It's About Consent

Demonstration planned for Saturday
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug leader being transferred to Kenora Jail

Friday March 28, 2008
By Jon Thompson
Kenora Daily Miner and News
A rally is scheduled for Saturday at the Kenora jail for Head Councillor Cecilia Begg and other jailed leaders of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation as she is being transferred to Kenora from Thunder Bay.
“It’s about finding workable ways for people to make decisions together,” says Mary Alice Smith, the justice projects coordinator for Grand Council Treaty 3. It’s not just about consultation, it’s about consent. “

One of six community leaders from the First Nation jailed for contempt, the group increasingly known as the “KI Six” was insisting that a relationship between the First Nation and the Platinex mining corporation should be mutually beneficial and follow what they see as established provincial consultation process.
“The Ontario government had an obligation to consult with the First Nation before they handed out the permit to Platinex,” asserts Anita Cameron, a councilor on the Dalles First Nation.
“The simple fact is that they didn’t. We’re in this situation not because KI doesn’t want development but because the province didn’t follow due process. If the province did what they were supposed to do, we wouldn’t be in this position.”
She speaks of the pride she has for Kitchenuhmaykoosib band chief Donny Morris and says that the people understand that their leaders are standing up for them.
As she shares family ties with Morris, her mother was in Big Trout Lake on the day of the sentencing and has been mobilizing mostly women and elders from the region to attend Saturday’s demonstration.
The women of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug will begin their demonstration of support at 2pm.