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.
While legally barred from setting up further road blockades, First Nations protesters are finding other ways to oppose the Reed mine. They crashed a public forum, hosted by Hudbay in Winnipeg last week, designed to address concerns over the mine, according to CBC. Members of Pukatawagan's Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) as well as the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs held a press conference at the same time and in the same hotel as the forum, the network reports. They were joined by representatives from the Wilderness Committee, a group that opposes Reed on environmental grounds. CBC reports the placard-toting protesters then walked into the room where Hudbay held its forum and began expressing their concerns. Territory MCCN argues that Reed, located between Snow Lake and Flin Flon, is on its traditional territory and that Hudbay does not have its permission to be there. Last month the band demanded Hudbay halt work at Reed, as it already had for the much larger Lalor mine just outside Snow Lake. MCCN also shares the Wilderness Committee's concerns over Reed, including the mine's impact on caribou populations as well as water and air quality. See 'Enviro...' on pg. Continued from pg. Manitoba's Green Party is also concerned that the location of the Reed mine and the exploration activities now taking place will disrupt the spring migration of woodland caribou. Hudbay has said the environmental assessment at Reed has been completed and will go to the NDP government for final approval. Though often aligned with First Nations and environmentalists, the NDP has given no indication it will withhold final approval of Reed. Hudbay, which owns 70 per cent of Reed, has already spent more than $20 million at the site and expects to dole out another $44 million this year. The total capital budget is an estimated $72 million. Hudbay hopes to start early production at Reed by the end of this year. Last month, Hudbay won a temporary injunction against MCCN and supporters who twice blockaded the Lalor mine road on Hudbay property. It came after Hudbay filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages, though the company said safety was one of its main concerns. Even after the ruling there were questions as to whether MCCN would respect the court's ruling and whether the RCMP would, if necessary, remove protesters from Hudbay property. MCCN has called for a share of resources from both Reed and Lalor. Resource revenue-sharing with affected First Nations is a concept that already has the support of the province's mining industry.
