Webequie pans Ring of Fire dev-corp process – Northern Ontario Business
The Ontario government’s formal establishment of a Ring of Fire development corporation has one Aboriginal community questioning the transparency of the process.
“Our community members are upset,” said Webequie Chief Cornelius Wabasse. “We agreed as a community to negotiate with Ontario in good faith. This can’t happen if Ontario makes decisions without our involvement.”
The fly-in community of 600, 540 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, is one of the communities closet to the chromite and base metal deposits in the James Bay region. It’s also one of nine members in the Matawa Tribal Council that’s negotiating with the province on future mining and infrastructure development based on a memorandum of co-operation.
“We have been clear that we are willing to work with Ontario about Ring of Fire issues, but it has to be in a true spirit of partnership,” said Wabasse in a statement. “Decisions of this magnitude cannot be made by Ontario behind closed doors.”
