March_Rally
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Feature Article - July 12, 2007Rally and march demonstrate support for Algonquin occupation
byJeff Green
After being contacted through electronic means such as e-mail and Facebook, and an old-fashioned telephone tree, more than 300 people made their way to the corner of Hwys. 509 and 7 on the afternoon of July 8 for a march along Highway 7.
The diverse crowd, which included politicians, landowners, members of the local non-status Algonquin communities, supporters from other First Nations, and other anti-mining activists, gathered together to send an anti-uranium exploration message to the collected representatives of regional and province-wide media outlets.
A relaxed parade down Highway 7 was led by two aboriginal warriors carrying the unity flag, and two mothers strolling and carrying their babies. They were followed by members of the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwaan Algonquins holding up an Ardoch Algonquin banner. Behind them marched Honorary Chief Harold Perry of Ardoch, arm in arm with Co-Chief Paula Sherman and Shabot Obaadjiwaan Chief Doreen Davis.
A sea of aboriginal and non-aboriginal supporters followed. It was a show of solidarity between the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities such as has not been seen locally in many years - in fact, since the now-legendary wild rice wars.
Harold Perry spoke for the Algonquin peoples at the end of the march, saying that the occupation of the Robertsville mine by Algonquins, which was then ten days old, “will not end until a moratorium on uranium exploration on our traditional territory is declared by the federal and provincial governments.”
The OPP operated a roadblock to divert traffic around the short stretch of road. Eastbound traffic was re-routed at Mountain Grove, to Parham via the Long Lake Road, then north on Road 38 to Sharbot Lake. Westbound traffic followed the route in reverse.
The rally took place after a week of Algonquin occupation of the Robertsville mine, where Frontenac Ventures Corporation has leased space for a “base camp” for uranium exploration on 30,000 contiguous acres that they have staked over the past 2 years. Frontenac Ventures have staked claims in North and Central Frontenac, from Bolton Lake in Central Frontenac (north of Bell Line Road) to just south of Antoine Lake in North Frontenac (north of Hwy. 509 – east of Snow Road)
Although there has been talk of opposition to the political action being taken to stop uranium exploration, none of it surfaced on this day. Politicians in the crowd included Mayor Gutowski and Councilor Guntensperger from Central Frontenac, as well as provincial NDP candidate Ross Sutherland and several members of the Green Party riding association executive. There were no members of North Frontenac Council in attendance.
After last Sunday’s march, a rally was held at the Robertsville mine site, which has become a settled camp over the past ten days, complete with kitchen and sleeping facilities.
Speakers at the rally included Lorraine Rekmans of the Serpent River First Nation that is located near the Elliot Lake uranium mines. She talked about the impacts of the mine on her community, which have been devastating.
On Friday, July 6, two days before the march in Sharbot Lake, representatives from Frontenac Ventures, accompanied by an OPP liaison officer, arrived at the gate to the mine and asked the Algonquins to vacate the premises. They were informed by the Algonquins that the mine site is located on un-ceded Algonquin Territory, and they will not be leaving.
Peter Jorgensen, the part owner and manager of the Robertsville mine, made a similar request one week earlier, with the same result.
Frontenac Ventures Corporation has not been available for comment this week, but Peter Jorgensen told the News that he has been informally told not to approach his property by members of the Ontario Provincial Police, although that request has never been given to him in writing.
He said he would be consulting his lawyer before deciding what to do next. The possibility of either Peter Jorgensen or Frontenac Ventures seeking a court injunction over the matter has been widely anticipated, although how such an injunction would be enforced remains an open question.
The march in Sharbot Lake marks an organizational turning point for the political action that has sprung up in opposition to uranium exploration in North and Central Frontenac. In the ten days following the arrival of Sharbot Lake and Ardoch Algonquins at Robertsville, non-aboriginal supporters, neighbours and activists have been organising to provide physical support to the people on site over the long term, in the form of food and other supplies.
As well, a co-ordinated political stance, in concert with the joint position being taken by the leadership of Ardoch and Sharbot Lake, is being developed.
As the occupation enters its third week, the Algonquin leadership’s attention is being turned from the increasingly unlikely prospect of a confrontation at the Robertsville mine gate, to the possibility of an attempt by Frontenac Ventures to access their claim territory through an alternate route, and to other industrial activities that have been undertaken in the vicinity over the past 25 years.
A second march and rally is planned for tomorrow night, Friday, June 13, at the junction of Hwys. 509 and 7, at 7 pm, and it will likely have the same impact on traffic as last Sunday’s march. The march will be preceded by a rally at the Robertsville mine, starting at 5 pm.
A benefit concert, to raise funds to provide supplies for the Shabot Obaadjiwaan and Ardoch Algonquins is planned for July 25 in Sharbot Lake. Details will be worked out over the next few days.
As well, the Bedford Mining Alert will be holding an early “all candidates meeting” for the upcoming Provincial election on mining issues on July 21 at the Bedford Hall at 10:00 am.
(Editor’s note: We are attempting to gather together information about the risks and benefits that accompany uranium mining in the current era for a future edition of the News. Events at Robertsville are constantly developing, and as information becomes available, we will be posting it at Newsweb.ca)
Six_Days_at_Robertsville_Mine
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Feature Article - July 5, 2007
Six days at the Robertsville mine: anti-uranium action could last indefinitely
By Jeff Green
On Thursday morning, June 28, members of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation and the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation entered the grounds of the Robertsville mine site, which is located about 10 kilometres north of Sharbot Lake on Hwy. 509.
The site includes an ore processing building and some other steel buildings, which were cordoned off by the First Nations, who have established a camp of sorts in a flat parking area behind the front gate.
Throughout the long weekend, tents and a perpetual fire were set up between the mine gate and Hwy. 509, and one or two people were stationed on Road 509 to slow cars down and provide information about the impact of uranium mining to passing motorists.
OPP cruisers were parked at every major intersection along Hwy. 509 between Hwy. 7 and Snow Road, and their presence was welcomed by the leadership of the First Nations, since the OPP seems to be focussed on maintaining safety at the site and surrounding area for the Algonquins and passing motorists.
The Algonquins are occupying the Robertsville site in order to prevent the Frontenac Ventures Corporation from carrying on operations that have been underway for a year.
Frontenac Ventures has been renting a building on the site as their base of operations and have been improving and using an access road that runs west from the mine site to explore a uranium deposit on 30,000 acres of land that they have staked in the region. The majority of staked land is Crown land, and the rest is private land.
The land is part of the territory traditionally claimed by the Sharbot Lake and Ardoch Algonquins, and is part of a huge piece of land that is covered by Royal Proclamation from 1763 which reserves the Ottawa Valley for Algonquin use, a royal proclamation that has never been rescinded. A land claims process over the land has been underway between two levels of government and Algonquin representatives since 1992.
From Friday until Monday the information picket remained in place, and the area behind the gate gradually developed into a more organized camp, with several tents and trailers in place, a parking area, and two cooking and food storage canopies.
As the long weekend waned, the Ardoch and Sharbot Lake elders began to plan for a change. An expectation that Frontenac Ventures Corporation may show up on Tuesday morning, with some road building or drilling equipment, led to a change in the structure of the camp.
The information picket was removed late Monday afternoon. Throughout Monday night, several trucks arrived carrying people from other aboriginal nations. Early on Tuesday morning, as a contingent of local non-aboriginal anti-uranium activists looked on, a line of elders and warriors from Ardoch and Sharbot Lake was set up at the very edge of Hwy. 509 in front of the mine site. And high up on the tower of the processing plant at the Robertsville mine, an Algonquin flag was swaying in the midsummer breeze.
At the mine gate, a drum was set up and periodic drumming started up.
“We are hoping that local people will keep coming out to support what is happening here, as they have been all weekend,” said Ardoch co-chief Randy Cota. “There will be no more uranium exploration here, that’s certain.”
A changing of the guard took place at around 11 o’clock on Tuesday morning, when Ardoch and Sharbot Lake elders, mostly men in their fifties wearing t-shirts and ball caps, left the road and went back into the mine site. They were replaced by a few younger men wearing camouflage fatigues and kerchiefs or black masks.
Later on Tuesday afternoon, two officials from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources arrived, and were led into the mine site for a meeting.
Terms
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Feature Article - August 9, 2007Terms of Adjournment
by Jeff Green
Lawyers for Frontenac Ventures Corporation and the Shabot Obaadjiwan and Ardoch Algonquin First Nations will hear this week what interim terms a Kingston judge will place on the parties involved in a $77 million lawsuit.
After a three day hearing, which Steve Reynolds, the lawyer for the Shabot Obaadjiwaan, described as the “longest proceeding for a simple adjournment that I’ve ever seen,” Judge Thomson of the Kingston Superior Court told the parties they will “hear from me in the near future. “
He then said, “I did not expect to be working this weekend.”
Thomson spent the long weekend wading through three days of arguments, counter arguments and several hundred pages of submissions, the majority of which came from Neal Smitheman, the lawyer for Frontenac Ventures Corporation.
The judge could opt for the status quo, which is what the defence is requesting, for the six-week period before a hearing on what is called an “interlocutory injunction”, scheduled to begin on September 20.
He could also impose specific terms, in the form of a temporary injunction. Frontenac Ventures has requested that they be allowed access to a section of their claims on the south side of Ardoch Road in the vicinity of Burke Settlement Road in Central Frontenac, where test holes have been drilled in the past.
The company provided the court with the specific locations where they would like to drill 20 holes over the next six weeks, saying that they chose spots where there is minimal vegetation to minimise potential environmental concerns.
Neal Smitheman told the judge that if the company is not allowed access to the property in August “it will suffer irreparable harm”.
In May, Frontenac Ventures entered into an agreement with Sylvio, a Vancouver-based company, for a reverse takeover, which would bring $5 million in financing to the cash-strapped corporation. According to Smitheman, the deal will not go through if Frontenac Ventures does “not have access to the site.”
Owen Young, the lawyer representing the government of Ontario, made his own proposal to the judge regarding a temporary injunction. He suggested the court rule that Frontenac Ventures be allowed to access and drill test holes only on the staked claims that are not located on “public lands”. Access and drilling would be limited to situations in which the landowner owns both the surface and mining rights and has a formal agreement with Frontenac Ventures to allow exploration.
“That wouldn’t do us any good,” said a member of the Frontenac Ventures management team as Owen Young was making the proposal, “It would limit us to a couple of scattered properties.”
At one point on the third day of proceedings, which were peppered with disputes between lawyers, a frustrated Judge Thomson suggested that he “might consider ordering that everyone leave the property, the company and the First Nations.”
Lawyers for Frontenac Ventures and the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwaan Algonquins said they expect to hear from Judge Thomson early this week.
Neal Smitheman said that his client will abide by whatever Judge Thomson decides, and said, “I challenge my friends [the lawyers for the two Algonquin communities] to say the same thing.”
[Editor’s Note: Once we hear of the decision, we will post it on our website: www.frontenacnews.ca]
Court time has been scheduled for September 20 and 21, and October 2-5 in Kingston. A Superior Court Justice has been found to hear the next phase of this case, which will determine what the court will permit at the Robertsville mine site where the Shabot and Ardoch Algonquins are encamped, and throughout the 30,000-acre mining claim, while this case works its way through the courts. Decisions for the long-term activities on these properties will not be made until after the unfolding of the entire lawsuit, including Frontenac Ventures’ claim for $77 million in damages. This could take a very long time. Last week’s hearing, which gave a preview of the complexities of this case, provided the parties with an opportunity to lay out the main themes that they will be pursuing.
Flotilla
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Feature Article - September 20, 2007Flotilla Leaves Saturdayby Jeff Green
At 11:00 am on Saturday, September 24, a canoe flotilla will be launched from the bridge at Ardoch. Some of the canoes are bound for Ottawa and a rally at Parliament Hill.Calling the launch a Coalition of Communities, organizers invite everyone to attend the launch, which will include an opportunity for a paddle on Mud Lake and a opportunity for a family friendly gathering on the water (byob – bring your own boat, or come as you are).Harold Perry, the honourary chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, will be giving water from the headwaters of the Mississippi River system to two young Algonquin maidens, representing the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwaan First Nations. They will act as water bearers to bring the water by birch bark canoe to Algonquin elder Chief William Commanda, who will receive the water 6 days later, at a ceremony scheduled for 10:00 am at Victoria Island on the Ottawa River near Parliament Hill. The water and the demand for a moratorium on uranium mining will be poured out on the steps of the Parliament buildings. More details about the events in Ottawa on September 28 will be available at www.ccamu.caAlgonquins_accept_07-37
Algonquins Accept Court SummonsBy Jeff Green
In a Kingston courtroom on September 18, two OPP officers testified about what they’ve seen at the Robertsville mine site since an injunction was served on August 31. Before a third officer took the stand, however, lawyers on all sides agreed that six members of the Shabot Obaadjiwaan and Ardoch Algonquin First Nation would be served for contempt of court.The contempt case will be spoken to in front of Judge Cunningham (who will be taking over the case from Jude Thomson) on Monday, September 24, at the beginning of a hearing on a motion by Frontenac Ventures Corporation for an interlocutory injunction against the two Algonquin communities. Chief Doreen Davis and Earl Badour Sr. from the Shabot Obaadjiwaan First Nation, and Harold Perry, Robert Lovelace, Chief Paula Sherman, and Mitchell Shewell from the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation will be served, through their lawyers.When contacted later on Tuesday, Robert Lovelace said he was not particularly concerned about the contempt of court charges and that the occupation at the mine site will carry on as usual. “The most significant thing that happened today, and the failure of today, is that the relationship that we’ve built with the OPP, which began even before we initiated the direct action, is completely undermined.”For Lovelace, this happened mainly because Judge Thomson agreed to allow OPP Officer Brian Heslip to be subpoenaed, and he allowed hearsay evidence about the statements of OPP Officer Brandy Winter to be heard.Heslip has been a senior member of the OPP Major Event Liaison Team (MELT) and has been a major conduit for information between the OPP and the Algonquins on site. Brandy Winter is a member of the Aboriginal Relations Team (ART) whose members were integrated officers throughout the summer, staying with the communities as liaison officers.“These people were not undercover officers, and from now on what community will agree to have liaison officers if what is said to them can be used in a court of law?” Lovelace said. “The OPP argues vociferously that they shouldn’t be subpoenaed, but the judge didn’t listen.”The ART and MELT team approach to Aboriginal occupations and blockades came about as the OPP’s response to the death of Dudley George at Ipperwash, and was endorsed by the Ipperwash inquiry. It is a radically different approach to policing these kinds of incidents, and both Algonquin and non-Algonquin protesters in North Frontenac have expressed heir support for this new approach.“I think the police were pretty discouraged after today,” Lovelace said. “Other aboriginal communities have said we shouldn’t be taking part in this, that we shouldn’t put our trust in the OPP by working with the ART and MELT. I had been hoping we could say that this process works.”Lovelace added that the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwaan Algonquns will continue to keep open communications with the OPP, although they will be significantly more guarded.During their testimony, Brian Heslip and Jeff McCann, the detachment commander for Sharbot Lake, were asked who they witnessed at the site on specific dates, and whether those people were in front of or behind the gate.It was unnecessary for Neal Smitheman, the lawyer for Frontenac Venures, to subpoena the OPP officers in the first place, according to Lovelace. “He could have subpoenaed any one of us. We don’t deny that were at the site, that we have been behind the gate.”The contempt of court proceedings may be moot in the end, according to reports about what Judge Thomson said at the end of the hearing. Once Judge Cunningham renders a ruling after the hearings that are starting next week, Judge Thomson’s ruling will be nullified, so these contempt matters may no longer apply.Hurry_up
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Editorial comment - September 13, 2007Hurry Up & Waitby Jeff Green
It has now been 10 days since an injunction was served to the occupiers inside and outside of the Robertsville mine site, and the OPP has thus far refrained from enforcing the order. Officially, they say they are “continuing to negotiate”.
From the point of view of the owners of the property, and their lessee, Frontenac Ventures Corporation, the occupation was clearly illegal when it began on June 28. Indeed, the two Algonquin communities have been waiting for the police to try and remove them from the very beginning.
Nothing has changed since then, with the exception of some courtroom manoeuvring and significant media coverage.
From the start the issue has been both legal and political. The occupation, which now involves aboriginal and non-aboriginal anti-uranium activists, has always included a component of civil disobedience.
All of those involved in the action are perfectly aware that they risk arrest. Indeed, the consequences of arrest could have serious implications for many of the protesters, particularly the three chiefs. Randy Cota, co-chief of the Ardoch Algonquins, is an OPP officer. He accepted a transfer to Orillia recently, and once the injunction was served he has been facing the loss of his job if he enters the mine property. His co-chief, Paula Sherman, is an assistant Professor at Trent University, and faces the possibility losing her position if she is convicted of an offense. Doreen Davis, of the Shabot Obaadjiwaan, is also a member of the negotiating team for the Algonquin Land claim, and she faces her own dilemmas trying to maintain those two roles while leading her community in this occupation.
Nonetheless the occupiers have said they will not leave. Frontenac Ventures lawyer Neal Smitheman and the Kingston Whig Standard newspaper have called this situation “anarchy”, and last week the Provincial Conservative leader John Tory weighed in, saying, among other things, “We can't have even legitimate complaints settled by people taking the law into their own hands.”
These are the strongest opinions that have been expressed publicly, and none of them has gone so far as to say the OPP should risk violence to end the occupation.
Given that there is a broad consensus on that point, what next?
David Ramsay and Rick Bartollucci, the two senior provincial ministers involved, have said they are willing to meet the anti-uranium activists, as soon as this week. There is a slight possibility that the province could craft a decision over a moratorium on mining permits in the traditional territories claimed by Sharbot Lake and Ardoch on the grounds that the communities were not consulted before permits were issued.
However, this would set the kinds of precedents that legal and political advisors to the premier will be strongly advising against.
For one thing, the provincial economy is dependent on mining. As well, the government has recently made a further commitment to nuclear power. The government will also be wary of the fact that under the Indian Act the two communities demanding the moratorium are non-status Algonquin communities, and the demands they are making have not been strongly endorsed by either the Pikwakanagan First Nation, who are the only status Algonquin community in Ontario, or the Algonquin Nation Representatives.
It is highly unlikely the Liberal Party election team will want to deal with this during the current election campaign.
Hearings are scheduled to start in Kingston Superior Court over an interlocutory injunction on September 20, but given the political reality, the practical implications of those hearings might be minimal.
JG
Anti-uranium_new_phase
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Feature Article - September 6, 2007 Anti-uranium exploration activities entering a new phaseby Jeff Green
It has been more than interesting to watch the politics that have developed around uranium exploration in North and Central Frontenac over the past year.
It all started for us at the Frontenac News early in the summer of last year, when we received an email about a large number of mining stakes in Palmerston and Oso (the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines still uses pre-amalgamation boundaries).
It turned out that most of the claims were being staked for Frontenac Ventures Corporation, and just as had been the case in the 1980s and earlier, the mineral of interest was uranium.
A small item in the Frontenac News in mid-July (’06) brought little or no public response.
At the time the Ardoch Algonquins were heavily involved in cutting and clearing land for heir controversial Pow Wow grounds on Pine Lake. When informed about the staking, Ardoch co-chief Randy Cota just said, “It’ll never happen. We won’t let it. Those are Algonquin lands”
In the fall of last year, Gloria and Frank Morrison found out that their property had been staked, and they began to research and publicize their concerns about the issue of surface and subsurface mineral rights.
Three concurrent issues were coming together: uranium exploration, surface/subsurface rights, and Algonquin territorial claims.
Frank and Gloria Morrison were not the first people in recent years to find their property has been staked against their wishes, but they showed tremendous zeal in fighting their predicament, bringing it to the attention of he national media
Gloria was a lead interview on As It Happens in February this year, leading the program to a week-long exposition on mining rights on private lands. Frank was the subject of a feature article in the Ottawa Citizen and a five-minute news report on CBC Ottawa television later on.
On Good Friday, a group of property owners from the Snow Road area called a public meeting to discuss mineral staking in the area, and to begin talking about the impacts of uranium exploration, and uranium mining on the surrounding region.
People at that meeting included two members of the Shabot Obaadjiwaan First Nation, several township mayors and councillors from the surrounding region, PC provincial candidate Randy Hillier, and Mark Burnham, the chair of the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority.
Meanwhile, Frontenac Ventures Corporation had begun their program of exploration for 2007. A series of data-gathering flights over the 30,000 acres of claims the company has secured took place in April and May. Work also progressed, using Gemmil’s Construction from Snow Road, on widening an access road from the Robertsville mine and Crotch Lake, and hiring, including local hiring, was taking place.
The company was looking to secure a drill, and by early June plans to commence a $2 million, two-year core drilling program were made. Their intention, in the short term, was to duplicate core-drilling results from the 1970s, which would enable them to take their claim public by listing it on the Toronto Stock Exhange this October.
Meanwhile, the Ardoch Algonquins had been discussing the situation at their monthly meetings, and began talking with the members of an anti-uranium group that was being formed at the time. They were also forging an alliance with the Shabot Obaadjiwaan First Nation over a joint response. This alliance represents a big change in the relationship between the leadership of the two communities, which have been dominated for years by a profound disagreement over the conduct of land claims negotiations.
In early June, the Ardoch Algonquins sent a letter to Frontenac Ventures Corporation, telling the company to leave their leased headquarters at the Robertsville mine by June 28. In effect, the letter constituted an assertion of sovereignty over the mine, which is a privately held parcel of land, and over the 30,000 acres for which Frontenac Ventures possess mineral rights.
Frontenac Ventures Corporation, in consultation with the OPP, decided to vacate the premises before the 28th.
At the time, company President George White was under the impression that he was merely keeping his people away from the site during the Aboriginal days of protest, and they would be returning after the July 1st long weekend.
But the Ardoch Algonquins had no intention of leaving, and when they arrived at the Robertsville Mine on June 28, they were joined by Chief Doreen Davis and other members of the Shabot Obaadjiwaan First Nation, and non-aboriginal anti-uranium activists who were prepared to take a supporting role for an occupation that will be ten weeks old this Thursday.
Their intention was clear; they were committed to stopping uranium exploration on what they consider their traditional lands.
Phase 2 Frontenac Ventures seeks relief from the courts
Soon after the beginning of the Algonquin occupation of the Robertsville mine two things became clear: the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwaan Algonquins were united, and the OPP was not interested in stopping the occupation.
The OPP attitude surprised Frontenac Ventures Corporation and Peter Jorgensen, the owner of the mine, who found he had no access to his own property.
The Algonquins were equally surprised. On Tuesday morning, July 3, the first business day after the beginning of the occupation, all of the children that had been on site during the weekend were gone. A dozen warriors, some of them from other First Nations, decked out in bandanas and camouflage, took up a line at the edge of Highway 509, as a show of force against any attempts by the police to infiltrate.
The OPP, who at that time and since have maintained a visible presence, with four vehicles located along Road 509, never approached.
Two weeks later, Frontenac Ventures met with members of the two First Nations and the non-aboriginal anti-uranium activists to begin consultations.
Lawyers for the Algonquins and the company wrangled over what “meaningful consultation” is. A week later, Frontenac Ventures levied a $77 million lawsuit against the two communities, and persons un-named. The suit now includes the Province of Ontario.
When the suit was brought to court a few days later, on July 30, a three-day hearing took place on a motion to adjourn. On August 15, Judge Thomson ordered all parties off the land until a formal hearing on a company motion for an interim injunction could be set up.
The Algonquins did not leave, and the OPP did not act to make them leave.
A further meeting with Judge Thomson took place on August 23. The Algonquins had already said they would no longer participate in the injunction proceedings, calling the situation a political matter that should be addressed by the provincial government and not the courts. The OPP lawyer was non-committal when Thomson asked why the force had not acted. He implied that the order did not clearly stipulate what they must do.
On August 27, Judge Thomson released a new order, this time ordering all protestors off the land, granting “unfettered access” to the company, and authorizing the police to act.
On the morning of August 31, Provincial Ministers Rick Bartollucci (Mines and Niorthern Development) and David Ramsay (Natural Resources and Aboriginal Affairs) finally responded to a request for a meeting that had been sent to them by the Algonquins on June 14. The letter offered to continue consultation between the communities and Mines and Northern Development, saying meetings could begin as soon as September 10. On the afternoon of Friday, August 31, Judge Thomson’s order was formally served.
What Now?
Everyone is waiting for the OPP to decide on their next course of action. They could arrest everyone at the site in the next few days, risking confrontation and the arrival of outside activists, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal
All of the people on site thus far have made a commitment to non-violence, but the Algonquin leaders have said they cannot control people that may come to the scene later on.
The OPP may also ask all of the protesters to leave, but stop short of arresting anyone, perhaps incurring the wrath of the courts.
They could also seize on the decision of the provincial government to meet with the Algonquins for the first time, and say they don’t want to jeopardise that process by acting.
This would undoubtedly lead Frontenac Ventures Corporation to ask that the OPP be charged with contempt of court for not enforcing a judge’s order.
Then again, the company may have done so already.
The protesters at the Robertsville mine have now forged a firm three-way alliance. They are all anti-uranium activists, aboriginal and settler alike. They have different pasts, but they share a common cause and a may share a common fate.
There is another group of people who have had no voice throughout this process: those in the community who support the mining exploration, either for reasons of their own interest or because they see at as something that could bring benefits and would not likely bring environmental harm. They have remained quiet throughout the past two months, fearing perhaps they would be labelled anti-environmental or anti-aboriginal. The tension felt by some of these people has surfaced a few times over the summer and in recent days.
Contempt
By Saturday night, October 20, the Robertsville mine site had been
vacated, and a new camp was being set up on the outside of the gate,
leaving the driveway clear. A team of OPP officers arrived, at the
request of the Ardoch Algonquins, to photograph and video the site.
They left on Sunday, and the gate was locked, effectively preventing
entry by Frontenac Ventures until the mediation agreement is finalised.
An agreement that would lead to a 12-week mediation process and would enable Frontenac Ventures Corporation to access their 30,000 acre mining claim through leased lands at the Robertsville mine to do “unobtrusive exploration” was still hung up early this week over how the company’s activities would be monitored during the 12- week period.
In what Frontenac Ventures Corporation President George White has called a “concession made out of courtesy to the Province of Ontario”, Frontenac Ventures Corporation agreed to allow an observer to “provide comfort to the Ardoch Algonquin and Shabot Obaadjiwaan First Nations that the activities conducted by Frontenac Ventures pursuant to the exploration schedule are low impact,” according to a memorandum written by Frontenac Ventures’ lawyer Tracy Pratt.
The company proposed that John McCance, the Verona-based President of the Southern Ontario Prospectors Association be retained as the observer.
The Shabot Obaadjiwaan accepted McCance, but the Ardoch Algonquins wanted to meet with him, and he appeared at an Ardoch Family Heads Council meeting at the Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake this past Sunday. Many non-aboriginal anti-exploration activists had also been invited to the meeting.
McCance joked that he “might just as well have placed a target on my back” as he was peppered with questions from aboriginal and non-aboriginal activists about his understanding of a variety of subjects. He acknowledged that he had no expertise in plant biology or aboriginal cultural matters that might be relevant to the job, saying “there would have to be someone else or several other people with me to understand everything that might be of concern to you.”
After the meeting, Chris Reid, the Ardoch Algonquins’ lawyer, responded to the Frontenac Ventures legal team by email. He said, “My clients have no objection to John McCance being a member of a team of monitors which includes at least one member appointed by the First Nations. With respect to the monitoring team’s terms of reference, it is our view that the First Nations’ monitors should be advised in advance of all FVC activities and should accompany FVC staff or contractors at all time.”
This led to a terse response from Frontenac Ventures’ lead lawyer Neil Smitheman on Monday, which suggested that the company was willing to share information about their activities with an observer, but will not ask for permission from the Algonquins.
When contacted, George White said he was willing to let the deal fall through, and pursue the contempt of court hearings that are still scheduled for mid-November.
Eight individuals: Doreen Davis, Earl Badour, Robert Lovelace, Paula Sherman, Mitch Shewell, Harold Perry, David Milne, and Frank Morrison, have been named in the contempt of court proceedings. Six of them are members of the Shabot Obbadjiwaan and Ardoch Algonguin First Nations. Frontenac Ventures is seeking to have the court levy hefty fines against them, raising the prospect of assets being seized by the courts. In other aboriginal blockades in Ontario, assets cannot be seized because in those cases the assets are located in reserve lands, which cannot be accessed by the courts.
As of this writing, the News has learned that negotiations are continuing among the Ardoch and Frontenac Ventures’ lawyers, aimed at settling on a second observer to work with John McCance, leaving only the matter of what the observer’s job will be as an outstanding issue.
If that can be resolved, the mediation will likely follow.
Legality of staking to be on the mediation table
Late last week, the Province of Ontario agreed to an agenda for mediation that included two key issues for the First Nations. The first is whether “Ontario had the legal right to allow these lands to be staked prior to consulting with the AAFN and Shabot”, and the second is the possibility of withdrawing “unstaked and staked land” in the region of the Frontenac Ventures Mining Claims. The parties to the mediation now include the federal crown, the two Algonquin communities, and the so-called “Algonquins of Ontario”, which is what the courts have dubbed the 13-member team of Algonquin negotiators to the Algonquin Land claim. A mediator must be found who is acceptable to all parties. The mediation would last 12 weeks, after which time Frontenac Ventures plans to begin a test drilling program, a program the Algonquin leadership still vows to prevent.
Among the tents and trailers outside of the gate is a small hut and a tent trailer which is occupied by Donna Dillman, who has now gone 17 days without eating. She has been subsisting on a concoction of maple syrup, lemon and water, and on fruit and vegetable juices. Earlier this week, she sent a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty asking for an inquiry into uranium mining.
The letter says, in part, “It is my hope that now that your government has a very clear mandate from the electorate, you will step forward and begin an inquiry that will result in a moratorium on uranium exploration and mining, at least, in Eastern Ontario, and hopefully the whole of the province …
“My children and grandchildren should not have to visit their mother at the side of a desolate rural road. At the same time, they should not have to fear for the water they drink and the air that they breathe. I will end this hunger strike when we are assured against the possibility of uranium drilling up-river of Ottawa.”
She has no plans to take solid food, or leave the site.
A contingent of aboriginal and non-aboriginal protestors are committed to maintaining a presence outside the Robertsville mine site during the mediation period.
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Feature Article - October 11, 2007Algonquins Will Leave Robertsville Site if Province Agrees to Mediation Termsby Jeff Green
The occupation of the Robertsville mine could be coming to an end.
As of late Tuesday night, October 9, the Shabot Obaadjiwaan (Sharbot Lake) and Ardoch Algonquins had agreed to amended wording in an agreement to set up a 12-week mediation process with the government of Ontario, and were waiting to see if Owen Young, the lawyer for the Attorney General of Ontario, could coax his client to accept the wording as well.
The latest round of legal wrangling began almost a week earlier, when Frontenac Ventures Corporation, the uranium exploration company that has been prevented from accessing their 30,000 acre exploration property since June 28, filed a motion with Justice Cunningham of the Ontario Superior Court. Cunningham had already released a draft ruling ordering that the occupation end, and the motion asked not only that the ruling be formalised, but that arrests and substantial financial penalties be imposed on the leaders of the two communities and any other individuals who are either occupying the site or supporting the occupiers.
The company proposed fines of $5,000 for each breach of the court order and $50,000 in punitive damages, to be paid to Frontenac Ventures.
Last Thursday, October 4, lawyers for all of the involved parties (the Ontario government, Frontenac Ventures, the OPP, Shabot Obaadjiwaan and Ardoch) spent most of the day in the judge’s chambers, and on Friday, October 4, they were joined in the chambers by Chief Doreen Davis and retired Chief Robert Lovelace of the two First Nations.
Out of these protracted meetings, a tentative agreement was reached. It called for the two First Nations to leave the mine site, and for Frontenac Ventures to be allowed back in. A mediation process was to be set up, involving representatives from the Ontario and Federal governments, the two First Nations, and a mediator. This process would have 12 weeks to work on several issues, during which time the company had agreed they would carry on only non-invasive exploration, and would not drill any test holes to confirm uranium deposits. Frontenac Ventures had provided a 40-week schedule for proposed activities on the land in question to Justice Cunningham in late September, and it did not call for drilling to commence until the 13th week. Contempt of court proceedings were to be stayed while this process unfolded.
One of the issues that would be discussed during the mediation talks, according to lawyers for the First Nations, is the possibility of a “moratorium” on uranium exploration on the traditional territory of the two communities. Another is the question of whether the Government of Ontario breached their “duty to consult” the two communities before they issued the exploration permits to Frontenac Ventures Corporation. These lands, along with all of the land on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River Valley, have been the subject of broader land claims negotiations that have been underway in fits and starts for the past 17 years.
In order to put the mediation into effect, the Algonquin communities had to ratify what had been discussed in the judge’s chambers, and the Government of Ontario had to sign on as well.
The proposal to leave the site and allow Frontenac Ventures to return was something that the leaders of the two communities spent the Thanksgiving weekend discussing with their respective councils and others, and with the non-aboriginal supporters who had established their own camp outside of the mine gates.
By Monday afternoon, Ardoch and Sharbot Lake had agreed to the proposal. A “good news” press conference was arranged for Tuesday morning on the steps of the Frontenac County Courthouse in Kingston, even though the Algonquins had not yet heard if the Government of Ontario was on side.
Monday evening, that all changed when they received an-email from Owen Young, which outlined Ontario’s interpretation of what the mediation process would look like.
The email said that the government would discuss “un-staked lands” in the subject area, and did not include any direct reference to a “moratorium” of any sort.
Retired Chief Robert Lovelace and Chief Paul Sherman of the Ardoch Algonquins said, “The amended agreement proposed by Ontario on Monday evening limits the scope of mediation and reduces the potential for resolution of the key issues.” Of particular concern was the word “unstaked”, which was taken to mean that the 30,000 acres of land that is at the centre of the dispute would not be open for discussion during mediation talks.
The message that the occupation was to continue was communicated to the public through CBC radio reports on Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile the wording of the agreement was being bandied about in emails between Stephen Reynolds, the lawyer for Sharbot Lake, and Owen Young.
Early Tuesday evening, new wording was proposed that brought the Frontenac Ventures exploration territory back into the mediation process, although the government was still balking at discussing anything as broad as a moratorium.
Late Tuesday evening Robert Lovelace told the News that Ardoch had joined Sharbot Lake in accepting the amended wording.
Approval from Ontario was still pending.
Robertsville_occupation
A Week in the Life of the Robertsville Mine Occupationby Jeff Green
MP
Scott Ried holds up a jar of water, presented to him by the Ardoch
Algonquins. Reid will read the Algonquin moratorium declaration in the
House of Commons.Photo: Kerrison MelcherThe anti-uranium exploration protest has progressed in diverse political and legal directions over the past week.
Last Thursday night, September 27, a declaration was signed by Harold Perry of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation and Grandfather William Commanda of the Kitiban Zibi on Victoria Island (in the Ottawa River near Parliament Hill). It was a declaration announcing a moratorium on uranium exploration in the Ottawa Valley on behalf of the Algonquin Nation. Harold had been joined by a group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal canoeists in a six-day paddle along the Mississippi and Ottawa rivers from Harold’s home in Ardoch, carrying water from the headwaters of the Mississippi.
Meanwhile, in Kingston, Associate Chief Justice Cunningham of the Ontario Superior Court was faxing out an “interlocutory order” in response to a court motion by Frontenac Ventures Corporation, a uranium exploration company that has been unable to access its 30,000 acre mining claim for the past 90 days because of a blockade by members of the Shabot Obaadjiwaan and Ardoch Algonquin (AAFN) communities.
The order is short and to the point: “Any representative of the AAFN, Shabot or anyone supporting their position or associated with them in any way shall forthwith leave the subject property … Frontenac Ventures Corporation shall have immediate, unfettered, and unrestricted access to the subject property …”The ruling accepts a proposed 40-week exploration and drilling schedule as provided by the company. The existing contempt of court proceedings against eight named individuals, including the Shabot Obaadjiwaan and Ardoch leadership, were adjourned by the order in the “hope that AAFN and Shabot will not only obey this order but will rejoin the table to permit ongoing consultations in a meaningful way. As the Supreme Court has consistently noted, disputes such as this one are better resolved through negotiation, a view adopted by Chief Paula Sherman and Chief Doreen Davis in their letter to the Premier dated August 14, 2007.”
The interlocutory order has provoked no response from either First Nation.
On Friday morning, September 28, a number of canoes were portaged from Victoria Island to Parliament Hill for a 10:00 AM rally. About 120 people from Frontenac and Lanark County congregated on the lawn in front of the Peace Tower to hear greetings from several speakers, including Lorraine Rickmans, the Green Party of Ontario’s Aboriginal Affairs critic, who happens to come from the Serpent River Reserve. The reserve is downstream from Elliott Lake and has faced devastation as the result of sulphuric acid and radiation poisoning coming from the Elliot Lake uranium mine, which opened in the 1950s and closed in the 1990s. Paul Dewar, NDP MP from the riding of Ottawa Centre, also spoke. The event culminated when Scott Reid, the MP from Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington and the deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons, received the declaration of moratorium from Ardoch Chief Randy Cota, and a jar of clean water from Gillian Cota.
“The first duty of an MP is to receive petitions from their constituents, and present these concerns to Parliament,” said Reid. “It will be my responsibility--and an honour--to present the concerns of the Algonquins to the House of Commons. In the event that there are any procedural questions as to whether this document is in the accepted format for petitions to the House of Commons, I will be seeking the unanimous consent of the House to bring it forward.”
Others who have expressed support for the moratorium in recent days include Grand Chief Stewart Phillip from the Union of British Columbia Chiefs.
After the rally, a delegation brought the declaration of a moratorium to the constituency office of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in Ottawa South.
Meeting in Sharbot Lake
On Saturday, September 29, a meeting was held at Katie’s Lounge in the Sharbot Lake County Inn. In attendance were the leadership of the Shabot Obaadjiwaan First Nation and their lawyer Steve Reynolds, the leadership of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation and their lawyer Chris Reid, Rob Ferguson from the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM), Bob Crane, the Ontario negotiator to the Algonquin Land Claim, and Robin Aitkin, the Canadian negotiator to the Algonquin Land Claim. Also in attendance as observers were a group of anti-uranium activists who have been involved in the occupation at the Robertsville mine and other activities, including two members of the Christian Peacemakers.
After a 45-minute delay as Rob Ferguson determined if he could accept the presence of a documentary film crew, the meeting commenced.
Several Algonquin chiefs peppered Rob Ferguson to find out if the MNDM is wiling to conduct consultations on the question of whether mining activity will be permitted at all in the territory, or if, in the words of Ardoch co-chief Paula Sherman “you are only here to talk about whether holes can be drilled on one spot or another spot, because if that’s the case, this will be a short meeting.”
Then, Ardoch’s lawyer Chris Reid made a proposal that represented a change in the community’s long-held position as to how the occupation can end.
“We haven’t had a chance to confirm this with the Shabot Obaadjiwaan, but we might be willing to vacate the site if there is a freeze on any activity for at least a year, during which time a five-member mediation team could meet. It would include a representative from Ardoch, the Shabot Obaadjiwaan, Ontario, Canada, and a mediator.”
“We haven’t heard this offer, but I was going to propose mediation as well,” said Steve Reynolds from the Shabot Obaadjiwaan.
The two lawyers agreed to formalize a proposal and send it to the three government officials, who said they weren’t in a position to accept any terms but they would bring the proposal to the political level.
Chief Paula Sherman asked Rob Ferguson if there was any possibility that, at the end of mediation, the province would agree to “saying no to exploration”.
Ferguson reiterated that he could not speak for the ministry, “but you don’t know where a process will end until you enter into it,” he said.
Two days later a 6-point proposal for mediation was sent to Premier Dalton McGuinty by Chief Davis (Shabot) and Chief Sherman (Ardoch). It resembles the proposal outlined by Chris Reid on Saturday. Among the points is one that says, “Mineral exploration and mining will be suspended until the mediation is either concluded or fails.” It calls for a suspension of the occupation and no access to the site for Frontenac Ventures, and the issue to be discussed will include “the staking of mining claims and the issuance of mining leases in the subject area” and the resolution of all litigation between Frontenac Ventures and the First Nations.
Meanwhile, Frontenac Ventures, who were not party to the consultation, have continued to aggressively pursue a legal remedy to the predicament. “They can win the publicity war,” company President George White told the News on Saturday, referring to the rally on Parliament Hill, which made the television news in parts of the country, “but they are not going to win the legal war.”
On Monday, October 1, Frontenac Ventures chartered a helicopter to fly over site and confirm that the occupiers were still on site at the Robertsville mine in contravention of Judge Cunningham’s order. Judge Cunningham will hear submissions from the company today (Thursday, October 4).
Adding a further wrinkle to this situation, Donna Dillman from Lanark Highlands will be commencing a hunger strike in Monday, October 8. Dillman has been camped outside the gate at the blockaded site. She plans to stop eating until a moratorium on uranium exploration and mining is signed.
