Originally published in CBC News
28 January 2022
Environment minister asked to re-do terms of reference, with Friday deadline to respond
Canada’s environment and climate change minister is under renewed pressure from a group of First Nation leaders in Treaty 9 to “start afresh” with the draft terms of reference for a regional impact assessment into the mineral-rich Ring of Fire.
Development interest is heating up in the remote area located more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, with an Australian mining giant recently purchasing the majority of mining claims in the area and the Ontario government pushing ahead with plans to develop all-season road infrastructure in hopes of positioning the province as a future electric vehicle manufacturing hub.
Yet there is firm opposition from some First Nations leaders, who say their sovereignty and concerns about mineral development-related harms to the land and their way of life are being ignored.
Scratch that: Feds to rethink Ring of Fire environmental assessment after First Nations criticism
‘There is no access to critical minerals in Canada without Indigenous Peoples being at the table in a decision-making position,’ Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said
The power of peat: Canada’s secret weapon against climate change
Scientists call them Canada’s Amazon Rainforest, and they could be at risk. Peatlands are ancient ecosystems that cool the planet by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, trapping it deep underground. A quarter of peatlands on Earth are found here in Canada, but some are under threat from potential mining developments aimed at creating technology for a greener future.
There will be no environmental shortcuts taken in the Ring of Fire, says federal minister
Facing down governments and industry, this First Nation makes a promise: There’ll be no development in the Ring of Fire without its consent