Grassy Narrows is suing Ontario, seeking to void all mining claims

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a Village Media website dedicated exclusively to coverage of provincial politics in Queen’s Park.

Ontario’s mining regime could be turned upside down if a recent lawsuit by the Grassy Narrows First Nation is successful.

The First Nation in northwestern Ontario is asking the court to invalidate all mining claims on its territory and force the government to consult before a claim is put into play, said Jackie Esmonde, lead lawyer.

Although the suit concerns Grassy Narrows’ territory, it could have province-wide implications, Esmonde said.

“It’s just talking about a certain area that’s identified on a map, and the statements and relief we’re looking for are specific to that area,” she said. “But if the court were to agree with us … that will undermine the Mines Act across the province.”

“It has enormous implications for the mining industry in Ontario,” she said.

At issue is Ontario’s “free entry” mining claim system, which allows a prospector to pay a small fee to file a claim to a piece of land online without ever visiting the site, Esmonde said.

“They can then sit at home in their pajamas on their laptops and file a mining claim in the Grassy Narrows territory without ever setting foot there and, crucially, without notifying, without consulting, without obtaining consent,” Esmonde said.

Filing a claim is the first stop in the exploitation process. It does not allow a company to start mining, but “prospectors with mining claims may go on the land, engage in such industrial activities as building heavy machinery, trails, clearing trees and brush, digging pits and ditches and removing earth and of the trees. down to bedrock,” Esmonde said.

“These practices have to change. They are damaging our land. We want our land to remain intact because of our cultural practices, our way of life,” said Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle.

Neither the attorney general’s office nor the office of the minister of indigenous affairs responded From Trillium request for comment before publication.

The lawsuit hopes to capitalize on a recent BC Supreme Court decision that found the province’s mining permit system breached the government’s duty to consult with Indigenous communities.

The lawsuit forced the BC government to review its mining system and make it consistent with its constitutional duty to consult before a claim is made.

The court gave the province time to respond and did not invalidate all existing claims. The province also agreed to cease all future claims while the trial is pending.

There are currently more than 10,000 claims in the Grassy Narrows. First Nations often learn about claims only after the fact through a Google search, said Joseph Forbister, who leads the Grassy Narrows Lands Protection Team.

Grassy Narrows is open to settling the matter outside of the courtroom, Esmonde said.

“Grassy Narrows and other Indigenous nations asked Ontario to come to the table to discuss this and they refused. And that is still possible. If Ontario wants to come to the table in good faith, talk to the government … government to Grassy Narrows, then a resolution could be negotiated,” she said.

The lawsuit marks the latest step in efforts by several First Nations to change the provincial mining regime.

Last year, the Territorial Defense Alliance – a group of five First Nations – rejected Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford and demanded a meeting with Premier Doug Ford.

The alliance later staged a protest outside Queen’s Park.