Saturday, May 31, 2008

Northern Miner Coverage of Mining Act Change

Ontario's Mining Act under fire; PROVINCE BLAMED FOR LAND DISPUTES
Susan Kirwin
573 words
2 June 2008
Northern Miner
1
English
Copyright 2008 Business Information Group. All Rights Reserved.

Platinex (PTX-V, PANXF-O) is suing the government of Ontario for more than $70 million, claiming it didn't fulfill its duty to consult with a First Nation group before granting the junior exploration permits near Big Trout Lake, Ont.

As a result, a land access dispute between the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation and Platinex has stretched on for nine years now.

KI is firmly against any exploration activity on its land, so much so, that six KI community leaders were sent to prison in March for contempt of court after refusing to allow Platinex to work on the contested property.

They were released conditionally on May 23 but could be back in jail as soon as May 29 following their court appearance to appeal their sentences.

Several First Nations groups gathered at Queen's Park in Toronto recently for the four days leading up to the "National Day of Action" on May 29 to protest Ontario's 135-year-old mining law and bring attention to the ongoing problems between First Nations groups and mining and exploration companies.

Both have blamed the dated legislation for their disputes and would like to see something clearer enacted.

KI says that the cost of 18 months of litigation left the community unable to appeal the last court order, which granted Platinex access to the disputed area.

Meanwhile, Platinex claims it has lost millions of dollars because it has not been able to gain access to the land it leased. President and CEO James Trusler says he felt the company had no choice but to file the lawsuit.

"Our exhaustive efforts in consultation with KI over nine years have been rejected by KI despite landmark Supreme Court rulings which have determined that a First Nation does not haveaveto," Trusler said in a statement. "Our court-ordered access to the mining claims has not been enforced."

The company is also suing KI for $10 million for disrupting its exploration program. Under the Ontario Mining Act, all Crown land, including land subject to aboriginal title claims, is open for staking, exploration and mining without extensive consultation with native groups.

The provincial Liberals have said they are committed to changing the act to require more consultation with First Nations. A 2004 Supreme Court of Canada ruling said that First Nations must be consulted before development occurs, but this has been interpreted to mean that companies must provide information to local aboriginal communities, discuss how to minimize the environmental impact and provide some compensation.

Many First Nations groups don't agree this constitutes proper consultation, saying there needs to be the possibility that no exploration will occur.

Ontario First Nations have asked the government for a moratorium on exploration that doesn't have their approval. Ontario's regional chief, Angus Toulouse, with the Assembly of First Nations, says changing the province's Mining Act should be a top priority of the government; otherwise, more serious conflicts could result.

In April, Robert Lovelace, leader of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, was sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to follow a court order to stop blockading Frontenac Venture's uranium exploration property near Sharbot Lake, Ont. He recently began a hunger strike.

KI has proposed the creation of a joint panel to examine the disputes and make recommendations for preventing similar clashes in the future.

Cam Clark, Ontario's Chief Negotiator in KI/Ardoch Talks Under Investigation

MAY 27, 2008 MINISTRY OF ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS
ESTIMATES COMMITTEE
Mr. Howard Hampton: Okay, good.
Can I ask this? Mr. Cam Clark was the provincial negotiator, on behalf of the government, negotiating with Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation. Is that correct?
Ms. Lori Sterling: Yes, he was hired by the provincial government to work on that—
Mr. Howard Hampton: Can I ask, what was the total cost, all in, for Mr. Clark and his staff and associates in terms of the negotiations with Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug? Could I ask for that figure?
Ms. Lori Sterling: Yes. I’ll have to get back to you just to confirm it, but of course.
Mr. Howard Hampton: Okay, but there is a figure.
Ms. Lori Sterling: There is a figure.
Mr. Howard Hampton: And it’s the all-in figure.
Hon. Michael Bryant: If that’s what you’re looking for.
Mr. Howard Hampton: Good. I understand Mr. Cam Clark was paid on behalf of the provincial government to negotiate with Ardoch Algonquin First Nation as well. Is that correct?
Ms. Lori Sterling: That’s correct.
Mr. Howard Hampton: Could I get the all-in figure that was paid to Mr. Cam Clark and his associates in terms of the negotiations with Ardoch Algonquin First Nation.
Ms. Lori Sterling: My understanding is that we paid Cam Clark. I’m not aware of any supplemental payments, but I will confirm that—
Mr. Howard Hampton: Okay. I just want the all-in figure.
Ms. Lori Sterling: That’s correct.
Mr. Howard Hampton: Could I ask, what is the total cost of negotiations with Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug since the start of the Platinex dispute? Do you have that figure or can you get that figure?
Hon. Michael Bryant: Obviously, if there’s a figure that exists, we will get it for you—the all-in. I don’t know the extent to which we can create something that doesn’t exist, obviously, but we’ll find that. I can really only, right now, at this time—although if there’s more information, I’ll provide it to Mr. Hampton. I can say that since the time in which I was sworn in—and the member’s asking about negotiation efforts—the time spent by myself and my office’s work, which involved a very significant investment of time and a certain amount of travel as well to KI by myself and others within the ministry, will not be reflected in that number that the member’s looking for with respect to the negotiator himself.
Mr. Howard Hampton: We’ll get to your expenses later.
Hon. Michael Bryant: I’m doing my best here, Chair, to answer the question. I want to say that the questions and the—
Mr. Howard Hampton: It’s okay, Chair.
Interjection.
Mr. Howard Hampton: Yes, I think I’ve got a good enough answer.
Hon. Michael Bryant: The tenor of the question—Chair, could I just finish? I was trying to make a point here.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): I think Mr. Hampton is satisfied with your answer. I’ll go to him for his next question.
Mr. Howard Hampton: I’d like to ask the total cost of negotiations with Ardoch Algonquin First Nation since the commencement of that dispute over uranium mining in that First Nation’s traditional territory as well. If you want to account for the minister’s travel or ministry staff travel separately, that’s fine. I’m more interested in the cost to the ministry.
Hon. Michael Bryant: Got you.
Ms. Lori Sterling: I can tell you right now that not all the costs that were incurred were born by the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs itself. All we can do at this point is provide ...
E06-1705-27 follows

Ms. Lori Sterling: I can tell you right now that not all the costs that were incurred were borne by the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs itself. So all we can do at this point is provide you with our own costs. But there very well may be other ministries that put in a significant amount of money.
Mr. Howard Hampton: If you could indicate what other estimates I should go to and ask questions, I’d be pleased. You don’t have to tell me the amounts; just tell me where I should go.
Ms. Lori Sterling: Okay, I’ll do that
Mr. Howard Hampton: Thanks. On March 6, the minister flew from Toronto to Thunder Bay. I believe you met briefly with NAN chiefs, held a press conference and released a memorandum of understanding, which was reported in the Canadian Press on March 6 as a template for resolving conflicts between First Nations and mineral exploration companies. Could I ask that that memorandum of understanding be tabled for the committee?
Hon. Michael Bryant: Firstly, I should say I recall that after looking at it for about five minutes, Chief Morris and council said this isn’t what they’re looking for. I’m not sure within the context of estimates—it’s absolutely a fair question in the context of question period. I’ll certainly look to the Chair as to whether or not we go into disclosure, if you like, of information that falls outside of the estimates process. I’m not sure from an estimates committee perspective what the member is looking for.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): We’ll table that. I’ll review it and then make a ruling.
Mr. Howard Hampton: I understand that there were several versions and drafts of that memorandum of understanding. Is that correct?
Hon. Michael Bryant: I think I’m going to have to ask the Chair to make a ruling on that one too. I’ll just say, not surprisingly, there is, from conception to proposal, a significant amount of work that goes into any document. The basic approach was to try and find—because this was in the days coming up close to the hearing and I couldn’t tell if we were close or not close. At times when I was speaking with Councillor Sam Mckay, the relationship was very affable. We wanted to try and find a resolution that was satisfactory to him and his community; the same with Chief Morris. This was an attempt really to honour the effort that the chief and council were making.
Mr. Howard Hampton: I’m satisfied.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Okay, move on.
Mr. Howard Hampton: I wonder if I could just ask this question: Were versions of the memorandum of understanding exchanged with a representative or representatives of KI First Nation?
Hon. Michael Bryant: I’d have to ask the chief and council, who I just spoke to a little while ago.
Mr. Howard Hampton: Okay, I can do that.
I think what the figures are going to show is that a fair amount of money has been expended by the ministry with respect to Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation and the Platinex dispute. One of the realities is that the Minister of Mines, under section 35 of the Mining Act, could write a letter to the mining claims recorder withdrawing the areas of land that are subject to the dispute from mining claims and mining exploration. There is provision for that under section 35 of the Mining Act.
Could I ask this: Have you asked the Minister of Mines to do that? If we’re talking here about expenditures of money of the ministry, it seems to me one way of addressing some of the issues would be for you to write to the Minister of Mines and ask, “Use section 35 to take these areas of land which are under dispute out of mining exploration and mining claims

Friday, May 30, 2008

No Respectful Period of Quiet Reflection, NAN Resumes Northern Table

While KI supporters were rallying on the lawn at Queens Park, NAN was negotiating the budget for the Northern Table.

MAY 27, 2008 MINISTRY OF ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS
ESTIMATES COMMITTEE

Hon. Michael Bryant: Sure. I think this is important for the public to understand. There’s a real recognition that the northern table dollars—the extent to which the government of Ontario is respecting the leadership of NAN, and Grand Chief Beardy in particular—that’s also a question that I know Grand Chief Beardy himself would also be able to answer. I certainly don’t speak for him, but I’m actually speaking with him later on today about the issue of the northern table budget ...




Oski-Machiitawin (New Beginning) Commences

Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy together with the Oski-Machiitawin (formerly “Northern Table”) NAN Chiefs steering committee announced today their decision to commence accelerated bilateral discussions with the Government of Ontario regarding lands and resources.

“We look forward to a Government to Government relationship where our First Nation Chiefs can sit down with the Premiere and Cabinet Ministers and begin to work on these important issues,” said NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy.

The bilateral partnership between NAN Chiefs and the Government of Ontario was established November 2007 with the intent to jointly develop a results-based process to address and resolve current challenges in the areas of consultation and accommodation, resource development, mining, parks, and licensing permits within NAN territory.

The suspension of Oski-Machiitawin on April 3, 2008, based on a decision by the NAN Executive Council, called for the immediate and unconditional release of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) Chief and Council.

“The issues faced by KI cannot be resolved without political discussions,” said Beardy.

KI Chief Donny Morris, Deputy Chief Jack McKay, head councilor Cecilia Begg, councilors Sam McKay, Darryl Sainnawap, and band member Bruce Sakakeep were released following their appeal on Wednesday May 28, during which their sentence was reduced to time served. The KI leadership were sentenced to six months in jail after disobeying a court order allowing junior mining exploration company Platinex Inc. to access KI traditional territory.

Litigation between KI, Platinex Inc., and the Government of Ontario has been ongoing since Platinex sued the remote First Nation community for $10 billion after they were told to vacate KI traditional land February 2006.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation is a political territorial organization representing 49 First Nation
communities within James Bay Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 territory. KI is a signatory to Treaty 9 (1929).

For more information please contact Michael Heintzman, Media Relations Officer – Nishnawbe Aski Nation (807) 625 4906.
Click here to view the printer friendly version.

Owen Young Damaged Goods-Laforme Must Dump Him to Protect Credibility of Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Reconciliation is difficult after a remark that hurts

BYLINE: CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD, cblatchford@globeandmail.com

SECTION: COLUMN; NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION; Pg. A10

LENGTH: 1068 words

The Ontario Crown prosecutor who urged a judge to impose "a financial penalty that hurts" on the so-called KI-6 native protesters has been seconded as senior counsel to the fledgling Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Established as part of Canada's residential schools settlement and headed by Mr. Justice Harry LaForme of the Ontario Court of Appeal, the commission is just starting up and is slated to begin work formally on June 1.

Although news of the appointment of Owen Young, until recently the Ontario government's lead counsel in the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation contempt-of-court case, isn't yet widely known, that lone remark already is causing ripples of concern among native groups and may make him a controversial choice despite otherwise impeccable credentials.

Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political organization that represents almost 50 first nation communities in Northern Ontario, told The Globe and Mail this week that "we've been thinking" about raising the issue of Mr. Young's appointment with Judge LaForme.

"Talking about punishing the community until it hurts one month, now he's [Mr. Young] supposed to find truth and reconciliation?" Chief Fiddler asked. "We have problems with that."

Earlier this month, Ontario New Democratic Party Leader Howard Hampton asked Premier Dalton McGuinty in Question Period how he could be talking publicly about his government pursuing "strong and positive relationships with first nations" while the government's lawyer, whom he didn't name, was in court seeking what Mr. Hampton called "crushing financial penalties" on a native band.

And two days ago at the Ontario Court of Appeal hearing that freed the KI-6 and another jailed native protester, Mr. Justice James MacPherson also raised Mr. Young's remark with his former colleague Malliha Wilson, who had been talking constantly about how the Ontario government wanted "reconciliation" with native groups.

"Help me here," Judge MacPherson said.

"How do I reconcile 'reconciliation' with what I see in the transcript - 'pay until it hurts'?"

In fact, the KI-6 - five former elected officials and one former employee of the band council - never were fined.

Instead, on March 17, weeks after hearing lengthy submissions from lawyers on what the appropriate sentence should be, Mr. Justice Patrick Smith of the Superior Court sentenced them to six months in jail, a penalty considered harsh in the "protest" context and because the defendants were all first-time offenders.

The six had asked for jail terms instead of fines because the band, its reserve located about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, had already incurred $650,000 in legal costs in the battle to prevent a mining company from beginning to drill on their traditional lands, and had even used some of its housing money to pay its legal bills.

"They simply can't afford it," their lawyer, Christopher Reid, told Judge Smith last January in Thunder Bay.

"They are unable to pay any fines."

Mr. Reid had asked for the "lowest period of incarceration," but Judge Smith said later in his ruling that, given the band's "lack of financial resources to pay a fine" and the protesters' stated intent that "they will continue to defy the orders of this court," only "a significant term of incarceration" was appropriate.

The six and another man - Bob Lovelace from the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation in Eastern Ontario who was serving a similar sentence imposed last February - were all freed by the appeal court, which reduced the sentences of all seven to time already served and put on temporary hold fines of $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000 another judge had imposed respectively on Mr. Lovelace, Ardoch Chief Paula Sherman and the first nation community.

In the public imagination, it appears that Mr. Young's request that Judge Smith impose a steep fine on the KI-6 has been conflated with the heavy fines levied against Mr. Lovelace, Ms. Sherman and the Ardoch community.

In fact, Mr. Young's unsuccessful entreaty to Judge Smith preceded by almost a month the Ardoch sentencing, and his pitch for punitive fines was accompanied by a lengthy explanation.

But the combination of Mr. Young seeking a substantial fine on the one hand and Ms. Wilson on the other this week backing away from the province playing any role but mediator between native groups and the mining companies has convinced some that Ontario isn't taking seriously its obligation to act with "honour" in dealing with native groups.

Mr. Young's starting point in court last January was that, as he said, "Jail's not the appropriate remedy, in my submission, because all that does is, it first creates a situation in which people who are acting in self-help, outside the process, get to say, 'See, the process doesn't work.' It allows them to portray themselves - it doesn't make them martyrs, Your Honour, but it allows them to portray themselves as martyrs."

Describing Canada's first nations as "our third founding people," he said that change in the "evolving relationship" between Canada and natives is accommodated within the existing constitutional structure. Thus, he told the judge, the rule of law must "persuade people in Canada to seek that change in a way that's not destructive."

So the sentencing objective, he said, should not "crush the aspiration for change, but bring it inside the structure."

In a telephone interview yesterday, Mr. Young defended the remark that stirred the controversy, saying that by "hurt," he didn't "mean cripple, I meant an irritant," and that the fines he proposed should be "big enough that you would have to pay it down over time, that it wasn't a licence to go do what you were doing.

"It would have hurt a helluva lot less than jail."

On aboriginal issues, he said, "I've always worked the same side of the fence ... my agenda all along is a rights agenda. In these cases [the KI-6 and the Bob Lovelace case], what was being advanced is kind of equivocal as a rights agenda. It was more jurisdictional."

At the Ontario Crown law office, Mr. Young was a senior member of what the department calls its aboriginal law team. As a defence lawyer, he represented a variety of first nations across the country in constitutional cases, and also defended the Mohawk Warriors who were charged in connection with the 1990 Oka crisis.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Is Platinex a "Villain"?

There is some debate on who should wear the black hat in our story.

The problem is that there are too many villains who deserve them.

But let's not forget Platinex started it all with the $10 billion lawsuit.No lawsuit,no attempt to access the land, no court order, no violation of the court order, no contempt, no jail for the KI leaders.

The company always had the option of filing suit against Ontario but waited until this year to do so.

But for the Platinex lawsuit none of the other "villains"( the private security consultant, Neil and Tracy, Cam Clark, Laurie Churchill, Owen Young, Michael Bryant and a cast of thousands of other nameless miscreants) in our story would have appeared.

So the award for the biggest black hat goes to-Platinex.Better luck next time to all those who cast for the role but were edged out in the final ballot.

Justice Out of the Deep Dark Depths-for now

The Globe and Mail (Canada)

May 29, 2008 Thursday

Aboriginals gird for a fight as court win in Ontario bolsters cause

BYLINE: CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD, cblatchford@globeandmail.com

SECTION: COLUMN; JUSTICE: THE KI-6; Pg. A1

LENGTH: 1082 words

If ever you wondered why there is a National Day of Action for Canada's aboriginal people - it's today - you should have been at the Ontario Court of Appeal yesterday.

There, as a packed courtroom erupted in applause and incredulous shouts of joy, lawyer Julian Falconer leaned over and spoke quietly to one of the aboriginal leaders who are his clients.

"Savour this," he said. "Once in a while, out of the deep, dark depths, comes justice."

The immediate cause for celebration was a late-in-the-day decision which formally sprang from prison - and put on temporary hold some enormous court-imposed fines - seven Ontario leaders from two different first nations waging different but similar battles over mining and exploration on their traditional territories.

The seven had been convicted of contempt of court for failing to agree to obey injunctions that prohibited them from interfering with two private companies - Platinex Inc. and Frontenac Ventures Corp. - which respectively hold platinum and uranium claims on the disputed land and want to begin test drilling.

Five men and a woman from the remote northwestern Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (they are called the KI-6 for short) were released late last week after spending only several days each of their six-month sentences behind bars.

But the seventh man, Robert Lovelace, a 60-year-old Queen's University lecturer and former chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation in Eastern Ontario, has been in jail since March, and recently just ended a hunger strike.

He is a fellow of such warmth and dignity that he is fondly regarded even by his jailers and the court security officers around him yesterday, who shook his hands and even gave him a hug.

The three-member court - composed of Marc Rosenberg, Kathryn Feldman and James MacPherson - upheld an appeal of the group's sentence, which appears to be the harshest for a contempt offence that anyone involved in the case can remember, and reduced the six months to time served.

With submissions running all day, Judge Rosenberg cautioned that the judges' reasons will be released later and that their decision shouldn't be interpreted as necessarily meaning the court agrees that either the jail terms or fines were inappropriate. But if the trio's comments and questions of the lawyers are any indication, they were troubled by the severity of the sentences, and perhaps by more.

If it was a great win for the native side, particularly for the exhausted Mr. Lovelace, in that it allowed the leaders to emerge with principles and pride intact, it was also so unusual as to be rare.

I am new to the world of the complicated native-government relationship, but even in my short time, looking at a handful of cases here and there and dipping in a toe now and then, there is a depressing common theme that runs through the lot and it is this - in the contest between the state and first nations, the state almost always wins.

As with any such contest between ordinary citizen and government, the state has endless resources and bottomless pockets. But many of the bands on the other side of the courtroom depend upon lawyers who work for free (or, as in the case of Christopher Reid, one of the lawyers for the Ardoch Algonquin, for meat and fish), or who squeeze in their aboriginal cases between those which actually pay the bills. Few citizens are generally as impoverished in this rich country as natives.

The size of the various legal tables yesterday spoke volumes. There was Mr. Reid and Sarah Dover at one; Mr. Falconer, one other lawyer and an assistant representing the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political organization of 49 first nations in Northern Ontario; Mary Eberts by herself for the Native Women's Association of Canada, and for the two exploration companies, Neal Smitheman and Tracy Pratt.

But at the Ontario government table were three gowned Crowns, led by Malliha Wilson, and behind and along the wall beside them, as many as six various other cheerleaders from various arms of the government.

Interestingly, despite Ms. Wilson's efforts to portray the government as a peace-broker wanting only to bring the warring parties together, it was hard not to notice that as various lawyers representing the natives spoke, particularly Mr. Reid, she and Ms. Pratt would often roll their eyes upward in unison.

In fact, Mr. Falconer, Mr. Reid, Ms. Dover and Ms. Eberts all said that the government should be doing much more than mediating the dispute between the companies and the natives. There is a well-established principle out of the Supreme Court of Canada which holds that in any dealings with aboriginal people, the Crown's very honour is at stake.

Indeed, Mr. Smitheman began his submissions with a succinct, "This is not our file. We're not the villain. We're the victims." And moments after his release, Mr. Lovelace said precisely the same thing: "Our fight is not with the mining companies. Our fight is trying to get the Crown to honour its obligations."

Mr. Lovelace has long called government's dealings with natives - and by government, he means government in all its forms, everything from fish and game laws on up - tantamount to "civil indifference." I think it is much more egregious than that.

Native pleas for genuine negotiation - whether in these specific cases, where they want the provincial Mining Act, which allows private companies to stake mineral rights on anyone's land without having to bother with getting permission, at least on the table for review, or in the sweeping land claims which drone on for decades - go unheard. Their letters to everyone from premiers to department heads and provincial coroners go unanswered. Their reports on poverty and suicide rates get no response.

And at the end of it all, in various courts across the country, government lawyers mouth words like "reconciliation" and "conciliation" with an ease that their collective daily conduct - they appeal every loss, fight on every technicality, argue for the harshest punishments, stall and obfuscate - utterly belies.

A National Day of Action? After yesterday, a national day of insurrection sounds more in order.

Mea culpa: In a recent column, I said the Indian Claims Commission was mentioned in a Federal Court of Canada case that dealt with extraordinary delay of a native grievance. In fact, the process is sufficiently glacial that the band's claim hasn't yet made it to the ICC, which deals only with rejected claims.

The Last KI Contemnor-John Cutfeet

In the euphoria of the Court of Appeal win most have forgotten former KI Band Council member John Cutfeet.John, who was a leading spokesperson for KI up until the fall of 2007, was charged with contempt but chose to challenge the contempt finding.He is scheduled to appear in court in Thunder Bay on June 24th in the first of many motions potentially leading up to a Constitutional challenge of the contempt rules.

John's lawsuit could change the clearly inadequate rules that allowed the Superior Court judges to jail the KI6 and Bob Lovelace.When your liberty is at stake the law must provide a process that errs on the side of the accused rather than simply allowing the offended party(the judge) to simply jail you with minimal process concerns.

With the May 28th ruling of the Court of Appeal the obvious solution would be for Platinex to simply abandon their legal pursuit of John.

Will the Platinex shareholders never tire of this futile paper chase?Somehow I doubt it.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Free at Last! KI6 and Bob Lovelace Prevail In Court of Appeal

In an act that may go some way to restoring confidence in the "whiteman"s courts" the Ontario Court of Appeal released Bob Lovelace and the KI6 with written reasons to follow.

Those written reasons may be some of the most interesting words put to paper by a court on the idea of aboriginal reconciliation and the public interest.

Those fortunate enough to have seats in the postage stamp courtroom witnessed the complete meltdown of Ontario's senior legal counsel in todays proceedings at the court of appeal. The Crown was unable to explain to the Court's satisfaction how fines that hurt could be part of reconciliation.Legal insiders were praying that a giant hook or a gong would simply get her off the stage.

To say that the Crown was unprepared would be charitable.Heads should roll for this fiasco.Those former valedictorians and Harvard Kreskins who staff MAA and the AG were justly hoisted on their own petard.

Thinking back to the smug backslapping atmosphere in the Thunder Bay courtroom, with Owen and Neil exchanging knowing winks and smiles while rolling their eyes it was great to see the dynamic duo finally get their just desserts.

The Platinex move to dump KI while keeping their guns on Ardoch was a predictable trick that failed.Good work by Chris in keeping these issues joined.

Thinking back, it seems to me that we got to this point because of a systemic failure.Ontario could not see beyond its role as an advocate of mining. Platinex could not see beyond gaining access to their "property" at any price.And the judge failed in his responsibility as judge to move beyond the stark dichotomy of fines or incarceration.KIs former lawyers OKT had run out of ideas and were left with simply a dramatic exit, a lot of fees and a bad haircut.

Maybe all the parties were simply exhausted.Justice Smith, who showed wisdom and courage in his first injunction decision, simply could not find a way to turn his mind to a nuanced remedy that would be in the ever elusive public interest.And certainly no one was providing him any options.

To be blunt, just because contemnors come before you requesting jail doesn't mean you grant their wishes.Judges have a higher responsibility.Jail only served to weaken an already weak first nation faith in the courts.How Justice Smith imagined 6 months in jail would crete a solution to the intractable problem he faced is beyond me.

Let's hope that Justice Smith's vacation time in South Africa is restorative.An earlier trip may have helped clarify his thinking on reconciliation.

Everybody knows that the jail sentence solved nothing.Platinex claims and leases remain in good standing and technically they could try to access their property.Let's hope the Court of Appeal offers us some thinking on a solution that leads away from future contempts.


The real heroes in this story remain the communities of Ardoch and KI and the courageous individuals who became prisoners of conscience.

KI and Bob Lovelace animated a mass movement of unlikely allies.Amnesty, CPT, the unions, the powerfully animated Judy Rebick and the ENGO community.

There are some unsung heroes.I'll just mention them by their first names.
Luke, Eno C., Alvin, Kim, Jackie, Odi, Leah, Vernon, Jenna, Justin, Joan, Wendy C., Jim R. and David S.
That's my list.I'm sure you have yours.

Let's celebrate.But the battle is not won. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of mining claims have been staked in Ontario's far north.No First Nation has the right to say no.The MNDM bureacrats remain. And McGuinty and Bryant continue to occupy the pink palace.

This blog is offering a significant reward to the person or persons who stake mining claims on the summer cottages of the Premier and Minister Bryant.

Lovelace Attends CT of Appeal in Gitmo Orange

Lovelace fights for his freedom; Full courtroom expected as native protester seeks release from prison
Posted By Frank Armstrong
Posted 9 hours ago

The courtroom where native protester Bob Lovelace and six members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation will fight for release from prison today is expected to be filled to the limit now that at least 1,000 protesters have amassed in Toronto to support their cause.

Chris Reid, lawyer for both parties, said more than 1,000 supporters rallied at Queen's Park Monday night to protest the six-month prison sentences the seven were given for blocking access to prospectors.

"There are people sleeping in teepees and in party tents, and there are people sleeping in the stairs [of the legislature]," Reid said. Lovelace, a Queen's University lecturer and former chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, was sent to a provincial jail in Lindsay for helping to block a uranium prospecting company from entering an exploration site north of Sharbot Lake. He is now on a hunger strike.

The KI-6 were jailed for obstructing an exploration company's access to land near their reserve in northern Ontario.

At Reid's request, they were let out of jail Friday until the appeal ends because Plantinex, the company they were opposing, agreed to temporarily stop drilling. The KI-6, in turn, agreed to obey a judge's order to not obstruct the exploration site while they are free.

Frontenac Ventures, the company looking for uranium north of Kingston, gave no such promise, so Lovelace refused to return the favour and was not allowed out before his appeal.

He will get to attend his hearing today, but he is unhappy to hear he may have to appear in a bright orange prison-issue jump suit, Reid said.

"It's humiliating," he said.

Lindsay jail authorities told Reid that family members should have brought Lovelace some street clothes and that he would have been advised of this when he was first imprisoned Feb. 15.

Reid hopes Osgoode Hall court staff will allow Lovelace to change before he arrives in court, even though it's customary for prisoners to change in jail.

"In some way, it is maybe a good thing rather than sugar coat the reality," Reid said.

Earth to McGuinty; when change takes time you negotiate interim measures

Ontario's Mining Act assailed

First Nations protest the latest in long-running dispute

Peter Koven, Financial Post Published: Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Christ Wattie, Reuters File Photo

The long-simmering issue of mining activity on First Nations land soared to the forefront yesterday as National Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations joined a protest at Toronto's Queen's Park and slammed government mining policy before a throng of media.

The outdoor press conference, held in front of a teepee, was the latest milestone in a long-running dispute in which a group of First Nations people were arrested and the Ontario government was slapped with a $70-million lawsuit.

The problem centres on a property called Big Trout Lake in Northern Ontario. A tiny junior company called Platinex Inc. tried to commence drilling on the site last year, but it was blocked by six members of the First Nations Group called Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI). This came after nine years of failed talks between the two sides.

The so-called "KI 6" were arrested and handed six-month prison sentences. They got a five-day leave from jail this week to protest at Queen's Park, where they were joined by hundreds of supporters and were cheered at the press conference (a seventh individual from another dispute is still imprisoned).

They are demanding changes to Ontario's Mining Act, which they say allows the government to hand out mining claims on First Nations' traditional land and anywhere else it wants.

"It's not an aboriginal issue any more," said Chief Donnie Morris of the KI.

"Now it's municipalities, cottage owners and private property owners. They're in the same boat we are. What's happened to our community can happen to them too."

National Chief Fontaine, who supports responsible mining, backed the KI 6 and blamed the Federal and provincial governments for failing to resolve the matter and fix the Mining Act.

The Act was written in 1873, and while it has been tweaked and updated over the years, the Ontario government has acknowledged that it needs a thorough review and plans to conduct one.

But Michael Gravelle, Ontario's Minister of Northern Development and Mines, also rejected the First Nations claims that the Act is so one-sided, pointing out that it clearly rejects staking on First Nations land and other sensitive territory.

"There is no argument about the fact that First Nations should be consulted on what activity goes on on their lands. To a certain extent [the Platinex dispute] is a land claims issue," he said in an interview.

The First Nations are not the only ones giving Minister Gravelle headaches: Platinex is also suing the government for $70-million (plus interest and costs), claiming that Ontario "breached its duty" by not allowing the company to access its mining claims at Big Trout Lake.

The bigger issue is updating the Mining Act to keep disputes like this from emerging again. Mr. Gravelle said the government will go through long consultations with all stakeholders to get it right. One thing he wants to stress is that companies should meet with First Nations before they even begin to stake claims.

"Quite frankly, when I talk to the companies, they're looking for clarity as well," he said.

pkoven@nationalpost.com

Spin begins with Platinex renoucing factum call for more jail

ct of appeal will decide as platinex spins away.

Lawyers for Platinex won't oppose sentencing appeal by aboriginal
protesters



TORONTO _ Six aboriginal protesters will likely remain free from

jail after lawyers representing a northern **>Ontario<** mining company

agreed not to oppose an appeal of their sentences.



The six members of the KI First Nation in northern Ontario were

freed temporarily after being sentenced to six months in jail for

disobeying court orders in an ongoing dispute with miner Platinex

Inc.



The lawyers did not extend the same offer to Ardoch Algonquin

First Nation leader Bob Lovelace, who remains in jail for a similar

court breach in eastern Ontario.



Chris Reid, the lawyer for the two aboriginal groups, says

Ontario is refusing to even discuss the Lovelace matter because his

community is non-status.



Reid says **>Aboriginal Affairs<** Minister **>Michael Bryant<** walked
out

of a meeting Tuesday with the so-called ``KI Six'' when the

conversation turned to Lovelace's fate.



The protesters are calling on the government to change the Mining

Act to allow First Nations to say no to exploration and mining

activities on their traditional territory.

Platinex Tells Shareholders That It Remains Committed to Exploring KI "property"

Premier Seems to Believe Consultation Duty Falls on Companies

ABORIGINAL RIGHTS

Mr. Howard Hampton: A question to the Premier: Tomorrow, Chief Donny
Morris and five other members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First
Nation are at the Ontario Court of Appeal appealing a six-month jail
sentence. Why? Because the McGuinty government failed to properly
consult and accommodate them before mining exploration rights were
permitted on their traditional territory.

Instead of sending the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation
members back to jail for protecting their traditional lands, will the
Premier announce today that the mining rights are being withdrawn from
the disputed KI traditional lands until a resolution of the issue is
reached?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Let me say at the outset that I strongly take
issue with the interpretation of the facts provided by my colleague
opposite. This is a matter that was before the courts. My colleague
knows we opposed jail time. We moved as quickly as we could to
accelerate the release of these individuals, pending the outcome of the
appeal. We've also indicated that we are certainly strongly encouraging
the private sector to consult with our First Nations, our aboriginal
communities, before they move ahead with a claim. At the same time, we
are conducting a pretty comprehensive review of the Mining Act and the
claim-staking process which we've inherited. My friend knows that. I
just wish that from time to time he would admit that.

Mr. Howard Hampton: Premier, I spoke this morning with the lawyer for
Chief Donny Morris, who says that your government has done nothing to
facilitate the release of Donny Morris and the Kitchenuhmaykoosib
Inninuwug leadership. Further, Premier, you've been promising a review
of the Mining Act for five years and nothing has happened.

The reality is, your Minister of Mines can temporarily withdraw the
mining rights on the disputed Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug lands
immediately, under section 35 of the Mining Act. No order in council is
required, no review of the Mining Act is required, just a letter
written by the Minister of Mines to the mining recorder. That's it.
That's all it takes.

My question: Will the Premier instruct his Minister of Mines to write
that letter to the mining recorder today, or does the McGuinty
government want to see the KI leadership sent back to jail?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I can't let that stand. The leader of the NDP
understands that this is a matter before the courts. At the end of the
day, a judge, an impartial tribunal, has got to make the call on these
kinds of things.

I want to make it clear again that our position was that these
individuals should not be incarcerated. We did not think it warranted
jail time. We did move to secure their release at the earliest possible
opportunity. We're also moving as quickly as we can to conduct a pretty
comprehensive review of a Mining Act that's been in place in Ontario
since 1873. In the interim, we are encouraging private sector mining
operators to work with our aboriginal communities, with our First
Nations, and ensure that they're providing them with the proper
consultation, involving them in the process.

It would be possible for Ontarians to conclude that our aboriginal
communities are not interested in any kind of mining, but the
overwhelming majority are interested in mining. They just want to find
a way to participate in that so they can share in some of the revenues.

Mr. Howard Hampton: It sometimes borders on the incredulous to listen
to the McGuinty government. They blame the mining company. They blame
other interests. The fact of the matter is that the McGuinty government
could end this dispute today. You could have ended this dispute a year
ago. All it takes is a letter from the Minister of Mines to the mining
recorder, under section 35 of the Mining Act, saying, "These lands
which are in dispute are hereby withdrawn from mining exploration and
mining development." You know what? The McGuinty government that
lectures and preaches-

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Stop the clock. I would just remind
all of our guests who are here that you're more than welcome to observe
the debate, but not to participate in the debate by applause or any
other form. Thank you.

Mr. Howard Hampton: The McGuinty government that lectures and preaches
refuses to do that. The First Nation has made it very clear: They are
not going to allow mining exploration and development on their
traditional lands. Premier, you can resolve this issue today. Simply
withdraw it from further mining claim, mining exploration. Will you do
that?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: To the Minister of Natural Resources.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): The Minister of Natural Resources?

Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Northern Development.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): The Minister of Northern Development
and Mines.

Hon. Michael Gravelle: As the leader of the third party knows full
well, we made the commitment to review the Mining Act last year, not
five years ago. It's one that we take incredibly seriously, as we take
our duty to consult very seriously. Again, I would think the leader of
the third party would understand that taking any unilateral action to
change the Mining Act would not be supported by many people, including
himself, and I would think also our First Nation partners.

We feel it's extraordinarily important to go through this review of the
Mining Act in a comprehensive way, as the Premier has said, and then
indeed to enter into appropriate consultations. We think that's
incredibly important. There are so many great opportunities that are
there. We recognize the challenges, so this review of the Mining Act is
one we take very seriously, as we take our duty to consult very, very
seriously. Indeed, we look forward to moving forward as quickly as we
can on the Mining Act review.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Globe Points to Continued McGuinty Inaction on MIning Act Change

The Globe and Mail (Canada)

May 27, 2008 Tuesday

Inaction on native issues not helping government or jailed protester

BYLINE: MURRAY CAMPBELL, mcampbell@globeandmail.com

SECTION: COLUMN; QUEEN'S PARK; Pg. A10

LENGTH: 621 words

Donny Morris has had 68 days in jail to contemplate how the Ontario
government is dealing with its native population. And he's concluded
that it is falling short of the pledge it made last fall "to forge a
stronger, more positive relationship" with the dozens of native
communities scattered across the province.

This isn't a total surprise, of course. Mr. Morris, chief of the remote
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation north of Thunder Bay, has
been slapped around lately by the provincial justice system. Along with
five other KI residents, he was sentenced in March to six months in
jail for civil contempt of court after disobeying a court order to
allow a mining company to work their traditional territory.

But his disenchantment goes further and it suggests that the energy
Michael Bryant has brought to the newly created Aboriginal Affairs
Ministry hasn't completely brought the positive relationship the
Liberal government is seeking.

"I would say we've been misled, misled to believe things were being
done on our behalf here," Mr. Morris said before a rally for the
so-called KI-6 and for Robert Lovelace, who has also been jailed for
six months for protesting against uranium exploration on Ardoch
Algonquin First Nation territory in Eastern Ontario.

These aren't the words that the energetic and ambitious Aboriginal
Affairs Minister wants to hear as Thursday's nationwide aboriginal "day
of action" nears. (Neither is the contention in an Ardoch Algonquin
news release last week that "to put it bluntly, Michael Bryant is a
liar.") Indeed, the minister rejects the characterization that the
government has been indifferent to aboriginal concerns.

He points to the continuing implementation of the recommendations of
the judicial inquiry into the Ipperwash tragedy and a move to share
casino and lottery earnings with native communities as evidence that
"we've made progress on a number of fronts."

But the KI controversy and the continuing standoff between natives and
non-natives at Caledonia are casting a shadow over the progress made on
the Ipperwash file.

The Caledonia dispute, which began with a botched police attack on a
native occupation of a subdivision under construction, shows no sign of
ending.

Mr. Bryant showed his frustration recently when he suggested that a
deadline ought to be imposed for resolution of the land claims of the
Six Nations reserve. The federal government, seemingly content with the
glacial pace of such talks, laughed it off.

Things are so gloomy that nearby Brantford is asking for the Canadian
Forces to be put on standby in preparation for trouble. "A physical
confrontation and disturbance of the peace or riot is inevitable and
imminent," the city's legal brief argued.

But while the Caledonia issue seems intractable, the KI controversy is
not and that's what is fuelling the native protest and attracting
increasing numbers of non-native supporters. Mr. Morris, Mr. Lovelace
and the others went to jail not because they opposed mining per se but
because they wanted the government to adhere to numerous Supreme Court
of Canada decisions that said governments have a duty to consult over
development on native lands.

It's a dispute between rights granted exploration firms under the
Mining Act and treaty rights for natives. The solution - a revision of
the century-old mining law that gives firms "free entry" to any land in
search of minerals - has evaded the government for a number of years
and it doesn't look like it's coming in any hurry.

"It's not the kind of thing that we can instantly undo," Premier Dalton
McGuinty said.

The inaction is not encouraging news for Mr. Morris. It's not doing Mr.
Bryant and the government any good either.

National Chief Sees Role for Feds in Resolving KI Issues

Ottawa must intervene in Ontario's land and mining disputes: Fontaine

May 27, 2008 - 21:54

By: Jered Stuffco, THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO - A simmering aboriginal land dispute in southern Ontario and a
mining clash in the province's north that led to the jailing of six
activists will worsen if the federal government fails to intervene, the
country's top aboriginal chief warned Tuesday.

Phil Fontaine, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said the federal
government has been "absent" in both disputes, despite Ottawa's legal
obligation to protect the land rights of First Nations across the
country.

"The fair and just resolution of this matter requires the full
engagement of the provincial government, the federal government and the
First Nation governments," Fontaine told a rally gathered outside the
Ontario legislature.

"Any government that is absent at the table will result in further
complications."

On Wednesday, the Ontario Court of Appeal will decide if six members of
the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation will be sent back to
jail for ignoring a court order barring them from a remote drilling
site.

The KI members were given a five-day reprieve last week after they
agreed to stay off the site about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay,
Ont.

"It is our view that the main reason there are so many conflicts over
land is because the federal government has been absent," Fontaine said,
referring to other conflicts in the Ontario communities of Caledonia
and Brantford.

Both communities are included in a larger land claim that covers much
of the region.

"The national chief is inaccurate here on both accounts," said Ted
Yeomans, communications director for Indian Affairs Minister Chuck
Strahl.

"Our government has been at the negotiating table in good faith for two
years and we have tabled two different multi-million-dollar offers to
Six Nations leaders in an attempt to get a settlement to this complex
claim."

"Also Canada's negotiator has participated in over 100 meetings with
the involved parties as we work towards a negotiated settlement."

Fontaine's comments came two days before the second annual aboriginal
day of action, which last year saw protesters shut down traffic on
Canada's busiest highway.

Rather than confrontation, however, Fontaine said the day is about
reaching out and informing Canadians about the plight of aboriginals.

Referring to a growing conflict between a developer and aboriginals at
a construction site in Brantford, Fontaine asked for calm.

"My hope, of course, is that saner heads will prevail," he said prior
to the rally at Queen's Park.

On Friday, Brantford's city council will be back at Ontario Superior
Court seeking an injunction that would bar protesters from occupying
work sites.

The injunction also asks for $110 million in damages and for the
federal government to put the Armed Forces on notice in the event of a
violent confrontation.

"I know the people in that area and I know they're fair-minded people,"
Fontaine said.

"They want to have what they're entitled to."

He added the federal government must be prepared to come to the table
with real solutions if it hopes to avoid a confrontation.

Patricia Valladao, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Indian Affairs,
says Ottawa hasn't taken an active negotiating role in KI because
licences and permits for developers are a provincial matter.

KI Chief Donny Morris, released from jail on Friday, told the Queen's
Park rally that the property rights of all Ontario residents are in
jeopardy because of outdated mining laws.

He called on property owners across the province to pressure the
government into changing the legislation.

"They're in the same boat as we are," he said.

"What's happening to our community can happen to them too."

However, while the Mining Act does allow companies to drill on Crown
land, there are only small amounts of private land where surface rights
and mining rights are separate, said Anne-Marie Flanagan, a spokeswoman
for the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

Flanagan said this is the case in one per cent of private land in
southern Ontario and less than 0.4 per cent of private land in the
province's north.

Meanwhile, Six Nations Council Chief Bill Montour says he is "totally
opposed" to a national aboriginal day of action planned for Thursday.

"This year, the (band) council has made a resolution that there will be
no day of action," Montour told the Brantford Expositor on Tuesday.

Montour said the national leaders have no authority to call on
aboriginals to protest.

"We at the community level can do that quite well on our own," said
Montour.

"The national leaders can call for a national day of action, but when
it gets out of hand, the community leaders are left to clean up," he
said.
National Archive

Sainnawap-No Compromise in Defense of Future Generations

North Bay Nugget
Aboriginal protesters demand changes to Mining Act
Posted 14 hours ago

The property rights of all Ontario residents are being threatened by
archaic mining laws that allow companies to stake land anywhere they
like, aboriginal protesters said Monday before a swelling crowd that
gathered on a the front lawn of the provincial legislature to demand
change.

And if the province doesn't act now to change the Mining Act,
politicians can expect another Ipperwash, an emotional Darryl
Sainnawap, one of six Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation
members who were jailed over a dispute with a mining exploration
company said in reference to the infamous 1995 aboriginal standoff that
ended in the fatal shooting of protester Dudley George by police.

Among the guests of honour at the multi-day sit-in that's expected to
culminate with Thursday's national aboriginal Day of Action, Sainnawap
thanked the crowd for supporting him while he was in jail and called on
the government to negotiate.

"I personally want to call on the provincial government to come to the
table and see if we can find a resolution," he said before the mass of
several hundred, which included aboriginal groups from across the
province and beyond as well as labour groups and environmentalists.

"But I would also like to say our land comes first . . . Ontario says
get on board, get out of the way, or go to jail. We cannot compromise
our children's future."

Sainnawap, along with KI Chief Donny Morris, deputy chief Jack McKay
and members Sam McKay, Cecilia Begg and Bruce Sakakeep, were all
released from jail temporarily Friday after agreeing to abide by an
injunction that prohibits them from interfering with the operations of
Platinex Inc., a mining company that's seeking to drill on KI land
about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

The decision was made only after Platinex promised not to bring an
exploration crew onto the disputed land before 9 a.m. Thursday.

The group dubbed the KI 6 is due back in court Wednesday where they are
appealing their six-month sentence for contempt of court. The Ontario
Appeals Court could decide they've served enough time and release them
or send them back to jail to serve out the remainder of their sentence.

The brief reprieve, however, gave them the opportunity to join fellow
KI members as well as colleagues from Ardoch Algonquin First Nations in
eastern Ontario and Grassy Narrows First Nation near Kenora. All three
groups organized the event, originally aimed in part at calling for
their release.

Bob Lovelace of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation still remains in jail in
solitary confinement on a hunger strike for a similar breach involving
a uranium exploration company.

The group called for his release and also played a recording he made
from jail to share with the crowd.

McGuinty Says Any Change Must Not Upset his Mining Industry Pals

Native leaders vow to fight mining law in Ont.

Jordana Huber
Canwest News Service

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

TORONTO - Six First Nations leaders from northern Ontario, who were
incarcerated for defying a court order allowing a mining company to
explore on their traditional territory, will be in an appeal court
Wednesday to argue against their six-month jail sentences.

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) Chief Donny Morris along with five
other community members have already spent 68 day in jail for contempt
of court, but will continue to fight for their right to say no to
mining, KI lawyer Chris Reid said.

Ontario's mining legislation, which dates from 1873 and allows
prospectors "free entry" to stake claims granting mineral rights,
regardless of who owns the surface land, made the arrests of the
aboriginal leaders "inevitable," he said.

"We hope the Court of Appeal will send a message to the government that
the mining law needs to be reformed," Reid said. "Communities need to
be able to have the right to say no to exploration and mining on their
land or this kind of thing is going to happen again and again."

With more than a half-million square kilometres of mineral claims
currently staked across Canada's boreal forest under the "free-entry"
system used in most provinces, Larry Innes, executive director of the
Canadian Boreal Initiative said the potential for conflict with First
Nations is rising.

"We're caught in a situation where old laws are catching up to new
realities," Innes said. "Society is demanding different things when it
comes to dealing fairly with Aboriginal People and one is ensuring
broad public policy objectives are achieved before private interests
are granted on public land."

Aboriginal leaders across the country argue they are not opposed to
development on traditional lands, but the provinces have an obligation
to adhere to recent Supreme Court rulings establishing a duty to
consult and accommodate First Nations.

Dave Porter, a member of the B.C. First Nations Leadership Council is
chair of a conference on mining and aboriginal rights planned for the
province in October. He said aboriginal leaders will gather to discuss
amendments to B.C.'s mining law that would to stop prospectors from
staking claims without consultation.

"What happened in Ontario could happen here," said Porter. "A dialogue
between First Nations, government and the mining industry needs to take
place not only on how mining is conducted but there also need to be a
discussion of First Nation interests in terms of job opportunities,
training, and resource revenue and profit sharing."

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said the province is still "coming to
grips" with trying to balance the interests First Nations and the
mining industry though he acknowledges the current system is no longer
"acceptable."

McGuinty said his government is committed to updating the Mining Act
but it will take time to develop new regulations. Changes to the
legislation will have a "ripple effect" on jobs and the economy that
must be considered, McGuinty added.

Reid said Morris along with Deputy Chief Jack McKay, Head Coun. Cecilia
Begg, councillors Sam McKay and Darryl Sainnawap, and band member Bruce
Sakakeep are prepared to return to jail to serve the remainder of their
sentences if their appeal is dismissed.

The group dubbed the KI 6 were sentenced in March to six months for
disobeying a court order allowing Platinex Inc. to conduct exploratory
drilling near Big Trout Lake, 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont.

Last Friday, pending the outcome of their appeal, they were released
from jail after Platinex agreed not to access KI territory for mining
exploration until May 29.

In turn, Reid said his clients agreed to obey the court injunction
instructing them to not interfere with Platinex exploration for the
same period.

KI ready to Make History at Court of Appeal

Five years too long for mining reforms, says NDP leader

By Mike Aiken
Miner and News
Tuesday May 27, 2008
Premier Dalton McGuinty's been dragging his feet for five years on
Mining Act reforms, and the result has been more confrontation with
First Nation leaders.
This was the message from Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton Monday as
he took the case of the KI 6 to the legislature.
"The McGuinty Liberals have been in power for more than five years and
continue to talk about changes to the Mining Act, but all we hear is
talk. The McGuinty Liberals could immediately bring in a regulation
that would be an important first step in ensuring First Nations
consultation. But the Premier refused," said Hampton.
"We see in Ontario today First Nation leaders being imprisoned because
of the McGuinty government's failure to consult and accommodate First
Nations prior to allowing mineral exploration on their traditional
territories. The McGuinty government could immediately address this
embarrassment. Instead, the Premier refuses," he added.
Hampton's questions follow the release of band councillors from Big
Trout Lake, also know as Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug. While the six
community leaders were allowed to return to their community over the
weekend, they're due back in Toronto for a series of rallies before a
court date Wednesday.
If they're unsuccessful in their appeal Wednesday, the community
leaders could be back in jail again, setting the stage for the second
annual Day of Action Thursday, May 29.
Balance needed: Gravelle
Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle responded by
saying he didn't hear Hampton bringing this issue up five years ago,
and the ministry had been working hard on reforming the act since his
appointment last fall.
"We must get a full consultation process to move forward," he said,
during a brief interview.
The minister refused to consider implementing a moratorium on the
issuing of mining permits until the reforms had been put in place,
saying this wasn't a time for unilateral action.

"We want to be sure and get a full consultation process, before we move
forward," he stressed.
Mining regulation in Ontario dates back to before Confederation. The
latest overhaul of the act was in 1990, with amendments as recent as
last year.
Premier weighs in
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also addressed the issue during a press
conference at Queen's Park Monday afternoon.
In response to a question on the subject, McGuinty said he was looking
for a balance between the need to encourage investments that create
jobs in rural and northern Ontario, the importance of aboriginal rights
to be consulted on development on their traditional lands, as well as
the benefits associated with preserving the boreal forest as a carbon
sink that could help our environment.
"So, it's pretty complicated and we're working hard now with a number
of ministries to come up with a proposal, which we will then be able to
consult on," said the premier Monday afternoon.
Not just aboriginals
Dalles band councillor Tania Cameron, who is also the federal NDP
candidate, spoke with the KI 6 over the weekend, and emphasized the
group are ready for what ever's ahead.
"They're ready for whatever is to come. They're ready to make history,"
she said Monday.
Cameron noted the issue of consent before development doesn't just
apply to First Nations. It also applied to municipalities and cottage
owners, she added.
"They have to be engaged," she said.
'Let them free"
In an echo of last spring's show of solidarity with First Nations, city
councillor Rory McMillan repeated his position that the band
councillors should not be in jail.
"I think it's very wrong that they're in jail, and it's my sincere hope
that the court will see fit to release them," he said Monday afternoon.
"Let them free!" he added.
Liberals agree
In Ottawa, aboriginal affairs critic Anita Neville spoke on behalf of
Kenora MP Roger Valley, who was traveling.
"We have grave concerns about the fact that they are in jail. I think
there's some injustice to it," she said, hoping the wisdom of the
courts will prevail.
While he appreciated and respected the importance of the issues at
hand, federal Conservative candidate Greg Rickford reserved comment on
the issue, saying he acts as legal counsel for an organization that
involves the First Nation community of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug,
and it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the situation.

Day Two of Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors

>
>
> Tomorrow the highlight of the Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors is
> the Ardoch KI appeal. There will be a march from Queen's Park to
> Osgoode
> Hall at 10 am. Hope to see you there
>
> Today was the second day of the Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors.
> It's really something to see three tepees and big tents on the lawns of
> Queen's Park. Drop by and join in
>
> .
>
> For more information:
> http://www.gatheringofmotherearthprotectors.blogspot.com/
>
> For more pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90042597@N00/
>
>
>

March to Court House tomorrow 10 am

>
> Tomorrow is Day 3 of the Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors. 
> Tomorrow the highlight of the day is a march to Osgoode Hall at 10 am
> for the appeal of Bob Lovelace and the KI Six.
>  
> For a report on the day's activity see
> www.gatheringofmotherearthprotectors.blogspot.com
>  
>  
> For photos of today and yesterday see
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/90042597@N00/
>  
> Judy
>  
>  

Star Editorial First Nations vs Mining Act

>
>
>  
> EDITORIAL  http://www.thestar.com/article/431246
>  
> First Nations vs. Mining Act  
>  
> May 27, 2008 04:30 AM
>
> Where it should be seen as an opportunity with significant benefits
> for all concerned, it is a contentious and highly divisive issue,
> pitting First Nations in Ontario against those who could give them a
> stronger foothold in the mainstream economy, with its wealth and jobs.
>
> At issue is mining on lands First Nations claim as their own.
>
> Commodity prices are making mining one of the few bright spots in the
> Ontario economy. But exploration activity is governed by the outdated
> Mining Act (written in 1873), which gives the companies sway over
> aboriginal turf, including Crown lands that are subject to land claims
> or the traditional hunting and fishing territory of First Nations.
>
> Regardless of who owns the land, the Mining Act allows the mining
> industry to search for minerals and lay claim to whatever it finds.
>
> First Nations leaders who have protested such drilling, sanctioned by
> this 135-year-old law, have been thrown in jail. Talks between the
> provincial government and First Nations over the sharing of resource
> revenues have been suspended.
>
> Premier Dalton McGuinty has told First Nations that his government is
> determined "to find a better way." Government sources say a major
> consultation on a new Mining Act is about to be launched. But the lack
> of any sign of progress to date has prompted First Nations protesters
> to begin a four-day encampment at Queen's Park to draw public
> attention to the issue.
>
> The direction that reform of the Mining Act should take ought to be
> fairly clear, however. Negotiations between First Nations and mining
> companies should precede efforts by the miners to stake and develop
> their claims. First Nations should have a say at the outset on the
> sharing of the spoils, on environmental controls, and on jobs.
>
> Would the First Nations have an absolute veto over mining? That is the
> vexing question facing the province, one that ought to be aired in the
> coming consultations. Some say a veto would effectively end new mining
> ventures in Ontario. But others argue that, because economic
> development is ultimately in the interests of the First Nations
> themselves, deals would be struck and mining would continue.
>
> It can also be argued that the First Nations have an effective veto
> right now because they can always engage in civil disobedience to
> bring mining to a halt.
>
> What is needed, then, is a new set of rules that everyone agrees to
> abide by and allows mining to proceed with First Nations receiving
> their fair share in revenues and jobs.
>  
>  

Monday, May 26, 2008

Broadest Coalition Since Fight Against Free Trade Gathers to Support Right to Say No

Attention News/Assignment Editors:
Natives and non natives unite to protect lands and livelihoods

Historic rally at Queen's Park today calls for antiquated laws to be
changed and respect for First Nation rights

TORONTO, May 26 /CNW/ - Three First Nations will be calling on the
province today to respect their right to say NO to mineral exploration
and
logging on their lands at a rally at Queen's Park. The rally, scheduled
to
begin at 5pm with a press conference at 4:30pm, is an event of
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI), Ardoch Algonquins and Grassy
Narrows. It is
supported by over 25 environmental, social justice, student, faith, and
union
groups from across the province and Canada.
Masters of Ceremony will be Thomas King, celebrated author and Cathy
Jones, actor, writer and comedian from CBC Television's This Hour has 22
Minutes. Signifying the importance of the issue to Aboriginal rights and
sovereignty, former National Chief Ovide Mercredi of the Assembly of
First
Nations will address the rally. A letter from Mr. Robert Kennedy Jr. to
Premier McGuinty will also be read at the rally. In the letter, Mr.
Kennedy
asks that the Premier reform Ontario's outdated mining rules and do
whatever
possible to halt ongoing drilling on traditional lands of jailed First
Nations' leaders.
"We never surrendered our traditional lands and we never agreed to
be
bound by the reserve. We will never give up our duty to protect our
traditional lands that we use for hunting and fishing," said KI
Counsellor Sam
MacKay from jail in Thunder Bay. He and five others known as the KI Six
are
being detained after being found in contempt of court for peacefully
opposing
mineral exploration on their traditional lands 600km north of Thunder
Bay in
the Boreal Forest.
For too long, the provincial government has ignored First Nation
communities when they refuse industrial development on their lands. The
province then permits industry to run roughshod over them. Recently
landowners
in eastern Ontario have also suffered a similar fate because of
antiquated
mining laws. This all has to change demand the First Nations,
landowners and
their supporters.
"I think that things like the protection of the environment bring
people
together. I think that we all have an innate sort of indigenous belief
that we
have responsibilities to the Earth, whether we're aboriginal or not,"
recently
commented Robert Lovelace, University Professor and retired Chief of the
Ardoch Algonquins from jail in an interview with Indian Country Times.
Mr.
Lovelace is serving a six month sentence for peacefully opposing uranium
exploration in eastern Ontario.
Chrissy Swain, of Grassy Narrows, is arriving at the rally after
walking
1700 km from Kenora to Toronto with a group of young people to raise
awareness
of the ongoing logging that's going in her community's traditional
territory.
Ms. Swain will be addressing the rally tonight. "The way I see things
and the
way (Grassy Narrows youth) see things, we have to look way ahead into
the
future," Ms. Swain said. "That's how serious this is. What we decide
today is
going to impact what happens to my great-grandchildren. Any decisions
made on
my behalf also affect my great-grandchildren."
A press conference is scheduled for 4:30pm on the south lawn at
Queen's
Park before the rally starts at 5pm.

Co-sponsors of the rally:

The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples
CAIA
Canadian Federation of Students
Canadian Labour Congress
Christian Peacemaker Teams
CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy - Ryerson
University
CEP
CPAWS Wildlands League
CUPE National
CUPE Ontario
Defence for Children International
ForestEthics
Greenpeace
KAIROS
MiningWatch Canada
No One is Illegal Toronto
NOW Magazine
OCAP
Ontario Environmental Justice Organizing Initiative
OPSEU
OPSEU 596
OSSTF
Rainforest Action Network
Ryerson Aboriginal Students Services
Steelworkers Humanity Fund
University of Winnipeg Students' Association

This is the broadest and most active coalition I have seen since the
anti-free trade fight in the late 1980's.
-Judy Rebick

Chief Will Return to Jail if Province Won't Come to the Table

Aboriginal chief vows to return to jail if Ont., doesn't negotiate on
Mining Act

10 hours ago

TORONTO — The chief of a northern Ontario aboriginal community who was
incarcerated along with five other leaders in a dispute with a mining
exploration company said he's prepared to return to jail if the
province doesn't come to the table and review the Mining Act.

Happy to be home on Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation land
after winning a temporary release from jail Friday, Chief Donny Morris
told The Canadian Press he'll have no choice but to continue protesting
if the province allows Platinex Inc., to drill on his community's
traditional territory, about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont.

"I have to uphold the community membership's mandate and at the moment
they don't want any drilling or development of that sort," he said.

"We're willing to take that risk. When you're backed up into a corner
with your last hope trying to preserve your territory, you don't have
much of a choice."

Disobeying an injunction that prohibited him from interfering with the
company's work is what landed Morris and his colleagues in jail in the
first place. They were granted the temporary reprieve after they agreed
to abide by the injunction - a decision made only after Platinex
promised not to bring an exploration crew onto the disputed land before
9 a.m. Thursday.

The group dubbed the KI 6 is due back in court Wednesday where they are
appealing their six-month sentence for contempt of court. The Ontario
Appeals Court could decide they've served enough time and release them
or send them back to jail to serve out the remainder of their sentence.

After more than two months of confinement, rubbing shoulders with
criminals and being told when to eat and sleep, Morris said he is
trying to adjust to the "wide open spaces" he's used to.

He said the group is in good spirits and were welcomed home with a big
party Saturday night at the community hall.

"I'm trying to adjust to my old lifestyle but I'm having difficulty,"
he said.

"It was very difficult being institutionalized."

The brief reprieve gives the group, which includes deputy KI chief Jack
McKay and members Sam McKay, Darryl Sainnawap, Cecilia Begg and Bruce
Sakakeep, a chance to join supporters at the Ontario legislature Monday
for a multi-day rally aimed at pressing the Liberal government to allow
First Nations to say no to mining and forestry on their lands.

"The government, they have mouthed all the right words," event
organizer Jack Lapointe of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation said.

"They make these public statements about how they are meeting behind
closed doors with us and how they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with First
Nations but it's all B.S."

The government has said it's committed to changing Ontario's
100-year-old mining laws to include proper consultation with First
Nations but it will take time.

Still, Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said
last month the government was not prepared to heed calls for a
moratorium that would stop mining companies from staking claims on
Crown land in the interim.

"I can't figure out Ontario. There's a lot of public support and public
criticism going their way and what is it going to take for them to
acknowledge our leadership, that we want to play a role in our future
too," Morris said.

"For them to say they're supporting us. OK, prove it...Give us that
opportunity where we sit side by side...and let's hammer out a new
arrangement how mining industries should operate in our last pocket of
environment that's clean."

Participants were going to use the event to call for the release of the
KI 6 prior to the unprecedented turn of events Friday but will still be
speaking out in support of Bob Lovelace of the Ardoch Algonquin First
Nation in eastern Ontario, who remains in solitary confinement on a
hunger strike for a similar breach.

Protesters, which will include members of KI, Ardoch, as well as Grassy
Narrows First Nation, will remain on the front lawn of the legislature
conducting traditional aboriginal ceremonies until May 29 - the
national aboriginal day of action and possibly the day the KI 6 are
required to turn themselves in to the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre.

Ontario Not Prepared to Consider Moratorium

Native leaders jailed in mining protest get temporary reprieve

TOBI COHEN

The Canadian Press

May 26, 2008

TORONTO -- A group of northern Ontario aboriginal leaders jailed over a
dispute with a mining exploration company got a temporary reprieve on
Friday, but their lawyer said they could be back in jail as early as
next week if the province doesn't change the Mining Act.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ordered six members of the
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation, including its chief and
deputy chief, released from jail for five days pending their court
appearance on Wednesday.

They were released after they agreed to abide by an injunction that
prohibits them from interfering with the work of Platinex Inc., which,
in turn, promised not to bring an exploration crew onto the disputed
land before 9 a.m. on Thursday.

"They will have to report back to jail on May 29 unless there's a
further order from the court," said lawyer Chris Reid, who also noted
the group is appealing its six-month sentences, not the finding of
contempt of court.
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The Globe and Mail

"The decision today changes nothing. The only way these people are
going to be able to get out of jail, stay out of jail, is if the
government of Ontario recognizes the right of these communities to say
no to mining on their land."

Mr. Reid said Friday's Appeal Court decision did nothing for Bob
Lovelace of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation in Eastern Ontario, who
is on a hunger strike and remains in solitary confinement on similar
charges as the six who were released.

"We're asking the Court of Appeal to send a message to the government
that they need to change the mining law or this is going to happen over
and over and over again," Mr. Reid said. "They either have to amend the
Mining Act or build a prison for political prisoners, because that's
what we're going to be doing in Ontario if [Premier] Dalton McGuinty
doesn't take steps to change this 19th-century Mining Act."

The six freed KI leaders are expected to attend a rally today at the
Ontario Legislature aimed at pressuring the government to halt mining
and forestry on their traditional lands, said organizer Jack Lapointe
of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation.

Protesters plan to remain on the front lawn of the legislature
conducting traditional aboriginal ceremonies until May 29 - the
national aboriginal day of action.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said last
month the Liberal government is committed to changing mining laws to
include proper consultation with First Nations, but that it will take
time.

He said the government was not prepared to heed calls for a moratorium
that would stop mining companies from staking claims on Crown land in
the meantime.

Toronto Star Comes Out in Support of KI and Mining Act Reform

Toronto Star


May 26, 2008 04:30 AM
Jim Coyle

When Premier Dalton McGuinty was explaining why Legislature rules
needed changing, he liked to say that codes written in the time of gas
lamps were hardly suited to a BlackBerry age.

It didn't take him long to update them to his tastes.

Native leaders, wondering why a Mining Act dating to the days when
prospectors staked claims with picks and shovels should still apply in
an age of multinationals and high-tech machinery, wish McGuinty would
react with half the alacrity to their concerns.

Today, natives begin a four-day encampment on the grounds at Queen's
Park, hoping to focus attention on their demands for new mining
legislation and press for the release of aboriginal leaders jailed for
contempt for trying to stop drilling on their lands.

In February, Ardoch Algonquin spokesperson Robert Lovelace, who turned
60 in jail, was sentenced in Kingston to six months for peacefully
protesting uranium mining on the traditional Ardoch homeland.

In March, six leaders of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation
were sentenced to six months in a similar case in which they were
protesting the drilling for platinum on their traditional boreal forest
lands 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. They were released on their
own recognizance last week, but just for five days pending their next
court appearance on Wednesday. They could land back in jail after that.

Jail terms and heavy fines for peaceful protest have "further eroded
respect for both the legal system and the government of Ontario in the
eyes of First Nations people in this province," says a spokesperson.

Native leaders want an end to the free-entry system mandated by the
Mining Act, under which the mining industry has access to lands in its
search for minerals regardless of who owns surface rights.

The Mining Act, passed in 1873, fails to recognize aboriginal and
treaty rights, native groups say, and violates the established
constitutional right of indigenous peoples to consultation prior to all
government decisions that might affect their interests.

The current system in Ontario means mining supersedes all other land
uses, says Anna Baggio of the Wildlands League. "It's time for the
province to halt exploration and staking and comprehensively reform its
mining laws."

Student associations, labour organizations, faith groups,
environmentalists and other supporters of the native protest are to be
welcomed to the Legislature lawns this afternoon by masters of ceremony
Thomas King, the celebrated author, and Cathy Jones, from CBC's This
Hour Has 22 Minutes.

If they don't get the premier's attention, perhaps a letter he received
last week will.

It was sent by Robert Kennedy Jr., scion of another famously clannish
Irish-Catholic liberal political family with which the McGuinty tribe
is occasionally compared.

Kennedy, senior attorney with the National Resources Defense Council in
the U.S., told the premier it was "appalling that this could happen to
aboriginal leaders in Ontario who are standing up for their people and
their traditional lands in the face of antiquated and unjust mining
laws."

While the laws are reformed, drilling should be stopped and "these
honourable men and women" released, Kennedy said.

To such earlier requests, McGuinty has said his government "inherited
an imperfect system," that work on legislative reform is under way and
– jumping a claim staked by the TTC – that native leaders shouldn't
"doubt for one instant our determination to find a better way."

To which NDP Leader Howard Hampton has replied, in near daily questions
on the issue, "When are we going to hear the end of talk and see some
action from the McGuinty government?"

Perhaps a Kennedy's call to action will help light a fire under the
premier.

At this point, as far as today's demonstrators are concerned, even a
gas lamp would do.

Jim Coyle's provincial affairs column will resume during the first week
of June.

Chief Donny Morris-"All of You are Becoming Indians"

>
>
> Indigenous people defending their land and our environment
>
> by Judy Rebick and Judy Finlay
> ZNet
> May 25, 2008
>
> On Monday May 26, Indigenous people will gather from across Ontario,
> including the remote North, on the lawns of Queen's Park to insist
> that governments and industry recognize their right to say no to
> mining and forestry on their lands. Travelling by bus and even by
> foot, they are coming to participate in four days of sacred
> ceremonies, teach-ins, drumming, music, readings and a mass rally that
> they are calling a Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors.
>
> In a sign of what is to come Aboriginal people are not only standing
> up for their rights, they are defending the environment against
> unbridled industrial development. Across the Americas, from Brazil to
> Bolivia to the Boreal Forest in Northwestern Ontario, Indigenous
> people are leading the way to a more sustainable future and a more
> democratic political system that roots out the vestiges of
> colonialism. Here in Toronto environmentalists are joining with
> unions, students, churches, urban Aboriginal, children's rights,
> anti-poverty and immigrant groups to support them. All of us are
> working under the leadership of three Indigenous communities who have
> put themselves on the line to demand respect for their inherent rights
> and changes to the law to protect the environment. They are
> Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, known as KI, Ardoch Algonguin First
> Nation and Grassy Narrows and they are willing to go to jail if
> necessary to protect the land for future generations.
>
> Two of the three communities sponsoring the events have leaders in
> jail for contempt of court because they refused drilling on their land
> without permission. Retired Ardoch Algonquin chief and university
> professor Bob Lovelace was sentenced to six months in jail three
> months ago. He started a hunger strike last week and now is suffering
> solitary confinement.
>
> Six leaders from the community of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, known
> as the KI Six, were also thrown in jail for peacefully opposing
> mineral exploration on their lands in the Boreal Forest (located 600km
> north of Thunder Bay). This isolated community has been completely
> devastated by the jailing of most of their leaders.
>
> In an interview from jail with 'Indian Country Today' Bob Lovelace
> said: "You know, the longer I sit in here, and the longer I think
> about these things, it irks me that really great minds of this
> generation have been wasted and just squandered on a relationship
> where colonialism runs the show."
>
> While jailing of Indigenous activists is nothing new, this is the
> first time that a Chief In Council, Donny Morris of KI, the official
> leader of the community as recognized by the Indian Act, has been
> jailed for following the laws protecting Indigenous rights.
>
> The excuse given by the Ontario government is the archaic Mining Act
> that places industrial development over everything. Mining companies
> are given automatic license to explore wherever they want without
> First Nations approval, without an environmental assessment, without
> even the permission of the owners of private property. Premier Dalton
> McGuinty under pressure from growing public support for Bob Lovelace
> and the KI Six has said he will amend the Mining Act. But requests for
> a moratorium on drilling so that the leaders can be released from jail
> have gone unheeded. In a sign of the pressure that the mining company
> Platinex is feeling they agreed to stop drilling until the appeal so
> that the KI 6 could come out of jail until their appeal on May 28th.
> The KI 6 will attend the rally.
>
> In an interview from jail Chief Donny Morris said, "When you think of
> when the settlers first came, they tried to slaughter us. Why? For the
> mineral riches on our land like gold and now it is happening again. I
> have been thinking about what it means that non-Indians are organizing
> all this support for us. I am thinking about that a lot here. I
> haven't seen this kind of thing in the past. It's like all of you are
> becoming Indians. The Canadian government tried to assimilate us for
> generations and now it is the opposite that is happening. You are all
> starting to think like us about the earth."
>
> Grassy Narrows, who have been waging a decades long battle to protect
> their land from clear cutting and their water from mercury poisoning,
> are joining the other two communities in sponsoring the Gathering.
> Twenty-two young people from Grassy Narrows will arrive in Toronto on
> Monday at the end of an 1800 km walk from Kenora they are calling the
> Protecting the Earth Walk.
>
> The four days of activities will start with a welcome rally late
> Monday afternoon at Queen's Park and culminate in a march to recognize
> the Aboriginal Day of Action called by the Assembly of First Nations.
>
> [Judy Rebick and Judy Finlay are both professors at Ryerson University
> with a long history supporting social justice and equality for women
> and children.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

May 28th Ct of Appeal Will Decide Sentencing But Not the Issue of Right to Say No

In the old religion of dialectics it is said that any issue usually
divides into two unevenly.

The KI campaign is divided into two parts; the right to say no and
freedom from incarceration.

Next Wednesday will be a day at the Court of Appeal devoted to the
issue of sentencing principles. While Ontario is able to publicly claim
that they argued for the release of the KI6 for time served, a close
examination of the Ontario factum reveals that it is mainly a document
designed to attack the argument put forward by KI and NAN that the
Gladue sentencing principles should be extended from criminal to civil
cases.

Gladue sentencing principles require a sentencing judge to "take
judicial notice of the systemic or background factors and the approach
to sentencing which is relevant to aboriginal offenders." The judge in
the KI case took no notice and made no inquiries into the systemic and
background factors of the KI6 prior to sentencing them to 6 months in
jail.

No matter the outcome at the Court of Appeal we still have no
resolution on the question of First Nation consultation, accommodation
and consent.

Next week we could see Bob Lovelace and the KI6 free, but simply free
to face new contempt charges when Platinex or the next mining company
tries to access their territory without community consent.

Ontario appears to be rolling the die and hoping that the issue and
Platinex will simply go away.

My gut tells me that a body in motion wants to remain in motion. Judy
Rebick is not going to go away. Howard Hampton is not going away.
Amnesty is not going away. The Anglican Church is not going away. The
ENGOs have finally got an issue to campaign on in Ontario's far north.
And Big Labour is slowly turning its attention to aboriginal issues.


Jailed aboriginal leaders granted temporary release

Updated: Sat May. 24 2008 1:19:19 PM

The Canadian Press

TORONTO — A group of northern Ontario aboriginal leaders jailed over a
dispute with a mining exploration company got a temporary reprieve
Friday, but their lawyer said they could be back in jail as early as
next week if the province doesn't change the Mining Act.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ordered six members of the
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation - including its chief
and deputy chief - released from jail for five days pending their next
court appearance May 28.

They were released on their own recognizance after they agreed to abide
by an injunction that prohibits them from interfering with the work of
Platinex Inc., which, in turn, promised not to bring an exploration
crew onto the disputed land before 9 a.m. May 29.

"They will have to report back to jail on May 29 unless there's a
further order from the court," said lawyer Chris Reid, who also noted
the group is appealing its six-month sentences, not the finding of
contempt of court.

"The decision today changes nothing. The only way these people are
going to be able to get out of jail, stay out of jail, is if the
government of Ontario recognizes the right of these communities to say
no to mining on their land."

Reid said Friday's Appeal Court decision did nothing for Bob Lovelace
of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation in eastern Ontario, who is on a
hunger strike and remains in solitary confinement on similar charges as
the six who were released.

"We're asking the Court of Appeal to send a message to the government
that they need to change the mining law or this is going to happen over
and over and over again," Reid said.

"They either have to amend the Mining Act or build a prison for
political prisoners, because that's what we're going to be doing in
Ontario if (Premier) Dalton McGuinty doesn't take steps to change this
19th-century Mining Act."

The six freed KI leaders are expected to attend a rally at the Ontario
legislature Monday aimed at pressuring the government to halt mining
and forestry on their traditional lands, said organizer Jack Lapointe
of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation.

Protesters plan to remain on the front lawn of the legislature
conducting traditional aboriginal ceremonies until May 29 - the
national aboriginal day of action.

The office of Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant issued a
statement saying the government was pleased to hear the six jailed
protesters were released.

"Today's court decision is a positive resolution and reflects the
combined efforts of all parties involved," it said.

"It respects the rule of law and allows good faith negotiations to
prevail."

While the statement said the government has "made every effort to
expedite the appeal of their sentences in order to get all parties back
to the negotiating table," Reid vehemently disagreed and slammed the
government for what he called its total inaction on the matter.

"They had no role to play in any of this," he said. "They're completely
indifferent. They're useless - completely useless. They've done nothing
whatsoever to resolve either case.

"They don't even respond to our calls and e-mails, yet we constantly
have Michael Bryant in the media claiming they're working hard to
resolve this. They've done absolutely nothing."

Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle said last
month the Liberal government is committed to changing mining laws to
include proper consultation with First Nations, but that it will take
time.

Gravelle said the government was not prepared to heed calls for a
moratorium that would stop mining companies from staking claims on
Crown land in the meantime.