Greens support Cat Lake First Nation’s calls for consultation on Springpole Mine Project

March 5, 2024

QUEEN'S PARK — Ontario Greens Deputy Leader and MPP for Kitchener Centre Aislinn Clancy released the following statement in response to news that Cat Lake First Nation has been granted an injunction pausing the construction of a temporary winter road leading to the proposed Springpole Mine Project.

“Ontario Greens support Cat Lake First Nation’s efforts to pause any mining development on their land that has been pushed forward without their consultation and consent, as well as their work to secure an Anishnaabe-led environmental assessment of the Springpole Mine Project.

Free, prior and informed consent is not a nice-to-have. It’s a need-to-have. It’s enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and our federal government’s corresponding action plan.

The Ford government is never going to meet their own critical minerals roadmap without meaningful partnership with the First Nations whose lands and livelihoods will be fundamentally changed by mining in the Ring of Fire.

But right now, the Ford government just isn’t listening.”

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