PBI-Canada concerned that Ring of Fire could be designated a “special economic zone” in September 2025
Video still: “We will defend our lands & waters.” From the 12-minute video “Neskantaga – We Love Our Land” by Allan Lissner.
The area known as the “Ring of Fire” in the northern part of the Canadian province of Ontario has an abundance of rare-earth/critical minerals including cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel, graphite and copper.
Ricochet now reports: “Ontario’s proposed Bill 5, the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act, would allow the province to designate ‘special economic zones’ that would qualify to bypass environmental regulations and speed up development. It is expected to be in force as early as September, and Premier Doug Ford intends to name the proposed Ring of Fire mineral development as the first such site.”
“Neskantaga First Nation Chief Gary Quisess … minces no words about the connection between the poor infrastructure and looming mining encroachment … [and has travelled to the Queen’s Park legislature in Toronto ] to call out what he describes as ‘genocide’ buried in new provincial environmental legislation.”
The article continues: “Neskantaga, located on the Attawapiskat River, 450 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has been among the most vocal First Nations in opposing the proposed Ring of Fire development.”
And the article includes a photo caption that further notes: “Indigenous groups held a press conference at Queen’s Park May 12 to sound the alarm about Bill 5. Some First Nation leaders are promising to ‘stand in front of development.’”
Key dates
November 2021: CBC reports: “Ford’s government [wants] to lure the big automakers to produce electric vehicles in southern Ontario. A key part of that strategy involves opening up the so-called Ring of Fire mineral deposit.”
November 2022: The Financial Post reports: “The United States military is talking to Canadian miners about potentially funding some critical minerals projects in Canada, the latest evidence of President Joe Biden’s administration’s commitment to cutting its reliance on China for the metals needed to build defence equipment and expand the electric vehicle (EV) market.”
January 2023: The First Nations Land Defence Alliance is created. The Neskantaga nation is part of this Alliance along with Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI-Big Trout Lake), Ojibways of Onigaming, Muskrat Dam, Asubpeeschoseewagong-Grassy Narrows and Wapekeka First Nations.
March 2023: Outgoing-Neskantaga Chief Wayne Moonias warns: “If Premier Ford wants to get on a bulldozer, if the CEO of Ring of Fire Metals wants to get on a bulldozer, they’re going to have to run me over.”
December 2023: CBC reports: “Mining claims staked in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire area have risen by 30 per cent since last year, according to provincial data analyzed by the Wildlands League.”
US-Canada relations
Earlier this year, CBC News reported: “The Ring of Fire in northwestern Ontario has become a key figure in the battle to control critical minerals, which experts say is the heart of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada.”
In March 2025, CBC speculated that “a new economic and security arrangement with the United States” could include “ramped-up talk about developing Canada’s critical minerals”.
During the recent federal election, both the Liberals and Conservatives promised accelerated approvals of critical mineral mining projects.
The Narwhal has commented: “While Mark Carney [who was elected prime minister on April 28, 2025] repeatedly emphasized the urgency and importance of natural resource and energy projects on the campaign trail, he also said he would not force projects through against the will of Indigenous nations. How he will fast-track projects while fulfilling the constitutional duty to consult remains to be seen.”
UN Special Rapporteurs
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, José Francisco Calí Tzay, has stated: “[Canada should] suspend large-scale mining and other business activities in the Ring of Fire region … until the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Peoples affected is secured.”
And UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo Aguda, has recommended: “Suspend large-scale mining and oil and gas pipeline projects, such as mining in the Ring of Fire and the Coastal GasLink, Trans Mountain and Line 5 pipelines, until the necessary processes of assessing the impact of long-term risks to human rights, the environment and biodiversity, and guaranteeing the right of the Indigenous Peoples concerned to respect for the principle of free, prior and informed consent, have been completed.”
Land defenders at risk
PBI-Canada has signed this open letter letter that highlights: “Mining always comes with risks of human rights and environmental abuses. Over 510 allegations of abuses associated with top-producing mining operations of cobalt, copper, nickel, manganese, lithium, and zinc have been documented in the past decade – with one in four associated with attacks against human rights defenders.”
That open letter called for “clear protection mechanisms for human rights and environmental defenders.”
We continue to follow this.
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