The resistance to the Ring of Fire is now making camp.
Members of Neskantaga and Attiwapiskat First Nations have begun clearing brush at the point where proposed highways would cross the Attawapiskat River, headed north toward the mineral deposit that’s suspected to hold more than $60-billion worth of critical minerals.
The planned bridge sites are 60 and 70 kilometres east of Neskantaga, and another 100 kilometres southwest from the Eagle’s Nest, the mine site developers expect will begin production first.
Neskantaga Chief Gary Quisess says the action is in response to this month’s passage of Bill 5 and Bill C-5. The provincial and federal laws, respectively, aim to expedite development by overriding existing laws, including environmental guardrails and regulatory frameworks for First Nations consultation and accommodation.
“Things are not going to move until First Nations are consulted,” says Quisess. “Bill 5, Bill C-5, we weren’t consulted. There wasn’t even time for us to review it. Now they want to come in with their ‘special economic zones’ and their ‘projects in the national interest.’ First Nations are suffering. The way it’s going, this is not going to benefit us.”
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