Anyone in Ontario who read the many press releases put out by Ontario over the past few years would have thought mining development was hurtling forward in the remote part of Northwestern Ontario known as the Ring of Fire.
A press release in 2012 by the provincial government and Cliffs Resources, a large US based mining company, intimated Ontario and Cliffs were in agreement to develop a multi-billion dollar chromite mine in the Ring of Fire.
Another announcement said Cliffs was going to establish a smelter near Sudbury to process the ore. Yet another announcement seemed to indicate an agreement had been reached on the location and construction of a 340-kilometre all-weather road linking the Ring of Fire to the northern CN Rail line near Nakina in Northwestern Ontario.
Then, there were some utterances from the Ontario Power Authority about a possible electricity transmission line. Finally, Cliffs put out a release stating their mine would begin production in early 2015.
Anyone reading those press releases would conclude things were moving swiftly. Yet here we are in the second half of 2013 and little has happened.
Still, the government of Ontario is suddenly announcing a process to negotiate with First Nations. “How could this be?” you ask. “How could Ontario and Cliffs make a series of high-profile announcements aimed at media attention, and yet only now acknowledge they must negotiate a number of issues with the First Nations located near the Ring of Fire?”
The answer is, while the provincial government and Cliffs were busy making announcements, no one really talked to the only people who live near the Ring of Fire, the group of First Nations known as the Matawa First Nations. And no one seemed to be interested in their rights, interests and views regarding what should happen in the Ring of Fire and how or when it should happen.
Consider just a short list of the rights and issues important to the Matawa First Nations never addressed in the plethora of pronouncements from the province and Cliffs.
The First Nations are the only people who live in and around the Ring of Fire now, and will be the only people living there long after any potential mines are exhausted. The swampy muskeg of the Hudson Bay Lowlands is their home and they have stated since Day One they must be involved in the details of any decisions regarding their territory.
The first issue to be resolved will be a public recognition by Ontario and by Cliffs that discussions between governments and mining companies in backrooms that exclude First Nations have no validity.
Recognizing First Nations should be closely involved in all aspects of decision making will not be easy for some provincial government officials or some mining companies to accept, but the Matawa people see it as the central issue. Decisions with social, economic and environmental impacts lasting for decades, if not centuries, cannot and should not be made by people who live far away and have no connection to the land and First Nation livelihoods.
Beyond that, First Nations want a substantial say in all aspects of development such as land-use planning,  environmental protection, transportation routes, hydro-electricity transmission lines and electricity service for First Nation communities, job training and employment for First Nation members, business development opportunities for First Nation companies, revenue-sharing formulas, and finally, how proper cleanup and restoration will be handled once the mining companies move on, as they inevitably will.
The fact billions of dollars in mineral wealth are at the heart of this will also have to be factored into the discussions. All of these issues will require some thoughtful reflection on the part of the First Nations and the provincial government, not to mention the federal government and the mining industry even though they are not officially at the negotiating table.
Outside of all the questions that might potentially be addressed at a First Nations—Ontario negotiation table there are other important issues that will have to be resolved somehow before any mining development will happen.
For example the federal government has decided on an “environmental review process” for the proposed mining projects which First Nations so adamantly oppose they have applied for judicial review of the federal government’s decision. The judicial review looks as if it will also be a long, detailed and very oppositional process, possibly heading to higher courts no matter who wins initially.
The heart of this issue is the federal government’s preference for a “comprehensive review—study” of Cliffs' proposal. Such a “review” is essentially a “paper and document review of the proposal”, whereas the First Nations want to have public hearings conducted which would provide for greater participation by the Matawa people, many of whom speak only Ojibway or Oji-Cree.
Once the issue of the appropriate form of “environmental review” is decided, then the detailed and technical environmental issues will have to be addressed.
Given the fragile environment that prevails in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, the scope of mining activity proposed, and the issues of building transportation potentially over some major rivers, creeks, muskeg bogs and swamps, the substance of any environmental assessment may prove to be very controversial.
So far, Southern Ontario environmental groups have been relatively quiet in their comments about the Ring of Fire. How likely is it the environmental NGOs will continue to hold their fire?
Finally, it would be wrong to assume the many mining companies interested in the Ring of Fire are all singing from the same song book. Mining companies interested in the Ring of Fire have put forward competing visions for transportation corridors, hydro-electricity corridors and more. These issues will also have to be sorted out in some fashion before mining development of any substance will happen in the Ring of Fire.
So despite the early efforts of the Ontario government and Cliffs Resources to create the impression mining development in the Ring of Fire was hurtling ahead, the reality is more likely — there are many hurdles ahead.

Ring of Fire: Hurtling forward, or many hurdles?

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