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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Tough words for Hudbay and the NDP government are part of a threat by northern Manitoba chiefs to 'shut down' provincial mining unless their concerns are addressed. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), which represents most northern Manitoba First Nations, has issued a news release entitled 'Northern Chiefs To Shut Down Mining Industry And Other Resource Companies In Manitoba If Demands Are Not Met.' In it, Chief Arlen Dumas of Pukatawagan's Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) says his community has not reaped deserved benefits from decades of Hudbay mining activity. 'Hudbay Minerals has operated 26 mines over 85 years and has extracted 145 million tonnes of ore from Mathias Colomb ancestral lands,' said Dumas. 'Hudbay and its predecessor, Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, have left no positive legacy for my community.' See 'Govern...' on pg.3 continued from pg. 1 Chief Dumas also says the Manitoba government has refused to consult with his community on existing or new mines, such as Lalor, in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake Greenstone Belt. He accuses the NDP of designating 'an Indian free zone' around the mineral-rich belt, which he says is in traditional aboriginal territory. That being the case, Chief Dumas says there is 'no choice but to look at other options to protect our rights and to secure an equitable share of mining revenues since the province refuses to consult us on existing and proposed mines or to share the wealth produced by mining in our territory.' Adds Chief Dumas: 'First Nations are demanding that government and the mining industry 'share the wealth' and the benefits of development so that First Nations no longer live on islands of poverty surrounded by the wealth of our ancestral and treaty lands.' Brad Lantz, senior-vice president of Hudbay's Manitoba Business Unit, says the company is currently engaged in a study to determine the affects of its planned work on MCCN's traditional lands. He says new mines and exploration programs require permits from the Manitoba government, which has 'a consultation process to follow with the affected people or communities.' Larger mining projects go through a study to review potential impacts on the environment, Lantz notes, with details on short- and long-term effects released to the public. As for First Nations' disappointment and threat to 'shut down' mining, Lantz says Hudbay remains committed to working with the communities in which it does business. He says the company participated in a September MKO roundtable discussion involving Manitoba Chiefs as well as industry and government officials. 'Both Hudbay and MCCN were at the roundtable, (and) if it is to work we need to hear the issues and find solutions,' Lantz says. A spokesperson for the NDP government says the province has been working with mining officials and aboriginal leaders 'to create a process that will increase aboriginal participation in the industry in mutually beneficial ways.' Positive Step The spokesperson describes the September roundtable, held at Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, as a positive step forward. 'We worked with First Nations, mining companies and educators to formulate objectives for moving forward, including increased First Nation training, employment and business opportunities in the mining sector,' says the spokesperson. 'With the establishment of this mining roundtable, we now have a forum through which First Nations concerns and perspectives are central in the development of an equitable process. There are definitely opportunities here in Manitoba for mining development and we'll continue to work with industry and communities to achieve sustainable, equitable economic development.' But progress is not coming fast enough for MKO Grand Chief David Harper. 'MKO has repeatedly called on Premier Selinger and the federal Natural Resources Minister,' he says in the news release, 'to ensure that Manitoba and Canada implement the duty to consult and that accommodation measures like resource revenue-sharing with the MKO First Nations are put in place.' The MKO news release makes no specific mention of how First Nations would 'shut down' mining if they saw no other option. The closest it comes is when Chief Alex McDougall of Wasagamack, in northeastern Manitoba, says junior miner Callinex Mines has been recommended for a drilling permit without any consultation with the First Nation. 'This is unacceptable and we will stop Callinex if they try to set foot on our traditional lands,' he says. From Hudbay's perspective, Lantz says the company expects aboriginal communities will help fill job openings moving forward. He says Flin Flon's new Northern Manitoba Mining Academy 'is an ideal facility to assist in the training needs of people to allow them the opportunities in the North and at Hudbay.' The MKO press release was issued as part of a press conference and rally in Winnipeg held to coincide with the 2012 Manitoba Mining and Minerals Convention, organized by the provincial government. In the release, Chief Les Harper of Red Sucker Lake cites the NDP's 'mishandling of the duty to consult' as the main reason Manitoba is today seen as a less attractive mining environment than in years past.
