(March 6, 2024 – Toronto, ON) Yesterday, First Nations Leaders joined together alongside industry experts and media to spur discussion First Nation mining priorities, including the Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS) Moratorium and the importance of First Nations consultation and engagement.

“To call for a moratorium on the MLAS is both a critical and timely issue that demands our attention,” said Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare in his opening comments to the event attendees yesterday afternoon. “The government of Ontario must be speaking directly with the rights holders.”

On January 24, 2024, Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare called on the provincial government to implement a 365-day moratorium on the MLAS, detailing the need for a pause on the system, due to an exponential and ever-growing number of mining and exploration claims being staked within First Nations’ territories. As it stands, First Nations communities do not have the capacity nor the resources necessary to fully assess claims and analyze the potential for impacts that they may have on their traditional territories.

“In Anishinabek Nation, we have seen upwards of 26-30 percent of an increase in the number of claims being made in our territories,” said Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe, Anishinabek Nation. “We have been limited in resources to act upon and assess these claims – not by our own choices, but by the government’s interference in these processes, which have been occurring for far too long.”

As Jason Batise, Executive Director of Wabun Tribal Council, explained during the panel, the impact on First Nations begins on the first day that the claim is staked. Mining prospectors must acknowledge the impact that their activities have on communities and must ensure that they involve First Nations in a meaningful capacity from the beginning of any processes that they wish to undertake in relation to mining and exploration.

As the Chiefs of Ontario and ORC Hare have acknowledged, there are widely varying stances on mining throughout the 133 First Nations communities across Ontario. Yesterday’s event prompted conversation and created a platform for First Nations to voice opinions on claim staking, implementation of First Nations consultation and engagement, and ensure that the standard of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent is integrated into the current system.

“The only way to have any certainty in moving forward with such developments is to create and build that relationship with us,” said Chief Shelley Moore-Frappier, Temagami First Nation. “We are the rights holders, and we are going to exercise our jurisdiction over our own lands.”

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The Chiefs of Ontario supports all First Nations in Ontario as they assert their sovereignty, jurisdiction and their chosen expression of nationhood. Follow Chiefs of Ontario on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @ChiefsOfOntario.

Media Contact:

Chris Hoyos
Director of Policy and Communications
Policy and Communications Sector
Chiefs of Ontario
Cell: (416) 579-4998
Email: Chris.Hoyos@coo.org