First Nation in northern Ontario praises mining company for 'true reconciliation'

As the Ontario government continues to push for development in northern Ontario, an Anishinaabe First Nation in the region is praising a mining company for “demonstrating true reconciliation” by agreeing to withdraw from an area in the community’s traditional territory. 

Landore Resources Canada Inc., the company behind the BAM Gold Project at Junior Lake, has been conducting exploration activities in the Thunder Bay district.

But after hearing concerns from Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (also known as Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation) about potential exploration in an area known as the Seeley property, Landore withdrew its application to renew its mining lease there.

The property sits on lands of cultural significance to the community.

“If you want true reconciliation with First Nations, that is the kind of thing you do: you give land back,” Biigtigong Nishnaabeg’s Chief Duncan Michano said.

The decision comes at a time when all eyes are on northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire further north, a critical mineral deposit in the James Bay lowlands which Premier Doug Ford says “will add $22 billion to Canada's economy and create 70,000 new jobs.”

Many First Nations have pushed back against development there, saying the government has not properly consulted with them.

Biigtigong Nishnaabeg says it’s not opposed to development, but it must be done on the community’s terms.

“We understand that you need to have development. The population of our country is growing, the demand for resources all around the world is growing,” Michano said. “But there's certain areas where we have strong interest that we don't want developed at all.”

In 2020, Ontario placed a notice of caution in its mining lands administration system, which alerted the mining industry to the presence of Aboriginal title claims in the region.

Four years later, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg issued a public notice about areas of cultural significance north of Lake Superior, “where mineral exploration and development would be damaging to the community.”

Biigtigong Nishnaabeg has developed a strong relationship with Landore over the years. The company previously gave land back to the First Nation in the Coldwell area — a historic fishing village where community members traditionally lived — after staking a mining claim there.

“I think what you have to do is build a relationship with the company, and that goes a long ways,” Michano said. “You can't always be fighting. You gotta try to make them understand why it's a good thing to return the land.”

Private citizens returned land to Biigtigong Nishnaabeg last summer, he added.