Fort Albany isn’t pleased by the provincial government’s announcement of the northern road link.
The Cree Nation located by the “Ring of Fire” in Northern Ontario is alarmed by an announcement made yesterday by the Ontario provincial government.
The Northern Road Link will link two other roads already proposed by Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation. This would create the first continuous all-season road from the provincial highway network to the Ring of Fire.
“Fort Albany First Nation has been participating in good faith in the consultations related to the impact and environmental assessment processes for the Marten Falls and Webequie roads,” said Fort Albany First Nation’s Chief, Leo Metatawabin.
“It appears that behind the scenes, Ontario, Marten Falls First Nation, and Webequie First Nation have been making plans that could majorly increase the harmful environmental impacts of these projects. This raises serious concerns about Free, Prior and Informed Consent, the transparency and integrity of the environmental assessment processes, and whether Ontario is meeting its duty to consult.”
It is deeply concerning that Fort Albany been excluded from important intergovernmental leadership meetings on a project of this scale, which will have major impacts on its traditional territory.
“Ontario’s enthusiastic support for the Northern Road Link without any meaningful dialogue at all with Fort Albany makes us extremely concerned that they are not approaching their duty to consult in good faith, and that any consultation with us will simply be a rubber-stamp exercise,” said Chief Metatawabin.
Fort Albany First Nation is located in Northeastern Ontario on the James Bay coast.
