FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION — The Ring of Fire is at the centre of a research project looking at human rights and the mining sector.
The project includes reviews of roughly 20 to 25 mining companies that are operating in northern Ontario, specifically the Ring of Fire. “Companies need to have a plan to respond and ensure that their reconciliation efforts are being done in a way at the highest standard possible to avoid issues where they may be misleading their shareholders or their investors on the status of their relationships with Indigenous peoples and the disclosures that they have in a corporate setting,” said Jason Rasevych, the president of the board of the Anishnawbe Business Professional Association.
Work started last fall, Rasevych said, and over the next couple of months will also include one-on-one interviews with Indigenous leaders in the region. He added that they intend to either present a preliminary report or make some recommendations at the Prospectors and Developers Association conference in Toronto in early March.