GRASSY NARROWS – The way Chief Rudy Turtle sees it, his First Nation had to take action against Ontario’s practice of granting mineral claims without consulting First Nations.
Legal action was necessary “because they haven’t been listening to us at all,” he said, referring to the provincial government. “We keep telling them that they’re not consulting properly.”
Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation filed a legal application Friday asking the Superior Court of Justice to declare Ontario’s Mining Act unconstitutional.
The application also seeks a court declaration that the province “has a duty to consult, accommodate and obtain free, prior and informed consent” from the First Nation before issuing mining claims.
If successful, the action could force Ontario to rescind thousands of mining claims that have been staked in Grassy Narrows’ traditional territory without consultation.
“We are striving to ensure that our resources and our natural land stay natural,” Turtle said Friday during a news conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto, where his First Nation is represented by the law firm Cavalluzzo LLP.
Under Ontario’s “free entry” system, anyone can become a prospector by paying a small fee and taking a one-hour online course.
Prospectors can stake claims online and conduct “assessment work” on the land without consulting or obtaining consent from a First Nation, according to Grassy Narrows’ notice of application.
This violates First Nations’ rights in the Constitution and is not consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, according to the court document.
Grassy Narrows is a founding member of the Land Defence Alliance, a First Nations coalition that held a protest at Queen’s Park last September and demanded (unsuccessfully) a meeting with Premier Doug Ford.
Turtle ran for Ontario Regional Chief in June saying the Chiefs of Ontario organizations need “to lead the way with strong political advocacy . . . because we cannot afford to wait for change.” Abram Benedict of Akwesasne won the election.
