Noront Resources

High-grade Ni-Cu-Pt-Pd-Au-Ag-Rh-Cr-V discoveries in the "Ring of Fire" NI 43-101 Update (March 2011): 11.0 Mt @ 1.78% Ni, 0.98% Cu, 0.99 gpt Pt and 3.41 gpt Pd and 0.20 gpt Au (M&I) / 9.0 Mt @ 1.10% Ni, 1.14% Cu, 1.16 gpt Pt and 3.49 gpt Pd and 0.30 gpt Au (Inf.)

over 16 years ago

EDITORIAL

TheStar.com | comment | First Nations vs. Mining Act

First Nations vs. Mining Act

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May 27, 2008 04:30 AM

Where it should be seen as an opportunity with significant benefits for all concerned, it is a contentious and highly divisive issue, pitting First Nations in Ontario against those who could give them a stronger foothold in the mainstream economy, with its wealth and jobs.

At issue is mining on lands First Nations claim as their own.

Commodity prices are making mining one of the few bright spots in the Ontario economy. But exploration activity is governed by the outdated Mining Act (written in 1873), which gives the companies sway over aboriginal turf, including Crown lands that are subject to land claims or the traditional hunting and fishing territory of First Nations.

Regardless of who owns the land, the Mining Act allows the mining industry to search for minerals and lay claim to whatever it finds.

First Nations leaders who have protested such drilling, sanctioned by this 135-year-old law, have been thrown in jail. Talks between the provincial government and First Nations over the sharing of resource revenues have been suspended.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has told First Nations that his government is determined "to find a better way." Government sources say a major consultation on a new Mining Act is about to be launched. But the lack of any sign of progress to date has prompted First Nations protesters to begin a four-day encampment at Queen's Park to draw public attention to the issue.

The direction that reform of the Mining Act should take ought to be fairly clear, however. Negotiations between First Nations and mining companies should precede efforts by the miners to stake and develop their claims. First Nations should have a say at the outset on the sharing of the spoils, on environmental controls, and on jobs.

Would the First Nations have an absolute veto over mining? That is the vexing question facing the province, one that ought to be aired in the coming consultations. Some say a veto would effectively end new mining ventures in Ontario. But others argue that, because economic development is ultimately in the interests of the First Nations themselves, deals would be struck and mining would continue.

It can also be argued that the First Nations have an effective veto right now because they can always engage in civil disobedience to bring mining to a halt.

What is needed, then, is a new set of rules that everyone agrees to abide by and allows mining to proceed with First Nations receiving their fair share in revenues and jobs.