The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Manitoba First Nations are vowing to enforce the 'stop work orders' they have issued at Lalor, Reed and other mine sites they say are on their traditional territory. A joint news release from three major First Nations organizations warns of pending protests against mining companies and the province with the aim of achieving 'resource sharing.' 'Mathias Colomb Cree Nation has issued stop work orders to the province of Manitoba and Hudbay for two mines (Lalor and Reed) operating on our unceded traditional territories,' Chief Arlen Dumas of Pukatawagan's Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) said in the release, 'until both parties acknowledge our ownership interest in the lands and resources and obtain our consent before extracting our resources.' At stake, Chief Dumas said, is not just who shares in the wealth from 'our territories,' but also legal obligations to 'protect the lands, waters, plants and animals.' Chief Dumas and his fellow MCCN protesters are legally prohibited from setting up barricades on Hudbay property following two blockades earlier this year at Lalor. An injunction was issued after Hudbay took the protesters to court, but Chief Dumas has been ambiguous about whether they would recognize the ruling. In the release, he accused the NDP government of being 'complicit in the bullying tactics of Hudbay' and failing to meet its constitutional obligations to protect aboriginal rights. Chief Dumas was among 10 chiefs quoted in the release, distributed April 26 by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Southern Chiefs' Organization and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents most northern reserves. The release followed a press conference held outside the provincial Mines Branch and Mineral Resources Division office in Winnipeg. It lays out, with limited detail, the steps First Nations are now prepared to take. 'Chiefs, with the support of grassroots, are prepared to take direct action to achieve resource sharing and to send a message to the Manitoba government that the status quo is not acceptable,' read the release. 'The grassroots are rallying for a summer of protests directed at the Manitoba government and resource development companies. Idle No More and other allies have vowed to support any First Nation and organization that defend the aboriginal, treaty and inherent rights of First Nations and stand in defense of the environment.' See 'Hudbay' on pg. Continued from pg. Hudbay has defended its handling of the MCCN dispute, saying the lawsuit was largely about safety and that it is willing to work with the band to address its concerns. The company also supports resource sharing, but only in the sense that the province should share existing tax revenue from mines with affected First Nations. For its part, the Manitoba government has defended its handling of First Nations and mining issues. In the news release, Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said First Nations are 'no longer going to be sitting back watching corporations and governments come into our traditional territories' to 'exploit our resources, leaving us nothing at the end of the day.' 'We're not going to accept that. The status quo is done,' he said. 'For far too many generations now, provincial governments, federal governments have worked in collusion with the corporate industries to come into our territories and to take the vast wealth of our ancestral lands. 'Meanwhile they come back to us with contribution agreements that are wholly inadequate to provide for the basic needs of our communities and our citizens. Those days are over, those days are done and what's happening here I think is an emergence of a new unified position. Once again our people are leading the way.' Located near Snow Lake, Lalor is Hudbay's next major Manitoba mine. Reed, situated between Snow Lake and Flin Flon, is much smaller in scale and is co-owned by a junior miner. Disruptions at either mine would be particularly ill-timed for Hudbay, which has lost $183 million over the last two years and is off to a weak start in 2013.
