New research explores impact of Ring of Fire mining on First Nations in northern Ontario

A new research project is exploring the human rights impacts of mining operations on First Nations in the Ring of Fire — a vast mineral-rich area in northern Ontario.

The partnership, announced Wednesday, is between the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA) and University of Toronto Faculty of Law's international human rights program.

The research has already begun and is examining how mining companies are engaging with First Nations, with the goal of strengthening their policies on Indigenous relations and sustainability.

Jason Rasevych is a member of Ginoogaming First Nation and president of the ABPA.

"We're looking at this as the business case for bringing, realizing reconciliation in a corporate framework and in the capital markets," he said, "to say to companies, 'This is what you could be doing or should be doing related to Indigenous First Nations-led input and this is how you can hold yourself accountable, and there's value behind that.'"

The project is honing in on the Ring of Fire, a crescent-shaped mineral deposit area in the James Bay lowlands in Treaty 9 territory. For years, the 5,000-square-kilometre area, about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has been eyed as a critical source for Ontario's electric vehicle (EV) battery industry and experienced a significant surge in mining claims.

There has been considerable pushback from several First Nations in the area that are against mining claims and exploration activities on their traditional territories. They argue these claims have been executed without their free, prior and informed consent.

There are also a number of open cases against the Ontario government over the duty to consult in northern Ontario's mining sector, as well as a legal action over the province's online claim staking program and its regulatory processes.

Under the new research projects, "students are taking a look as well at these open cases and getting to better understand what the issues are related to the First Nations' positions on that," Rasevych said.

"The Ring of Fire presents a unique challenge and transformational opportunity," he said Wednesday in a statement announcing the project. "It holds immense potential for critical mineral extraction, crucial for the transition to a green economy. Yet, this development must not come at the expense of First Nations rights, lands or traditional ways of life."

The ABPA advocates for Indigenous businesses and First Nations community-owned corporations across Treaty 3, Treaty 5, Treaty 9 and the Robinson Huron and Superior Treaty areas.

Rasevych said one of the key goals of the research project is to encourage mining companies to answer call No. 92 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's 94 calls to action.

Call No. 92 urges the corporate sector "to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources."

"We see companies putting out statements related to Indigenous relations and reconciliation about what they're doing to work with Indigenous communities, where we want to make sure that there's a benchmark and that there's a high standard for doing so," Rasevych said.