Federal minister says conditions on mining, road projects will mitigate damage to environment

Canada’s minister of Environment and Climate Change says the conditions put on two projects approved by the federal government will help alleviate environmental impacts related to fish, birds and the territory. Julie Dabrusin told media gathered in Halifax on Wednesday for an announcement about money to help municipalities deal with climate change that there were several consultations during the impact assessment phase, including with Indigenous Peoples. “There are also conditions attached every time that there is a decision through the impact assessment agency and those conditions are specifically to mitigate those impacts, and they are monitored,” she said in response to a question by APTN News about how far the government will go in approving projects that have adverse effects on the environment. “That’s an important part of the equation that also needs to be included. So, with those projects, as with any others, there are conditions that are taken into account when making that balanced assessment.” The Crawford Nickel Project is likely to destroy or alter approximately 116 hectares of fish habitat, including the watersheds indicated in this map. Graphic: APTN News. Crawford Nickel Mine In the past two months, Dabrusin has approved two projects in northern Ontario. The first was the Crawford Nickel Mine located 42 kilometres north of Timmins. According to the government, it will be the largest mine in Canada when it starts production. The government said it will “produce high-quality, low-carbon nickel essential for batteries and green steel. It will serve as an anchor of Canada’s global leadership in clean industrial materials.” The mine, the government said, will “attract $5 billion in investment” and create 5,000 jobs for construction of the project and 1,300 for operations.” In terms of the climate, “the project’s emissions are nearly 90% lower than the global industry average,” the government said. Canada has signed business contracts with Mattagami, Matachewan, and Flying Post First Nations and Taykwa Tagamou Nation has “partnered with Canada Nickel Company to invest $20 million in the Crawford Nickel Project,” giving the community an 8.4 per cent stake in the project. On the environmental side, according to the impact assessment, the project will have an “adverse” effect on fish, migratory birds and the lands of the First Nations who are signing onto the project. According to the 38-page impact assessment released by the government, there are a number of conditions attached to the approval of the mine that the company must abide by, including protecting fish from the mine site. The impact report said approximately 111 species of migratory birds are either confirmed or assumed to be present in the area, according to the assessment. “Eleven of these are species at risk (including bank swallow, barn swallow, Canada warbler, chimney swift, eastern whip-poor-will, common nighthawk, evening grosbeak, bobolink, olive-sided flycatcher, yellow rail, and eastern meadowlark),” the report states. “Several species of migratory birds, including waterfowl such as geese, have been identified as species of importance to Indigenous communities.” There are five conditions binding on the company to protect birds that the proponent needs to carrying out the project “in a manner that protects migratory birds and avoids capturing, killing, taking, injuring or harassing migratory birds or destroying, taking or disturbing their eggs, or damaging, destroying, removing or disturbing nests protected.” In terms of the damage that will be caused to important sites within the project area, the Mattagami First Nation wrote, “Many sites of cultural significance and value will be irreversibly lost from the project, and related knowledge will not be passed down through generations, hindering cultural continuity.” The government listed six conditions on the company, Canada Nickel, to “develop, prior to construction and in consultation with Indigenous groups, and relevant authorities… an Archeological and Cultural Resources Management Plan,” the approval letter said. “That includes a chance-find protocol for any previously unidentified structures, sites or things of historical, archaeological, paleontological or architectural significance discovered within the Designated Project area.” All construction is to be stopped if something is discovered. The Attawapiskat River in Ring of Fire region of northern Ontario. Photo: Eric Trelaaven of Eleven North Visuals. The Webequie First Nation Road Deep in the James Bay Lowlands of northern Ontario lies a critical mineral deposit containing nickel and chromite and other critical minerals. A couple of mining executives dubbed it the Ring of Fire. The location of the much-sought-after minerals is in northern Ontario, where one of the world’s largest peatlands exists. For decades, mining companies have wanted to exploit the 5,000 square kilometre area. But it’s remote – only accessible by air or winter road. Now, the first all-season road, the smallest of three that are proposed, has been approved. According to those watching the environmental cost of the project, the peatland in the Ring of Fire area is a massive carbon sink. But according to Dabrusin’s approval, the road, proposed by Webequie First Nation, “is an opportunity for economic reconciliation and self-determination,” and that the project will likely create “employment and economic opportunities for Webequie First Nation community members and potentially members of other Indigenous groups…” The impact assessment said the likely effects of the road construction would “result in net positive GHG emissions.” Dabrusin’s report said that the effects of the project would not result in a “net positive contribution” to Canada’s meeting its environmental obligations or its “ability to meet its commitments in respect of climate change.” It also will have a detrimental effect on species including caribou, wolverines, a variety of fish and migratory birds. Dabrusin said that these “adverse effects within federal jurisdiction that are, to some extent, significant are justified in the public interest…” The conditions include the need for companies building the road to protect the quality of water along the route, maintain a buffer between construction site and vegetated areas, only use rock materials that are not acid-generating, protect migratory birds, conduct operations outside of breeding schedules and “provide the opportunity for Indigenous groups to provide information on the sites and areas of historical, archaeological, paleontological or architectural significance and the sites of importance on non-federal lands within the Local Study Area.” A request for a judicial review of the government’s approval has been launched by the Friends of the Attawapiskat River. The 748-kilometre river runs from the James Bay Lowlands, through the Ring of Fire and east into James Bay in Treaty 9. The Indigenous advocacy group made up of members of Attawapiskat, Peawanuck, Kashechewan, Fort Albany, Neskantaga and Moose Factory in Treaty 9 territory, are asking the Federal Court to review the government’s decision. “You’re going to wipe out the ground. You’re going to remove soil, water, the swamp,” Michel Koostachin told APTN News. “There’s no way of fixing it and that report it stated anything harmed has adverse effects, that there irreversible.” Prime Minister Mark Carney set up the Major Projects Office to fast track infrastructure projects. Photo: APTN. Major Projects Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to Canadians that building major projects in Canada will happen at a pace not seen since the Second World War. In 2025, his government passed the Building Canada Act with no consultation or debate. The Major Projects Office was opened to fast-track mines and other infrastructure that was in the “national interest.” At this time, there are nearly two dozen projects on list across the country. The issue of the approval of projects that harm the environment was the topic of discussion on a recent Truth and Politics Panel hosted by Dennis Ward on APTN National News. Panelist Niigaan Sinclair said the government has to have a line it won’t cross when a bad project is proposed. “When we have projects that involve degradation of the environment, of water of Earth, underground rivers, for example, they’re going to impact everyone in that ecology,” Sinclair said. “[It’s] not just other Indigenous nations, but those animal beings, those water beings, all of those migratory birds that come in and land in that area. This is something that you have to consider, which is why environmental regulations and Indigenous rights are not something that you can just check a box on because you get one group of leaders from one First Nation to agree on a Thursday.” According to panelist Jennifer Laewetz, the government needs to consider how many communities are supporting, or affected by, a project. “One First Nation or one community supporting a project does not mean that First Nations, or all of the Nations within that area, are collectively supporting it,” she said. “I think that that’s part of the problem is when the government doesn’t recognize that all of our Nations are essentially individual governments with our own rights and our own interests. You cannot just use one community to substitute consent for all of the rest, and I think that’s the piece that the government needs to learn and the sooner the better.” When Carney set up the MPO, he added an Indigenous Advisory Council. Eleven Indigenous people make up the panel. APTN asked the MPO if it had asked the council to advise on its decision. A spokesperson said the office is working on a response. With files from Emma Honeybun in Winnipeg and Mark Blackburn in Ottawa.  Continue Reading