Almost five years after Ottawa called for a Regional Assessment of the Ring of Fire, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) and 15 First Nations have defined a purpose and a plan.
In what the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change called a “milestone” for sustainable development in a Jan. 20 news release, the terms of reference have been finalized to begin the process of assessing the potential cumulative impacts of industrial development in Ontario’s Far North.
It kicks off a two-and-half-year process — 30 months — before federal bureaucrats and First Nation partners turn out a final report on the pros and cons of the impacts of proposed mining activity in the James Bay region.
A federal news release and a background supporting document said this first-of-its-kind Ottawa-First Nations exercise will be led by a working group of administrators from IAAC and the Matawa and Mushkegowuk tribal councils.
The participating communities are: Aroland First Nation, Attawapiskat First Nation, Constance Lake First Nation, Eabametoong First Nation, Fort Albany First Nation, Ginoogaming First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation, Long Lake #58 First Nation, Marten Falls First Nation, Missanabie Cree First Nation, Moose Cree First Nation, Neskantaga First Nation, Nibinamik First Nation, Webequie First Nation, and Weenusk First Nation.
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