Neskantaga chief opposes Cliffs project

Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias has informed the provincial government that his community will use every lawful means to oppose the Cliffs Natural Resources chromite mine project in the Ring of Fire.
“We are going to police the (Attawapiskat) river system,” Moonias said. “They are going to have to cross the Attawapiskat River, but they’re not crossing — that’s what we’re saying.
We’ll use every means, if we have any legal rights in the legal system that I can use, I will do that, at the First Nations cost.”
Moonias sent a letter to Rick Bartolucci, minister of Northern Development and Mines, on May 11 stating his community was deeply disappointed to learn through a May 9 media announcement that the province had decided to support the Cliffs project and the proposed north-south all-season road to the Ring of Fire.
Moonias said the province made the decisions without adequate consultation with the community, noting the decisions will have significant adverse impacts on his community’s lands, environment and way of life.
“There is no such thing as after the fact in consultation,” Moonias said. “Consultation happens before you go into somebody’s back yard. It wouldn’t be lawful for me to go and start digging in your back yard without letting you know first, and tell you, ‘I’ll talk to you after.’”
Moonias said it is the government’s duty to consult.
“The government is breaking the law, and all I’m saying is stop breaking the law,” Moonias said. “If they continue to break the law, I am going to be in the way and I am going to go as far as I can to stop that.”
Moonias said he is willing to give up his life to defend his community’s interests on the land, both environmentally and for their livelihood.
“That’s all I got left to do,” Moonias said. “I’m willing to lose my life over it. I’m going to defend it (the land) as far as I can.”
Moonias said the Cliffs project will open up development in the north in a way that threatens his community’s culture and way of life, noting the proposed north-south road will cross the Attawapiskat River in the heart of the community’s territory and the airport and project site are within the community’s traditional lands.
Bartolucci said the provincial government is committed to ensuring their duty to consult is met throughout the Ring of Fire development.
“We have had several discussions with First Nations communities for some time now, and are committed to an ongoing dialogue.”