Wynne’s Ring of Fire road announcement ‘premature’ say 2 area First Nations – CBC

Eabametoong and Neskantaga not included in Aug. 21 announcement, say jurisdictional issues not settled

Aug 25, 2017

Two northwestern Ontario First Nations near the Ring of Fire say an announcement by the provincial government that it has a deal in place to construct all-season roads into the mineral-rich area is “premature.”

On Monday, Premier Kathleen Wynne was in Thunder Bay to announce that the province had reached a deal with three Matawa First Nations — Webequie, Nibinamik and Marten Falls — that would see roads linking their communities to the provincial highway system and continuing into the Ring of Fire.

But in a joint statement issued late Thursday afternoon, two other communities not included in that deal — Eabametoong and Neskantaga — said those projects will “hit a dead end,” if there is no “real and concrete jurisdiction agreement with First Nations.”