The Globe and Mail: Five First Nations communities are planning to stare down Doug Ford in the Ontario Legislature Wednesday, alleging that the Premier is railroading through mining development without their consent.

Leaders of Neskantaga, KI, Grassy Narrows, Wapekeka and Muskrat Dam First Nations said in a statement they are converging on Queen’s Park with a message to Premier Ford that pushing through mining on their lands against their will, “courts conflict and violates their rights.”

“The Ford Government has granted thousands of mining claims without First Nations consent and is now trying to fast track dangerous mine approvals, delay safe closure plans and build environmentally risky roads through the muskeg to the Ring of Fire,” added the First Nations Land Defense Alliance.

The Ford government earlier this month tabled legislation aimed at speeding up mine approvals. The Ontario government’s proposed changes would make it easier for companies to obtain permits to mine metals from tailings, allow companies to defer upfront payments on plans to close mines and loosen restrictions related to the rehabilitation of shuttered mine sites.

The province said that the measures would not compromise environmental standards, and would not interfere with the government’s constitutional duty to consult Indigenous communities on mining projects.

Earlier this month, however, Neskantaga First Nation says it wasn’t adequately consulted in a key Ring of Fire environmental study, and is warning Ring of Fire Metals, the Australian mining company bent on developing the region, that it will have to use force against members of the First Nation before it would allow development.

Discovered in 2006, the Ring of Fire has long been championed by Doug Ford. Ontario’s Premier wants to start mining in the remote northern region of the province in order to be able to feed future electric vehicle and battery factories in the south. Ontario is already a manufacturing base for many of the world’s biggest automakers, and last year landed its first EV battery plant, with Stellantis NV and LG Energy Solution announcing plans to build a factory in Windsor.

Neskantaga said it was unable to participate in consultations on the Ring of Fire, or meet the process’s deadlines, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a population of just 400, Neskantaga is located about 430 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, and is among the most impoverished regions in Canada. The First Nation has been under a boil-water advisory for more than 28 years.

Several other First Nations, including, Marten Falls, and Webequie are generally in favour of development in the Ring of Fire and are leading the EAs.

While advanced exploration work such as drilling requires Indigenous consultation before proceeding, currently, mining claims can be staked in Ontario without consultation, a reality the First Nations Land Defense Alliance would like to change.

Two First Nations in British Columbia have legally challenged the similarly open system for prospecting in that province. The First Nations say the system is unconstitutional, and that it violates the government’s duty to consult. In April, the British Columbia Supreme Court will hear their case against the provincial government.

NIALL MCGEE: Mining Reporter – Follow Niall McGee on Twitter: @niallcmcgee