Toronto Star – The Ontario government has allowed up to 4,000 mining claims in Grassy Narrow territory ignoring the “the land declaration that Grassy Narrows enacted in 2018 to ban industrial or mining activities on their territories?” Since the land declaration “the area covered by mineral claims has expanded fourfold, spreading across forest, rivers and lakes…Grassy Narrows leaders and community leaders are troubled that the Ontario government seems to be rolling out the red carpet to mining prospectors while dragging its feet in investigating and excavating the two alleged toxic mercury dump sites near a paper mill property downstream in Dryden, Ontario.

The mining claims fall within the boundary of a proposed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area that Grassy Narrows has been working with the federal government to setup. Trillium Gold, a BC-based mining company has proposed what would be the “the largest mining exploration project by far in its territory”. The establishment of an IPCA is aimed to safeguard Indigenous rights – including the right to exercise free, prior and informed consent – while maintaining biodiversity and securing a space where communities can practice indigenous ways of life. The chief called for an immediate freeze on claim staking and mining exploration on the territory until the crisis is over. (COVID-19 pandemic)