GINOOGAMING FIRST NATION PARTICIPATES IN RECENT ONTARIO GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ON COMMERCIAL PLAZA INVESTMENT IN GREENSTONE UNDER DURESS
MEDIA RELEASE
Tuesday, June 18, 2024 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GINOOGAMING FIRST NATION PARTICIPATES IN RECENT ONTARIO GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ON COMMERCIAL PLAZA INVESTMENT IN GREENSTONE UNDER DURESS
Ginoogaming First Nation – Ginoogaming First Nation (GFN) Chief Sheri Taylor and Council today participated in an Ontario government announcement under duress. At its location, on the corner of Michael Power Boulevard and Highway 11 in Geraldton—Ontario Premier Ford joined by Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation to announce an investment for the continued construction of the Migizi Commercial Plaza, a business venture of Minodahmun Development LP (a 100% First Nation owned partnership created by Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek, Aroland First Nation and GFN).
As part of her remarks (including Ginoogaming First Nation’s welcoming of the investment for the commercial plaza)—Chief Taylor reminded the Ontario government of the community’s continued status of being under a State of Emergency declared on May 21, 2024 and seven decades of unresolved grievances. These were outlined in a hand-delivered a letter to Ontario Premier Ford which included the request for timely response from the Premier’ Office directly to set forward a process to address them. At today’s announcement—Chief Taylor stated:
“While grateful for Ontario’s investment for the Migizi Commercial Plaza—the government of Ontario is not getting the notion of economic reconciliation right for Ginoogaming First Nation. This needs to change in a transformative way and more importantly—it needs more decolonization. Being in a continued State of Emergency for the past 29 days—our community is not starting at the same place on the starting-line when it comes to Ontario’s focus on investments in Greenstone. Our call to our treaty partners, the federal and provincial governments, to provide immediate support and resources to GFN to address the issues around community safety and the health and wellbeing of our members has fallen on deaf ears and resulted in no action.
It is not missed on us that projects that benefit the government of Ontario are taking precedence over the resolution of our State of Emergency and seven decades of grievances that we’ve experienced in this part of James Bay Treaty No. 9. Some of them include, but not limited to: (a) forestry, mining, hydro including water diversion and land sale activities being carried out in our traditional territories and homelands without compensation, or economic inclusion; (b) failure to implement a mining withdrawal to protect or preserve ongoing Treaty Land Entitlement candidate lands we have identified which are now filled with mining claims; (c) lack of consultation and a failure to support GFN to acquire industry owned land, and address a tenured water lot, bridge, and industrial roads.”
On June 6, 2024 GFN issued a media release with respect to the proposed Greater Sudbury/Wyloo Metals battery materials processing plant. GFN reiterated its position to ensure that there are appropriate long-term agreements and partnerships in place for the development of the James Bay Treaty No. 9 (1905-06 and 1929-30) territory including the Ring of Fire Region.
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For more information, please contact:
Calvin Taylor, Lands & Resources Coordinator
Email: calvin.taylor@ginoogamingfn.ca
Cell: 1.807.853.0199
Shelly Rahme, Impact Assessment Advisor
Email: shelly.rahme@ginoogamingfn.ca
Cell: 1.807.853.2799