Land-use plan can secure important territory

Continued from previous column published in the Nov. 12 and 25 editions of Wawatay News.
A withdrawal order does not affect pre-existing mining rights and tenure such as mining claims, mining leases or licenses of occupation.
No mining claims may be staked or recorded on any land, “that is located in the Far North, if a community-based land use plan has designated the lands for a use inconsistent with mineral exploration and development.” 
It will be interesting to see how this will play out for communities in and around the Ring of Fire. The only way for controversial claims to be cancelled is if companies voluntarily let them lapse.
It will also be interesting to see how the province defines Aboriginal cultural significance.
The Mining Act – Part XIV – Far North says: “The validity of any mining claims, mining leases, patents, and licenses of occupation for mining purposes located in the Far North and any related approvals for mineral exploration and development activity shall not be affected by a community based land use plan or any amendment to such a plan that is inconsistent with mining purposes, if the consistent designation was made after the mining claims, mining leases, patents, and licenses of occupation for mining purposes or the related approvals for mineral explorations and development activities were issued.”
The active mineral exploration projects in northwestern Ontario and the 8,000 plus claims made by the mineral exploration companies are grandfathered as a result and will not be impacted by withdrawal orders or community-based land use plans.
This is why it is critically important that if communities know where sensitive lands are now and where they wouldn’t want mining or exploration that they withdraw lands from staking. This is one tool they can use to secure those lands. It hasn’t been used a lot in the last few years in the Far North but it is a tool communities could consider to secure their lands now.  
This brings us to Bill 191, the Far North Act, which received royal assent Oct. 25.
The purpose of the Far North Act is to provide for community based land use planning in the Far North that directly involves First Nations in a “joint-planning process” with Ontario, that “supports the environmental, social, and economic objectives for land use planning for the peoples of Ontario set out in Section 6; and (c) is done in a manner that is consistent with the recognition and affirmation of existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, including the duty to consult.”
A community-based land use plan means a plan that has been prepared under Section nine (9) and approved by that section.
Section 5 states the following objectives:
• a significant role for First Nations in the planning;
• the protection of areas of cultural value in the Far North and the protection of ecological systems in the Far North by including at least 225,000 square kilometres of the Far North in an interconnected network of protected areas designated in community based land use plans;
• the maintenance of biological diversity, ecological processes and ecological functions, including the storage and sequestration of carbon in the Far North; and
• enabling sustainable economic development that benefits the First Nations.
Section 9 (1) states: if one or more First Nations having one or more reserves in the Far North indicate to the minister their interest in initiating the planning process, the minister shall work with them to prepare terms of reference to guide the designation of an area in the Far North as a planning area and the preparation of a land use plan for the purpose of this section.”
The community-based land use planning is to be led by the First Nations working with Ontario through their expression of interest to the Minister to initiate the planning process. 
Once that interest has been expressed by the First Nations, the minister will work with them in a joint planning process,with equal representation of First Nations and Province to advise on land-use planning, who will develop the terms of reference that will address shared-goals and interests through a consensus-based, cross-cultural dialogue.
See the Dec. 23 edition of Wawatay News to read the final installment of this column.
John Cutfeet is from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug. He is the bilingual mining coordinator for CPAWS Wildlands League. His blog can be found at noopemig.blogspot.com