Webequie chief says community is still open for business

Rifts in the Matawa First Nations’ opposition to mining in the Ring of Fire were on display Nov. 23 as Webequie First Nation held a press conference to announce that Matawa does not speak for the community.
Webequie Chief Cornelius Wabasse presented a community position statement calling for companies interested in developing the Ring of Fire to negotiate directly with the community, not through organizations such as Matawa.
“Matawa Tribal Council is not a decision-making authority for Webequie First Nation, Wabasse said. “Webequie will determine our own community-led process to guide industry, government and commercial groups through the process of working collaboratively.”
Wabasse emphasized that his community does not support Matawa’s call for a stop-work order on the Ring of Fire, saying Webequie is ready to benefit from the development in the region.
“Webequie First Nation has built tremendous community capacity over the past three years to become investment-ready and prepare to take advantage of emerging socio-economic benefits in the Ring of Fire,” Wabasse said in a statement.
Matawa, which represents nine northern Ontario First Nations, quickly issued a statement following the Webequie press conference saying it supports Webequie’s call for more autonomy over development in the region.
“Matawa First Nations support and respect all of its member communities and their governance and decision making process,” the statement reads. “Each Matawa First Nation is autonomous. Government and industry need to consult with each First Nation according to their community protocols.”
Matawa recently threatened to halt development in Ring of Fire because it’s not happy with the environmental assessment set out for Cliffs Resources’ chromite mine.
Matawa is calling for a Joint Review Panel assessment of the project instead of the current comprehensive study. That call is now before the courts after Matawa initiated a judicial review.
Both Cliffs’ chromite mine and Noront’s Eagles Nest mine are currently undergoing comprehensive study environmental studies.
But Webequie’s community position on the Ring of Fire said there are many other companies operating in the region and that the community of Webequie has “commercial interests” with certain exploration companies in the Ring of Fire.
Wabasse also pointed out that his community and Marten Falls First Nations are the two communities most directly affected by the proposed Ring of Fire developments. As a result, those two communities are in the driver’s seat on the creation of land use plans for the region.
“Because of the proximity to our traditional territory (of the Ring of Fire), it’s in our traditional territory and very close to our community, we will have the major impacts,” Wabasse said.
Webequie and Marten Falls First Nation have signed a memorandum of understanding outlining 10 issues that must be dealt with in regards to any development in the region.
Wabasse said his First Nation has also signed an agreement with Neskantaga First Nation, Nibinamik First Nation and Eabametoong First Nation to work collaboratively among the four communities on the issue of transportation infrastructure in the region.
The four First Nations are supporting the “east-west” transportation corridor proposed by Noront. That proposal has an all-weather highway built from Webequie Junction, 20 kilometres south of Webequie, to Pickle Lake where it would join the current highway system.
Cliffs, meanwhile, is promoting a north-south transportation route that would run rail and highways south from the Ring of Fire to Nakina.
Wabasse said his community does not support the north-south route, as it crosses environmentally-sensitive areas.
“The north-south option is a concern for our community,” Wabasse said. “We’re concerned of the environmental impacts and that it has to cross two or three rivers.”