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.
