Shawn Bell - Wawatay News

The Ontario government says its recent land withdrawal near Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) will help avoid future disagreements like the ongoing conflict between God’s Lake Resources and KI.
The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines announced Mar. 4 that it has withdrawn 23,181 square kilometers “in the vicinity of KI” from prospecting and mine claim staking.
But KI Chief Donny Morris said the land withdrawal caught his community off guard, considering that negotiations between the First Nation and Ontario over land claims broke down months ago.

Leaders with Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) have brought their fears over the impending prescription drug withdrawal crisis to Ontario’s capital.
NAN held a press conference in Toronto on Feb. 29 to explain the plight facing northern communities as oxycodone is taken off the market.
Medical officials and First Nations leaders say the effect on communities of mass withdrawal will be dire, not only on addicts but on children, elders and the community as a whole.

Four Matawa First Nations are examining building and operating their own Ring of Fire transportation corridor between Pickle Lake and Webequie Junction.
Eabametoong, Neskantaga, Nibinamik and Webequie First Nations have signed an agreement to work together on building an East-West corridor for the Ring of Fire.
The signing, a highlight of the Prospectors and Developers mining conference in Toronto, marks a shift away from letting industry plan its own transportation network between potential mines and processing plants further south.

The ongoing conflict between Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) and God’s Lake Resources took center stage on the mining front in a week that saw the Prospectors and Developers Association announce a former First Nations chief as president and a huge mining conference turn the attention of the world to northern Ontario minerals.
KI attracted hundreds of protestors to a Toronto rally against mining exploration on its traditional lands, right outside a mining conference where 30,000 delegates from around the world had gathered.

Four Matawa First Nations are examining building and operating their own Ring of Fire transportation corridor between Pickle Lake and Webequie Junction.
Eabametoong, Neskantaga, Nibinamik and Webequie First Nations have signed an agreement to work together on building an East-West corridor for the Ring of Fire.
The signing, a highlight of the Prospectors and Developers mining conference in Toronto from Mar. 4-7, marks a shift away from letting industry plan its own transportation network between potential mines and processing plants further south.