A First Nation in Quebec has won a case in the Superior Court over online mining claims in their territory.
The decision issued late last week requires all prospective mining claim holders to consult with the Mitchikanibikok Inik First Nation — which sits 265 kilometres north of Ottawa and is otherwise known as the Algonquin of Barriere Lake — before a claim is granted.
Before the decision, so-called free entry mining claims in Québec were made online for a small fee.
The decision enforces the need for consultation when claims are made in the First Nation’s territory and will have knock-on effects for the operation of the province’s mining industry.
It was a “huge win” for the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, said Chief Casey Ratt. For years, the First Nation would discover mining claims in their territory after activities like tree-felling for exploration had already started.
“We're always the last to know,” Ratt said.
In 2017, a proposed copper mine claimed a huge portion of Algonquin territory, including where community members lived.
“They were just ready to uproot most of our cabins there — it was crazy,” Ratt said.
The First Nation is no stranger to conflict with the province. In the past, it fought against logging that Ratt said stopped in 2018 to allow depleted moose populations time to recover.
“Logging just destroyed our territory; some of our elders don’t even recognize it anymore,” Ratt explained. “And that’s what’s going to happen with mining.”
The court victory follows similar cases in British Columbia and the Yukon, in which the province and territory altered how mining claims are granted in those jurisdictions. Before their court cases, both British Columbia and the Yukon had free entry mining regimes. Similar cases filed by First Nations are now ongoing in Ontario.
The Québec ruling means that even existing mining claim holders now must consult with Josh Ginsberg, the legal representative for the Algonquins of Barriere Lake.
“It’s now incumbent on Québec to consult our client on every single mining claim on its territory since 1991,” Ginsberg said.
Québec’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests told Canada’s National Observer that the provincial government is now assessing the recent decision.
It’s still unclear if the province will appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. An appeal would have implications for the entire country at a time when critical mineral strategies are being developed by federal, provincial and territorial governments. In the Yukon case, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal attempt by the territory.
In British Columbia, the Gitxaała Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation appealed because the province’s highest court did not include existing claims, as it did in Québec.
The smattering of mining cases being fought across the country all challenge free entry mining policies. In each of those settled so far, First Nations have won, which could signal an end to free entry mining in Canada.
“The courts have been remarkably consistent on this; the dominoes keep falling,” Ginsberg said.
And, according to Ginsberg, it’s about time — free entry laws are “Gold Rush laws” born from an extraction-first mindset that sidesteps Indigenous rights and duties to consult.
Matteo Cimellaro / Canada’s National Observer / Local Journalism Initiative
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