Photo: 6,000 people took part in the Land Defence Alliance “March for the Land” in Toronto, September 27, 2023. The Ojibwe nation of Neskantaga, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI-Big Trout Lake), Ojibways of Onigaming, Muskrat Dam, Asubpeeschoseewagong-Grassy Narrows and Wapekeka First Nations, are part of First Nations Land Defence Alliance.

CBC reports: “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.”

“U.S. President Donald Trump is now eyeing Canada’s rich mineral deposits as America can’t produce enough of its own, said Elizabeth Steyn, an assistant law professor at the University of Calgary.”

“The Ring of Fire contains minerals including nickel, chromium, palladium and platinum, said Steyn, who teaches a course on critical minerals, regulatory frameworks and geopolitics. These minerals are highly appealing to the U.S.”

This CBC article further notes: “Potential development has faced pushback from some First Nations, which have previously said they haven’t been properly consulted and see it as a potential threat to their traditional ways of life.”

Photos: On March 29, 2023, The Narwhal reported: “As incoming Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias and his predecessor, Chief Wayne Moonias, called to [Ontario] Premier Doug Ford from [the Queen’s Park legislature] balcony [in Toronto], Ford stared straight ahead and refused to acknowledge them.” They were then ejected from the legislature by security. Photos by Carlos Osorio/The Narwhal

In late-February, Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated: “As we face down the threat of President Trump’s tariffs, we need to do more, and we need to do it faster. To protect Ontario, we have to get our critical minerals out of the ground, processed and shipped to factory floors. We have to double down on working with First Nations to speed up approvals and get shovels in the ground on critical mineral projects.”

His government has pledged to “unleash the economic potential of the Ring of Fire and Ontario’s critical minerals” by “designating regions where multiple critical mineral deposits are present or likely to be present, including the Ring of Fire, as regions of strategic importance for Ontario’s economy and security…”

And earlier this month, Northern Ontario Business reported: “Premier Doug Ford is ready to shove Ottawa out of the way to make progress in the Ring of Fire. Fresh off last week’s provincial election win and armed with a strong majority, an emboldened Ford appeared at the PDAC mining show in Toronto, March 3, ready to pick a fight with the feds in order to expedite critical minerals production in the face of a looming trade war with the U.S.”

Photo of Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

In response to statements like these, Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) has stated: “Premier Ford’s promise to ‘unlock’ the Ring of Fire and fast-track development is a direct attack on the Inherent, Treaty, and Aboriginal rights of First Nations who have governed and stewarded these lands since time immemorial. …These are not ‘Ontario’s minerals; they exist within our territories…”

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) represents 49 First Nations with a total population (on and off-reserve) of approximately 45,000 people.

Photo of Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler.

UN Special Rapporteurs on the Ring of Fire

The Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, José Francisco Calí Tzay (July 2023) and the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo Aguda (September 2024) following their visits to Canada recommended:

Cali Tzay: “Suspend large-scale mining and other business activities in the Ring of Fire region and cease construction or operation of the Coastal GasLink, Trans Mountain and Line 5 pipelines, until the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Peoples affected is secured.”

Arrojo-Aguda: “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.”

Indigenous land defenders at risk

While there is no indication at this point of risks to the lives of Indigenous land defenders opposed to the Ring of Fire megaproject, there is a worrisome global context.

Global Witness has reported that 2,106 land and environmental defenders were killed between 2012 and 2023. The Washington, DC-based organization further highlights: “Worldwide, Indigenous Peoples and Afrodescendents continue to be disproportionately targeted, accounting for 49% of total murders.”

Their September 2024 statement also notes: “While establishing a direct relationship between the murder of a defender and specific corporate interests remains difficult, Global Witness identified mining as the biggest industry driver by far, with 25 defenders killed after opposing mining operations in 2023.”

That statement adds: “In total, 23 of the 25 mining-related killings globally last year happened in Latin America. But more than 40% of all mining-related killings between 2012 and 2023 occurred in Asia – home to significant natural reserves of key critical minerals vital for clean energy technologies.”

We continue to follow this.

Image from The Breach Show.

Wet’suwet’en land defender Molly Wickham, also known as Cas Yikh wing chief Sleydo’, recently met with journalist Desmond Cole in Toronto for an interview about the resistance to the Coastal GasLink pipeline for The Breach Show podcast.

The full interview can be found here.

Key excerpts from this interview include Wickham telling Cole:

Court injunctions do not consider “the risk of police violence or state violence to Indigenous people”

“Within the colonial court system, they work within silos, so the Supreme Court of Canada decision [that the clans of the Wet’suwet’en nation, hold title to 22,000 square kilometers of land] is not being taken into account in this injunction case. That makes injunctions really dangerous to Indigenous people and all people, because the test for it is very narrow. They only look at the economic impact and harm that could be done to a company. They don’t look at our access to our land, our culture, our way of life, the risk of police violence or state violence to Indigenous people, if there is an injunction in place.”

We know that “the police don’t care about Indigenous women”

“We just know that the police don’t care about Indigenous women. They talked about us like monsters, like animals. That’s how they see us. I think the fact that nothing is happening to them is just indicative of the situation that we find ourselves in. Through colonialism and colonization, they had to undermine the authority of the women. They had to dehumanize us so that they would only deal with the men, and they did that in really violent ways. Through the priests, through the RCMP, throughout our whole history.“

C-IRG force against civilians “should be alarming to people”

“[John] Brewer, who is the gold commander of C-IRG, which is now—they’ve changed their name to the Critical Response Unit—he’s the gold commander of that special industry unit of police. The fact that they have to use that kind of force, that they’re using that kind of force against civilians in so-called Canada, I think this should be alarming to people. I think that it indicates that, one, we’re a real threat, but also that we are a police state, and that nobody’s going to be free from the kinds of violence and repression that are coming if we don’t fall in line with the status quo and extract every little last resource on this planet.”

C-IRG spying and harassment is “a tactic to try to drive us off the land completely”

“Since the police have started coming around, they’ve really honed in on a few individuals, and really looked at and followed what the hereditary chiefs are doing.  We’ve even had spies in our feast halls, police officers who’ve worked in the community that have been actually spying for the government on our people. We know that that’s been an ongoing thing for years, and then with C-IRG coming into play, it’s just been exponential, to the point where it’s actually just a tactic to try to drive us off the land completely. We’re threatened, followed around everywhere, threatened with arrest all of the time.”

For the full interview, go to ‘Inherently racist’: Wet’suwet’en leader on the crime of defending her land (The Breach Show, March 14, 2025).

Poder Aereo reports: “Portugal’s Minister of National Defence, Nuno Melo, announced that the country will not acquire F-35 fighters from the United States, considering the current geopolitical context and the unpredictability of US policy.”

“The minister emphasized that … allied predictability is a crucial factor in deciding on the replacement of combat aircraft.”

The article also notes: “[Melo] mentioned that European production alternatives are being considered, also aiming at economic benefits for Portugal.”

In an interview with Publico, Melo also commented: “And this ally of ours, which for decades has always been predictable, may bring limitations in use, maintenance, components, everything that has to do with ensuring that aircraft will be operational and will be used in all kinds of scenarios.”

Under scrutiny in Germany

EU Today also reported this past weekend: “Germany’s planned acquisition of 35 American F-35 fighter jets has come under scrutiny following concerns that the United States, under President Donald Trump, could disable the aircraft remotely.”

For now though, as Euronews reports: “A spokesperson from the German ministry of defence, however, told Euronews Next that there is no plan to cancel the purchase of F-35 fighter jets in light of the concerns raised.”

Calls to reconsider in Canada

About a month ago, CBC reported: “The government’s facing calls to reconsider or cancel major Canadian contracts with the U.S. including a more than $19-billion deal to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets with U.S. defence company Lockheed-Martin.”

At that time, Global News noted: “One of the biggest joint Canada-U.S. projects, the $73.9 billion purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets, is not a contract that would be ripped up, according to [Bill Blair] the minister [of defence].”

That article added: “Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters … that the government was only looking at limiting non-defence federal contracts to Canadian firms as part of any retaliation.”

As new Liberal leader Mark Carney is sworn in as prime minister tomorrow (March 14), Duclos has reportedly been dropped from cabinet.

Carney has not commented specifically on the planned F-35 purchase yet, but in early-February, CBC reported that: “Carney said 80 per cent of defence purchases made by this country involve the U.S. and that has to change.”

Social media post by Andrew Coyne.

Interview with Lloyd Axworthy.

Quip by Parliament Hill journalist Glen E. McGregor.

If not cancelled, fewer fighter jets for Canada?

Boyko Nikolov has argued in this commentary that Canada will not cancel the F-35 purchase, but concedes: “Some critics might argue that Trump’s unpredictability makes relying on American tech a liability. What if he slaps export controls on F-35 parts or strong-arms Canada into concessions? It’s a fair question.”

He then notes: “But the reality is that the program’s too big and too multinational for even Trump to derail.”

That said, Brent M. Eastwood, the Senior Defense Editor at the National Security Journal, suggests: “It would be a surprise if Canada purchased the full batch of 88 airplanes. The political will is not there. Defense policy will change with a different prime minister after elections are held.”

Eastwood concludes: “The desire to buy the F-35 may fade, or disappear entirely. The deal is too expensive, and funds must be left to rejuvenate other service branches. Canada’s military bureaucracy does not lend itself well to large military purchases. Canada might end up buying only a handful of F-35s.”

We continue to follow this.

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