Premier Doug Ford is promising upfront infrastructure and amenities for those northern Indigenous communities that are on board with mining-related development in the Ring of Fire.
During a Sept. 19 media conference in Markdale to celebrate the $200-million expansion of Chapman’s Ice Cream, Ford was asked by a reporter what progress his government has made over the summer on consultation with Indigenous groups on the prospective mine development in the Far North.
Ford sidestepped the thrust of the question with a personal anecdote on a recent and private gathering with one of the Ring of Fire community road proponents, considered an ally to the provincial government.
The premier said he opened his Toronto home to Webequie First Nation representatives, led by Chief Cornelius Wabasse.
Webequie is the James Bay lowlands community that’s closest to the Ring of Fire and one of the government’s proponents currently assessing a stretch of a proposed access road network that would be built on their traditional land.
“We broke bread, had a great time,” said Ford.
A post about the gathering on LinkedIn said discussions focused on “community projects.” Greg Rickford, Ford’s Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation minister, who oversees the Ring of Fire, sat in on the meeting.
A spokesperson in the Premier’s Office called it a “positive meeting with Chief Wabasse to discuss community priorities. We look forward to future discussions with Chief Wabasse, and other First Nation communities, on shared priorities including building long-term prosperity across the province.”
In his remarks, Ford also mentioned Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation as being a key partner to development. “We’re all moving forward.”
Aroland would be near the southern terminus of a 300-kilometre Ring of Fire road and a likely railway intermodal facility to transload Ring of Fire-mined material from truck to railway cars for shipment to a processor.
“And there’s opportunities for them that they would never get,” Ford said, “not in a million years, if we didn’t build this road to the Ring of Fire.
“This is about delivering better health care, actually giving them electricity,” the latter referencing linking remote communities to Ontario grid power rather than local reliance on expensive diesel-powered generation.
“We’re going to give them top broadband, we’re going to build community centres, we’re going to build hockey arenas, we’re going to do great things for that community, and they are thankful, they’re grateful, as we are.”
Ford has spent considerable time in the area making infrastructure and training funding announcements, while attempting to smooth over relations with area First Nations that are on the fence about industrial development in the region.
On Friday, Ford made no mention of the outcome or feedback received from a series of closed-door sessions with Indigenous leaders, held over the summer, to obtain First Nation feedback on how to implement the government’s controversial Bill 5 legislation, introduced last March.
The now-passed Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economic Act allows for the creation of special economic zones designed to expedite strategic infrastructure projects and mine development in Ontario. Ottawa has emboldened that policy with a pro-development Bill C-5 of its own.
While Webequie remains on board, two of three of the government’s other Ring of Fire road proponents, Aroland and Marten Falls, are engaged in legal action seeking to kill Ottawa and Queen’s Park twin Bill 5s.
Despite the call from provincial Indigenous groups to overturn Bill 5, Ford has insisted for months that he’s fielded calls from individual chiefs who are on board with quickening the pace of development so as to realize the spinoff benefits.
Last spring, the Ford government also tripled the budget for its Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program, a capacity-building fund for First Nations. Communities were invited to bring their local infrastructure wish lists in their engagement with the province.