Claiming that a historic Supreme Court ruling strengthens its case, a native band will again demand that Hudbay halt production on at least two northern Manitoba mines.
Canada’s high court last week granted Aboriginal title to a vast tract of land in BC to an area First Nation, marking its first such ruling relative to Aboriginal land.
“This landmark decision only bolsters what we’ve been saying,” Chief Arlen Dumas of Pukatawagan’s Mathias Colomb Cree Nation told the Winnipeg Free Press.
What Dumas and the MCCN have been saying is that Hudbay is breaking the law by operating on what the band calls its traditional territory.
Stop-work orders
Dumas told the Free Press that MCCN will reissue self-styled “stop-work orders” to Hudbay for the Lalor and Reed mines.
A declaration will also be issued to “everyone else who’s operating illegally in our territory and remind them they are in violation of a Supreme Court decision and legalities need to be adhered to,” he added.
In 2013, Hudbay issued stop-work orders to Hudbay over Lalor, located near Snow Lake, and Reed, situated between Snow Lake and Flin Flon. Dumas and supporters at one point even blocked the road to Lalor.
Hudbay took the protesters to court, securing an injunction to prevent them from demonstrating on Hudbay property again.
For its part, Hudbay issued a statement to the Free Press that echoed its past statements to The Reminder.
“Hudbay has always sought constructive relationships with the First Nations in northern Manitoba,” the company said. “We work continually at strengthening those connections and will always continue to do so.”
But referencing the court injunction, Dumas questioned Hudbay’s genuineness.
“They claim they want to work in good faith, but how can you speak to somebody when they’re suing you?” he asked the Free Press rhetorically.
Hudbay has defended the lawsuit. arguing it was largely about safety.
The company has said it supports resource sharing with First Nations, but only in the sense that the province should share existing tax revenue from mines with affected reserves.
