Policy Options – “Pandemic shouldn’t impede meaningful Indigenous engagement on Ring of Fire”. Ontario government announced that “a regional assessment of potential mining operations for the Ring of Fire will be undertaken”. The announcement only posted on the agency website severely impacts the ability of First Nations to meaningfully engage in the consulting process. Only those registered on the email distribution received the email notification that:

• Agency suspended all face-to-face meetings
• Cancelled all engagement activities
• Agency will continue to develop a regional assessment and plan with a much more constrained engagement

As evidence demonstrates, inadequate internet access and a lack of cellular networks access to remote regions in Northern Ontario put First Nations at a greater disadvantage in efforts to participate at a distance during the global pandemic. For remote First Nations in Northern Ontario, the agency must work harder to ensure that the voices of communities implicated in the Ring of Fire regional assessment are not further silenced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Vague statements such as the one released to the email distribution list do little to provide implicated communities, organizations, and individuals the clarity required to adequately adjust and prepare for consultation opportunities once the threat of COVID-19 subsides.

In the meantime, it is imperative that First Nation community members and leadership, scholars, activists, policy-makers, consultants and other groups interested in Ontario’s Ring of Fire remain as vigilant as possible during COVID in monitoring developments in the region and ensuring major decisions are not made without critical thought or meaningful Indigenous and public engagement.