ring of Fire project still experiencing delays (CBC News Sudbury – August 13, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

Cliffs unsure when environmental assessment to resume

Talks are continuing around the future of the Ring of Fire chromite project. Frank Iacobucci and Bob Rae have been representing the province and First Nations in on-going discussions.

Mining company Cliffs Natural Resources said it’s happy with the progress that’s been made, but still can’t say when it may resume its environmental assessment. “I think it’s encouraging to have those kinds of discussions and certainly those kind of people involved in that,” Bill Boor, Cliffs vice president said.

“So certainly, it gives me some optimism that we will be able to find a good path forward and get things started like we talked about.”

The company temporarily put its environmental assessment process on hold in June, citing unfinished agreements with the province as one of the reasons for the delay. Speaking on the CBC television program Power and Politics earlier this month, Bob Rae said he had very specific goals for the ongoing negotiations.

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Matawa First Nations to start training for Ring of Fire development – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – August 9, 2013)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) would receive more than $5.9-million from the Canadian Governments’ ‘Skills and Partnership Fund’ to provide training for employment in the mining sector for the people of Matawa First Nations, in preparation for development of the Ring of Fire mineral complex in Ontario’s Far North.

The Ring of Fire is a 5 000 km2 mineral-rich area in the James Bay Lowlands, situated within the traditional lands of two of the Matawa First Nations.

Nine specialised training and six pre-trade courses would be made available to Matawa First Nations members, with many courses to be presented in their First Nation communities and others locally in Thunder Bay. About 260 trainees would be trained on courses lasting between 5 weeks and 20 weeks, and 196 trainees would enter into employment through RoFATA.

The Matawa First Nations, Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS), Noront Resources and Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology this week signed a memorandum of understanding, creating RoFATA partnership.

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NEWS RELEASE: Supporting Aboriginal skills development and training in Northern Ontario

Honourable Greg Rickford – Minister of State: Science and Technology, Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (Fednor) and Minister Responsible for Ring of Fire

August 8, 2013 11:00 AM – General – Federal Government News

THUNDER BAY, ON, Aug. 8, 2013 /CNW/ – Aboriginal people in Northern Ontario will be better equipped to find fulfilling, long-term employment, as a result of training provided through a project funded by the Government of Canada. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State (Science and Technology, and Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario) and Member of Parliament for Kenora, on behalf of the Honourable Candice Bergen, Minister of State (Social Development).

“Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity, across the country and right here in Northern Ontario,” said Minister of State Rickford. “It’s important that all Canadians have the skills and training they need to succeed. By working with organizations such as Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services, we are ensuring that the members of local Aboriginal communities can take full advantage of the opportunities being generated by the rapidly growing mining industry, in particular in the Ring of Fire.”

Noront Resources Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer Paul Parisotto

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Matawa First Nations have chance to cash in on Ring of Fire jobs – by Bryan Meadows (Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal – August 9, 2013)

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal is the daily newspaper of Northwestern Ontario.

The federal government is providing almost $6 million for training Aboriginal people near the Ring of Fire mining camp.
The Skills and Partnership funding will help 260 residents from nine Matawa First Nations get the skills and experience they need to find good quality, high-paying jobs through a mining industry training project run by Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS) in partnership with Noront Resources Ltd. and Confederation College.

Training will be provided for jobs such as heavy equipment operator, underground diamond driller helper, security guard, camp cook and environmental monitor.

The funding announcement was made Thursday at Confederation College by FedNor Minister Greg Rickford. “Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity, across the country and right here in Northern Ontario,” said Rickford (C-Kenora).

“By working with organizations such as Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services, we are ensuring that the members of local Aboriginal communities can take full advantage of the opportunities being generated by the rapidly growing mining industry, in particular in the Ring of Fire,” he said.

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Feds supply $6M to get First Nations ready for Ring of Fire (CBC News Thunder Bay – August 8, 2013)

http://www.cbc.ca/thunderbay/

260 people to be trained in trades like mining, welding and environmental monitoring

The federal government has announced almost $6 million in funding to train people from Matawa First Nations in the mining sector. The announcement was made at Confederation College in Thunder Bay Thursday morning.

“There’s no better time than the present, we want to get going on this, we know that this is a legacy project,” said Kenora MP Greg Rickford, who is also minister of state for FedNor, with responsibility for the Ring of Fire. “We want to make sure that all our ducks are in a row.”

The money will go to a group of stakeholders called the Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance, which includes Matawa First Nations, NorOnt Resources and Confederation College. Matawa CEO David Paul Achneepineskum said building partnerships like this will help First Nations succeed. But Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon thinks the process should be more grass-roots.

“I’m happy on one hand that we’re moving along, but there’s got to be a better method of how to move along,” he said. “And that means going to the communities and asking what each community wants.”

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NEWS RELEASE: Ring Of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) Prepares Matawa First Nations Members for Employment in Mining Sector

THUNDER BAY, ON, Aug. 8, 2013 /CNW/ – The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) is pleased to announce that it is receiving over $5.9-million from the Government of Canada’s Skills and Partnership Fund to provide training for employment in the mining sector for the people of Matawa First Nations.

Nine specialized training and six pre-trade courses are being made available to Matawa First Nations members, with many delivered in their First Nation communities and others locally in Thunder Bay.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Matawa First Nations, Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (KKETS), Noront Resources Ltd. and Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology, creating The Ring of Fire Aboriginal Training Alliance (RoFATA) partnership. RoFATA’s key objective is to provide training-to-employment opportunities to support the Matawa First Nations people.

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