Questioning the motives of provincial legislation

About 11 months after Bill 173, the Mining Amendment Act, received Royal Assent in the Fall of 2009, Bill 191, the Far North Act, went into third reading in the Ontario legislature Sept. 23.
It went ahead amidst continued opposition from First Nations with the support of the Northern Ontario Chamber of Commerce and other organizations operating in the Far North.
The Far North Act has as one of its objectives: “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 to be designated in community based land use plans (Section 6).”
The Far North is about 42 per cent of the landmass in Ontario. The purpose of the act is to “provide for community-based land use planning in the Far North.”
Under Bill 173, Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle has stated his ministry will consult on the development of the regulations and policies dealing with Aboriginal consultation throughout the mining sequence.
This includes the criteria and the process for withdrawing sites of Aboriginal significance; exploration plans and permits, including terms, conditions and requirements for early exploration; clarifying the existing consultation process for closure plans for advanced exploration and mine development projects; and a dispute resolution process for Aboriginal-related mining issues.
Currently there are consultations for regulatory development in the following eight key areas:
• Prospectors awareness program;
• Online staking;
• Exploration plans and permits;
• Assessment work;
• Protection of sites of Aboriginal cultural significance;
• Aboriginal consultation;
• Dispute resolution; and
• Private surface rights.
It is expected that the different sections of the act will be proclaimed and come into force as they are developed.
Under Section 2, it states the purpose of the new Mining Act is, “to encourage prospecting, staking and exploration for the development of mineral resources, in a manner consistent with the recognition and affirmation of existing Aboriginal and treaty rights in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, including the duty to consult and to minimize the impact of these activities on public health and safety and the environment.”
What does this mean and how does it benefit communities in the Far North?
It is up to each person and community to decide for themselves and weigh the utility of the mechanisms described in each law. I believe each person or community must decide for themselves if they wish to use the mechanisms outlined to achieve their own goals on their lands in Noopemig.
In the following issue of Wawatay News, several sections of each act will be explored.
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.