Ring of Fire: A path to prosperity and environmental risk

Harry Wabasse’s home in Webequie First Nation is near the Ring of Fire — a 5,000-square-kilometre region in Ontario’s north that contains minerals needed for clean technologies and batteries. Sitting 450 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, the area is difficult to reach — at present, it’s only accessible by airplane and a winter road, carved over the land and ice each year.

But two First Nations in the area — Webequie and Marten Falls — have a plan to change that. A road could bring economic opportunities, access to health care and supplies and prosperity to the nations.

The First Nations are proponents of a series of roads that would link the Ring of Fire, and their nations, into the Ontario highway network. It will cross a river system that northern First Nations have relied on for as long as can be remembered, and other nations in the region are not on board with the plan.

Amid the climate crisis, the roads are also putting a powerful climate-cooling landscape at risk. The region is home to the second-largest expanse of muskeg peatlands in the world — a vast bog that sucks planet-warming carbon out of the atmosphere. Experts say the rivers and the peatlands could be put at risk by mining and road development.

Wabasse says he’s hoping to work with developers to minimize the impact on his homelands.

“If we have a big pot of gold that's sitting here, they're gonna have to come up and dig it out to meet expectations. It is still going to happen, even if we try to stop it,” Wabasse says. “We have to prepare for it the best way possible to prevent environmental impact… By working with them, we're going to make sure that these concerns are addressed.”

In Episode 1 of The Road, Isaac Phan Nay learns from members of Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations how mining and road access to their nations could change life in remote northern nations — forever.

The Road podcast is a co-production between Isaac Phan Nay and Canada’s National Observer. Funding for this podcast comes from the Gordon Sinclair Foundation. Listen to Episode 1 of The Road on Apple Podcast or your favourite listening app.