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As part of its ongoing plans to develop in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region, the Ontario government has signed a community partnership agreement with Marten Falls First Nation.<\/p>\n
The agreement comes with up to $39.5 million, matching the amount promised to Webequie First Nation through an agreement it signed with the province last month.<\/a>\u00a0The province also signed a shared prosperity agreement<\/a> with Aroland First Nation in January.<\/a><\/p>\n Premier Doug Ford says unlocking critical minerals in the Ring of Fire \u2014 a crescent-shaped mineral deposit in the James Bay lowlands in northwestern Ontario \u2014 \u201cwill add $22 billion to Canada’s economy and create 70,000 new jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the province needs to build roads in order to reach that deposit \u2014 which would go through First Nations\u2019 traditional territories. These projects include:<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, Marten Falls First Nation relies on air transportation that is extremely expensive to fly in and out, and many of our community members cannot get to appointments on small planes,\u201d said Marten Falls First Nation\u2019s Chief Bruce Achneepineskum during Thursday\u2019s news conference at Queen\u2019s Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re actually looking forward to the winter road season when they can drive out at their own leisure \u2014 but it shouldn’t be like that. [They] should be driving out at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n While Ford touted the project\u2019s importance in unleashing \u201cthe enormous economic potential of the Ring Fire,\u201d he also spoke of the benefits this would bring to the First Nation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to change their lives,\u201d Ford said. \u201cThis is all about making their children and their grandchildren have a brighter future.\u201d<\/p>\n Fewer than 400 people live in Marten Falls, a remote Anishinaabe community about 400 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay. This year marks the 20th anniversary of its ongoing boil water advisory<\/a>, which was put in place in July 2005.<\/a><\/p>\n Marten Falls is among dozens of remote First Nations in the region that rely on seasonal winter roads, also known as ice roads<\/a>, to transport essential supplies to the community at a much lower cost than bringing them in by plane.<\/p>\n The $39.5 million is contingent on Marten Falls submitting its environmental assessment for the community access road to the province by Feb. 20, 2026. However, the project is also subject to a federal approval process.<\/p>\n \u201cPending approvals and consultations, construction will begin as soon as August 2026, subject to the federal government ending its duplicative impact assessments in the region,\u201d says Thursday\u2019s news release from the Ontario government.<\/p>\n \u2018Divide-and-conquer approach\u2019<\/p>\n Meanwhile, many First Nation leaders in the region have expressed opposition to the province\u2019s development plans in the Ring of Fire \u2014 citing concerns about lack of consultations with the government and the implications of recent legislation which aims to fast-track projects, such as Bill 5<\/a> and the One Project, One Process (1P1P) Framework.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhere you pay First Nations to access their homelands, their territories \u2014 where you give them something \u2026 for you to take something \u2014 governments have been doing that for hundreds of years,\u201d Kiiwetinoong NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa said during a news conference last month in response to the 1P1P approach.<\/p>\n By signing funding agreements with some First Nations and not others, Mamakwa said the government is fracturing relationships among communities to achieve its development goals with less opposition.<\/p>\n \u201cThe divide-and-conquer approach is continuing to this day,\u201d Mamakwa said.<\/p>\n When asked about his consultations with First Nations that oppose the road projects, Ford said \u201cI want all communities involved; even if it doesn’t impact them, I want them all part of it. I want to change their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Where you pay First Nations to access their homelands, their territories \u2014 where you give them something \u2026 for you to take something \u2014 governments have been doing that for hundreds of years.- Kiiwetinoong NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa<\/p>\n An hour before Ford\u2019s news conference with Marten Falls, Mamakwa held his own media event with leaders from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) and Wapekeka First Nation as well as the Wildlands League, a not-for-profit environmental conservation organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n About 20 years ago, KI and Wapekeka passed their own laws to declare three million hectares of their homelands as permanently protected from development \u2014 or “withdrawn” from mining claims.<\/p>\n These lands, called Anishininew Aki, include the KI land withdrawal area and the Fawn River Indigenous Protected Area, which cover an area 48 times larger than the city of Toronto.<\/p>\n Now, the First Nations are \u201casking Ontario to reciprocate and do work under Ontario’s laws to fully and permanently protect [these lands],\u201d said Anna Baggio, conservation director for Wildlands League.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need Ontario to be there so that in the future, these [withdrawal] lands are secured \u2014 secured in a way where there’s no disturbances until we feel ourselves in that region that we’re ready for whatever [development] opportunities there are in the future,\u201d said KI\u2019s Chief Donny Morris.<\/p>\n Morris expressed concerns about roads to the Ring of Fire putting caribou populations at risk, which his community relies on as a primary food source.<\/p>\n However, he said he supports Marten Falls and Webequie in choosing what is best for their people. \u201cThey can decide if it’s going to benefit their communities in the long run,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764314525_351_default.jpg\")
Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford is seen standing in front of a map depicting the Ring of Fire region and proposed roads leading up to the mineral deposit, located in the James Bay lowlands. (Evan Mitsui\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764314526_603_default.jpg\")
Kiiwetinoong NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa is seen speaking at a podium during a press conference at Queen’s Park on Thursday. Mamakwa says it’s important for the province to engage in meaningful dialogue with First Nations about development and land protection. (Submitted by Bridget Carter-Whitney)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764314526_973_default.jpg\")
Mamakwa, seen in this June 2025 file photo in Toronto, says governments have a history of signing agreements with First Nations when they want something from their lands, which puts communities at risk of exploitation. (Evan Mitsui\/CBC)<\/p>\n