Staking rush puts northwest Indigenous communities on the defensive – Northern Ontario Business

Feb 01, 2023

Four First Nations call for an end to free entry prospecting in Ontario

Four Indigenous communities in northwestern Ontario and the Far North are forming a “land defence alliance” to stop an “incursion” by prospectors and exploration companies on their traditional lands.

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI), Wapakeka, Neskantaga and Asubpeesschoseewagong Anishnabek (Grassy Narrows) signed a Mutual Cooperation Agreement, Jan. 31, to protect their collective lands and waters. It’s response to “mounting concerns about encroachment” by the mining industry.

The leadership are pinning the blame on Premier Doug Ford who, they say, has ignored their demands to abolish the free entry system and has encouraged a staking rush with “thousands of new claims” in their traditional territories since 2018.

Read More: https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/industry-news/mining/staking-rush-has-northwest-indigenous-communities-on-the-defensive-6466677